FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC A ...

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO LEARNING ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS
FOR CELLO
By
ZLATINA STAYKOVA
A Treatise submitted to the
College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music
Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester 2009

The members of the Committee approve the Treatise of Zlatina Staykova defended on
April 21, 2009.
__________________________________
Gregory Sauer
Professor Directing Treatise
___________________________________
Charles Brewer
Outside Committee Member
__________________________________
Carolyn Bridger
Committee Member
__________________________________
Beth Newdome
Committee Member
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members.
ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the members of my committee Dr. Carolyn Bridger, Dr. Charles
Brewer, Beth Newdome and my major professor, Gregory Sauer. Their guidance and expertise
helped me in the realization of this treatise and through the years of my studies at the Florida
State University. A would like to express a very special thanks to my friend, Alexandra
Dotcheva, without whose editorial corrections and constant encouragement, I would have not
finished this treatise. I am also grateful to the late Lubomir Georgiev, my teacher with whom I
spent the most time working on these excerpts. I would also like to thank my husband, Boyan
Bonev, for his invaluable support, care, and assistance.
iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Musical Examples…………………………………………………………………….. v
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………. vii
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1
I. BEETHOVEN …………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67............................................................................
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93............................................................................. 18
II. BRAHMS………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73............................................................................ 25
III. DEBUSSY………………………………………………………………………………... 33
La Mer........................................................................................................................... 33
IV. MENDELSSOHN………………………………………………………………………... 41
Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61…………………………... 41
V. MOZART…………………………………………………………………………………. 51
Symphony No. 35 Haffner in D major, K. 385………………………………………. 51
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550………………………………………………... 55
VI. STRAUSS………………………………………………………………………………... 61
Don Juan, Op. 20……………………………………………………………………... 61
VII. TCHAIKOVSKY………………………………………………………………………... 68
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36…………………………………………………. 68
VIII. VERDI………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Requiem………………………………………………………………………………. 75
APPENDICES……...………………………………………………………………………… 84
1. MOZART: SYMPHONY NO. 35 HAFFNER IN D MAJOR, K. 385…….………………. 84
2. RICHARD STRAUSS: DON JUAN, OP. 20, MM. 1–49…………………………………. 88
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................... 95
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………………………. 99
iv

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Example 1.1. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, theme, mm. 1–10…………………………… 9
Example 1.2. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, fingerings, mm. 1–10……………………….. 11
Example 1.3a and 1.3b. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, bowings, mm. 1–10 ……………... 11
Example 1.4. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, first variation, mm. 37–60…………………... 12
Example 1.5. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, fingerings, mm. 49–59……………………… 13
Example 1.6. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, second variation, mm. 98–106……………... 14
Example 1.7a. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, fingerings avoiding A string,
mm. 98–106 ………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
Example 1.7b. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, fingerings, mm. 98–106…………………… 16
Example 1.8. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, second variation in f dynamic,
mm. 113–123…………………………………………………………………………………. 17
Example 1.9. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, fingerings, mm. 114–123…………………... 18
Example 1.10. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, mm. 45–78……………………………….. 21
Example 1.11a and 1.11b. Beethoven, Symphony No.8, III, fingerings, mm. 53–56……….. 22
Example 1.12. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, fingerings, mm. 45–78…………………… 23
Example 1.13a and 1.13b. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, bowings, mm. 45–53………… 23
Example 1.14. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, bowings, mm. 64–78……………………... 24
Example 2.1. Beethoven, String Quartet Op. 59, No.1, III, mm. 1–13………………………. 28
Example 2.2. Brahms, Symphony No. 2, II, mm. 1–14……………………………………… 28
Example 2.3. Brahms, Symphony No.2, II, fingerings and bowings, mm. 1–12……………. 30
Example 3.1. Debussy, La Mer, I, mm. 84–93………………………………………………. 36
Example 3.2. Debussy, La mer, I, fingerings and bowings of Cello 1, mm. 84–92…………. 40
v

Example 4.1. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo,
mm. 70–93……………………………………………………………………………………. 45
Example 4.2. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo,
mm. 296–323…………………………………………………………………………………. 46
Example 4.3a. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, fingerings
involving thumb position, mm. 296–323…………………………………………………….. 49
Example 4.3b. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, fingerings,
mm. 296–323…………………………………………………………………………………. 50
Example 5.1a. Mozart, Symphony No.35, IV, bowings, mm. 139–146……………………... 53
Example 5.1b. Mozart, Symphony No. 35, IV, using the bow as it comes,
mm. 139–146…………………………………………………………………………………. 53
Example 5.2. Mozart, Symphony No. 35, IV, mm. 134–181………………………………… 54
Example 5.3. Mozart, Symphony No. 40, I, mm. 114–137………………………………….. 57
Example 5.4. Mozart, Symphony No. 40, I, fingerings and bowings, mm. 114–138………... 60
Example 6.1. Strauss, Don Juan, mm.1–9……………………………………………………. 64
Example 6.2. Strauss, Don Juan, mm. 23–49………………………………………………… 66
Example 7.1. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, II, mm. 21–41……………………………….. 71
Example 7.2. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, II, mm. 21–41……………………………….. 73
Example 8.1. Verdi, Offertorio, mm. 1–32…………………………………………………… 79
Example 8.2. Verdi, Offertorio, fingerings and bowings, mm. 1–29………………………… 82
vi

ABSTRACT
The present document offers a contextual approach to learning orchestral excerpts for
cello. The first step in this process is collecting basic information about the composer and his
style, followed by the historical background of the work under discussion. The next step presents
theoretical analyses of the pieces and more specific details on the compositional techniques.
Finally, each chapter contains comments and suggestions on basic performance challenges found
in the following excerpts: Beethoven–Symphony No. 5 (II. Andante con moto) and Symphony
No. 8 (III. Tempo di Menuetto); Brahms–Symphony No. 2 (II. Adagio non troppo); Debussy–La
Mer (I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer); Mendelssohn–Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Scherzo); Mozart–Symphony No. 35 Haffner (IV. Presto) and Symphony No. 40 (I.
Molto Allegro); Strauss–Don Juan; Tchaikovsky–Symphony No. 4 (II. Andantino in modo di
canzone); Verdi–Requiem (Offertorio).
In this study, the author aims to create a broader perspective on the study of orchestral
excerpts, in which the performance and preparation of orchestral repertoire is elevated to the art
of chamber music playing. Although research alone into performance practice and how to
perform a work in the appropriate style does not guarantee winning an audition, it is an important
advantage during the preparation of the excerpts in terms of creating nuances in sound, vibrato
and articulation. The knowledge gained through the analyses of the scores contributes to a better
understanding of the composer‘s style. It also provides valuable information about the place and
meaning of the excerpt within the movement as well as in the context of the whole work.
An understanding of this information about a composer‘s style and work is not only
helpful in successfully conveying specific musical ideas to the listener, it will also establish a
whole different level of communication between the conductor and the musicians in the
orchestra.
vii

INTRODUCTION
The performance and study of the orchestral repertoire is an important part of the musical
development of every string player today. The large number of musicians and the limited
availability of orchestra jobs create intense competition and set very high demands in terms of
execution of the audition requirements. The essential elements for a successful audition include
perfect intonation, consistent rhythm, good tone, and clarity in articulation and dynamics. To
achieve the already established standard, practicing the orchestral excerpts must become an
essential part of one‘s everyday routine. Practicing for many hours is only the first important step
in attaining this goal. Broader knowledge of the entire orchestral work and its composer is
necessary for further and deeper understanding of the music.
During the time of preparation a simple repetition of the required passage does not
automatically lead towards the desired results. Information about the style of the composer, the
historical background of the composition, as well as analysis of the score and different
performance possibilities need to be considered. This knowledge will create a more
comprehensive image of the music and will communicate a clearer idea where all the effort is
directed.
The purpose of this project is to help the learning process by providing a specific routine,
thereby creating a regular systematic approach. The importance of information regarding the
composer, compositional style, analysis of the score, and basic difficulties in execution of the
musical excerpt will be discussed. The role of the teacher in this process, although subjective in
nature, cannot be replaced by a written study or paper.
Ten of the most commonly used orchestral excerpts for auditions are included in this
project. The excerpts were selected by comparing the contents of audition lists of North
American symphony orchestras, excerpt books, and the experience of the author, her colleagues,
and her teachers in taking auditions. In alphabetical order by composer, the excerpts are as
follows:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 – II. Andante con moto
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 – III. Tempo di Menuetto (Trio)
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 – II. Adagio non troppo
1

Debussy: La Mer – I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer
Mendelssohn: Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61 – Scherzo
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 (Haffner) in D major, K.385 – IV. Presto
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 – I. Molto Allegro
Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 – II. Andantino in modo di canzone
Verdi: Requiem – Offertorio
This selection represents examples that include section solos as well as accompaniment
passages. Distinguishing these types of excerpts is an important part in the analyses of the
musical scores. Another goal in this project is to present diversity in styles. Juxtaposing various
composers‘ works presents an effective way of learning.
Solo cello passages, such as Strauss‘ Don Quixote or the Overture to William Tell by
Rossini, and excerpts from the opera repertoire are not included in this treatise.
Basic analyses of the works are presented in the following format:
1. Information about the work
- Year of composition; premiere; dedicatee
- Other works from the composer‘s period
2. Analysis of the work
- Formal structure
- Place of the orchestral excerpt in the movement
3. The cello excerpt. Discussion and suggestions about each of the following:
- Tempo, rhythm
- Style, articulation, research into performance practice
- Dynamics, phrasing, tone
- Intonation
The document is organized in eight chapters, in alphabetical order by composer. Each
chapter contains information about the composer and the selected excerpt. Chapters I and V each
include a discussion of two excerpts. Musical examples of scores and passages are inserted along
with the analyses. The score examples of Chapter V (Mozart‘s Symphony No. 35 Haffner in D
major, K. 385) and Chapter VI (Strauss‘s Don Juan, Op. 20) are included in the appendices.
2

The survey of literature consists of sources containing historical and biographical data on
each composer and his style. Other studies on the topic include the doctoral dissertations by
David Litrell, Linda Jean Shay and Jim Bailey.
A Collection of Orchestral Excerpts for the Cello Categorized by Their Technical
Aspects by David Litrell is a selection of cello excerpts from the standard and twentieth century
orchestral repertoire. 1 It presents the cello student with the opportunity to develop technical skills
by practicing not only etudes or works from the cello solo repertoire but also useful passages
from a wide variety of orchestral literature. Three hundred and seventy-three cello excerpts are
organized by the author in eighteen categories by technical skills or difficulties. The categories
include Arpeggio Finger Patterns; Broken Thirds; Cantabile; Chromatic passages; Détaché;
Dotted rhythms; Extensions; Finger pattern groups; Higher positions (5–7); Hooked bowings;
Martelé; Pizzicato; Rhythmic difficulties; Scale patterns; Slur/separate bow ratios: 1:2, 1:3, 2:1;
2:2; 3:1; Spiccato; String crossings (Arpeggiated figures); and Thumb positions. Each
category/chapter begins with helpful suggestions for practicing, an explanation of terms, and a
reference to other sections of the text.
Selected Orchestral Excerpts for Cello: Analyzed and Graded by Linda Jean Shay is a
review of excerpts from eight orchestral books for cello. 2 The author‘s compilation aims to
supplement traditional teaching materials. In addition, it offers a reference for the needs of
individual cello students. Two-hundred and sixty five excerpts from the orchestral excerpt books
edited by the cellists Leonard Rose, William Stokking, Cendric Sharpe, Nathan Stutch, Karl
Grosch and Max Kiesling are graded according to technical difficulty based on the String
Syllabus of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). The author identifies eleven
categories of principal technical problems. Each category is thoroughly explained. There is
information about etudes appropriate for the level and type of difficulty related to the excerpts.
Another helpful resource about the development of the cello section as a whole is Jim
Bailey‘s book, The Development of the Violoncello Section as a Lyric Melodic Color in the
Symphonies of Beethoven and Schubert. 3 The author discusses the role of the cello section from
1
Littrell, David Ault. A Collection of Orchestral Excerpts for the Cello Categorized by Their Technical Aspects.
D.M.A., The University of Texas at Austin, 1979.
2
Shay, Linda Jean. Selected Orchestral Excerpts for Cello: Analyzed and Graded. D.M.A., The Ohio State
University, 1977.
3
Bailey, Jim. The Development of the Violoncello Section as a Lyric Melodic Color in the Symphonies of Beethoven
and Schubert. D.M.A., The University of Kansas, 1984.
3

the early symphonies of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through the advanced
treatment of the section in the operas of the late eighteenth century. Significant changes in
society, the mechanics of the instrument, and the pedagogical approach to the cello have been
considered. Primary melodic analyses focus on the eight symphonies by Franz Schubert, more
specifically on Symphony No. 8 in B minor and Symphony No. 9 in C major, and on the nine
symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven.
4

