Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2004-04-14 03:30
Not that this matters, but I think we often read too much into to composer's intentions (this is sort of an off-shoot, and has been discussed before).
As a composer (by no means "accomplished, but I have had numerous pieces performed and worked with the performers), I find that the performer is AS much a part of the end result, if not more so, than the black dots I put on a page.
For example, I wrote a Bass Clarinet Sonata that my teacher performed. I had very particular feelings about the Cadenza and how I thought it should be played. When I coached the piece with my teacher, he played it completely differently than what I thought I wanted. And it was great. Many compositions are edited and revised after an initial performance or ever years by composer whose intentions apparently weren't set it stone as some would like to think.
Similarly I've met with a few composers (most notably John Corigliano and Ron Nelson, plus many less well known people during my college playing experiences). I've never met a single one that was as adamant one would imagine from these posts.
I PERSONALLY find the Goodman version a little boring, as I've said - I don't think it's atrocious (actually it's good), I just like Stoltzman's better (not to mention the Goodman version that I have has a few "wrong" notes in it! Maybe he's right and all the other recordings are wrong but his is different than the other's I've heard).
I'm sure the Goodman recording reflects how Copland and Goodman intended the piece to sound at the particularly time it was recorded. If he was alive today and conducted the piece with 5 different clarinets, I'm sure we'd have 5 different interpretations. For all we know, he might not even be offended by Stoltzmans. I have heard many recordings of this piece and they are all different in some way. To say that anyone who strays from the "original" version, which was the way 2 artists worked together on one day with one orchestra, is incorrect or getting further away from what constitutes a perfect performance is just plain stupid.
Someone mentioned that music is not like paintings or sculpture. They require a middle-man before they get to the listener and can't be recreated the same each time. Why then, does this outcome (which is inevitable) get under some people's skin so much?
DH
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