 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Stéphane
Date: 2002-06-06 08:47
Chen Halevi is a young clarinet virtuoso aged 30 years. He is very talented and plays the Boehm system like most European (Chen was actually born in Israel). After a very busy concert and tour life, Chen decided he wanted to settle a little and find a teaching position. He applied for a position with the MusikHochschule of Trossigen in Germany that was looking for a teacher for such a long time that they had decided to open it to Boehm system players. Against all odds, and to Chen's big surprise, he won the position. As Chen was touring the US, he discovered that a petition was organized in Germany signed by 65 clarinettists from schools, orchestras and even solists like Sabine Meyer! The "petitionists" accused the Trossigen university to kill the German clarinet tradition with their choice for a French system player. Fortunately, Chen also received the support of a lot of German musicians declaring themselves chocked by some of their colleagues attitude. Even at the universtity people were shocked by the reaction, but because they are independant, they stand still and didn't change their choice. Chen declared himself pretty angry with this "terrorist" attitude (the word is from him) since no petitionist tried to contact him and discuss the point. Chen's goal is to be as good a teacher he can be and not to influence students at all in their choice for a system or another.
When music is such a gift to the world, I just can't understand how fine musician can be so short minded and intolerant. But maybe I am just a little naive.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2002-06-06 11:31
As a dedicated simple system player I can see why the Germans want to preserve their tradition. I choose to use the "true" clarinet because of the sound and flexibilty. I am primarily a jazz/rock/commercial musician doubling saxes, clarinet, bassoon and piano. The sound of the German system horn combines the sound quality of the Albert system and modern keywork with just as much innovation as the boehm left hand cheat Eb, left hand F, E/F fork key, low E vents, articulated G# etc. etc..
I have no difficulty in matching and blending with boehm clarinets and in order to earn a reasonable living I must resort to military/ concert band playing and have no complaints about my sound, generally compliments. I can match it technically as well.
It is all about the sound. Germans and for that matter half of Europe were brought up on the German sound, as were the earliest fans of jazz, listening live and on recording to Bigard, Hall, Simeon etc. etc. who mainly played the improved Albert clarinet, complete with articulated G#.
I wonder what would happen if a German or simple system player/teacher was in the reverse situation.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: graham
Date: 2002-06-06 12:05
I share MP's views on the whole. I doubt the petitioners saw a reason to contact Chen as they were objecting to the use of a Boehm teacher, not Chen personally. His views weigh no more than any others. Is it terrorism? Hardly; and I don't think that was a good remark. Chen can choose from a host of schools offering Boehm positions, so he would not be at a disadvantage if the school had stuck to the original selection criteria. The petitioners were trying to protect a clarinet heritage, rather than purely a national heritage (though now the two unfortunately coincide, which is not helpful to their argument). If MP is right that the sound of an Oehler is different to a Boehm (including one assumes a German bore Boehm) then I can see what they are protesting about. Of all the current players in the world, the most glorious sheer sound I can think of comes from Klocker (experienced only on records by me) and S Meyer (experienced almost only live in London).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-06-06 13:16
You all should read the story in <b>The Clarinet</b> which has the entire text of the petition and some of the responses by other groups.
Of course, if they throw out the Boehm in Germany they should throw out the players who are currently employed by German orchestras who play Boehm exclusively, right? I wonder why the Berliner Philarmoniker had Alessandro Carbonare playing principal ...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dAVID dOW
Date: 2002-06-06 13:19
The amazing thing is Eduard Brunner was using his Boehm Clarinet with a french mouthpiece in the 60s and alot of peole couldn't tell the difference. He was Principal Clarinet of the Bavarian Radio for a good many years but he met with alot of resistance. I also think its important to make music. I studied with the german player Starke on Boehm and he felt too may people become obseesed with tone and forget about music no matter the system.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dAVID dOW
Date: 2002-06-06 13:21
The main reason why Carbonarre is Principal in Germany is becuase he can sound like a German clarinet with the set up he uses and I feel half of the arguement here is pschology rather than reality.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Stéphane
Date: 2002-06-06 14:59
Maybe it is useful to add that the MusikHoschule of Trossigen is an international school welcoming students from all over the world and playing different systems. Playing the Albert system is apparently not a pre-requisite to enter that school. It then would make sense that the teacher to be employed could be indifferently using Boehm or Albert. The petition was against the final choice of Chen, Not against the University at the time they decided to open the position also to Boehm system players? I am sure Chen's objective is to serve clarinet teaching the best he can, that would include him learning the Albert system and make sure he can be a true guide to his students whatever system they play in the first place.