CHAPTER I
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Date of composition: 1806–1808
Dedicated to: Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Rasumovsky
Premiere performance: December 22, 1808, in Vienna
The Composer
The Middle period in the compositional career of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
spans from 1802 to 1812 and most of his orchestral works date from this period. The composer
finished his First Symphony in 1800, approximately seven years after his move from Bonn to
Vienna. It was in Vienna that he established himself through his outstanding keyboard virtuosity
and his works in the genres of the chamber music and sonata. By 1803 Beethoven was known
throughout Europe as the greatest living composer. 4
During the first decade of the nineteenth century, Beethoven developed the genre of the
symphony and brought it to new dimensions. One of the important characteristics of his style
was its expansiveness. The new emotional complexity of the musical language and the
incorporation of more remote harmonic relationships naturally led to a growth in the size and
scope of his works. During that time Beethoven‘s style was often described as heroic. Stylistic
changes were influenced by the French post-revolutionary music, which was characterized by
militaristic qualities such as large and massive sonorities, grandeur, and emphasis on the voice
and vocal melody. Beethoven employed the word ―heroic‖ and referred to its meaning in works
such as Eroica Symphony, the ballet score for the Creatures of Prometheus, and the overtures
Leonore Two and Three, Coriolan, and Egmont. 5
4 Charles Rosen, The Classical Style – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (New York: W. W. Norton and Co. Inc.), 386.
5 Ibid., 112.
5

The Symphony
The composer gave a benefit concert, also called a Musical Akademie, in the evening of
December 22, 1808 in Theater an der Wien. It was a four-hour event consisting entirely of
Beethoven‘s works. The program included the premiere performances of the Fifth and Sixth
Symphonies, the Choral Fantasy, and also the Fourth Piano Concerto, and parts of the Mass in C.
During the time when the Fifth Symphony took shape (1804-08), Beethoven worked
simultaneously on many other masterpieces: the two versions of the opera Leonore or Fidelio;
the Sonatas Opp. 53 (Waldstein), 54, and 57 (Appassionata); the Fourth Piano Concerto, Op. 58;
the three Razumovsky String Quartets, Op. 59; the Violin Concerto, Op. 61; the Overture to
Coriolan, Op. 62; the Mass in C, Op. 86; and the Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 69. The Fourth,
Fifth, and Sixth Symphonies were all completed in the years 1806-08. The Fifth Symphony was
not premiered until the first performance of the Pastoral (Sixth).
Symphony No.5 is in C minor. The employment of a minor key for a symphony was not
unusual but had an extraordinary meaning in Classicism. 6 According to Joseph Kerman, during
the early Viennese period, C minor was the only key Beethoven used for full-length works in
minor keys. 7 Eminent works of the composer in this key include Sonate pathétique Op. 13
(1797–98), Third Piano Concerto (1800–03) Op. 37, Thirty-two Variations on an Original
Theme WoO. 80 for piano, Coriolan Overture, and the last Piano Sonata, Op. 111.
The Fifth Symphony, or the Grand Symphony, as it was called in earlier references,
consists of four movements. The first, Allegro con brio in C minor, is in sonata-allegro structure
where each section is well defined by a pause or a fermata. The exposition‘s first tonal area is in
C minor, mm. 1–58, and the second is in E-flat major, mm. 59–124; the development proceeds
through mm. 125–248; the recapitulation in mm. 248–302 is in C minor and continues in mm.
303–389 in C major; there is a coda at the end starting in m. 390.
The prime material is based on the well-known upbeat motive of three eighth notes
followed by a quarter note and it is absolutely rhythmic in character. The famous statement of
Beethoven—―destiny knocking at the door‖—applies to that motive and describes even further
6 Rosen, The Classical Style, 187.
7 Joseph Kerman, et al. "Beethoven, Ludwig van." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026pg13 (accessed April 24,
2009).
6

the character of the whole work. 8 According to other sources, the origin of this theme is a bird
call; the yellowhammer in Germany and Austria made a sound in a quick succession of the same
pitch followed by a lower, longer one. 9
The Second movement is Andante con moto in A-flat major. It is in the form of variations
on two alternating themes. Antony Hopkins explains: ―By using two quite separate themes as the
basis for his variations as well as various unrelated episodes, Beethoven accomplishes a marriage
of rondo and variation form.‖ 10 Violas and cellos in unison present the first theme in A-flat major
(beginning), and the second theme starts in dolce with clarinets and bassoons (m. 22) and
continues in C major in the oboes, trumpets, and horns (m. 31). The significance of the C major
key is indicated by the bright sonority and volume reinforced by the sound of the trumpets.
The trochaic (long-short) foot rhythms have special importance in Beethoven‘s music.
They are expressed in a variety of combinations. In the Second movement of the Fifth symphony
the trochaic rhythm is in the exposition of the first theme, noted as a dotted sixteenth note and a
thirty-second in 3/8 meter. The three variations begin at mm. 50, 98, and 185 respectively.
The Third movement, Allegro, is in C minor, the basic key of the symphony. It is in the
form of a Scherzo with Trio but the sections do not bear these marks. Instead of the customary
da capo return, the scherzo theme returns in an entirely new setting (m. 244), with pizzicato
strings and bassoon. The scherzo is in C minor, and the trio section is in C major. Both themes
start with an upbeat, but in contrasting characters: the first (beginning) is mysterious and
wavering while the trio statement (m. 141) is very affirmative with a strong, rhythmic pulse. The
Scherzo theme appears again in the development of the Finale (m. 153). The final passage of the
movement, fifty measures of repetitive C‘s in the timpani, leads without a pause into the
triumphant finale.
The last movement, Allegro, is in C major. In this movement, the composer expanded the
expressive sound of the orchestra by adding a piccolo, three trombones, and a contrabassoon. In
combination with the major key of the movement, the instrumental colors create a grandiose
finale, and define the essential character of the work. The exposition‘s primary tonal area is in C
major, mm.1–44, and the subordinate tonal area is in G major, mm. 45–85; the development
starts at m. 85, and the recapitulation at m. 207; the beginning of the coda is m. 362.
8 Donald Tovey, Essays in Musical Analysis (London: Oxford University Press Humphrey Milford, 1935), 1:38.
9 Elliot Forbes, ed., Thayer’s Life of Beethoven (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1967), 437.
10 Antony Hopkins, The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven (London: Scolar Press, 1996), 142.
7

The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt required at auditions is from the second movement, Andante con moto,
and includes the opening theme and its two variations.
The Beethoven metronome marking at the beginning of the movement is an eighth-note
equals 92 beats per minute (bpm). In most instances, the customary performance tempo today is
slower – around 76 bpm for an eighth-note.
The year 1817 represented the earliest use of the metronome in Beethoven‘s works,
seventeen years after the composition of his First Symphony. 11 Studies have shown that
Beethoven struggled to find the ideal tempi for his compositions and in some cases he chose
radically different tempi from the ones he had earlier envisioned. 12 The German musicologist and
composer Gustav Nottebohm (1817–1882) was the first expert to systematically study
Beethoven‘s manuscripts and sketches. In his book Beethoveniana the author explained:
Some of Beethoven‘s tempo indications will be found not completely appropriate to the
character of a given piece. Thus some symphonic movements seem to us marked too fast.
This phenomenon may perhaps be explained by the supposition that Beethoven
established the metronome marks at the piano and arrived at conclusions that would have
been difficult for him to carry out in the concert hall. 13
The tempo marking at the beginning of the movement is Andante con moto. The
character of the music implies a dance and the proof is to be found in the first existing sketch of
the movement, where the passage was specifically marked as Andante quasi menuetto. 14 In
Italian the word andante is the present participle of andare, to walk, and the term andante has
been used as a tempo marking or an indication of performance manner referring to the bass line.
For the composers Haydn and Mozart the Andante marking represented a gentle and relaxed
tempo. 15 Con moto, from Italian, literally means ‗with motion‘. There is no specific explanation
of the tempo Andante con moto, but in translation the tempo can be described as a pulsation
faster than a relaxed walking pace.
11
George Barth, The Pianist as Orator (London: Cornell University Press, 1992), 51.
12
Ibid., 52.
13
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, A Norton Critical Score (New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 1971), 129.
14
Hopkins, The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven, 140.
15
David Fallows. "Andante." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/00854 (accessed April 24,
2009).
8

Another important indication at the beginning of the movement is dolce, the Italian word
for ‗sweet‘. In earlier times the word was used for mood and performance style indication, and
not for dynamics. Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians says: ―In the nineteenth century
dolce was often used as an alternative indication to play quietly; and there is an old story among
orchestra musicians that dolce means ‗play loudly‘ because it specifically denotes phrases that
must seem quiet but carry through the orchestra texture.‖ 16 In the second movement of the Fifth
Symphony, dolce exists at each quiet beginning of the two themes. The p dynamic and the dolce
character are equally important in the performance of the major subject and require an idea of
specific sound.
When the cello section presents important melodic material in the symphonies of
Beethoven, it is often doubled either by basses, violas, or bassoon, or a combination of the three.
In most passages the composer favored particularly the combination of viola and cello as in the
first theme of the second movement. By strengthening the tenor line, Beethoven created a rich
and concentrated sound, which became one of the hallmarks of his style.
double basses.
The theme starts with violas and cellos playing in unison, accompanied only by pizzicato
Example 1.1. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, theme, mm. 1–10
The meter is 3/8, and the accompaniment of the basses gives a contour to the melody and
determines the points of intensity to the phrase where the third measure is most concentrated in
musical action. Also, the character of the dolce sound can be found in the intervallic relationship
between the bass line and the theme. With every note, the bass line creates a third, a tenth, a
sixth, or an octave with the melodic line.
16 David Fallows. "Dolce (i)." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/07936 (accessed April 24,
2009).
9

The double basses play pizzicato until the last beat of the eighth measure where the whole
string section enters arco in p, followed by a sudden f. It is an important moment to listen for the
quality of the dynamics as well as blending the sound and tuning with the bass section since it
repeats the p and f gestures from a measure before, where the texture is thinner and fewer
instruments are involved. This passage shows another characteristic feature in Beethoven‘s style
– use of extreme dynamics, or in other instances sforzandos and ff, in melodies with quiet
content.
There is only one staccato note in the theme and it is the first C of the first full measure.
The note should be short and it is separated from the slurs before and after it in the score. A
closer look at this motive in the music will give different perspectives on the interpretation of the
staccato. In the third variation, when the motive is in ff there is not a dot over the C in the violin
part (m.185). Another example is the development of the motive in the woodwinds in mm. 127–
143 where the eighth note in the clarinet and later in the bassoon is short, but when it continues
in the other instruments, again in dolce, a different nuance is created.
The rhythm in this excerpt is very important and subdivision to the smallest unit is
crucial. In this case, the driving note value is a thirty-second note. A constant pulsation of the
smallest note value gives clarity to the melodic line and avoids the tendency to deliver a triplet
feel to the beat. In the execution of the passage, a good coordination between both hands can be
achieved by practicing constant, separate thirty-second notes with the bow while the left hand
performs the melody as it is. This way of practicing resolves another rhythmic problem in the
passage – holding over the slurred eighth notes of the second measure (F), and the fourth
measure (C). It is very important for the cellist to know that the last note of the fifth measure is a
sixteenth note but not shorter.
A combination of the key of A-flat major and string crossings create a significant
difficulty in the execution of this passage. The four flats of the key require extension of the left
hand, and in order to avoid constant changes of strings, the player uses less comfortable positions
where the sound of the cello does not ―speak‖ so well (the fourth and fifth positions on D string).
In this case, practicing in double stops does not present a solution to the intonation problems.
Careful attention to the tuning of the intervals is required especially of the perfect fourths, perfect
fifths, and diminished fifths in the passage, as well as special attention to the D-flat. Every shift
10

should continue with the most comfortable finger for the player in order to secure a stable
intonation.
The main points in the choice of fingerings and bowings should be phrasing, uniformity
of sound, and efficient, easy shifting. Here are suggestions for fingerings of the passage in Ex.
1.2:
Example 1.2. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, fingerings, mm. 1–10
The choice of bowings, however, is determined by two basic ideas – beginning up-bow or
down-bow. If we consider the phrasing slurs from the original score, the fourth measure will
differ. When the player chooses to start up-bow (Ex. 1.3a), there will be one slur over the fourth
measure and this may not be an easy solution if there is a shift between G and C with the 4 th
finger. If the cellist starts down-bow (Ex. 1.3b), which is more comfortable for the bow hand, the
first beat of the fourth measure should be slurred with the last beat (G and B) of the preceding
measure.
Example 1.3a and 1.3b. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, bowings, mm. 1–10
It is important that the shifting does not affect the melodic line. Since all shifts come
before or after the shortest notes in the passage (thirty-seconds), there is a danger of abrupt
11

sliding. A careful timing before the execution of the shifts can ensure a smooth and beautiful
phrase without the unwanted accents.
The first variation of the theme starts in m. 49 and this time the accompanying pizzicatti
are in all strings. The beats come on the same place as the double bass line from the theme and
only one clarinet sustains long notes above the strings. The variation in violas and cellos presents
even sixteenth notes with one slur per measure. This time it is important to note that there is a
crescendo marking to the f in m. 58. The violin part in mm. 57–8 is a direct repetition and
continuation of the melody in the lower strings. The cellist should count and listen carefully to
the violin and bassoon parts in m. 57 in order to come in on time and build the dynamics with the
other instruments.
Example 1.4. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, first variation, mm. 37–60
12

