 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-11-19 01:04
In a sadistic and anarchistic spirit I entered a search for orchetra performance without violins. I did not believe such a thing could exist. Top of the list was Berlin Dvorak Serenade for Wind. That was a fabulous video performance. I was so impressed that I continued on with the London ( Collins ?) Version. Although the London performance is admirable the Berlin version is vastly superior. This was the first time in my life that I spent a full hour listening to orchestral music. I especially liked being able to tune in on the clarinet and oboe.Throughout life many people have been angered by my inability to name either an orchestra or orchestral composer that I liked.Now I can calmly assert that Anonin Dvorak is my favorite composer and that Berlin presents his Serenade for Wind with outstanding talent . With a greater presence of wind and percussion I believe symphonys would have far wider audiences. In the future I hope to discover more orchestral works as wonderful as this.
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-11-19 04:46
Thanks Chris
I appreciate the effort you put into that list. The last one was the best . I decided to give it a second listening so I searched for it on line adding Berlin to the search. What I found was , Berliner Philharmoniker Mozart Serenade Gran Partita. That was a great video. I think i've heard enough Berliner to conclude that I really like their distinctive flavour. In future if any compositions are recommended to me I am going to turn to Berlin to hear it if it is there. Somehow their overall pitch seems lower than other orchestras. When I first acquired my Wirnitzgrun simple Albert clarinet I sought out its history.Various authors suggested that German instruments like it were designed to produce base overtones ( undertones ?) . That may be why I seem to prefer Berlin presentations.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-11-19 16:02
Interesting reaction to Berlin Philharmonic and their pitch. Actually they tuned rather high (until more recently?) to the pith standard of A=445 as opposed to here in the States which is A=440. But I suppose that does affect the overtone series as well.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-11-19 18:41
I have never studied music so I do get the vocabulary mangled quite often.Last night I finally made sense of bright, warm and dark overtones through an article that included graphs to illustrate the differences. I should have said that in the past I had read that germans preferred dark tones in their clarinets and other instruments.If in fact their instruments are tuned to be darker, then the overall listening experience would be perceived as lower in pitch as compared to brighter performances. The other major issue is that in listening I can actually hear the different instruments with all their color. Yesterday while seeking out one recommended player I watched him going through the motions but heard nothing he played. It was very frustrating watching him play in several settings without being able to hear him at all let alone appreciate his unique style.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-11-19 20:28
Well with regard to the woodwind sound of the Berlin Philharmonic, I have always felt that their sound as a complete section was the most well blended of any in the world. One big part of that (in my opinion) is the sound of the German style clarinet. Acoustically the German clarinet sounds different than the standard Boehm most of us are used to. To my ears the blend with flutes and oboes is unparalleled, and is simply the best.
My favorite recorded examples of this quality are woodwind quintets as recorded by the Vienna/Berlin Woodwind Quintet.
For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtWeS55oubw
Before experiencing this group I always felt the clarinet stuck out in quintet like a sore thumb.
..................Paul Aviles
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