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Neidich Awarded the Schuman Scholars Chair By VIVIAN FUNG
Charles Neidich, a member of the clarinet and chamber music faculty since 1989, is the recipient of this year's William Schuman Scholars Chair. Created in 1998 through a generous grant from Juilliard trustee Kenneth S. Davidson and Marya Martin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Literature and Materials of Music department at Juilliard, the Scholars Chair is awarded each year to a faculty member who has made significant contributions both to the intellectual and artistic life of the Juilliard community. The selected faculty member gives two lecture-performances during the spring semester.
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| Charles Neidich (Photo by Masahiro Nakahara) |
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Mr. Neidich's first presentation, "Instruments and Autographs: A Look at Period Instruments, Manuscripts, and (But Not Only) the Music of Mozart," was presented on March 17. His second, "Craft and Drama: How Understanding the Craft of Brahms' Composition Will Lead to a More Compelling Performance," will be offered on April 14 in Paul Hall at 11 a.m.As he took a break between coaching sessions for a Shostakovich trio one evening, I sat down with Mr. Neidich to find out more about the topics of the lectures. "Yes, the titles bear some explanation," he admitted—adding that the first lecture was really three mini-lectures molded into one. "I wanted to show how playing period instruments and looking carefully at manuscripts complement each other, how playing period instruments can help illuminate the phrasing which composers had in mind, and how editions which supposedly adhere to the manuscript can be way off the mark." While he concentrated on Mozart in the first lecture-performance, he included examples from other composers such as Weber—"who wrote very specifically with certain instruments in mind, and whose music is plagued by bad editions."Just how does looking at manuscripts affect a performer's interpretation of a work? "Manuscripts can reveal certain details that existing editions can often overlook," explained Mr. Neidich. "These details can range from misinterpreted notes to intangibles such as subtle differences in the notation of dynamics, accents, and so on. Editions—even so-called scholarly ones—will more often than not standardize markings in ways that go against composers' intentions." As a particularly blatant example, he cited Bärenreiter's treatment of Schubert: "Schubert took great pains to write accents of differing lengths and shape. Sometimes there are accents extending over more than one bar. Bärenreiter consolidated all those different shapes into modern, short accents, with often ludicrous results."While editions of Mozart may have been spared such gross editorial irresponsibility, said Mr. Neidich, they have subtler problems. "Looking at autograph scores of Mozart, for example, shows just how precisely Mozart's notation mirrors the expression he was after." In his first lecture, Mr. Neidich demonstrated how the manuscript fragment of the Clarinet Concerto helped him realize what Mozart wanted. "The manuscript is different from what appears in any existing edition," he said. "When I first looked at it, these differences jumped out at me!"
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Charles Neidich: William Schuman Scholars Chair Lecture
Paul Hall
Wednesday, April 14, 11 a.m.
Free; no tickets required.
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And what about Brahms—did looking at his manuscripts change Mr. Neidich's perception of the composer's work? His examination of the two Clarinet Sonatas had an outcome similar to the Mozart scores. "In other words, I found details in the manuscripts which were not correct in any current edition, and which finally made sense," he said. "The Brahms manuscripts are also fascinating because they are the only complete examples of working manuscripts of the composer's major works that have remained. As a rule, Brahms destroyed anything before the fair copy which he prepared for publication. Luckily for us, instead of destroying the Clarinet Sonata manuscripts, he gave them to his friend, the great clarinet virtuoso, Richard Mühlfeldt, and they remained unnoticed with his descendants until just a few years ago. None of the current editions take note of them, because they were all published before anyone knew they existed."But what exactly does the "Craft and Drama" in the title of his second lecture refer to, I asked him. "The First and Second Sonatas—although apparently so different from each other—are actually based on the same materials: the opening four bars of the First Sonata, which I believe Brahms derived from the last chorale of the Saint Matthew Passion," he explained. "While I will concentrate on the Second Sonata (I spoke to the L&M class last year about the First Sonata), I will show how the sonatas are also related to the Trio, Op. 114, and the Quintet, Op. 115. What is most important, though, is that, in Brahms, there are certain passages that seem awkward at first—but that is because Brahms's mind worked in very complex ways. Once one examines how Brahms composed those passages, one can recognize what he was after. Then, ultimately, the performer can play the passage with a deeper understanding."Playing period instruments also shows us more about what a composer wanted, said Mr. Neidich. "A performer can begin to appreciate how the instrument inspired the composer, how it led the composer to write in a particular way, and also how the writing pushed the boundaries of the instrument. For instance, when I play period instruments, I get a wonderful sense of how revolutionary a composer Mozart was—the Clarinet Concerto has, to my knowledge, the first melody for the clarinet in the low register! That is why I say that when I play old music on period instruments, I feel like I am playing very new music." Mr. Neidich's first lecture included a demonstration of historical instruments, as well as a talk about how playing them can change and improve the way we play modern instruments.For those curious to view the manuscripts discussed in Mr. Neidich's lectures, the Bärenreiter Neue Mozart-Ausgabe volume of the Clarinet Concerto includes a facsimile of the manuscript fragment. The Brahms manuscripts reside at the Morgan Library, which is currently under renovation—but viewing the collection can be done on a limited basis before the library reopens in 2006.Vivian Fung, a member of the L&M faculty, earned her D.M.A. in composition in 2002.
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