First, Orrin Olson, my undergrad teacher, did the Britten with piano a
year or two before I went to college. I didn't hear it. I'm very
familiar with the pianist he used, and her work was always above any
kind of reproach. He told me this occasion was no exception.
Nonetheless, he said he'd NEVER do it again without a conductor
because there are too many tricky ensemble bits. (I don't recall the
details, if he gave any; this story is old enough to be your father.
<g>) Learn from his advice. Orrin Olson is a very fine musician and
horn player.
Second, and perhaps most important, NOWHERE in the full score (I have
it, and I have looked at it recently) does Britten say to play the
prologue and epilogue on a natural horn. He merely says to play them
on the natural harmonics. Those are two related, but, in the final
analysis, entirely different things. To be blunt, I think finding any
excuse, however lame (and this one's as lame as they get, IMHO), to
trot out a natural horn is just plain wrong headed.
Which leads to Third, one of my slightly older fellow students, who
did attend the performance mentioned in the first paragraph above,
related the story of the guy sitting behind her who whispered "Can't
he hear he's out of tune?" So you probably do want to mention the
characteristics of the harmonic series.
For those who never knew Orrin Olson, his intonation was always
impeccable. If you ever heard him play out of tune, you had one of
those "stories for the grandchildren" experiences. In sum, he most
assuredly could tell he was "out of tune" in the Britten prologue and
epilogue.
Soapbox mode off. Let the flaming begin.
Howard Sanner
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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