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Re: Milhaud's Scaramouche

Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2005-06-25 15:30

FWIW, the copyright on the piano reduction that accompanied my copy of the clarinet version is 1939 by Deiss. The copyright on the clarinet part is 1942 (also Deiss). The only one given any sort of authorship credit on either part is Milhaud. The solo cues on the piano reduction are actually the alto sax part. The subtitle to Scaramouche on the piano part is "Suite pour Saxophone et Orchestre." The subtitle on the clarinet part is "Suite pour Saxophone (ou Clarinette SIb) et Orchestre. The implication is, to me at least, that the clarinet part came later but was probably prepared by Milhaud.

Also FWIW (which frankly may not be much) in the liner notes to Eduard Brunner's recording of "Scaramouche" on his album "Hommage a Benny Goodman," Ekkehart van den Hoogen claims that Milhaud prepared the "clarinet and orchestra" version for Benny Goodman. He further claims that Goodman enjoyed performing the work, in contrast to the concerto that Milhaud wrote for him, which he never performed. This may be but van den Hoogen doesn't give any sources and, if the clarinet version was indeed prepared for Benny Goodman, it seems to me it would have to be simply the alternate clarinet solo part. From the copyright dates, it seems clear that the orchestral accompaniment and the sax solo came earlier. (If the clarinet version was already available by 1939, why wait until 1942 to copyright it?) There are some other comments in the liner notes that cause me to doubt their accuracy but the wording is sufficiently vague to allow for more than one interpretation.

Best regards,
jnk

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