I love Dieter Klocker' sound. Could he have the same sound on a Boehm system? I truely don't know being too inexperienced on the subject, but I would assume he could as he's such a fine player. Which makes me still believe the german reaction is a pity.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2002-06-06 15:32
Back up.
Carbonare is NOT a principal player in the Berlin Philharmonic. He is a substitute principal, which means he plays a week or two (or a month or whatever) when the regular principal players take more lucrative work playing solo or chamber music elsewhere (often Japan). This troublesome practice has become widespread in the BPO since they stopped making so much money from recordings. Carbonare is certainly not the only clarinetist who makes these substitue appearances, but he is probably the first Boehm-system player to do so. If you have heard him play, you know why he was asked. He's a wizard.
Second, there is apparently little resistance to the Boehm system in Germany from non-clarinetists in the woodwind section. I played a festival there a dozen years ago and half the woodwind section (the German players) confided to me that they preferred playing with French-system players. I won't go into the reasons they gave because it would open a huge can of worms and also because it was just their personal opinions.
However, don't bother to apply for a playing job there if you don't play the Oehler system. Just look at the German ads in DAS ORCHESTER. Virtually all of them specity "Deutches System."
But clarinetists are very stubborn about their equipment, as we know.
David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Stéphane
Date: 2002-06-06 16:27
Carbonare is actually Principal at the Orchestre National de France.
David Hattner said: "clarinetists are very stubborn about their equipment, as we know". I would like to add an interesting comment from Chen Halevy: "The clarinet world is still immature. The Principal violin of an orchestra doesn't feel offended if a 'free-lance' violin comes to play. As far as clarinet is concerned, it happenned to me that a principal clarinet from an orchestra would veto my coming to his orchestra. Although I think it is a different job, I couldn't and I wouldn't be solist in an orchestra, it takes other skills"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Alphie
Date: 2002-06-06 18:26
As far as I know Alessandro Carbonare was only asked to do one concert in Salzburg with Sinfonie Fantastique on the program to compare with the sound of Karl-Heinz Steffens who played the same piece in Berlin at the same period. The main reason was that the strings wanted to hear the difference and compare if the German sound was so superior as they had been told it was. I don't know where the rumour came from that Carbonare was hired for a season or more.
Karl-Heinz Steffens has had the principal position now for some time.
Alphie
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-06-06 20:06
Alphie wrote:
>
> I don't know where the rumour came from that
> Carbonare was hired for a season or more.
From Alessandro's:
"Moreover, Alessandro Carbonare has been invited by the Berliner Philarmoniker to perform as First Clarinettist for the 2000/2001 season."
http://www.carbonare.com/curreng.htm
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2002-06-06 20:28
Yes, Carbonare was one clarinetist invited to "perform as principal clarinet in the Berlin Philharmonic." But he is not becoming a member of the orchestra, which already has two full time principal clarinetists (as it always has).
That sentence has simply been misinterpreted to suggest that he is going to be there for the whole season.
But anything could happen in the long term, I suppose.
David Hattner
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: diz
Date: 2002-06-07 01:14
Stephane - bon jour!
Thanks - for the topic - made blessed relief from the usual boring reed/mouthpiece topics that seem to be endless. Very interesting responses from all.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: werner
Date: 2002-06-07 06:08
Very short:
1) The Berlin Phil. had some Boehm 'guests' playing the solo
(first chair) for a concert or two. It's almost a tradition
meanwhile. Sharon Kam and Feidmann are comming to my mind.
I don't know about Carbonare.
2) Brunner shows very clear: It *is* possible to get into
top possition as Boehm player in Germany. Whining about
German terrorist doesn't help a lot of course.
3) It isn't the job of a prof in Germany to teach fingerings.
