Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Vienna Bruckner 8


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Posted by B.G. on March 22, 2002 at 03:40:13:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Vienna Bruckner 8 posted by Or on March 22, 2002 at 03:13:11:

Please do your homework first. Study the history of woodwinds in Boston; New York; and Cleveland, just for starters. Nobody here talked about Chicago being the king of orchestras at all. American w.w's are not, in general, "loud and crass".

You're correct about one thing: the woodwinds in the VPO are good for the repertoire that they've specialized in since day one. However, they sound slightly out of place in Debussy; Ravel; Tchaikovsky; Shostakovich; and sometimes, even Mahler. The Vienna oboe is much closer to the baroque period oboe, and tends to cut quite loudly. They like that quality for Bruckner in particular. I know, because I've talked to some of their members about that. They do use Albert system clarinets, and they are, in fact, very good. The Viennese bassoons, however, are very small sounding. Like the oboes, they use bassoons that are closer to those of the baroque period. For whatever reason, they usually just don't cut very well. Listen to the bassoons in the Concertgebouw someday, along with the rest of their woodwinds.

Now, let's clarify something - I never said that the VPO isn't one of the great orchestras of the world. All I asked for, was that people not generalize and trash American orchestras in the process. The kind of great sound that the VPO gets in Bruckner #8 does not work equally well in all other repertoire. If it did, then every orchestra on earth would be copying them. If anything, the VPO has been in the process of becoming more like other orchestras of the world. Not every orchestra in America sounds like the CSO on a bad day, either. Sorry, but they just don't. If you don't believe that, then please spend some time in Cleveland; S.F.; or even Dallas. I've heard great sounds in all three of those cities.

Barry Guerrero


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