Recensies uit de PSO periode o.a. uit de Palestinian Post

Klarinettist Gys Karten ( de ij van Gijs kennen ze niet in buitenland) heeft dikwijls als solist opgetreden in Israel, Egypte, Syrië, Libanon, Frankrijk, België, Duitsland en Nederland.
De kranten recensies over zijn successen in al die landen zijn in knipsels door Lena, zijn vrouw, allemaal bewaard in drie grote knipselboeken maar zijn zo talrijk dat er bijna geen doorkomen aan is.
Wij hebben er enkele geselecteerd uit zijn drie belangrijkste periodes:
1. Van 1937 - 1946: Solo klarinettist bij het Palestine Symphony Orchestra
2. Van 1946 - 1949: solo klarinettist bij het Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest
3. Van 1949 tot aan zijn pensioen : solo klarinettist bij de Nederlandse Radio Unie

Deze pagina een kleine greep over zijn periode bij het PSO, of kortweg Palestine Orchestra

P.O. Soloist

Gys Karten solo clarinet of the Palestine Orchestra is now appearing for the first time at a subscription oncert in the Orchestra"s fourth series which opened in Haifa last night.
Mr. Karten, who is of Dutch origin, joined de P.O. in 1937 and prior to that played as an additional musician on the Mengelberg Orchestra on the Amsterdam Radio. He also made numerous appearences on the recital platform.
In the present series he plays the Mozart Clarinet Concierto under the baton of Michael Taube. The other items on the programme are the "Hafiner"symfony by Mozart and Beethoven"s second symphony.
The Tel Aviv concert takes place on Sunday night at the Ohel Hall ande the series comes to and end in Jerusalem next
Thursday at the Edison.



Duplicates of some critics

Concerts given by the Palestine Orchestra in Egypt, Palestine and Syria.
Soloist Gys Karten. Conductor M. Taube.
"As for the clarinet, Gys Karten's sureness of tone is phenominal, and his phrasing and clear untroubled musicianship were the guarantee of a really fine performance.
Gys Karten was magnificent from all points of view; he showed himself with a real affinity for the composer and his facile technique, beauty of tone and truly Mozartian phrasing made it a delightful performance".

"Gys Karten scored an exceptional succes as the first clarinettist to be heard in Egypt. Gys Karten played the Mozart Concerto with a warmth and purity of tone, which decisively convinced the audience of the possibilities of the clarinet".

"...Mr.Karten ne joue pas de la clarinette, il fait de la vie. On ne sauret parler de la technique avec laquelle il a mené le concerto de Mozart. Elle est insaississable à force de perfecion. Sa clarinette vit intensément creé de l'âme. Oeuvre sans doute admirable mais qui trouve exécutant à sa taille. On rencontre rarement un aussi grand clarinettiste.La virtuosité de Mr. Karten utilise les hombreux régistres de la clarinette avec une souplesse, une précision technique, une diversité de timbres remarquables".


Clarinettist scores in Mozart Concerto>
By John Argy

The second concert of the Palestine Orchestra, which was also conducted by Michael Taube, at the Ewart Memorial Hall last night, provides quiet but sustained enjoyment. The programme was once again kept to familiar lines, consisting of well-known works by three classical composers: Bach, Mozart and Händel.
It was good to hear this type of music played as presumably the composers had written it - not by a swollen orchestra of 70- odd musicians, but by one of chamber proportions.
The soloist of the evening was Gys Karten, the orchestra's brilliant young clarinet player, who took a distinguished part in the concert.
The conductor was at de pianoforte for Bach's sixth Brandenburg Concierto, the first item of the program. This work is slighter than its five companions and the absence of violins and the prominence of the darkley- coloured violas give it a character of deep austerity. The players' performance of this work was unnecessarily solid, and at times ragged, giving one the impression of having been under-rehearsed. Taube fell into the trap of over-emphasising the severe lines of the composition, which the result that it sounded much more somber and heavy than it really is.
As I have indicated in passing, Gys Karten's playing of Mozart's Clarinet Concierto was superb. His tone never wavered,his phrasing was perfect. He never attempted to outshine the orchestra bu filled in his part with admirable judgment and richly deserved his applause.
The concert concluded with a lively performance of Haydn's Symphony in D major(The Clock).

"Mozart's "Concerto for Clarinet"is a living illustration of this(..) evolution. It gives the soloist every opportunity to display his exceptional talents and Gys Karten, who gave a remarkable performance full of brio and fire, is a clarinettist who took full advantage of the opportunity".

"....und die tiefe Lyriek des letzten Instrumentalswerks von Mozart, des herrlichen Klarinettenkonzertes, das kaum volkommener gespielt werden kann als Gys Karten es interpretiert hat...."