According to Eva Badura-Skoda, in her article Performance Conventions in Beethoven’s
Early Works, Viennese musicians around 1800 distinguished between two types of slurs. The
first was over two- or three-note groupings, which required the player to shorten and detach the
last note under the slur, while the second type of slur was written over more notes. Regardless of
the phrase or the bar line, it meant legato. The author explains:
Before 1800, composers eschewed long slurs, preferring to end them at the bar line even
when the lyrical sweep of a melody suggested its execution without a break in the middle.
This notational habit stems from violin bowing, and it was retained for some time even in
keyboard and wind parts. 17
The first variation from the second movement of the Fifth Symphony presents a
continuous melodic line in p dolce. The even note values suggest uniformity of sound and the
vibrato plays a key role in the shaping of the sound. A constant, small (but not narrow) motion in
the left hand supports the bow hand, and complements the smooth and tender character of the
line.
The phrase starts quietly and builds intensity towards the D-flat in the third measure (m.
52). Here is a suggestion for fingerings of the passage in Ex. 1.5:
Example 1.5. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, fingerings, mm. 49–59
There is a danger of accenting the beginning of the measure in f since it happens on a
new and brighter string. A smooth bow change between the measures should be achieved along
with a slow and in-the-string bow on the A string.
17 Barth, The Pianist as Orator, 110.
13

The pulsation of the variation is even, and the tempo should be the same as the tempo of
the theme. In most cases, when the cello excerpt is performed by itself, this variation seems
slower than the exact same tempo of the theme.
The next variation starts in m. 98 with the same character and dynamic as indicated at the
beginning of the movement, but in twice-shorter note values. It represents an unbroken line of
thirty-second notes in the violas and cellos and is a highly ornamented version of the theme.
Example 1.6. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, second variation, mm. 98–106
14

This variation, like the first one, should present one brilliant and quiet line of little notes.
The pizzicato accompaniment of the strings happens on every first, second, and end of third
beats, and this time the sustained winds are the flute, oboe, and bassoon. In m. 105, the eighth
measure of the variation, there is a subito pp instead of a crescendo or a sudden f as in the
previous variation and the theme. In a performance, the passage should start softly but not too
soft, so that a contrast in the pp measure can be achieved.
The second variation presents a variety of technical difficulties for the cellist. There are
constant string changes, and shifts in the left hand that should be performed quickly and evenly
with perfect intonation. Good coordination between the hands is required. The rhythm should be
absolutely steady and a regular practice with the metronome in different rhythmic patterns will
establish a more secure and flexible feeling of the passage.
There are numerous versions of fingering for this excerpt, but they represent basically
two ideas. The first one is staying as long as possible on the D string and avoiding the open
sound of the A (Ex. 1.7a); the second is working with the brightness of the A string, but in an
easier position for the left hand (Ex. 1.7b).
Example1.7a. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, fingerings avoiding A string, mm. 98–106
15

Example 1.7b. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, fingerings, mm. 98–106
The fingerings of Ex. 1.7b offer possibilities for practicing the intonation with double-
stops in basically every measure except for the first and second full measures. The intervals of
the fifth and fourth will determine the basic position of the left hand. Also, special attention
should be paid to the melodic line or the moving notes against the D-flat in the third and fifth full
measures. At all times, the bow should move very close to the neighboring string and the change
should occur at the exact time.
In the first beat, before going to the A string in the second full measure, the sound on the
D string should be a little stronger so that it prepares a smooth connection to the brighter A
string. This is the first change to the highest string in the excerpt, and in the fourth and fifth
measures the same approach will apply. The same variation continues with violins in dolce
sempre pp (m. 106) and, after repeating the melody, it comes again in the cellos in f (m. 114).
This time the unison is in the cellos and basses and the accompaniment is a rhythmic unison of
constant sixteen notes in arco strings and winds.
16

Example 1.8. Beethoven, Symphony No.5, II, second variation in f dynamic, mm. 113–123
The character of the theme is completely different, much more open and joyful. The f
dynamic of the passage requires breaking of the long slurs in the original score. Most often there
is a separate bow for every beat or every half measure. Here is a suggestion for fingering in Ex.
1.9:
17

Example 1.9. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II, fingerings, mm. 114–123
The third variation starts in m. 185 and it is the strongest tutti version of the melody. The
violas, cellos, and basses are playing the accompanying thirty-second notes while the violins,
flutes, clarinets, and bassoons play the variation in unison.
Date of composition: 1812
Premiere performance: February 27, 1814
Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
The Symphony
After the completion of the Fifth, from 1808 until 1812, Beethoven composed the Sixth,
Seventh, and Eighth Symphonies, the Piano Trios Op. 70 and Op. 97, the String Quartets Op. 74
and Op. 95, and the Fifth Piano Concerto (Emperor), Op. 73. With the writing of the Eighth
Symphony, Beethoven completed his composition of large-scale works for orchestra alone.
The symphony was completed in Linz ―In the month of October 1812,‖ according to the
original manuscript score and was premiered on February 27, 1814 for another of the Akademie
concerts in Vienna‘s Redoutensaal. The program included the Seventh Symphony (not the
premiere performance), a Trio for Soprano, Tenor and Bass with Orchestra, Op. 116, the Eighth
Symphony, and the Wellington’s Victory in the Battle of Vittoria, also called the Battle
Symphony, Op. 91. Part of the review of the Eighth Symphony in the music journal Allgemeine
musikalische Zeitung stated that the lack of enthusiasm from the audience was due to the
performance of the Eighth immediately following after the Symphony in A major (Seventh),
18

whose slow movement was considered ‗the crown of modern instrumental music‘ and was
performed twice. 18
The Eighth Symphony reveals a more classical approach to the form. It consists of four
movements which are shorter and do not have the same degree of expansiveness as seen in the
Third, Fifth, and Seventh symphonies. In the formal structure of the symphonic cycle, Beethoven
was the first composer to firmly establish the scherzo as an alternative to the minuet and only the
First and Eighth symphonies have minuets. The Eighth Symphony lacks a customary slow
movement; the two middle movements are Allegretto scherzando and Tempo di Menuetto. The
character of the Eighth Symphony is often considered to be witty and full of humor because of
its brevity and treatment of the form and thematic material.
The first movement, Allegro vivace e con brio, is in F major and uses a sonata-allegro
design. The first subject starts without introduction and consists of a twelve-bar theme instead of
the normal eight bars (mm. 1–12). The second subject starts in the remote key of D major in the
strings (m. 38) and continues in woodwinds in the customary dominant of F, C major. There is
interplay between two metric units from mm. 70–3, where a rhythmic unison in the orchestra is
shifting the beat from three to a pulsation of two. The development starts in m. 104 with an
octave motive in the violas. The recapitulation is in mm. 198–301, and the coda begins in D-flat
major with the same octave motive from the beginning of the development, this time in the
bassoon part.
The second movement, Allegretto scherzando, is known to have a connection with the
invention of the metronome. At a dinner party in 1817, Beethoven and friends improvised the
theme of the second movement as a canon and sang a tribute to the inventor of the ‗musical
chronometer,‘ Mälzel. The association with the metronome‘s clicking comes from the repeated
chords at the beginning of the movement which give the impression of absolute regularity.
Melodic fragments in staccato create a dance-like feel to the music and the overall character of
the movement is one of humor and joy. The formal structure of the Allegretto scherzando is
binary as follows: A (beginning) B (m. 30) A‘ (m. 40) B‘ (m. 63) coda (m. 74) in B-flat major.
The third movement, Tempo di Menuetto, is typical with the formal cycle of a classical
symphony. In the Eighth Symphony, after the scherzando second movement, a slow third
movement is expected. It is a Menuetto da Capo with a Trio in F major. The heavy accents or
18 Forbes, Thayer’s life of Beethoven, 575.
19

sforzatti on every beat at the beginning do not adhere to the triple meter and character of a
minuet and create, as in the first movement, a rhythmic pulsation in two instead of three. The
graceful theme starts in the third full measure played legato by the violins.
The last movement is an Allegro vivace in F major and it has been described by Donald
Tovey as ‗one of Beethoven‘s most gigantic creations‘. 19 Its length is almost as long as the rest
of the movements taken together, a total of 502 measures. The structural form is unique and
complicated because of the juxtaposition of keys and the harmonic modulations. According to
Michael Broyles, it can be considered as a sonata form with two developments and two
recapitulations, or a rondo characterized by two developmental episodes: exposition of Group I
(mm. 1–47) and Group II (mm. 48–90), development in mm. 91–160, recapitulation of Group I
(161–223) and Group II (224–226), another development in mm. 267–350, and another
recapitulation of Group I (351–407) and Group II (408–437), and coda (438–493). 20
The Audition Excerpt
The movement heading Tempo di Menuetto does not indicate a particular tempo. The
minuet was common in French aristocratic circles during the seventeenth century as a moderate
or slow dance in triple meter. During the eighteenth century, when Tempo di Menuetto was one
of the movements in the sonata cycle, it represented a recognized understanding of minuet
tempo. 21 At the beginning of the third movement of the Eighth Symphony, there is a marking of
quarter note equals 126 but it is often performed slower today. As noted in the case of the Fifth
Symphony, Beethoven applied the exact metronome markings in 1817, long after the completion
of these works. George Barth quotes Rudolf Kolisch in his book:
Beethoven‘s metronome indications are not to be taken too literally…they are to be used
as a guide, and ‗mere nuances within the type‘ never destroy the meaning. 22
19
Tovey, Essays in Musical Analysis, 65.
20
Michael Broyles, Beethoven: The Emergence and Evolution of Beethoven’s Heroic Style (New York: Excelsior
Music Publishing Co., 1987), 220.
21
Tilden A. Russell. "Tempo di minuetto." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/42521 (accessed April 24,
2009).
22
Rudolf Kolisch ―Tempo and Character in Beethoven‘s Music,‖ Musical Quarterly 29 (1943): 180; as cited in
Barth, The Pianist as Orator, 65.
20