4) It is the job of a prof in Germany to teach and
*represent*
the culture and art of clarinet-playing.
And this *representing* produces some questions:
Is the playing of the German system a heritage that needs
to be protected? Is a Boehm system player able to represent
the German culture and art of playing the German clarinet?
If we don't allow Boehm-system players to become profs in
Germany, doesn't this lead to a very annoying cultural
restriction of the German clarinet community?
Is this heritage important enough to allow this restriction?
Just some questions.
Lets see what answers the future will bring.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: diz
Date: 2002-06-07 06:17
I, personally, think the Germans should keep their clarinet identity. Afterall, I certainly would not like the another country taking over Swatch in Switzerland, no matter how good the watches turned out.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: werner
Date: 2002-06-07 06:32
I was wrong.
Feidman played with the Berliner Symphoniker.
AFAIK not with the Philharmonie.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Stéphane
Date: 2002-06-07 07:24
Werner,
I think you ask very good questions. Of course the German heritage to clarinet is a jewel to be protected, like the French system, like klezmer music, like... etc.
I don't really think the future of the German system is endangered because one University in Germany took that innovative stance (I don't know what is Trossingen aura in the music/clarinet world in Germany?)
You're right when saying that fingering is not the responsibility of a teacher (not as that level at least I presume) but rather the art of clarinetting and all its forms. This is why I said that in my opinion Chen should learn the German system to make sure he embraces the whole scope.
As a French, I would love to see the opposite situation in France: The paris conservatory welcoming a German system teacher. I am not sure French clarinetists would be more open than their German couterparts!
One last thing. Like most great artists, Sabine Meyer has students. Half of them play the Boehm system.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Robin
Date: 2002-06-07 15:28
At the same time, if a German clarinetist playing Oehler-system clarinets were to apply to teach at Julliard, don't you think they'd have to learn the Boehm system?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-06-07 16:24
I met Michele Zukovsky (principal in LA) several years ago and asked her about her switch from Boehm to Oehler. She said that when she went to Berlin to study with Karl Leister, he told her that he strongly preferred his students to play German system instruments. Since she wanted to get the most from her lessons, and since she preferred the German sound and style, she made the switch. (It probably didn't hurt that Leister could get her a prime pair of Wurlitzers immediately.)
Her father, Kalman Bloch (who preceded her as principal in LA), told me she sounded almost exactly like Simeon Bellison (principal in New York in the 1940s), who played Oehlers.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: werner
Date: 2002-06-07 16:32
Stéphane,
I'm with you and I think even four or five Boehm profs
wouldn't hurt. Just my opinion.
But to give the picture a bit more background:
Trossing isn't that innovative.
Brunner is professor of clarinet in Saarbruecken for
years. When this petition came out two other professorships
were vacant, and in both cases Boehm-players were
first-rated candidates.
I think these petitionists had the feeling to be
in front of a very fast and uncontrolable situation.
But I'm just an amateur, watching all this from a very
far viewpoint and out of this discussion now.
kind regards
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2002-06-07 16:58
Re: Juilliard
There have been several Oehler system students studying at Juilliard in recent years.
David Hattner, NYC
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LaLa
Date: 2002-06-07 18:11
Does Michelle Zukovsky use the German system regularly in the LA Phil?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-06-07 20:36
LaLa -
As far as I know, she's played German system clarinets exclusively for many years.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Liquorice
Date: 2008-11-02 22:16
werner wrote:
"Is a Boehm system player able to represent
the German culture and art of playing the German clarinet?"
Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but the irony of this whole situation has only just occured to me:
Boehm was a GERMAN!!!
OK- it took two Frenchmen to apply Boehm's flute system to the clarinet. But the basic idea came from a German, so the "Boehm system" is actually also a "German system".
Maybe I'll audition for that job in Berlin after all...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mrn
Date: 2008-11-03 02:56
Ken Shaw wrote:
<<Since she wanted to get the most from her lessons, and since she preferred the German sound and style, she made the switch. (It probably didn't hurt that Leister could get her a prime pair of Wurlitzers immediately.)
