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RE: Eb YEAH!!

Author: Larry Liberson
Date: 2001-10-28 11:52

Sorry, John, but you have misinterpreted what Pete has written.

In ALL of the examples you (and Pete, of course!) mentioned, the position filled by these gentlemen was not simply that of Eb clarinetist in their respective orchestras. Playing Eb clarinet was not what they did exclusively in those positions. Before assuming the principal clarinet chair in the NY Phil (in 1961, I believe), Mr. Drucker was the assistant principal and Eb clarinetist. Do you honestly believe that he only played the Eb clarinet on his audition for the NY Phil?

The case was no different for Pete or Larry in each of their positions. Often one will audition for a section position (which is no easy trick to succeed at!) in anticipation of what is understood to be an upcoming audition for principal in a given section. Often part of the responsibilities for that position will be that of playing Eb clarinet. That's what occurred in the cases that Pete has cited in his book.

What Pete appears to do in in his book is to refer to auditions and positions (and anecdotes) in full-time major professional orchestras--not school or community groups which may listen to somebody play Eb clarinet in order to satisfy an orchestration need for an occasional concert. There is quite a huge difference in how things operate between the two. Certainly, the job description of a given orchestral clarinet position is one of them.

As Donald Nicholls states above, you don't even get to the Eb excerpts in an audition if your A/Bb playing isn't up to snuff (except out of courtesy). I would invite you to poll the personnel managers of the major US orchestras to see when the last time (if ever!) they had an audition solely for Eb clarinet--and nothing else! I guarantee you a futile search, John.

Furthermore, depending on the configuration of a given clarinet section, you do a whole lot more A/Bb clarinet playing than Eb playing over the course of a season.

Take my word for it.

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Eb YEAH!! new

Mindy

2001-10-27 03:24