The cello excerpt from the Trio of the third movement is an arpeggiated accompaniment
to a dolce theme in the horns, clarinet, and later, the violins. Thus the nature of the cello line and
the p dynamic of the staccato stroke determine the lightness of the character.
Example 1.10. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, mm. 45–78
Throughout the passage, the triplet figures in the cellos are juxtaposed on the duple
rhythm in the solo instruments. The cellist should pay constant attention to the theme because
certain flexibility may be required.
The cello part presents continuous arpeggiated triplets. Similar accompanying passages
can be found in the first movement of Beethoven‘s Sixth Symphony, and in the finale of the
Ninth Choral Symphony. Another example is Antonin Dvořák‘s Eighth Symphony in G major,
in the Allegro con brio movement.
The staccato notes in the Trio of the Eighth Symphony should be short and light as the
soft accompanying character of the cello part suggests. A variety of dynamics exists in the
passage, from subtle crescendo and diminuendo to sudden p and abrupt sforzato, but the length
of the bow stroke should not be affected; all notes are even and equally short. To establish an
21

idea of the relation between even stroke and dynamics, the player can practice extreme
crescendo and diminuendo on one note in triplet rhythm. Careful attention is to be paid to the
open-string notes where no difference in the length or volume should be noticed.
The bouncing stroke presents certain challenges for the right hand. There should not be
much effort in holding the bow in order to follow its natural motion and avoid deliberate lifting
and dropping for every note in this passage. It is the third and fourth fingers of the right hand that
play a crucial role in the bow control. They navigate the direction and attack of each string. The
edge of the hair will secure a clearer sound on every note.
Constant string crossings and left hand fingering extensions create extreme difficulty for
the cellist and it is important that the rhythm stays even regardless of the change of the strings.
Different choices of fingerings and bowings exist and two basic possibilities can be outlined in
regard to comfort of both hands. Examples where such choices can be made can be found in the
four measures after the second ending. If the player stays in first position with the left hand, the
bow hand will be challenged with a crossing of the D string (Ex. 1.11a); if the cellist prefers
changing to neighboring strings, the left hand must extend in the interval of an octave in fourth
position (Ex. 1.11b).
Example 1.11a and 1.11b. Beethoven, Symphony No.8, III, fingerings, mm. 53–56
The whole passage can be performed with the following fingerings:
22

Example 1.12. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, fingerings, mm. 45–78
An important choice for the player is the very beginning of the passage where either
down- or up-bow is possible. Before the second ending, because of the string crossing and the
metric placement in the bar it is most comfortable for the right hand if measures four and six of
the excerpt (mm. 48 and 50) come down-bow. That way, an unbroken line of up- and down-
bows can be achieved if the cellist starts up-bow (Ex. 1.13a). If the player feels more
comfortable to start down-bow, the last two notes of the third measure from the beginning (A
and F) should be executed up-bow (Ex. 1.13b), as well as the last two notes of the first ending.
Example 1.13a and 1.13b. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, bowings, mm. 45–53
23

It is natural for the sf notes to be executed on a down-bow. In m. 64, the first sf comes
down-bow and in the next measure two consecutive up-bows can be inserted on the C and G
before the sf note. The same can apply to mm. 68, 69, 72, and 74. In m. 72 additional changes of
bowing are necessary for the uniformity of mm. 71 and 73. The sf notes should be strong and
loud but not longer.
Example 1.14. Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, III, bowings, mm. 64–78
24

CHAPTER II
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Date of composition: 1877
Premiere performance: December 30, 1877, in Vienna
The Composer
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) creates an individual style within the structural and
developmental principles of the Viennese Classicists that stands him apart from the ideas of the
New German School while reaffirming the musical values of the past. Brahms‘s style is one of
great complexity in his use of various contrapuntal techniques in order to unify or articulate a
musical work. In symphonic music, the development of individual themes within the movement
is as important as the thematic unity or motivic relationships between the movements of an entire
work. The notion of thematische Arbeit, or thematic working, lies at the very heart of the Austro-
German musical language from the Viennese Classical era onward. 23 Another essential element
in Brahms‘s music is the rhythm where syncopation and frequent shifts in meter constitute a
major part of his expressive language. Long lines are achieved by overlapping phrases and
avoiding or eliding cadences in the harmony. Important expressive devices are the richness of
texture and a wide range of pitch in the orchestration.
The Symphony
Brahms composed Symphony No. 2 during the summer of 1877 while on vacation at
Pörtschach, Carinthia. The work was premiered on December 30 in the same year by the Vienna
Philharmonic under Hans Richter. Because of the great contrast in the music between the First
and Second Symphonies of Brahms, the latter has been occasionally called Pastoral because of
its warmth of color and simple lyricism. The Symphony follows the traditional four-movement
cycle of sonata-allegro first movement, slow movement, scherzo or intermezzo as a third
movement, and a finale. No programmatic idea lies behind the music of this or any of Brahms‘s
23 Walter Frisch, Brahms: The Four Symphonies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 16.
25

four symphonies. In the orchestration, Brahms includes trombones and tuba; to answer the
question as to why ‗the idyllically serene atmosphere‘ of the beginning of the Symphony had to
be spoiled by ‗the gloomy lugubrious tones of the trombones and tuba‘ Brahms replied:
I would have to confess that I am, by the by, a severely melancholic person, that black
wings are constantly flapping above us. 24
The first movement is Allegro non troppo. The opening material forms the thematic basis
for the whole movement and introduces the most important motives to be developed later. One
such an important motive for the development of the musical texture of the whole work is the
opening three-note group in cellos D–C#–D. The lyrical principal theme starts in the second
measure in the horns. The subordinate section of the new material is measured by a transitional
passage (mm. 78–81) illustrating Brahms‘s use of rhythm as a formal device. The second theme
in m. 82 is a playful tune in the violas and cellos in F-sharp minor and A major. The
development starts in m. 179 after an orthodox repeat of the exposition, and the movement
finishes with a Coda (m. 447) with the emergence of a solo horn melody. Brahms uses tuba only
in the Symphony in D major.
The second movement is Adagio non troppo and opens in B major with an expressive,
legato theme in the cellos. These opening measures reveal indefinite tonality, another
characteristic of Brahms‘s style. The second portion of the opening section (mm. 17–28) moves
to an imitative treatment of a motive from mm. 4-5 of the theme. The contrasting section in 12/8
meter, L’istesso tempo, ma grazioso, creates the ternary (ABA‘) design of the movement.
According to the musicologist Walter Frisch, the structure of the movement is a modified sonata
form, in which the second theme is omitted in the recapitulation.
The third movement, Allegretto grazioso (Quasi Andantino) is the briefest from the
Brahms‘s symphonic repertoire. It is an original scherzo in five-part form ABA‘CA‖ achieved
through contrast in character, tempo, and meter.
The finale of the Second Symphony, Allegro con spirito, is in a broad sonata form with
an exposition (mm. 1–155) that is not repeated, a development section starting at m. 155, a
recapitulation in mm. 244–353, and a large coda in mm. 353–429. The finale brings the listener
back to some of the thematic complexity of the first movement by means of the three-note
24 Reinhold Brinkmann, Late Idyll: The Second Symphony of Johannes Brahms, trans. Peter Palmer (Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1995), 125–44; as cited in Frisch, Brahms: The Four Symphonies, 70.
26

motive from the beginning of the symphony. Especially important is the role of the trombones
and tuba in the development and coda of the finale.
The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt from Brahms‘s Symphony in D major is in the first twelve measures of
the second movement. The tempo marking is Adagio non troppo. Adagio translates literally from
Italian as ―at ease‖ or ―leisurely‖ and as a tempo indication by the nineteenth century was
generally agreed to be the slowest tempo. 25
In only eight works by Brahms, there are metronome marks 26 and the following statement
gives further insight into the composer‘s understanding of the performance of his music:
‗For I myself have never believed that my blood and a mechanical instrument go well together.
The so-called elastic tempo is not a new discovery, after all, and to it, as to many another, one
should attach a ‗con discrezione‘.‘ 27 According to Robert Pascall and Philip Weller, in his
orchestral music ‗Brahms certainly wished for tempo inflection, but inflection felt integrally as
part of the sonic ebb and flow, without excessive articulation or over-emphasis.‘ 28
The correspondence between the conductor Otto Dessoff and Brahms provides
information about an interesting method of setting tempi through comparison of contemporary
music with the works of the Classicists. Both musicians agreed upon an equal tempo between the
quarter note of the Adagio of the Second Symphony and the eighth note of the Adagio (Adagio
molto e mesto, third movement) from the F Major Quartet, op. 51, No. 1 by Beethoven (Ex.
2.1). 29 The Beethoven metronome marking of the slow movement from the string quartet is
sixteenth-note equals 88bpm.
25
David Fallows. "Adagio." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/00149 (accessed April 24,
2009).
26
Bernard D. Sherman, ―Metronome Marks, Timings, and Other Period Evidence Regarding Tempo in Brahms,‖ in
Performing Brahms: Early Evidence of Performing Style, ed. Michael Musgrave and Bernard D. Sherman,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 99.
27
Styra Avins, ―Performing Brahms‘s Music: Clues from His Letters,‖ in Musgrave and Sherman, Performing
Brahms, 22.
28
Robert Pascall and Philip Weller, ―Flexible Tempo and Nuancing in Orchestral Music,‖ in Musgrave and
Sherman, Performing Brahms, 238.
29 Avins, ―Performing Brahms‘s Music,‖ 23.
27

Example 2.1. Beethoven, String Quartet Op. 59, No.1, III, mm. 1–13
Bassoon, horns, tuba and low strings open the movement. The twelve-measure main
theme is in the cellos and begins with an up-beat on F-sharp.
Example 2.2. Brahms, Symphony No. 2, II, mm. 1–14
28

The first two full measures of the movement consist of three elements: the theme in
cellos, which forms a descending line; the ascending stepwise counterpoint in bassoons; and the
F# pedal point in the double bass, viola, tuba, and French horn. By slurring the fourth and first
beats in the pedal point, the composer creates rhythmic displacement to emphasize the normally
weak second and fourth beats of the measure. The cello melody continues to unfold until it
reaches its climax in m. 10, which carries the intensity until the end of the theme on the third
beat of m. 12. The three-measure opening motive in the bassoon is later repeated by the cellos,
starting on the last beat of m. 12, against the statement of the main theme in the flute. In mm. 6–
8, the rhythmic ambiguity is further enhanced by the accompaniment on the second and fourth
beats by woodwinds, horns, and basses.
The technical difficulties in the cello excerpt from the Brahms Second Symphony are in
the dynamics, sound, phrasing, articulation, and shifting. The slow tempo and rhythm of the
excerpt require constant subdivision to the sixteenth note (Ex. 2.3).
29

Example 2.3. Brahms, Symphony No.2, II, fingerings and bowings, mm. 1–12
Poco f is a direction favored by Brahms that indicates a dynamic level between f and
mf. 30 The word poco (It.: ‗little‘, ‗somewhat‘) has been described in the New Grove Dictionary
as ‗a direction that modifies many tempo, expression and dynamic marks in music. In strict
Italian poco f and poco Allegro would mean the opposite of f and Allegro.‘ 31 In addition, the
conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt has argued that the beginning of the Adagio non troppo of the
Second Symphony is always played too loudly and shared the controversial opinion that
Brahms‘s pf (poco forte) is very close to piano. 32 In the score of the symphony, the first ‗true‘ f
happens at m. 30 in the whole orchestra.
The dynamic indication in all parts at the beginning of the movement is poco f except for
the p in the tuba. Although it is the main theme, the melody in the cellos is not louder in
comparison with the participating instruments. The difference is to be found in the character
because of the word espressivo marked only in the cello part. The expressiveness is not going to
be in a loud sound volume. Because Brahms‘s orchestral music dates from a period of changing
styles associated with the New School, it frequently suffers from an interpretation that applies
the Wagnerian ideal of an endless melody and the heavy sound and texture appropriate for
30
Clive Brown, Classical and Romantic Performing Practice: 1750 – 1900 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1999), 61.
31
"Poco." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/21963 (accessed April 25,
2009).
32
Colin Lawson and Robin Stowell, eds., The Historical Performance of Music: An Introduction (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1999), 144; from an interview with Nikolaus Harnoncourt in his 1997 recording of the
symphonies (Teldec 0630–13136–2).
30

