 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-10-10 07:39
kia ora
i own a good number of recordings of this work, most by highly respected world class musicians. While there seem to be a number of differing interpretations, they all WORK as far as my musical taste is concerned.
The other day i bought an historic recording of the Brahms Quintet being performed by Reginald Kell with the Busch Quartet. A recording with some historic interest as some of the Quartet players have a direct link to the original performers- it is fairly safe to assume that to some extent the performance is closer to the musical aesthetic of the playing of Muelfeld and the Joachim quartet.
Well, what struck me most about this recording was neither the tone or vibrato of Kell, but that they played the first mvt as an Allegro! Not just at a faster speed, but also in the character of Allegro as an Itallian term that describes character as well as speed. They perform the mvt in 8+min instead of the more typical 12ish min (.... hmmm i must listen again though to check that they do the repeat of the first section....)(even if they skip the repeat, the still play it much faster, there is no doubt).
The movement sounds so fresh at this tempo! It could be that they were playing fast to try to fit it on one side of a 78, or something like that? The more i hear it at this speed, the more i like it. What are the experiences of BB players with this work?- virtually every performance i've ever heard has been at what i'd call a "slower tempo"..... this is the first time i've really thought it sounded like a true Allegro compared to the tempo that is common for the Piano and Violin output of Brahms.
any comments?
donald
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-10-10 16:41
Very interesting donald! I've never actually thought about it, but the first movement is allegro!! I've always just played it slowly because that's how I got to know it, and how all the recordings and performances went. Just shows you how traditions can set in that aren't necessarily what the composer intended. I'll definitely give the Kell recording a listen.
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-10-10 19:23
listened to the first mvt again
they DO skip the repeat of the first section
but this only makes up for about half of the time difference between this performance and the "average time"
at the very opening of the mvt they don't play too much faster than the "average joe"- but even when playing at a slower tempo there is still a feeling of constant movement, and they don't waste much time picking it up
donald
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Author: graham
Date: 2004-10-11 12:09
I think that tempo was for musical rather than practical considerations. Draper goes slower, despite also recording on 78s (in 1928). Thurston goes slower still (or at least gives that impression), though he is very quick indeed in the third movement. It is worth listening to Draper's abridged 1917 recording. Muhlfeld heard Draper playing the piece and approved of the performance. The 1917 version is, to my knowledge, the earliest recorded version.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-10-11 15:02
The Thurston recording was mastered at something over 80 rpm, rather than 78, and plays nearly a half step low on standard turntables. I have a dub at the true speed (and therefore the proper pitch and tempo), which makes the tempos very fast. It's still a wonderful version (even though recorded with the acousic process).
The Draper full recording with the Lener Quartet is electric, so much more can be heard. I like it a lot, and it's been reissued on CD.
I also have the earlier Draper acoustic version on a cassette Michael Bryant put out. It's severely cut -- only one side per movement. The slow movement, for example, has as I recall only the first 8 bars and then jumps to the "fancy" gypsy section. The tempos are very fast, to accommodate the short sides, and you don't really get much of the music.
I grew up on the Kell/Fine arts Decca LP, which I still love. It's been reissued on Boston Skyline http://www.bostonskylinerecords.com/catalog.html, BSD 135. While it shouldn't be your only version, it should be part of everyone's collection.
My favorite is Yona Ettlinger with the Tel Aviv Quartet, on an LP, Oiseau Lyre OLS-R 146, which, unfortunately, has never been reissued.
Harold Wright's wonderful recording was isued on CD http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000418X/qid=1097506113/sr=1-99/ref=sr_1_99/002-6655906-6072865?v=glance&s=classical, but, shamefully, seems to be out of print. It's listed at http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=43:21409, however.
My other favorites: Bela Kovacs, Gervase de Peyer, Thea King.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: graham
Date: 2004-10-11 16:40
Another point. Kell/Draper etc. did not "skip the repeat". They didn't on the Mozart either. If you want the exposition repeat just play side one twice (assuming you're playing off shellac rather than CDs). True to say, Sir Adrian Boult opined that a Brahms exposition repeat should always be different to the first time round, whereas with Mozart that didn't have to be true. But it would have been extravagant where both sides of the same record featured the very same notes, despite some differences in tempi and dynamics.
It reminds me though of the Eye of the Storm record label that made a feature of giving you 2 CDs instead of one. The programme was identical between the two, but they were different performnaces. The idea was to attack the "definitive version" myth. Don't think they made a commercial go of it though.
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-10-11 19:31
thanks for interesting insights- esp interesting to hear that Draper was slower (i assume you mean in the 1st mvt), and re repeating exposition by playing the side of the reccord again.
when i get around to it, i'll look up the Draper recording with Lener Quartet.
Next time i play this i'll think more about ALLEGRO, though i won't try to "copy" the Kell recording i have. It will be interesting to find out what the string players think of this- in the Mozart quintet every time i perform it i have to get them to slow down in the first mvt, in this one i feel i might have trouble getting them to pick it up a bit.....
well, that's an adventure for the future
donald
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