Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-31 20:21
Bob,
Thanks for the report on the convention for those of us who did not attend. I agree with you on many of the things you stated in your report. There is a flood of new equipment whose cost does not justify any perceived improvement. The idea of spending $1300 on a ligature is absolutely bonkers. I also agree that you don't need to spend a lot of money to have a good setup. Many people fall in love with the idea of newness, but not necessarily better.
Where I disagree is with the idea of holding on to the tonal ideas of the past. I grew up listening and idolizing Robert Marcellus. I own nearly every recording he ever made, including many of the LPs that were not transferred to CDs. I completely understand your desire for things to be as they were, but they simply are not. We cannot ignore the great influx of major, big name players shifting towards a darker, more covered, and yes, duller sound. It may not be what you prefer but it is what the clarinet world is shifting towards. I'm thinking of players like Boris Allakhverdyan, Anthony Mcgill, Frank Cohen, Ricardo Morales, Michael Rusinek, Jon Manasse. All of whom have shifted towards this style of playing.
If I could use an acting analogy, it's like you want actors to still act like Clark Gable, Peter O'Toole, and Paul Newman. No one will doubt that these were some of the greatest actors to live but they certainly did not act in a modern sense. If you put one of them in a modern movie, it would be anachronistic. It's simply a different time.
I sometimes struggle to accept what modern clarinet playing is, but I would be foolish to believe that the only acceptable tonal concept is one from 50 years ago. The past was great, but we don't live in it.
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