Her father, Kalman Bloch (who preceded her as principal in LA), told me she sounded almost exactly like Simeon Bellison (principal in New York in the 1940s), who played Oehlers.>>
You know, you also have to wonder if it's not just the instrument itself, but also the style of playing and approach to pedagogy that factors into it, as well. In fact, I wonder if that may actually be more important than the instrument itself. (in the case of some German clarinetists' opposition to Halevi--who eventually got the job, I think).
[ Edit - Geez...I just realized how old this thread is! ]
Post Edited (2008-11-03 04:17)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-11-03 13:09
mrn wrote,
>[ Edit - Geez...I just realized how old this thread is! ]
>
Old and also interesting. Has anyone got a follow-up? What became of Mr. Chen at MusikHochschule of Trossigen after all that controversy?
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2008-11-03 13:24
Lelia Loban wrote:
> Old and also interesting. Has anyone got a follow-up? What
> became of Mr. Chen at MusikHochschule of Trossigen after all
> that controversy?
>
From http://www.clarichen.com:
I was surprised (and later quite amused) to discover in the newspapers that the clarinet section of the Berlin Philharmonic had started a petition calling for my hiring as Professor in Trossingen to be rescinded.
...
I can happily say that the young generation in Germany did not take the friendly advice given to them and that they are now coming to audition for my class in great numbers. Currently half of my students use the German system – much more than almost any professor who signed the petition. (The average numbers in German universities are 25 percent German system and 75 percent French system.)"
The petition is recorded for posterity at http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/2001/07/000608.txt.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-11-03 14:12
From Chen Halevi, quoted in the previous post:
"The average numbers in German universities are 25 percent German system and 75 percent French system."
That statistic leaves me speechless much more than the original post did! This would seem to imply that 75% of clarinet students in German universities have not the slightest ambition to play in a German orchestra.
Is this really the case?
Can anyone else back up this claim of Halevi's? The text of the petition, in the translation I have seen (I have not seen the original German text) certainly suggests that his claim is false.
I selected a German online retailer at random: they sell both systems, but their five bestsellers are all German system, and all cost more than an E-11.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2008-11-03 14:28
Two years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a master class given by Karl Leister. He was phenominal in every way, but one curious thing which I recall is that inspite of using Oehler sysytem clarinets when he demonstrated his musical points, his sound, to my ear, seemed much more "french" than german. He played effortlessly and very expressively with perfectly shaped phrasings, but his sound was not the thick, "heavy" sound I associate with the german school, but rather on the lighter side with rich overtones and, to me, just about perfect in texture. It is too bad that so many people remain hung up on nationalistic predjucies when it comes to "sound" and fail to accept a good "thing" when it is heard. Really, there is no "correct" of "bad" sound, but only those that are appropriate or not. It shouldn't be so much about "where" but more about "what".
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-11-03 14:46
NorbertTheParrot wrote:
Quote:
From Chen Halevi, quoted in the previous post:
"The average numbers in German universities are 25 percent German system and 75 percent French system."
That statistic leaves me speechless much more than the original post did! This would seem to imply that 75% of clarinet students in German universities have not the slightest ambition to play in a German orchestra.
Not necessarily true. Not every German orchestra demands the clarinetist plays the German system. Then, you might lose the local orchestras but win worldwide as those don't make the same fuss about your system. Third - how many orchestra seats are available at all? The sheer number of students is magnitudes higher than the positions, so the individual chances on a pro career in a (top notch) orchestra are pretty dim anyway.
--
Ben
Post Edited (2008-11-03 14:47)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-11-03 15:09
Just to add a little fuel to the fire. If certain players in germany feel so strongly about playing a german instrument, then I think they should not play anything that was written for a different instrument, that means no french and no english music, very little russian, almost no american music, probably nothing that is too old as they then need boxwood traditional instruments.
Actually come to think of it probably most of the music composed pre 1850's should not be played on either German or French modern clarinets. Most of them were made of boxwood. In fact Steve Fox claims Muhlfeld played a boxwood instrument, so I can't really image what the Brahms work sounded like then. Not to mention that the orchestras were tradionally pitched much lower...
So it is OK to play Mozart at A=445 and up with Oehler clarinets when he wrote for A~420, but not ok to use boehm clarinets?
