On 24 Mar 2008, at 3:17 PM, Ray Horton wrote:
Wow, Darcy, the classical players with which you sometimes work
sound like the jazz players with which I sometimes work!
Of course there are jazz players with bad time. But all the other jazz
musicians know that these players have bad time, and hate working with
them.
Seriously - what kind of players are you talking about?
You remember the vogue in the 90's for big-name classical soloists
recording Piazzolla?
Did you ever listen to any of those recordings? And compare them to
Piazzolla's own recordings of those works? It's utterly embarrassing.
Do you remember the splash this summer surrounding Gustavol Dudamel
and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela? Perhaps you saw
the YouTube clip of them performing the "Mambo" from the Symphonic
Dances from West Side Story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cuzcz8Tjs0
If you look past the showboating (twirling trumpets, etc.), what's
really remarkable about this performance is that it is actually tight.
If recordings are any indication, the New York Phil never played the
"Mambo" half as well, even under Bernstein.
I also heard the SBYO play Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. I've heard
this work many times (in Montreal, in Boston, and in New York, on
recordings), and the final movement has always been, at best, barely
under control and sloppy around the edges. I can't tell you how
satisfying it was to finally hear a version with crisp attacks, solid
entrances, and a rock-solid pulse.
The general lack of rhythmic authority amongst orchestral musicians is
the reason Steve Reich stopped writing for orchestra. He talks about
it here:
http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/interview_reich.html
Why? Starting in 1987
did the Four Sections which Michael did,
very beautifully. I nevertheless felt this is not a worthwhile
direction for me to follow. I write very rhythmically complex,
intricate music. Thats its lifes blood most of the time. And if
you have more than one person on a part it becomes increasingly
difficult to articulate that with clarity.
But, of course, it *is* possible for a large orchestral string section
to articulate with clarity -- I've heard it. The reason it doesn't
happen more often is that most professional orchestral string players
have poor time and a lack of rhythmic authority.
Cheers,
- Darcy
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
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