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Re: Marcello Concerto

Author: oboedrew
Date: 2009-03-11 05:14

Well said, wkleung and bobo. Sometimes even the greatest orchestral players give dreadful performances of Bach cantatas and Telemann partitas. We should expect as much. After all, they were not trained to perform Bach and Telemann. That repertoire has been largely abandoned by modern symphonies.

I've ruffled a few feathers in the past by suggesting (only semi-facetiously) to orchestral players that winning an audition requires only that your performance of a handful of late Romantic period excerpts divorced entirely from any musical context be found less offensive than that of your competitors to a jury of a half dozen equally boring musicians. :D

I do enjoy orchestral music, and I have great admiration for the players who perform it well. But it is unfortunate that such players are often put on a pedestal and expected to be knowledgeable about many other sorts of music. I think the oboe world would be better off if we all had more realistic expectations. Leading orchestral players are where they are because they are highly consistent and because they have extraordinary technique and control, not because they are especially learned.

During my student days, I learned that it's best to play orchestral excerpts when an orchestral player gives a masterclass, unless that player is known to be a competent interpreter of other repertoire. Playing Marcello for many orchestral players makes about as much sense as playing Basie or Coltrane, or Green Day, or Dylan. It's just not their field.

Well, it's late, and I'm rambling, and I see that this thread has wandered far from its original topic, so I'm off to bed.

Cheers,
Drew

www.oboedrew.com

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Marcello Concerto new

kdk

2009-03-08 00:15