Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2019-03-03 10:04
Perhaps we should consider the fact that mechanical metronomes tended to be a bit slow. When you put on a modern quartz metronome beating 120, you can be sure it beats 120 times in a minute, but a mechanical metronome may beat some 108.
A good example is Beethoven's 4th symphony. A tempo 80 in first and last movement feels, at least for me, ridiculous, something like an old lp at wrong speed. But take 10% away from the tempo to compensate the slowness of an antique metronome to 72, you end up to a much more natural tempo. A good advice is always try at least 10% slower tempo every time you see a metronome marking from pre-quartz-era.
About the general fastness. 1) competitions and auditions and our very competitive society. It's the easiest way to define who plays "better". Plus it's much easier to play long legato lines faster! 2) we live very superficial times. How interested are are we in exploring the inner depths of the music nowadays? Or is showing off more important? When playing the Mozart's concerto, perhaps we should ask ourselves, why do we perform it. Do we want to play a groundbreaking interpretation of the piece, or are we just happy and delighted to play a marvellous and beautiful piece of music that we deeply love?
About the metronomes. When i studied to be a professional musician in the early 1980's i bought myself the first generation Boss dr. Beat, that top model with all those adjustable rhythms. I was fascinated how my articulation started to develop faster and faster! Until i found out, that the machine got slower and slower when the battery ran out...
Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland
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The Clarinet BBoard
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