 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Irwin
Date: 2002-05-09 23:57
I'm cruising along with the first 2 movements of Weber's first concerto thinking "piece of cake" and looking forward to impressing my teacher this weekend. Feeling smug I turned to the third movement, Rondo, and promptly came crashing down to earth. What's with that tempo? Will I EVER be able to play it, much less play it well??? Just another lesson in how far the road stretches ahead. Nonetheless, I'm going to keep traveling that road for life.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-05-10 02:06
Irwin may your musical path in life be very bent and odd and not straight - otherwise you'd be bored, maybe? ;-)
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Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2002-05-10 02:50
Hello Irwin,
I'm a senior in high School right now, getting ready to ship off to IU next year to major in music. Anyways, as a freshman I got my hands on a copy of the Rondo, and immediately felt like it was way over my head. I loved the first Concerto, though, and eventually ended up memorizing the first and third movements. While I couldn't play the Rondo at first, I left it for a long time, and after a little over a year, my technique had improved noticeable, so much that I could, in fact, play the Rondo up-tempo. No I don't feel that it's even that big of a deal. The point is, over time, nearly anything is possible. You may surprise yourself, especially if you put in the focused practice time.
Nick Conner
(a HS senior ready to be humbled by his freshman year at IU)
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Author: Keil
Date: 2002-05-10 07:14
Irwin, let me tell you MY Rondo experience... hehehe... so after having played clarinet for all of 2 years I go off to Tanglewood and in the the clarinet workshop we decided to look into Weber's 1st. My friend, a very unassuming clarinetist, played the 1st movement with such conviction and sonority of sound that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. The 2nd movement was executed beautifully by another of my close friends. We hold off on the 3rd while yet another friend of mine prepares it. In less than 3 days he had worked it up to such a beautiful and flawless level that i was taken aback and thought it to be quite easy. Little did i know that it looks easier than it was. After that day of classes i went back to the practice room and whittled away at it hoping to find some simblance of what i had heard earlier but to no avail. It wasn't until midway last year after Tanglewood that i was able to play it. I wasn't able at the time to execute it the way i had wanted to. The best thing about not being able to play something and then coming back to it is that you are able to see your growth as a musician. My words to you are to look at it... slow it down... figure out the best way for you to execute the passages... play through it.... then put it aside for a while... come back later in say about a month or so and see how much you've grown. I bet you'll be amazed at the growth! I know I was! :-)
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Author: gemmaelizabeth
Date: 2002-05-10 13:40
I agree, work on it, then put it away for a while. Or else you will really really hate it.
When I auditioned for music school, Weber 1 was on the list, you could choose either the first movement or the third. To me, the third movement sounded really impressive and I thought I would choose that one. Obviously, I had to work so hard on it and constantly because of the impending audition, and I haven't played it since!!!
I really like the piece, but after practising it constantly and still never getting it up to speed, I was just really frustrated with it. however, I think I may tackle now, 3 years later!!!
Enjoy!
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-05-14 16:41
All I can say is, put the top down on your car and run around the block a few times. Then come back and pick up that lovely Opus of yours and try again. If you still have problems, try a longer trip in your convertible. It's great if you can find a CD of this particular piece. Works for me.
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