Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-09-14 22:47
I'm not sure you can use your four English and French examples to typify clarinetists of the last generation everywhere, even during their playing lives. Here in the Philadelphia/Curtis Institute circle Vandoren #5s were generally the rule. That changed to some extent when VD first started to make the V.12 line. I have no idea what has happened in Germany, Austria, Japan and other places where standard orchestral clarinet playing is popular.
Those 1950s through 1970s #5 VDs (pre-V.12) were, I'm fairly certain, softer than the ones Vandoren produces now in any of its models. So, bottom line, strengths from 50-60 years ago don't necessarily mean the same thing they do today.
As was already mentioned, you can't really make observations about professional or experienced amateur players' reed choices without considering what was already brought up about choices in mouthpiece facings. If you change one, you often change the other. So, if the clarinetists whose reed preferences you're familiar with are using harder reeds, you also have to find out what mouthpiece changes they've made.
So, I don't know if your premise is true for a specific area or "school" or if the result is truly that the players are working harder physically. I personally have scaled back to lower strength numbers, but I think mostly because the strengths have gotten harder. I'm looking for the same response I've always looked for. The numbers have changed at the factory end.
Karl
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The Clarinet BBoard
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