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Re: Dvorak 9 question

Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2018-12-26 08:45

To put this thing in perspective, we all play passages with a "wrong" clarinet because of various practical reasons. No one wants to start a solo in Brahms' 3rd having a ligature and reed in the left hand and the rest of the instrument in the right! It's only decades ago, that we played all the C-parts transposing, because no one had any C-clarinets. We even demanded the ability to transpose prima vista in examinations. And even now if you play something with a C-clarinet, the conductors don't seem to even notice any difference if you succeed in playing that "thing" in tune. Also one may wonder how deep thought have the old masters had in choosing the clarinet in their instrumentation, i have even had a feeling that there tends to be more c-parts towards the end of certain operas. (The dead-line looming?) We also know, that we can't use a c-clarinet in Brahms' 4th, because the part goes below the instrument's compass. How many low e-flats have we found from Bb-clarinet parts? Trumpets seem to transpose quite a lot making life easier. Modern horns of course play everything with the same instrument (or using the "small" horn with very high parts).

Yes, i use c-clarinet quite a lot nowadays, now that that instrument exists again. I feel, that f.ex in Berlioz's symphonie phantastique it's a real game-changer. If i perform Mozart's 3rd clarinet quartet, i play it with a C-clarinet, unlike Dieter Klöcker seems to do in his world premiere recording...

Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland

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Dvorak 9 question new

Dan Oberlin

2018-05-15 20:56