Loevendie Duo for solo bass clarinet -- So you want to be (an advanced) bass clarinet player
IMO one of the strongest pieces in the bass clarinet solo repertoire. Theo Loevendie's "Duo" was one of the first pieces I learned with Harry Sparnaay back in 1989 during my year in Amsterdam. Topics discussed this week: • Rhythmic integrity -- Rhythm is something, as a musician, must be *felt* and not *thought.* It is an inherently physical activity, and I am influenced by the teachings of Dalcroze Eurythmics which expresses concepts of rhythm, structure, and musical expression using movement. So, in other words, using the rhythms of your body as a metronome, you are able to keep time. • The notion of using characters as a way of interpreting music. Kind of like being a character actor musician. Especially in a piece of new music, it's important to have this as a way of organizing a piece for an audience.