Bayreuth. 33 A sound that is less strong but deep and resonant would be appropriate for the
beginning of the cello excerpt from the symphony and it is the left hand which controls the
expression. The first dynamic change occurs in m. 5 where a crescendo marking goes to the
dotted quarter E and not to the B (the highest note) as it might be performed intuitively. A quick
decrescendo leads to p on the last note of the same measure and it is the first soft dynamic since
the beginning of the theme. The following two measures, mm. 6–7, display the most lyrical part
of the theme still in p. Because of the soft sound, it is important for the cellist to be sensitive to
the different timbres of the A and D strings. The string change(s) should not be noticeable in the
continuous line of the melody. The next dynamic change is a crescendo from m. 8 to the end of
m. 9 leading to the climax of the theme, and another crescendo in m. 12 leading to the last note
of the theme, on the third beat. There are no other dynamic changes or parentheses in the cello
part in the orchestral score.
There is a particular bow articulation at m. 3, dots under a slur, which created a long
standing dispute between the composer and his colleague and friend, violinist Joseph Joachim. It
comes from the different understanding of the length between dots under a slur and horizontal
lines (portato) under a slur by pianists and string players. From the musicians‘ correspondence it
becomes clear that ‗Passages… marked by Brahms with dots under slurs, would have been
marked by Joachim with horizontal lines under slurs‘ 34 and that the slurred staccato to a pianist is
equivalent to the string player‘s lines under a slur. 35 In m. 3 of the cello part in Brahms‘s Second
Symphony, the dotted eighth notes should not be too short and the performer should look for a
kind of ‗breathing‘ quality of the moving line.
There are two major aspects of the left hand expression that should be considered and
these are vibrato and shifting also called portamento. The performance practice of the time was
that ‗Vienna Philharmonic cultivated a particularly ―straight‖ sound with little vibrato, a style it
preserved until World War II,‘ 36 but today vibrato is an essential tool of a string player‘s
technical and expressive abilities. Constant vibrato in the cello excerpt from Brahms‘s Second
Symphony will greatly contribute to a full and beautiful sound and will facilitate the continuity
of the melodic line. It is possible for the cellist to separate the vibrato in four counts for the
33 Lawson and Stowell, The Historical Performance of Music, 140.
34 Clive Brown, ―Joachim‘s Violin Playing,‖ in Musgrave and Sherman, Performing Brahms, 56.
35 Avins, ―Performing Brahms‘s Music,‖ 33.
36 Robert Philip, ―1900–1940‖ in Performance Practice: Music after 1600, ed. Howard Mayer Brown and Stanley
Sadie (London: Macmillan, 1989), 467; as cited in Lawson and Stowell, The Historical Performance of Music, 144.
31

quarter note, but the focus should be on the roundness of the vibrato, and the motion of the left
hand should be slightly wider and on the slower side.
The discussion of portamento in Joseph Joachim‘s Violinschule gives information on the
stylistic as well as the technical execution:
...the use and manner of executing portamento naturally must come under the same rules
as those which hold good in vocal art. The portamento used on the violin between two
notes played with one [bow stroke] corresponds, therefore, to what takes place in singing
when the slur is placed over two notes which are meant to be sung on one syllable; the
portamento occurring when a change of bow and position is simultaneously made
corresponds to what happens when a singer for the sake of musical expression connects
two notes, on the second of which a new syllable is sung. 37
During the Romantic period there were various ways to execute portamento on a string
instrument but they differ considerably from those accepted today. The nineteenth century
understanding of shifting is a necessary reference to the style, because it stresses important
expressive devices in the musical language of the time. The portamento, or the audible slide,
plays a crucial role in creating a continuous and flexible musical phrase. It establishes a
particular sensible approach to playing shifts. In the cello excerpt from Brahms‘s Second
Symphony, there are two types of shifts that need special attention. Those are the big leap shifts
on one string on the same bow as in m. 5 and mm. 8–9, and the ascending shifts with the same or
neighboring finger as in m. 2 and m. 4.
The goal in the execution of the abovementioned shifts is not a glissando or any
exaggerated portamento for its own sake, but an audible shift which will help in the natural,
vocal connection between the notes and continuity in the musical line. It is necessary to note that
the descending shift in m. 8 (F#–B) is on a separate bow and should be performed differently,
less connected than the shifts before and after it.
37 Brown, ―Joachim‘s Violin Playing,‖ 72.
32

CHAPTER III
DEBUSSY
La Mer
Date of composition: March, 1905
Dedication: Jacques Durand
Premiere performance: October 15, 1905 in Paris
The Composer
During the first performances of La Mer, Debussy‘s compositional language was
considered new in terms of form, tonality, sound color, and texture. Critics at the time were
unprepared for the innovative structure of the music and accused it of lacking logic and form. 38
One reason for such accusations was that neither of these elements in Debussy‘s music followed
the traditional sequence of events. Indeed, the major and minor modes in La Mer are abandoned
and functional harmony in terms of dominant and tonic relationships hardly exists. 39 The
composer explains himself in 1902:
There is nothing one could more sincerely desire for French music than the suppression
of the study of harmony as practiced at school, - which is indeed the most pompously
ridiculous method of assembling sounds. It has in addition this grave fault, that it
standardizes composition to such a point that all musicians, with but few exceptions,
harmonize in the same manner. 40
In a letter, Debussy continues that he is ‗more and more convinced that music is not a
thing which can be cast naturally into a traditional and fixed form‘ and that music is ‗made up of
tone-colors and rhythms.‘ 41
In studying the manuscripts and analyzing the writing process of the composer, Marie
Rolf indicates that Debussy ‗had a very firm idea of the harmonic underpinning of a work‘ and
38
Simon Trezise, Debussy: La mer. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 25.
39
Ibid., 91.
40
Léon Vallas, The theories of Claude Debussy (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1967), 26.
41
David Cox, Debussy Orchestral Music (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1974), 8.
33

harmonies are ‗consistently part and parcel of the original conception.‘ 42 The composer
elaborates on his idea:
…in the first place, I must have a subject. Then I must concentrate on that subject, as it
were – no, not musically, in an ordinary way, just as anybody would think of a subject.
Then gradually after these thoughts have simmered for a certain length of time music
begins to center around them and I feel that I must give expression to the harmonies
which haunt me. And then I work unceasingly. 43
Large orchestral works before the composition of La Mer (1903–05) include the Prélude
à l’Après – midi d’un Faune (1892–94) and the Nocturnes (Nuages, Fêtes, and Sirènes) (1897–
99). Another major work is the opera Pelléas et Mélisande which had an enormous success in
1902.
The Work
Debussy was fascinated by the sea from his earliest years. A print of a painting by the
Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai was selected by Debussy for the front cover of the first
edition of La Mer in 1905. The title of the painting is The Hollow of the Wave off Kanagawa and
it is from the collection Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, c. 1820–29. Only a fragment of the print,
an enormous, beautiful falling wave and spray of foam, remain in the final version of the score‘s
cover. Next to the title of La Mer there is a definition of the work by the composer – ‗Three
Symphonic Sketches‘.
The three movements/sketches are De l’aube à midi sur la mer (From dawn to midday at
sea), Jeu de vagues (Play of the waves), and Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the wind
and the sea). None of these movements bear a detailed programmatic text and the idea of the sea
serves rather as an inspiration and creative field for the composer‘s imagination.
The first movement, De l’aube à midi sur la mer, is divided into five clear sections,
which have a remote connection with the patterns of orthodox formal development. They are
defined by the involvement of motifs, and changes in texture, meter, and/or timbre. The
composer Jean Baraqué describes the movement as ‗the first example of open form’:
…notions of exposition and development co-exist in an interrupted stream, permitting the
work to be propelled along by itself without recourse to any pre-established model. 44
42 Marie Rolf, ―Orchestral Manuscripts of Claude Debussy,‖ Musical Quarterly 70, No. 4 (1984): 563.
43 Marie Rolf, ―Orchestral Manuscripts,‖ 546.
44 Jean Barraqué, Debussy (Paris: Editions Du Seuil, 1962), 89; as cited in Trezise, Debussy: La mer, 53.
34

The introduction in mm. 1–31 establishes two important motifs – an oboe solo in mm. 6–
9, and a call in the horns and trumpets in mm. 12–17. The first principal section (Modéré, sans
lenteur) in mm. 31–84 develops motifs and themes independently from the other sections,
examples including the theme in four horns at mm. 35–40, a motif in oboe, harp, and, solo cello
at mm. 43–46, and a flute solo at m. 47, etc. The second principal section (Un peu plus
mouvementé) in mm. 84–121* opens with a theme in celli soli and continues with two variations
in m. 98 and m. 105. An interlude (Très modéré) in mm. 122–31 is followed by a coda (Très
lent) from m. 132 to the end.
The second movement, Jeu de vagues, is more complex in its musical organization and
various analyses focus on different components of the composer‘s musical language such as
tonality, texture, timbre, and repetition of motifs. To summarize just two of the formal
suggestions by theorists, Simon Trezise identifies four principal stages (I: mm. 1–35; II: mm.
36–165; III: mm. 163–218; IV: m. 219 to the end) divided into a number of short sections, 45 and
David Cox describes it as ‗a kind of scherzo form‘ where ‗the rapidly-shifting play of light on
the waters has suggested rapidly-shifting musical patterns‘ and outlines the thematic material in
seven principal motifs. 46
The third movement, Dialogue du vent et de la mer, develops motifs and themes from the
first movement, thus creating a rounded form for the whole work. Simon Trezise suggests that
the conflict between two contrasting thematic groups creates a rondo/open form of the movement
when based on a traditional point of view. The first group begins at m. 1 and comes back in m.
80 and m. 211. The second group statements are in m. 56, 157, and 244.
The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt from Debussy‘s La Mer is in the first movement, De l’aube à midi sur
la mer, mm. 84–91. It opens the second principal section of the movement.
*The measure numbers are from the 1909 edition of the score.
45 Trezise, Debussy: La Mer, 60–8.
46 Cox, Debussy Orchestral Music, 29–30.
35

Example 3.1. Debussy, La Mer, I, mm. 84–93
36

Example 3.1. (cont.)
There are two indications of a tempo change in the score at the beginning of the excerpt.
The first two measures are marked Un peu plus mouvementé (a little bit more moving) with an
exact metronome marking of a quarter note equals 69 bpm in mm. 84–5. This tempo is a two-bar
transition from the previous tempo Modéré, sans lenteur (Moderately, without slowing) at 116
bpm for the eighth note starting in m. 31, to the new, faster tempo in m. 86 (square No. 9) Très
rythmé (very rhythmical, having a regular beat) at 104 bpm for the quarter note which continues
until the end of the excerpt.
In his article on faults in the performance of La Mer, musicologist Jean-François
Monnard writes:
37

The Très rythmé… that applies to the cellos‘ phrase is never respected because the
indication is missing from the orchestral parts, and the players cannot comprehend the
intentions of a conductor with the disagreeable idea of rushing them. 47
The author of the book on Debussy‘s La Mer, musicologist Simon Trezise, expresses
similar concern about this particular passage in that ‗the tempo markings here may seem
unambiguous, yet no performance known to me follows them.‘ 48 The question on
misinterpretations and assumptions about the presentation of this work is often underestimated
by conductors; this extends all the way back to its earliest performances. Regarding the tempo, it
is known that Debussy was not fond of the metronome. In a letter to his publisher Jacques
Durand from 1915, the composer reveals his opinion that the metronomic indications ‗are true
for just one measure‘ 49 but the flexibility and natural fluidity in the music should follow the
proportional relationship of the different tempi and tempo changes indicated by the composer,
according to the scholar of Debussy‘s music, Marie Rolf. In the cello excerpt, the first two
measures are at 69 bpm for a quarter note and the following measures are in Très rythmé at 104
bpm for a quarter note. The latter portion of the passage is not only substantially faster but also
more rhythmical and tighter in character. A precise programmatic text does not exist in the music
and the specific image for the passage is just a suggestion, but since the first principal section of
the movement is ‗the rising sun‘, it is possible that the entrance of the cellos depicts the dynamic
motion of water because of its quicker tempo, new timbre, and massive sound.
The theme in mm. 84–5 calls for eight cellos in four divisi, and with a repeat in m. 86 the
theme continues in sixteen cellos, divided in four. The theme is a six-measure phrase which
culminates at the end of m. 89. The parts are in rhythmic unison and melodically follow the same
direction and gesture. The passage consists of sonorities built on minor and major thirds over C
and F in the bass of the chord.
After the first performance of La Mer in 1905, the score was revised by Debussy and the
changes appear in the second edition of the piece from 1909. Along with other differences, a
major part of the revision includes the alteration of dynamics ‗and almost always involve[s] the
47 Jean-François Monnard, ―Claude Debussy: ―La Mer‖: Des fautes de copie à l‘interprétation,‘ Schweiserische
Musikzeitung 121, (1981): 15; as cited in Trezise, Debussy: La mer, 31.
48 Trezise, Debussy: La mer, 31.
49 Marie Rolf, Introduction to Claude Debussy, La mer, ed. Marie Rolf, Complete Works, Series V, Vol. 5 (France:
Editions Durand, 1997); from Debussy, Lettres à son éditeur, 158.
38

