CMNC

Editor's note: Rebecca Hang is the violinist of the Felici Piano Trio, which since 1998 has been Ensemble-in-Residence with the Mono County Arts Council in Mammoth Lakes, CA, through a Rural Residency Grant from Chamber Music America.  She and the other members of the Felici Trio were much-appreciated coaches at the February CMNC workshop.  Ms Hang kindly agreed to an email interview by The Chamber Musician on the subject of wind-string music.

Rebecca Hang:  I approach coaching a mixed group basically in the same manner as a string group, starting with the musical text. One of the most satisfying experiences in playing chamber music is the deepening of our appreciation for a composer's work through a detailed study of the musical content and intricate craftsmanship of a piece.  This is true for a Beethoven quartet or the Spohr Nonet, which is written for violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn, alike.

When winds are involved, I do, of course, acknowledge that my expertise is in string playing and that I have limited knowledge of wind technique.  Nevertheless, I believe that musicians can always learn from each other, independent of the instrument on which they perform.

From my time with the Felici String Quartet, I do have very distinct ideas about balance and intonation in an all-string group, but ensembles that involve wind instruments need a flexible approach.   In particular, gauging dynamic levels in the individual instruments' lines requires care.  In this it is very much like in a piano trio, where the string players have less freedom in exploring exotic colors on the soft side of the spectrum.  The wind instruments involved will, in many ways, determine the specifics.

The Chamber Musician:  What are the problems or challenges players should be aware of when playing in mixed groups?

Rebecca Hang:  Common problems in mixed groups include intonation, balance, gauging of dynamic levels and projection of the different instruments.  Some wind instruments (e.g. the clarinet) tend to sound sharp in the low register and flat in the high register.  Each wind instrument has a natural range of dynamic levels that has to be taken into account.  Most horn players' piano sound would qualify as a mezzoforte by a string player.

Everybody in the group has to be aware of the various instruments' requirements for tone production.  The matching of colors and articulation and the smooth passing of melodic lines pose additional challenges.  When playing in a mixed group, don't always go for the homogenous sonority of a string quartet.  Know that wind instruments respond differently than string instruments. E.g. string players might feel that they have to slightly "delay" their playing after a cue.

Some wind players use vibrato, some don't. From the musical context, you have to decide when to try to smoothen discrepancies between instrumental colors and when you might actually want to emphasize those differences.  Be adventurous; experiment with the possibilities of the ensemble's timbre palette.

The Chamber Musician:  What do you see as the advantages of cross-category playing?

Rebecca Hang:  The biggest advantage is that you can learn a lot from each other, if you are curious, open-minded and adventurous.  You will develop greater flexibility in your approach to all chamber music repertoire.  Specifically, string players can learn from a wind player's breathing technique, and the way breathing influences phrasing.  Likewise, wind players can profit from observing how string players use the possibilities of their bows, which in turn often influence their phrasing.

Both wind intonation issues can be very educational.  Instead of "submitting" to certain known tendencies, musicians should consciously develop and hone their inner ear hearing skills.  Each player should anticipate the "correct" pitch and then critically adjust, if what sounds out of his/her instrument does not match this expectation.

To practice this, the group agrees to imagine a certain pitch/note, and then everybody takes turns in playing it. This exercise will sharpen your ears to pitch independent of tone color, and will increase the level of comfort between the members of the group. You will feel freer to play for each other and communicate your thoughts through making music!

The Chamber Musician:  What is your favorite repertoire for mixed groups?

Rebecca Hang:  I adore both the Mozart and the Brahms clarinet quintets.  They are on the top of my list of all chamber music, not just in the "mixed group" category.  I find them extremely difficult but also highly rewarding to play. This said, there is a LOT of wonderful repertoire that unfortunately doesn't get the attention it deserves, from either professional or amateur groups.  The Robert Kahn Quintet is an excellent example: formally well crafted, beautiful musical ideas in the vein of Brahms and Schumann and a highly original ensemble of piano, violin, cello, clarinet and horn.

Thank you CMNC players for introducing me not only to this piece, but to a composer whose name I had never heard before!  If you want to research new repertoire, try the "Norton Anthology of Women Composers" or Arthur Cohn's "Literature of Chamber Music." You can also go straight to different publishing houses and ask for their catalogues.   To recommend but a few lesser-known compositions by well-known composers, check out Max Reger's Serenades for flute, violin and viola, as well as his Clarinet Quintet.  You could also try Prokofiev's Quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass, and his Overture on Hebrew Themes for clarinet, string quartet and piano, or Mozart's Quintet for horn, violin, two violas, and cello.

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