The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-01-27 15:23
Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic have an all-Mozart program at Carnegie Hall tonight:
Serenade in B-flat Major for 13 Winds, K. 361
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595, Alfred Brendel, Piano
Symphony No. 38, "Prague"
It's been sold out for months, but WNYC is broadcasting it live, including a webcast. I'll definitely be recording it.
Ken Shaw
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2006-01-27 17:09
For anyone in the Pacific Northwest, David Shifrin is playing Weber Quintet and Mozart Quintet at the Friends of Chamber Music Vancouver on January 31st.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2006-01-27 17:13
Ken, can you tell us the website that the webcast will be broadcast from? I looked at the wnyc website, but did not see mention of a webcast.
Danke!
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Author: edk
Date: 2006-01-27 21:43
and tonight in Chicago we are lucky enough to have Sabine Meyer playing the Quintet with the Tokyo String Quartet.
edk
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-28 02:33
My thanks to Ken and Larry for the alert and link for an excellent Mozart program, the best for me was the 13 Winds, of course, WOW. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: larryb
Date: 2006-01-28 06:03
Don,
It was a great program - I was there and can attest to the fact that there were only 12 winds in Gran Partita. The 13th instrument was a double bass.
Beautifully played.
You'll also appreciate that the program notes state that the Gran Partita was the first time mozart composed for the alto clarinet (!) - that should make the Leblanc basset horn players proud.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-28 13:10
Larry, Yes, the WNYC host-commentator-?critic? "explored" the use of a string bass [large?] in place of contrabassoon. I didn't gather any reasons other than the desires of the conductor [I presume there was one ?] and the 12 wind-players. Sure wish I could have recorded it , t'was the best I can recall, the "interplay" of the melodies, phrases, dynamics was SUPERB-BEAUTIFUL. Glad to hear of at least a mention of my Alto Cl. TKS, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2006-01-28 13:27
There's lots of evidence to show that the original bass part for the Gran Partita was intended for double bass, not contrabassoon
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-01-28 13:31
I'll be in Berlin next weekend. I'm going largely to attend Wenzel Fuch's performance of the Mozart concerto with the Philharmonic next Sunday, I'm very excited. I've only heard it played live by Stoltzman with the Boston Civic Symphony, and the orchestra didn't really contribute to the performance. I'll let you all know how it is. (I'm expecting to use the word amazing many times) The last time I was up there William Christie was conducting, and I was very shocked at how flexible that ensemble is. They captured the period music concept amazingly well. I always used to associate that ensemble as being special for it's performances of large romantic works, but I never thought I would enjoy their performances of Rameau, Mondonville and Haydn. Go figure, amazing players do amazing things.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: larryb
Date: 2006-01-28 18:52
It's pretty clear Mozart wanted a double bass in the Gran Partita: he wrote in pizzicatos, which are hard to do on contrabassoon, unless he meant some kind of slap tonguing.
Double bass was also standard in Harmoniemusik.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-29 14:01
Larry and J J, explanations of string bass use makes very good sense. I did wonder about availability of contrabassoons, Sachs speaks of them as being earlier than Mozart. Our OK Mozart, in June, plans to continue his 250th, with the NY Amici Orch and "several artists" of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Shifrin ?? I'll ask for details and try to promote Harmoniemusik, Larry. Wish me luck, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-01-29 18:59
larryb wrote: "It's pretty clear Mozart wanted a double bass in the Gran Partita"
I think that is evidence that he expected a double bass to be used. Not necessarily that he preferred it to contrabassoon. Double bass players were two a penny, contrabassoons, I suspect, rather a rarity.
I think this is one of those cases when we should use what works best, not necessarily what the composer scored for. A slippery slope, I admit.
-----------
If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-01-30 21:27
Larryb -
I recorded the concert, but plan to keep only the serenade, which I though was excellent. In particular, there were lots of nice little ornaments (Eingänge and others), which sounded planned (since players who had answering phrases did the same thing), but which nevertheless made a difference.
If you kept the program, I'd really appreciate a list of the players, which was not announced on the broadcast.
Thanks.
Ken Shaw
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Author: larryb
Date: 2006-01-31 03:40
Here are the players who performed the Gran Partita at the Berlin Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall, January 27, 2006:
Oboe: Albrecht Mayer, Christoph Hartmann
Clarinet: Wenzel Fuchs, Walter Seyfarth
Basset Horn: Manfred Preis, Alexander Bader
Horn: Stefan Dohr, Fergus McWilliam, Stevan De Leval Jezierski, Sarah Willis
Bassoon: Daniele Damino, Hennig Trog
Double Bass: Nabil Shehata
Simon Rattle conducted.
Post Edited (2006-01-31 04:53)
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-02-06 18:31
As promised, I am posting about the performance of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto by Wenzul Fuchs and the Berlin Philharmonic. It was really outstanding, and it's so exciting to hear this piece that we're all so familiar with sound so fresh. Herr Fuchs (born and educated in Austria) has everything that you would expect from a principal player in one of the world's finest orchestras. He also has more than that, he is incredibly creative, his phrasing and ornaments never sounded predetermined or contrived, but incredibly spontaneous. Also, his ornaments were subtle and incredibly tasteful. I've heard ornaments that didn't really add anything to the music, but rather detracted from it. He did many, many things I've never heard before, hence my use of the word fresh. Also, he has quite an ability to play softly, a fantastic sotto voce quality(the quality of sotto voce I'd only heard before on Harold Wright recordings), which he demonstrated most notably in the return to the A section of the Adagio movement. He has a unique voice, as I'm sure many of you heard on the broadcast of the Gran Partita (which was also recently recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Ensemble and released on EMI).
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-02-06 21:28
Chris -
Wenzel Fuchs added a fair number of ornaments and eingänge in the Bb Serenade, as did the first oboist, Albrecht Mayer. I thought they were very well done. Those guys can really play.
Ken Shaw
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-02-07 01:40
Ken ... I'm insanely jealous ... how do I bribe you to get hold of a copy of the broadcast?
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2006-02-08 09:46
Albrecht Mayer.....if only you could see me drool over his recordings....
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-02-08 10:08
Albrecht Mayer is undoubtedly the most amazing oboist I've ever heard, both as a soloist and an orchestral musician. I've only heard him live however. He performed the Francaix L'horloge de Flore with the Bamberg Symphony. He has the most amazing pianissimo control I've ever heard from an oboist, al niente seemed so effortless, including the highest and lowest notes that we usually hear oboists honk out. It was so fantastic that he played two encores, a Bach Sinfonia, and an unaccompanied piece that I don't remember. Luckily, it was being broadcast on Bayern 4 a month after the concert I attended, and I made a CD-R of the broadcast, so I have a recording of the performance. It sounds excellent for a broadcast. Also, he played both the Dvorak 5th Symphony and the Berg Lulu Suite at the Berlin Philharmonic Concert I went to this past Sunday, and once again, unparalleled by anyone I've ever heard. Also, this is interesting: before the performance of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, I spotted Herr Mayer sitting on a step in the audience listening to the performance with score. I thought that was great.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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