eduction of dynamic levels, from mp to p, for example.‘ 50 Dynamics are an important part of the
composer‘s expressive language and from his views on performance it becomes clear that
‗dynamics and balance [are] paramount.‘ 51 Sensitive and sharp inflection in dynamics is
necessary in the performance of Debussy‘s music in order to successfully convey the ideas and
style of the composer.
The beginning of the cello excerpt is in p crescendo for one beat until the sfz p. It is
crucial to note that the first rhythmic group is a thirty-second note (not a sixteenth) and a dotted
eighth, and it is repeated again only on the first beat of m. 86. The sfz should be strong but still in
p and the long diminuendo of six beats should be considered in advance by saving the bow from
the (frog) beginning of the dotted half note.
The theme continues in m. 86 and this time it begins in mf. The crescendo starts on the
second beat until f on the last beat of the measure is reached. The short semi-phrase in mm. 86–7
ends with a diminuendo, which is not before the third beat of the second measure. It is important
to observe how many times the dynamics are a reflection of the melodic line as the ascending
notes are accompanied by a crescendo and the descending ones by a diminuendo.
There are two symmetrical figures in the next semi-phrase, which begins at the end of m.
87 and continues until m. 91. In all cello parts, the symmetry is in both rhythm and melody. The
first figure is in the third and fourth beats of m. 88 and the second follows immediately in the
first two beats of m. 89. The only difference between both figures is in the dynamic and it
determines the direction of the phrase. In m. 88 there are three consecutive crescendi. The first
one starts from p, the second from mf, and the third goes back a little to reach mf again in the
next measure. The first figure participates in the shaping of the phrase by going backwards and
forwards with the dynamics. In the second figure there is one continuous crescendo, which leads
more actively to the f, and then another crescendo builds the climax of the phrase in ff.
Each phrase in mm. 86–91 should have a continuous pulsation and slowing the tempo
down would only disrupt the direction of the passage. If we consider our image to be the water
before it reaches its peak (m. 90) and begins to fall down, it accumulates force and needs
continuity (the crescendi in mm. 87–90) even if the flow is created by the motion of separate
waves (beats three and four of m. 88). The rhythm of a triplet or a dotted triplet in the excerpt
50 Trezise, Debussy: La mer, 18.
51 Ibid., 27.
39

could be viewed as another implication for the water image because it suggests a circular,
continuous motion. Precise execution of the rhythmic groups and direction of the phrase are
necessary in the performance of the excerpt from Debussy‘s La Mer.
Besides the dynamics, phrasing and rhythm, the sound plays an important role in creating
the tone color of the theme. A pressed and forced sound is not advisable in performance; instead,
a fluid, light (but strong), and resonant sound should be produced. It can be achieved by a
quicker bow speed and a vibrato in the left hand which facilitates good connections between the
notes.
Here is a suggestion for fingering and bowing of the first cello part in the excerpt.
Example 3.2. Debussy, La mer, I, fingerings and bowings of Cello 1, mm. 84–92
40

CHAPTER IV
MENDELSSOHN
Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Overture, Op. 21
Date of composition: 1826
Dedicated to: the Prince of Prussia
Premiere performance: February, 1827 in Stettin
Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61
Date of composition: 1843
Dedicated to: Heinrich Conrad Schleinitz and commissioned by the King Friedrich Wilhelm IV
Premiere performance: October 18, 1843 in Potsdam
The Composer
The seventeen-year-old Mendelssohn composed the Overture to Shakespeare‘s play A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, op. 21 (1826) when the performance of independent overtures had
become a standard part of European concert life. 52 Notable examples of this genre include
Spohr‘s Jessonda and Weber‘s Oberon. Mendelssohn had already written twelve symphonies for
strings before the age of fourteen and in 1924, he wrote Symphony in C minor, Op. 11, for full
orchestra. This symphony is usually reffered to as No. 1. With the composition of the String
Octet in E-flat Major, op. 20 in 1825 and the Overture to Shakespeare‘s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream in the following year, Mendelssohn created masterpieces which have remained in the
standard music repertoire up to the present day.
At the beginning of the overture, immediately following the four opening chords in the
winds appears one of the finest examples of Mendelssohn‘s scherzo style in staccato strings.
Also called by musicologists the ―elfin‖ or ―fairy‖ sound, it becomes a paradigm for the rest of
the century with its ability to illustrate imaginary characters. 53 The same scherzo style and fairy
quality of the string writing contains the third movement Scherzo of the Octet in E-flat major,
52
Peter Mercer-Taylor, The Life of Mendelssohn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 56.
53
Thomas Grey, ―The Orchestral Music,‖ in The Mendelssohn Companion, ed. Douglas Seaton (Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001), 461.
41

Op. 20. The sister of the composer, Fanny Mendelssohn, describes the musical atmosphere of the
movement in the following way:
The whole piece is to be played staccato and pianissimo, the tremulandos coming in now
and then, the trills passing away with the quickness of lightning; everything new and
strange, and at the same time most insinuating and pleasing, one feels so near the world
of spirits, carried away in the air, half inclined to snatch up a broomstick and follow the
aerial procession. At the end the first violin takes flight with a feather-like lightness and –
all has vanished. 54
The sister of the composer describes with most vivid images the features that became
most characteristic in Mendelssohn‘s scherzo writing – the ―staccato and pianissimo… with a
feather-like lightness‖ and ―with the quickness of lightning,‖ and also ―at the same time most
insinuating and pleasing.‖
The Work
The establishment of an Academy of Arts came as part of the cultural reforms at the
Berlin Court after 1840. Mendelssohn was engaged by Friedrich Wilhelm IV to compose the
music to a series of classic plays, among them was Shakespeare‘s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The composer used the German translation of the play by A. W. Schlegel. At the Court Theater,
he collaborated with the German novelist and translator Ludwig Tieck, who staged the drama in
three acts rather than the original five. For the performance, Mendelssohn included the overture
inspired by the play written in1826, and added twelve separate numbers of stage music.
Stage music, also called incidental music, is music performed as a part of a spoken drama
and its constituent elements – overture, entr‘acte (designed for performance between the acts),
dance, chorus, melodrame, etc., can also be found in other musical contexts. 55 The twelve
numbers from the score to Midsummer Night’s Dream include four instrumental entr‘actes (No.
1 Scherzo, No. 5 Intermezzo, No. 7 Nocturne, and No. 9 Wedding March); pieces of onstage
music as songs (No. 3 Song with Chorus with two sopranos for Fairies I and II and women‘s
chorus for the Chorus of Fairies), dances and marches (No. 10 Marcia Funebre, and No. 11 A
Dance of Clowns); and underscoring music for the play‘s dialogues.
54 Mercer-Taylor, The Life of Mendelssohn, 55.
55 Roger Savage. "Incidental music." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/43289 (accessed April 25,
2009).
42

The main characters of Shakespeare‘s comedy are the rulers of the elves who live in the
woods, the King of the Fairies Oberon and The Fairy Queen Titania; two pairs of lovers –
Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius; the servant of Oberon – the mischievous Puck,
who has the magic flower; Bottom, the weaver who has been transformed into a donkey by a
magic spell, and his friends; Duke Theseus of Athens and his wife, Hyppolita, the Queen of the
Amazons. Mendelssohn assigned the sound of the ophicleide, a now obsolete instrument
resembling the baritone saxophone, to Bottom and depicted the animal‘s braying (―hee-haw‖)
with an accent on a falling ninth in the Overture, Op. 21.
Each of the Mendelssohn entr‘actes creates a particular mood from Shakespeare‘s play.
The Scherzo (No. 1 in the score) comes between acts 1 and 2 and introduces the appearance of
the fairies and the woodland scene that follows. Constant staccato in the woodwinds and strings
re-creates the magical sound from the ―elfin‖ world of the Overture with completely new
thematic material in the Scherzo. It is thus quite remarkable how the musical language has the
same character and features as the piece of the composer‘s youth after a gap of seventeen years.
The quick 3/8 meter creates a phrasing in one beat per measure rather than three beats and
focuses the main theme on the rhythmic model of an eighth note and four sixteenths, followed by
three eighth notes. An interesting motive of a sf on a tritone appoggiatura (mm. 55–62) suggests
another sound-descriptive figure from the Overture which is the accented falling ninth imitating
Bottom‘s braying (m. 200 in the Overture). A large variety of details in the dynamics, phrasing,
and instrumentation show Mendelssohn‘s ability to create imaginary settings with most subtle
nuances and coloring effects in the music.
The Intermezzo (No. 5) was intended as an entr‘acte between the original second and
third acts of the play and depicts Helena in her desperate desire to find her lover in the forest.
The Allegro appassionato is in A Minor and is characterized by a constant motion of eighth-note
motives delivered between instrument groups. According to Friedhelm Krummacher, the
technique of durchbrochene Arbeit (the displacement of thematic lines across different
instrumental parts) constitutes the central texture of the piece. 56 In a 6/8 meter, each five- or
three-note statement creates a dynamic sound effect of ―close‖ and ―far‖ by the use of dynamics
where the ascending notes are marked crescendo and the descending ones, diminuendo.
56 Friedhelm Krummacher, ‗‘…fein und geistreich genug‘–Versuch über Mendelssohns Musik zum
―Sommernachtstraum,‖‘ Das Problem Mandelssohn, ed. Carl Dahlhaus (Regensburg: Bosse, 1974), 112; as cited in
Grey, ‗The Orchestral Music‘ in Seaton, The Mendelssohn Companion , 495.
43

The Nocturne (No. 7) creates a lyrical and calming atmosphere at the beginning, with a
dolce theme in bassoons and French horn. The music evokes the tones of the night and depicts
the sleeping lovers in the woods after the end of act 3.
Mendelssohn‘s well known Wedding March (No. 9) serves to introduce Shakespeare‘s
last act, in which the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hyppolyta is to be celebrated together with
the weddings of the love couples. The tempo of the piece is Allegro vivace in a 4/4 meter.
The Audition Excerpt
There are two cello excerpts in the Scherzo from the incidental music to A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Op. 61. Both times in the score the cello and double bass parts are notated on
separate staves: the cellos play the theme with the violas and violins while the accompaniment is
in the basses and woodwinds. The first one is in mm. 70–93 (Ex. 4.1) in E-flat major:
44

Example 4.1. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, mm. 70–93
The second excerpt is in mm. 296–323 (Ex. 2) in C major:
45

Example 4.2. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, mm. 296–323
46

Example 4.2. (cont.)
When compared, the first fifteen measures of the cello excerpts are identical but in
different keys, and both continue with slight variations of the same musical idea. Since the
excerpts present common technical difficulties for the cellist and deal with the same musical
tasks, only the second one of them (mm. 296–323) will be discussed in detail in this paper.
The tempo of the Scherzo is Allegro vivace in 3/8 meter and is not only faster than
Allegro but also indicates a particular manner of performance according to the German theorist
H. C. Koch‘s definition of the term ‗vivace‘ – ‗lively, designates as much a lively tempo as a
quick one, and light, flowing performance style.‘ 57 In addition, New Grove Dictionary specifies
that ‗as qualification, vivace was especially popular in the 19 th century and often designated a
mood rather than a tempo‘ (from It.: ‗flourishing‘, ‗thriving‘, ‗full of life‘). 58 The term was listed
57
Clive Brown, Classical and Romantic Performance Style: 1750 – 1900 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999),
368.
58
David Fallows. "Vivace." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/29542 (accessed April 25,
2009).
47

as faster than ‗allegro‘, ‗con brio‘, and ‗animato‘ by the colleague and friend of Mendelssohn,
the scholar A. B. Marx. 59
There are no metronome markings in Mendelssohn‘s works and this can be further
explained by a statement of Marx on the composer‘s performing style that ‗though in playing he
never varied the tempo when once taken, he did not always take a movement at the same pace,
but changed it as his mood was at the time‘. 60
It is difficult to determine the exact tempo of the excerpt but it is advisable to perform it
anywhere above 76 bpm for the dotted quarter. However, the most important goals for the cellist
are not so much related to high speed, but rather to consistency and steadiness of the tempo, as
well as clarity of the sound when practicing or performing an audition. Coordination, fine
execution of dynamics, and intonation present further challenges.
In the first statement of the excerpt at m. 70 (Ex. 4.1), which is also the first appearance
of this theme in the score, the composer marked the three measures at the beginning staccato
throughout, thus determining the articulation until the end of the passage and its secondary
appearances. In m. 296, the bow stroke is short, light (in p), and off the string. On the question of
whether or not the springing bow strokes were appropriate in the performance of Classical
compositions, Mendelssohn‘s advice was: ‗Always use it, my boy, where it is suitable, or where
it sounds well.‘ 61
The off-string stroke in the excerpt from Mendelssohn‘s Scherzo is an important part of
the articulation and attention must be paid to how close to the string the bow remains. If the bow
plays on the string and bounces naturally, just barely off the string, a good control of the stroke
will be achieved. The importance of bow control should be considered especially with regard to
ensemble playing, which happens when performing within an orchestra section.
A clear idea of the tempo prior to starting the excerpt will be beneficial with regard to the
placement of the eighth and sixteenth notes in the correct pulsation. This is necessary also
because the excerpt starts on an upbeat. The bow starts from the string and the articulation of the
separate eighth notes should be the same as the slurred, dotted ones in mm. 298 and 306. The
accent on the quarter note at mm. 300 and 308 requires a deeper grip (―scoop‖) of the string and
59 Brown, Classical and Romantic Performance Style, 368.
60 Ibid., 284.
61 Ibid., 271.
48