Overall, I find that either you try as hard as possible to keep the tradition living on and actually do play on instruments that the composers wrote for, or try your best to convey the musical ideas that the composer intended with whatever modern tools you have. It is the performer's understanding of the music that matters not the tools he/she uses.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-11-03 15:35
Sylvain - you are missing the point, I think. German players do not insist on German instruments because they believe these are more authentic. I don't think they would deny that, for much of the repertoire, the Boehm instrument is more authentic. For Beethoven and his predecessors, neither is truly authentic, though the German instrument arguably comes closer than the Boehm.
Their purpose is not authenticity. Their purpose is to perpetuate the tradition of German orchestral playing. They believe that this school of playing is of value in itself, and that something worthwhile will be lost if every orchestra in the world were to use the same types of instrument.
Put in this way, their argument makes sense. Indeed it is a shame that the French have not taken a comparable view, and tried to defend the unique sound of their bassoons and horns against the onslaught of the now-ubiquitous German instruments.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mrn
Date: 2008-11-03 16:13
Related to William's post, here's an excerpt from a German music PhD dissertation (by Stephanie Angloher of the U. of Munich) reporting on an interview with Chen Halavi on his experiences playing German and French clarinets and teaching in Germany (my translation from the German):
"As to the different tones of German and French clarinets, Halevi remarks that he is unable to make a typical German sound. In his view, every clarinetist has a different sound-character; every musician has his own sound-ideal, which he tries to achieve. Also, after a change of clarinet or even a complete change of system, every clarinetist, after a period of adjustment, finds his way back to his own personal sound."
Actually this whole dissertation deals with the differences in the instruments, technique, and pedagogy between the French and German schools. The link to download is here: http://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/7344/1/Angloher_Stephanie.pdf I haven't read much of it, but it looks to have some interesting information.
One of the more interesting and amusing parts of the paper is the report of the author's interview with Sabine Meyer and Reiner Wehle, her husband. Some memorable quotes (my translation again, for those who don't speak German--otherwise, I'd just give the link) are:
"He [Wehle] cannot understand how there are musicians who can buy a reed, take it out of the box, and think that one can play a concert on it. That is simply an incredible mistake." (He goes on to talk about how important it is to work on your reeds, even if you don't make them yourself.)
"Additionally he [Wehle] finds it strange that [Daniel] Barenboim lets the clarinetists of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play Brahms and Beethoven on the German system and all other works on the French clarinets customarily used there [in the U.S.]. He senses that this is not a solution, since the clarinetists play better on the Boehm system than on the German clarinets. [Sabine] Meyer also affirms this statement."
"[According to Wehle's view] one should not want to do the same thing with a German clarinet as with a Boehm clarinet. The advantages of the German clarinet he sees as more substance in the tone, more center, and more Stahlkraft [literally, 'steel-strength'], while on the other hand he emphasizes the the flexibility of the French clarinet. The characteristics of both systems should remain preserved. Sabine Meyer, however, also notes that frequently, with the right mouthpiece and reed, students' playing on Boehm clarinets will sound as if they were playing on the German system."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-11-03 16:15
Norbert:
I don't think I am missing the point, I am simply stating that the tradition of German orchestral playing has already not been appropriately preserved, because clarinets found in German orchestras are no more "traditional" than, for example, their reference pitch. This makes this whole debate about tradition a little hypocritical in my opinion.
Nevertheless, to be more to the point, I am not entirely opposed to imposing certain systems in some orchestras, in fact I find myself having a hard time discerning schools of sound these days and in some way find an overall lack of diversity in the sonic landscape of music making. There is an overall homogenization of social, cultural and political practices in our societies that I find very sad.
Yet, there is something fundamentally wrong about not accepting someone in an orchestra/school because their instrument is not traditional, what if their gender or ethnicity were not traditional, would we have this conversation?
There is nothing wrong with having *some* orchestras/schools of only german system instruments, but it is definitely wrong to request that *all* major teachers/players in Germany play Oehler system.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-11-03 17:01
Sylvain - the tradition HAS been preserved. Preserved does not, in this case, mean preserved unchanged for centuries. It means that there is a steady, but essentially conservative, process of evolution. Changing to Boehm would be revolution, not evolution.
