 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Gobboboy
Date: 2005-11-19 12:39
Next week I'm taking part in a master class with Andrew Marriner (principle of the London Symphony Orchestra)
I'm playing Brahms Sonata No1 but only the slow movement (Andanto un poco adagio) as there are three of us involved so time will be precious etc..
Does anyone have any comments on this movement and how to get the best from it? what might Andrew be looking for? etc..
I think I have it pretty well nailed, the only thing that slightly concerns me is breath control - the phrases are quite long and in places quite loud and I find it hard sometimes to get to the next breath with out turning blue!
there will be quite a few important musical faces from my area there so really want impress - any help would be really welcome!
Gobboboy.....
Post Edited (2005-11-19 12:40)
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Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2005-11-19 13:21
Good choice of repertoire to work on with Andrew.
I can foresee plenty of discussion on sound quality ("what he will be looking for") just hope he demonstrates for you!
I was fortunate to see Andrew regularly for four years. Over that time discussion moved from the technical aspects of making a beautiful sound (via tonguing, fingers and everything else...) to talking about the music itself.
Don't be put off or surprised if he spends the whole class on a few notes, many people have been there.
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Author: Gobboboy
Date: 2005-11-19 13:35
Thanks Danny -
you are so lucky to have had regular lesson with him! I'm afraid I went through the 'university of life' instead of music college - one of my big regrets....ho hum!
Will concentrate on sound quality and 'Brahms' then....
Cheers
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-11-19 15:00
Search here.
There is a wonderful, measure-by-measure discusion of this movement.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-11-19 15:21
Gobboboy -
Practice the movement using the piano part, so you can see everything that goes on. The Brahms Clarinet Sonatas are not really solo pieces, but duos for the two instruments, with the lead constantly switching back and forth. You need to know the piano part just as well as you know the clarinet part.
Listen to recordings, following along in the piano part, noticing and marking where you have the lead and where the piano has it. Where you have the accompanying part, be sure to hand the line off to the pianist and stay out of the way, and taking the solo line when the pianist hands it back.
Once you know your part well, play the recording listening to the other parts rather than yours. For example, follow along listening to the bass line, and then the top of the piano right hand line, and then the middle parts, so that you know them all.
Then listen just to the harmony, marking the points where the chord changes happen. Learn to play so that your phrasing points correspond to the harmonic rhythm.
At the beginning of the slow movement, for example, you play 3 beats on F, followed by F slurring to Eb. You can't just play the first F as a long note. The pianist plays two chords underneath you. Pull back slightly on the second beat and let the piano's movement to energize you. This keeps the line moving, so that the following F is the 4th note you and the audience hear.
Similarly, in the second bar, the rhythm keeps ticking, even though you don't move on the second and third beats. This sets the rhythm for your moving figure that follows.
Brahms plays with this pattern over and over, always making it a bit different and more and more complicated. The movement is like Old MacDonald Had a Farm, repeating the same idea but adding something new each time. Your job is to recognize the original material each time it comes back, show it to the audience and then show how Brahms adds to it.
Brahms was a great scholar of earlier music and used many contrapuntal devices. For example, the three-note descending figure Eb-D-C, at the end of the first measure and the beginning of the second, comes back often, both in that form and inverted, as a rising scale.
Once you become aware of what Brahms is doing, these devices jump out all over the place Your job then is to find them all, make sure you understand them, put them back into their context, and play so that everything is smooth, yet the music has a beautiful iridescence.
The more you bring to the class, the more Andrew M. can teach you.
Oh yes. When AM suggests something, don't step on his finish. He will often have something else to say. Think about for a second or two, take a good breath and play it right. This lets you, him and the audience relax.
Have fun, and let us know how it goes.
Ken Shaw
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2005-11-19 16:44
Great selection for a class, most students seek to play something very technically difficult to "impress" the others present at the class. I don't have much to add to Ken Shaw's posting on the movement other than pay careful attention to the dynamics that Brahms has written. Also, I often hear this movement played too slowly, it's only Andante un poco adagio. Also, when interpreting the sustained notes in the piece, think of how the sound of the piano decays, and how the acoustics of the clarinet allow you to sustain. Then decide when it's better to imitate the piano with tonal decay and when it's better to use the unique ability of the clarinet in this setting to sustain to create different textures.
Good luck!
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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