a quick re-take of the bow for the sixteenth notes that follow. It is important that the two
sixteenth notes are on time and not late.
Practicing the excerpt in different rhythmic combinations will greatly improve both the
coordination between the hands and the ability to control the bow-stroke in the faster tempo.
The dynamics in the excerpt are particularly important for the composer‘s style and a
necessary tool in the shaping of the phrase. The dynamic at the beginning is p until a crescendo
and a decrescendo for a measure and a half, starting at m. 303. The ascending scale naturally
helps the crescendo, which leads to F, and a short decrescendo finishes the measure. The same
dynamic gesture repeats at mm. 311–12, and again two measures later (mm. 315–16). It is
helpful if the cellist practices the dynamic changes first on a single note, so that a better idea of
the length and pressure of the sixteenth notes is established in the right hand. The execution of
the crescendo is not strong and should stay in the soft range as a color or nuance of the phrasing.
After a written-out crescendo for two and a half measures, there is a sf on the first note of m. 320
and a f continues until the end of the excerpt. There is a general tendency among players to speed
up passages with continuous crescendo to a f dynamic in fast tempo: the last six measures of the
excerpt from Mendelssohn‘s Scherzo offer a good example. A consistent practice with the
metronome will establish a solid rhythm throughout the passage.
There are various sets of fingerings for this excerpt, including the following two options:
Example 4.3a. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, fingerings
involving thumb position, mm. 296–323
49

Example 4.3b. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, Scherzo, fingerings, mm.
296–323
The first example may appear challenging considering the use of the thumb position but it
compensates by less shifting.
The fingering shown in the second example is more common and requires flexibility of
the right hand especially in mm. 301–3 and mm. 309–10 where the bow must go back to the D
string for the sixteenth note G. If the notes G and E are played as double stops in the left hand it
will facilitate the string changes of the bow. The basic goal in the performance of fast passages
while changing strings is for the left hand fingers to arrive on the note(s) before the bow, and not
exactly with or after the bow, thus creating a good coordination between the hands. The same
idea applies to the execution of shifts and in mm. 303–4. When the excerpt is practiced slowly,
the left hand should play ahead of the right as frequently as possible wherever there is a string
change.
The intonation of the excerpt is important and needs special attention, especially when
open strings are involved in the passage, as in the case of the A string in m. 298 and mm. 301–3.
50

CHAPTER V
MOZART
Symphony No. 35 Haffner in D Major, K. 385
Date of composition: 1782
Premiere performance: March 23, 1783, in Vienna
The Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) spent the last ten years of his life in Vienna
where his productivity reached its summit. During that time, Mozart enjoyed great success with
masterworks in every genre of instrumental and vocal music. Some of his compositions from the
last decade include the operas Le nozze di Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Così fan tutte
(1790), and Die Zauberflöte and La clemenza di Tito (1791); twenty-two concerti including
seventeen for piano, four for French horn,and a clarinet concerto; six symphonies, and other
works in the chamber music and sonata genres.
The Symphony
Mozart composed two Serenades for the Haffner family in Salzburg. The first one was
commissioned for a wedding celebration in 1776, the Haffner Serenade, K. 250, and the other
one for an ennoblement occasion in 1782 – a grand composition in five movements and a March
in D major, K. 420, No. 2. Months later, in 1783, Mozart reworked the latter into a Symphony
for its Vienna performance by omitting the introductory March and the second Minuet. Mozart
enriched the orchestration by adding pairs of flutes and clarinets to the original score, and deleted
the repeats of the first movement. The work remains known today as Symphony No. 35 Haffner
in D major and it is in the brilliant and festive style of a Serenade.
The Haffner Symphony was premiered on March 23, 1783 at the Hofburgtheater in
Vienna. The role of the symphony as a genre at the time was to frame an evening of musical
performances. The first three movements of the Symphony No. 35 were the prelude, and the
finale was the postlude, to a concert consisting of only Mozart‘s compositions such as the Piano
Concertos in C major, K. 415 and D major, K. 175; the second and third movements from the
Symphony Concertante, K. 320 as well as a number of arias.
51

The first movement, Allegro spirito, is monothematic. The entire movement is built on
the opening motive whose characteristics are the wide, octave leaps and strong rhythmic pulse.
The motive is an asymmetrical, five-measure phrase exploited in various ways throughout the
course of the movement, including melodic and accompanimental aspects. Mozart keeps the
frame of the sonata form and the development section starts at m. 95 in A major, and the
recapitulation in m. 129.
The second and third movements, Andante and Menuetto, have the light and flowing
characters of the festive celebrational pieces. Such pieces are the serenade and divertimento.
Graceful themes, courtly elegance in the dance movements, simplicity and brevity are the
qualities in their expressive language.
The last movement, Presto, is in sonata-rondo form. In a letter to his father, in August of
1782, Mozart explained the tempo of the movement in the following way:
The first Allegro must be played with great fire, the last – as fast as possible. 62
The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt from Mozart‘s Symphony No. 35 Haffner is in the last movement in
mm. 134 – 81. The excerpt represents the third return of the beginning theme in D major after a
transition of eight measures in unison in the strings (see appendix 1 for score example).
The cello part presents a variety of difficulties regarding rhythm, phrasing, coordination,
and bow control. At the beginning of the excerpt (m. 134), the cello section joins the unison in
violins where the established tempo and p dynamic should be considered. A smooth entrance of
the cellos is required in order to keep a continuous line. In the original score, all measures are
slurred separately except the last two (m. 137 – 38) before the theme, thus creating a possibility
for an accent at the beginning of each bow. Considering the fast tempo and p dynamic, and the
necessary quick change of bow direction, it is challenging for the cellist to achieve an even
musical line. The bow should move on the string without any additional pressure or weight from
the hand in considerably slow speed since the faster speed will create a louder sound. The even
motion of the right hand will guarantee smooth bow changes. It is important that the player does
not rush with each measure and keeps a steady tempo throughout the passage. Left hand
articulation helps in achieving stable tempo and practicing in rhythmic patterns such as dotted
62 Neal Zaslaw, Mozart’s Symphonies – Context, Performance Practice, Reception (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989),
378.
52

eighth note with a sixteenth, two slow notes and two fast, and their opposites and combinations,
is necessary.
The playful character of the theme starting at m. 139 is determined by the p dynamic, the
staccato note, and the rests which create a conversational and declamatory effect to the melody.
The first quarter note A in m. 139 is connected to the preceding note while the short quarter A
should be separated from the note before and after it. A comfortable, bouncing point of the bow
should be chosen for the measure of the staccato note. In the left hand, the interval of a perfect
fourth should be carefully considered between the second and the fourth fingers. Practicing
double stops in third position will be extremely helpful for the intonation.
There are various examples of bowings of the theme. Two of them will accentuate on
different interpretations. The first choice allows the player to focus more on the down-bows of
measures one and three of the theme (Ex. 5.1a), while the second one brings the center of the
phrase around the second and fourth measures by using the bow as it comes (Ex. 5.1b).
Example 5.1a. Mozart, Symphony No.35, IV, bowings, mm. 139–146
Example 5.1b. Mozart, Symphony No. 35, IV, using the bow as it comes, mm. 139–146
It is important that the cellists have in mind the violins‘ part in mm. 143–6. In passages
with rests, there is a danger of playing the separate sections in different tempi, so knowing the
score along with subdividing the beat will secure more stable pulse. The temptation to play
different tempi applies also to the change of dynamics. The next section of the excerpt in m. 147
continues in f after a rest and should not be performed faster (a frequent occurrence) than the
preceding part of the theme in p dynamic.
From m. 147 until the end of the excerpt in m. 181, the character of the theme is festive
and full of energy. Chords in the winds and timpani create the celebratory atmosphere and drive
53

the music forward. The first four measures of the cello part are in unison with the violas and
bassoon; in the following phrase, the theme alternates between low strings and violins, and in
m.159 and m. 164 all strings play in unison for four measures. At all times the chords in the
winds and timpani should be used as a constant reference to the tempo and the character of the
passage. Here is a suggestion for fingerings and bowings in the following example (Ex. 5.2).
Example 5.2. Mozart, Symphony No. 35, IV, mm. 134–181
54

The fast tempo and separate eighth notes require great coordination between the hands.
The stroke of the passage is light while in f dynamic and requires a short bow with all bow hair
on the string. Whenever a string change occurs, the sound and timbre should remain essentially
the same.
It is necessary for the left hand fingers to stay as close as possible to the strings.
Excessive lifting will destroy the balance of the hand and possibly slow down the tempo of the
passage. During a string change, the new finger should be prepared to play in advance either
above or on the string as in m. 148, m. 159, etc. As a general rule, the fingers of the left hand
stay on the string and the change of the notes consists mainly of a lifting motion. Efficiency in
execution of fast passages is of primary importance.
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
Date of composition: 1788
Premiere performance: April 16, 1791 suggested by H. C. Robbins Landon
The Symphony
The last three symphonies of Mozart were all completed in the year 1788 within a period
of eight weeks. As indicated in the composer‘s own catalog, the composition dates are June 26
for the Symphony in E-flat Major, K. 543; July 25 for the Symphony in G Minor, K. 550; and
August 10 for the Symphony in C Major (Jupiter), K. 551.
Minor keys were not often used in the music of the Classical period and had a special
significance. In his Viennese years, Mozart composed three works in G minor – the Piano
Quartet in G minor, K. 478; the String Quintet in G minor, K. 516; and the Symphony in G
minor, K. 550. The composer completed another Symphony in G minor in 1773, K. 183, referred
to as the ―Little G minor‖.
Mozart originally scored the Symphony in G minor, K. 550 for one flute, two oboes, two
bassoons, two horns, and strings. At a later time, he added two clarinets and rewrote the oboe
parts thus creating a full woodwind section. In comparison with the other two symphonies of the
same period, there are no trumpets or timpani in the G minor one.
The Symphony consists of four movements. The first movement, Molto allegro, begins
without an introduction. An arch type theme starts in violins and accompanying violas and its
second statement (m. 20) is enriched with sustained chords in the winds. The second theme has
55

chromatic features and starts in m. 44 in the relative major key of B-flat after a measure of
general pause. Separating the themes through a general pause is a common characteristic of
Mozart‘s compositional style. In m. 227, the return of the second theme is in G minor.
The second movement is Andante and the writing has contrapuntal and chromatic
characteristics similar to the previous movement. The area of the first theme in E-flat major is in
mm. 1–19, and the second theme area is in B-flat major in mm. 20–52. The recapitulation begins
at the end of m. 73.
The third movement, Menuetto, is in a rounded binary form where the Trio is in the
parallel key of G major. In addition to the key, the contrast is also manifested in the lighter
texture and orchestration where the strings and winds state the theme in a conversational manner.
The famously fiery finale, Allegro assai, starts with a question-and-answer theme and
alternates between p and f every two measures. Abrupt dynamic changes are a typical
characteristic feature of the movement, which is a contrast also achieved by the use of G.P. in the
music. The second theme starts in m. 71 and bears chromatic features. The harmonically
complex development begins with unexpected modulations and a melody based on the interval
of diminished seventh. It continues with four-part contrapuntal writing. The recapitulation starts
at m. 206 and the second theme, as in the first movement, remains in the key of G minor.
The Audition Excerpt
The audition excerpt is in the first movement of the symphony and the indicated tempo is
Molto Allegro in alla breve 4/4 meter. According to Neal Zaslaw, Mozart used common time for
any tempo from extremely slow to moderately fast, but notated extremely fast movements in
duple meter as 2/4 or alla breve 4/4 time. 63 The tempo of the excerpt is much faster than Allegro,
but not as fast as the last movement, Allegro assai (assai from It. – ‗very‘), since it was common
for the final movement to be the fastest one.
The cello excerpt required at auditions is from the first movement and starts at m. 114,
the fourteenth measure of the development section. This section begins with two chords in f
leading to F-sharp minor, the furthest key from the tonic, with the theme starting in p violins. It
descends chromatically with each statement until the explosive entrance of the theme in unison
cellos and basses in E minor. There, in m. 114, staccato eighth-notes in the violins and the cello-
63 Zaslaw, Mozart’s Symphonies, 490.
56

ass line create what is the beginning of a double counterpoint over the regular harmonic
progression of E minor–A minor, D minor – G minor, C major–F major–B-flat major until the
dominant of D minor is reached in m. 134, which is also the end of the audition excerpt (Ex. 5.3).
Example 5.3. Mozart, Symphony No. 40, I, mm. 114–137
57