An analogy might be the tradition of parliamentary government in the UK. That doesn't mean that our system of government works exactly the same way in 2008 as it did in 1708. It means that we have built on the past in an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, way. The downside is that there are features of our democratic system that seem very archaic and peculiar to the rest of the world.
...........
You write: "Yet, there is something fundamentally wrong about not accepting someone in an orchestra/school because their instrument is not traditional." I can't accept that. Would you insist that a German orchestra accept a violinist who wanted to play his electric violin? Or a percussionist who felt that an electronic drumset could take the place of conventional drums?
I don't think you would. So where would you draw the line? How about if the player had a truly fabulous wind synthesiser that sounded EXACTLY like an Oehler?
..........
I think there is a more subtle point here. An orchestra is not just the sum of its individual players. If you took 20 players from each of five top-class orchestras, from five different countries, and put them together in a hall, you would not automatically have a top-class orchestra. Just as with a sports team, the interaction between the players is important too. The German orchestras believe, I think, that it is important to recruit players who have been trained in a particular tradition, where part of that tradition is the use of a particular type of instrument. This is not a matter of one design of instrument being better than another, nor of one tradition of playing being better than another. It is not even, necessarily, a matter of difference of sound. It might well be that, in a blind audition, a Boehm player might manage to sound "more Oehler than Oehler" and might win the audition. That isn't the point. What matters is not the instrument, nor even the sound quality of the instrument, nor the authenticity of that instrument with respect to a particular piece of music. What matters is the tradition in which the player has been trained.
Of course, there is also a little matter of keeping German jobs for Germans, to the exclusion of the alien hordes. I'm not naive enough to suppose that there isn't a bit of protectionism here too.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-11-03 17:02
Sylvain wrote:
> Yet, there is something fundamentally wrong about not accepting
> someone in an orchestra/school because their instrument is not
> traditional, what if their gender or ethnicity were not
> traditional, would we have this conversation?
I faintly remeber some discussion about the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, about exactly that subject. (I still shake my head about that dork (a VPO member) who made a statement about gender and ethnicity of both orchestra and audience)
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sarah Elbaz
Date: 2008-11-03 18:55
I am sure that most of the people who signed that petition would like to forget it.
They didn't try to protect the German clarinet- they were worried about their jobs. German players can teach only in Germany, and if French players will take teaching positions , Gernam teachers will get less opportunities.
The most amusing side of this story is that the Berlin Phil clarinet players and Sabine Meyer both signed the petition- they should have known that a scandal will only help Chen Halevi. After all Sabine Meyer started her amaizing career because of the scandal with the Berlin Phil. People have short memory.
Sarah
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-11-03 18:59
"What matters is the tradition in which the player has been trained."
Why did James Gallway and Emmanuel Pahud get to hold principal jobs in Berlin? There is nothing German about their training. If anything they had a french flute upbringing. I am sure there are many others.
With respect to electronic instrument in the orchestra, I feel the same way as I do with regards to boehm vs oehler. If someone plays Poulenc or Brahms or Copland clarinet sonatas on an EWI and I *hear* Poulenc, Brahms or Copland clarinet sonatas, I could not care less what type of instrument the musician plays. I am interested in what the musician has to tell me.
Of course, I have also great interest in hearing Brahms on Muhlfeld's clarinet or Mozart's symphonies on period instruments.
In the end I am playing devil's advocate, and probably agree more with teh german than one may think. I truly believe that there are enough tonal and timbre differences between these instruments to promote their use when the *music calls for it*. Actually the idea of forcing the Chicago clarinet section to switch instruments for certain German repertoire is in my opinion a good thing, because in this case it appears the motivation is musical.
However, I abide by the principle that if one can sound like an early 19th century D clarinet on a kazoo, then go ahead and play Symphonie Fantastique on a kazoo.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
Post Edited (2008-11-03 23:53)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2008-11-03 19:57
"then go ahead and play Symphonie Fantastique on a kazoo."
And all this time I've been struggling with an effer for those solos.......(lol)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
