Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2018-11-01 21:31
In another thread, the following assertion was made.
"today's young clarinetists, on the whole, are more technically advanced than any other generation."
Note the qualifier, "on the whole." I've gotten a similar impression of other instrumentalists. Many performers now, even in lower-tier positions, have techniques that would blow away some of the famous names from the earlier days of recording. That's not universally so; there have always been truly spectacular techniques here and there, as people with extreme talent were sometimes compulsive practicers in every era. But generally speaking, my ears agree with the assertion.
The same kind of thing is said in sports, though there the issue is clouded by today's widespread use of performance enhancing drugs.
Do you agree? Is the current generation of symphony and solo clarinetists better technically than were those of Wright, Gigliotti, Drucker, Bonade, McLane, Marcellus, etc? We are blessed to have recordings to make some comparisons, but some posters here worked or studied side-by-side with high-level people from several generations.
Why would technique get better? The basic human physics are the same, no? - and I see little evidence that people in general are getting smarter.
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