Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2004-04-11 20:34
I performed the piece at a recital with piano accompaniment. For me, the hardest part was the beginning. I personally, didn't find the cadenza and second half all that difficult (they aren't easy, but after sufficient practice I could play them very well). There are, however, a few counting spots in the second half that tripped me up the first couple times I played with piano.
I would recommend the Richard Stoltzman recording as a good example of how the piece might be played. Clearly, we all can't play like him (and, in fact, his "robust" playing on this piece would like be inappropriate when played with piano), but I think he brings an energy and sense of life to the piece that other performers have neglected (based on the recordings I have heard).
The grace notes at the end (as mentioned above), should be, in my opinion, completely and aggressively smeared, starting on top line F# for the smears to both C# and F#. The last several minutes of the concerto are building to this finale and I think it should be a big one! For me, on recordings where they play simply the grace notes "clearly", it's such a disappointment. It sounds so small and wimpy. My teacher described the last part (from the grace notes to the end) as a train that about to derail (or something similar). It should be crazy, fun, and hectic (especially compared to the very much restrained and controlled beginning).
You also need to think about the sections marked humorously and whether or not you want to swing them. Some people swing them, and I think it's fun and sounds good (this section of the piece is anything but serious, so why not have fun with it?). On the other hand, i also think it's very "humorous" to play the eights very straight with the slap bass underneath (I would assume this almost sarcastic contrast is what Copland meant by "humorously"). This is view is further strengthened by the fact that some of the notes are actually written as dotted 8th-16th, meaning he probably wanted contrast between the straight and dotted rhythms. This issue has been discussed on this board before if you wanna search for it. I think the final story is that when you play it, it's your interpretation, so do what you want. It's good to weigh both approaches though, to make sure you get the most out of your interpretation.
DH - theclarinetist@yahoo.com
I didn't spell check, sorry for any mistakes
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