Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2016-09-27 19:29
John,
First of all, before going on with your other points, allow me to say in response to your (1) that my remark about "low intellectual level" wasn't directed at you. It was a response to the 'argument' here:Quote:
In several recent performance of Berlin Phil, they all played Beethoven No.9 in B and A clarinets. I guess if top orchestras accept the fact that C clarinet is not really necessary, then there is really no need to argue we must play Beethoven 1, 5 and 9 using C clarinet for certain part (also Schubert Great etc.) ...and what I said was, if that's the level of the discussion, then the debate is over.
In your (2), you say:Quote:
I think you are asserting that Beethoven did choose the C clarinet in op 61 on grounds of sound, but can you clarify the argument? No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that Beethoven wrote the slow movement for clarinet in C, Beethoven is a composer whom I choose to obey if I can, and there's an end to what I can contribute to the matter. Neither you nor I can know what Beethoven's reasons were, and I for one am not tempted to second-guess someone of his stature.
But of course there is more to say. As performers we are free to do whatever we like; and that's why I don't condemn your use of the A clarinet in the slow movement. The classic dilemma that confronts us is expressed very well by Charles Rosen when he writes:Quote:
"It is the moral duty of a performer to choose what he thinks is the musically superior version, whatever the composer's clearly marked intention--it is also the moral responsibility of a pianist to try to convince himself that the composer knew what he was doing." What people typically do in this situation is try to justify their coming down on one side or the other, saying things like, "well, Beethoven was very careless," or, "wasn't he deaf or something," or, "he wasn't a clarinet player"...
What they should do is to say, yes, you're right, it should be on a C clarinet. On this occasion, however, the church was freezing cold/my C clarinet didn't have a good enough reed on it/I don't HAVE a C clarinet/...
...so I CHOSE not to obey Beethoven's explicit instructions.
That way, you get to make a moral choice, and take responsibility for it, instead of indulging in flights of fancy which amount to nothing more than excuses.
In your (3) you seem to suggest that C and Eb clarinets have a particular nature in and of themselves. But what playing on a particular instrument does is to make available a range of possible sounds that differs from the range of possible sounds available on another. It's up to the player to play in a way that is appropriate to the circumstances.
Notice, by the way, the different scorings of this tune as the movement goes on: clarinet plus high strings/bassoon plus low strings/tutti forte strings with wind interjections/pizzicato piano strings plus violin decorations of the melody. You want to keep the sorbet distinct from the chocolate ice...
In your (4) you write:Quote:
You also seem to reject any suggestion that being unwilling to play on a cold instrument should be a factor in musical choices. No, I hope I've made it clear that under some circumstances I might play the movement on the 'wrong' clarinet. But I would there be responding to a particular situation, not making a general argument.
I like to say that this sort of thing, going along with Rosen's formulation, constitutes a 'moral' choice. Sometimes people misunderstand that, and think I am saying that it's 'immoral' to play on a different clarinet.
But that's not it at all. What I'm saying tries to go beyond the notion that 'morality' consists of obeying rules. That's just automaticity. You make a moral choice when you accept that there are plausible reasons for both alternatives, and YOU get to choose between them.
Tony
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The Clarinet BBoard
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