Example 5.3. (cont.)
It is important to note that at the beginning of the movement the theme starts in p in the
violins and in m. 114, when presented in the cellos and basses, the theme is in f which
determines a different character and requires a particular stroke and articulation. A reference to
the performance practice at the time from the German theorist Daniel Türk in his treatise
Klavierschule from 1789 will be helpful:
In performance of detached notes one must especially take into account the prevailing
character of the composition, the tempo, the prescribed loudness and softness etc. If the
character of a piece is serious, tender, sad, etc. then the detached notes should not be
played as short as in pieces of a lively, playful, etc. character. The notes that should be
shortly detached, that are mixed into a melodious Adagio, should not be made as short as
in an Allegro. In forte one can generally staccato more shortly than in piano. 64
There are no dot marks over the quarter notes in the theme (the quarters are marked
staccato only in two places: in violins in mm. 103–110 and in woodwinds in mm. 260–272, but
the notes are to be performed detached. In finding the appropriate articulation, an understanding
of the eighteenth-century bows and bow techniques is necessary. A particular characteristic of
earlier bows was the tendency to produce a distinctly articulated effect in moderately fast or fast
passages played with separate bow strokes. 65 Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the
increased strength allowed some bows to spring easily but this stroke was more favored in solo
playing. A common way of execution of successive short notes was the martelé, which was a
64 Brown, Classical and Romantic Performing Practice, 215.
65 Ibid., 261.
58

short stroke, on the string, at the point of the bow. In the theme of Mozart‘s Symphony in G
minor, K. 550, the stroke should be short and on the string, but not as short as the dotted notes
that follow the theme in m. 118. It is important that the notes from the first two measures are
equally as short as the notes of the descending line of the phrase in m. 117. Since the theme starts
up-bow, it will be helpful if the cellist tries starting down-bow once. The difference in the release
of the quarter note on a down- or up-bow will create a better idea for the phrasing articulation.
The stroke of the quarter notes should be the same as for the slurred eighth-notes, because
the ―so-called ‗articulating‘ slurs were performed in such a way that each pattern could be heard,
the first note of each slurred group being more strongly stressed than the following ones.‖ 66 It is
significant for the cellist to note the attack as well as the release of every bow. For the uniformity
of sound, the clear and strong beginning of the stroke should be even with the previous one and
unnecessary accents must be avoided.
There are various ways of phrasing the beginning of the theme in the cello excerpt; two of
them will be discussed. The first one, has its center in the first beat of m. 116, on the B. Since the
same motive of two eighth-notes and a quarter on the same pitch comes three times
consecutively, it is natural for each successive motive to be stronger than the previous one until
the line reaches the heaviest point on the first beat of m. 116. A little use of vibrato on that note
would emphasize the center of the semi-phrase. The second way of shaping the theme is related
to the performance practice at the time, in which the strong beats, also called ‗good notes‘, get
more emphasis compared to the weak beats or ‗bad notes‘.
The system of accentuation based on good and bad notes persisted throughout the
Viennese Classical period. The good notes received most stress, but in accordance with
their position in the bar. Thus, the first beat of a 4/4 bar received the most emphasis, the
second less, the third more than the second but less than the first, and the fourth less
again. Meters such as 2/2 and 2/4 involved one major stress (on the first beat). 67
The cut 4/4 meter of the theme of Mozart‘s symphony will determine the weight on the
first beat of every measure. This way of thinking gives more forward direction to the phrase.
This cello excerpt presents different types of problems for both hands, most importantly
in the coordination. Here is a suggestion for fingerings and bowings for the passage (Ex. 5.4):
66 Robin Stowell, ―Leopold Mozart Revised: Articulation in Violin Playing During the Second Half of the
Eighteenth Century,‖ in Perspectives on Mozart Performance, ed. R. Larry Todd and Peter Williams (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1991), 138.
67 Ibid., 144.
59

Example 5.4. Mozart, Symphony No. 40, I, fingerings and bowings, mm. 114–138
It is helpful for the left hand if, in the first three measures, the fingers stay essentially on
the fingerboard, and only the necessary ones are lifted so there is no excessive up and down
motion. In the first measure, the point of gravity in the left hand is around the second and third
fingers, securely placed on the fingerboard with only the fourth finger moving. And again, after
the rest in the second measure, all fingers stay down and then the succession of 4, 3, and 1, or 4,
2, and 1 presents a lifting motion only.
In the staccato portion of the excerpt, the string crossings are challenging for the bow
arm, and it is crucial that the left hand fingers are prepared in advance. For example, where
double stops are possible in m. 119 and m. 127, the third and the seventh notes of the measure
should not be late. It will be helpful for the cellist if there is an established finger pattern in the
scale-like part of the passage in mm. 128–133 where shifts with the first finger are preferable.
For practicing the right hand, it would be helpful for the cellist to create a pattern in the
string changes. By playing the excerpt on open strings only, without the left hand, one can focus
on the bow and note when string changes occur –whether on a down- or an up-bow. Also, if the
bow leaves the string for the second note of a four-notes group, as in the second half of m. 120;
change of string occurs on the third note, as in m. 119 and m. 127; or the bow is playing even
number of notes on two strings as in the second half of m. 118.
60

CHAPTER VI
RICHARD STRAUSS: DON JUAN, OP. 20
Date of composition: 1888
Premiere performance: November 11, 1889 in Weimar
The Composer
By 1885 the symphonic poem was a prominent genre for expression among European
composers and its inventor was Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886). 68 Richard Strauss‘s first works with
common formal ideas were Aus Italien (1886), followed by Macbeth (1888). The latter has been
described by the composer as ‗a sort of symphonic poem, but not after Liszt.‘ 69 Through the idea
of ‗new form for every new subject‘ and Liszt‘s symphonic poems, Strauss further developed the
main directions of the New German School and the ‗music of the future.‘ 70 Strauss created the
genre of the tone poem and embraced the ideas and characteristic features in the music of the
Austro-Germanic composers during the 1880s. Described by theorist James Nepokoski, these
features include a deployment of a large and ‗quasi-technological orchestral apparatus‘; symbolic
or leitmotivic organization; an understanding of a ―poetic logic‖ of program music, in which the
music drama and text determine the formal structure of the music; and a frequent use of
chromatic harmony and ―progressive‖ dissonances.‘ 71 Therefore Strauss does not invent a new
formal design but instead he modifies an already existing formal structure, which corresponds to
the story line. Extraordinary virtuosic writing for the orchestra is a special feature of the
composer‘s style.
Strauss composed the first cycle of tone poems in the years 1886–89. It includes the
works Macbeth (1886, premiered in 1888), Don Juan (1888), and Tod und Verklärung (1889).
Strauss chose his subjects from a great variety of sources. Among them are Shakespeare‘s
Macbeth, the verse play of the German poet Nicolas Lenau (Don Juan), a medieval German
68 Norman Del Mar, Richard Strauss: A Critical Commentary on his Life and Works (New York: The Free Press of
Glencoe [A Division of the Macmillan Company], 1962), 52.
69 Ibid., 55.
70 Bryan Gilliam and Charles Youmans. "Strauss, Richard." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/40117pg2 (accessed April 25,
2009).
71 James Hepokoski, ―Framing Till Eulenspiegel,‖ 19 th Century Music 30, no. 1 (2006), 6.
61

legend (Till Eulenspiegel), Nietzsche‘s Also Sprach Zarathustra, and a novel by the Spanish
author Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote).
The Work
Don Juan was premiered with the composer conducting on November 11, 1889 in
Weimar. In a letter after the first rehearsal with the Weimar orchestra, he wrote:
…even though it is terribly difficult, everything sounded splendid and came across
magnificently. I really felt sorry for the poor horns and trumpets. They blew themselves
completely blue. 72
The premiere of the work had an immediate success and since then has become a pillar of
the contemporary orchestral repertoire.
Strauss employed the verse play Don Juan (published in 1851) by the German poet
Nicolas Lenau. The play was in fragments and presented a series of short stories, without a
completely developed plot. Strauss includes three quotations of Don Juan in the musical score
and none of them carries the action of the play. 73 The composer depicts the psychological image
of Don Juan rather than following an exact text.
According to the British conductor and author Norman Del Mar, the form of the tone
poem Don Juan is a sonata first movement with two major independent episodes inserted into
the development. 74 The author continues to explain in detail the nature and character of each
theme in work as follows: mm. 1–6 is the principal subject (a composite theme); m. 9, in the
violins, is the principal theme of the first subject; mm. 44–5, in the violins and ended by the
oboe, is the theme of the first heroine; m. 90, in the horns, is the theme of the ‗first true love
scene;‘ m. 197 is a ‗new courtship‘ and the girl is depicted by solo flute in mm. 203–7; the theme
in m. 235 in the oboe depicts ‗Don Juan‘s deepest love experience;‘ m. 314 in the horns conveys
the ‗heroic Don Juan.‘
On the other hand, theorist James Hepokoski suggests an initial ―rondo-deformation‖ in
the first two-thirds of the work, which is a series of episodes where the rondo-like structure is
suddenly abandoned for the ―sonata-deformation‖ at the recapitulatory moment (m. 474). 75
72
Raymond Holden, ―Richard Strauss: the Don Juan Recordings,‖ Performance practice review 10, no. 1 (1997)
12–13.
73
Del Mar, Richard Strauss, 69.
74
Ibid.
75
Hepokoski, ―Framing Till Eulenspiegel,‖ 31.
62

Controversies arise because the structure is a hybrid between the sonata form and rondo.
It bears the characteristics of a sonata form because it has a dominating principal theme. It,
however, does not have a clearly defined second theme to comprise an exposition. Even though
the return of the opening theme in m. 474 brings a sense of recapitulation, it cannot be defined as
such because of the lack of the subordinate theme to complete it. The principal theme is
developed throughout the work similarly to the development section of a sonata form. It also
bears the formal characteristics of a rondo because of its episodic structure. Unlike the rondo
form, there is not an established refrain. The principal theme serves as a refrain and with every
appearance between the episodes, it is developed.
The formal structure of Don Juan presents a combination between the ideas in the
principal theme and its development from the sonata form, and the concept of episodes from the
rondo.
The Audition Excerpt
While many other excerpts from the orchestral literature present the player with a single
and most important task, the cello part from Strauss‘s Don Juan consists of a wide range of
technical demands regarding tempo, rhythm, sound, intonation, and hand coordination.
Selected measures from the first page of the cello part will be discussed here – mm. 1–9
and mm. 23–49 (see appendix 2 for score example).
According to the author Raymond Holden, who studied in detail three recordings of Don
Juan (1922, 1929, and 1944) with the composer conducting, a central feature of Strauss‘s
performing style was his manipulation and integration of tempi. 76 It becomes clear from his
research that in all three recordings, the tempo of 84[+] bpm for the half note is ‗strictly
observed‘ at each statement and restatement of the first subject material. 77 The tempo of 84 bpm
continues from the very beginning of the work to the tranquillo in mm. 48–9.
The practice tempo of the excerpt is much slower and it is gradually increased in speed
with practice. Consistent work with the metronome will assist an efficient way of practicing.
Here is a suggestion for fingerings and bowings of the first nine measures of the excerpt (ex.
6.1):
76 Holden, ―Don Juan Recordings,‖26.
77 Ibid., 27.
63

Example 6.1. Strauss, Don Juan, mm.1–9
For the sixteenth notes at the beginning of the excerpt, great coordination between the
hands is necessary in order to achieve the quick tempo. As a general rule in any practice speed,
the hands and fingers should be placed and prepared to play in advance. For instance, if the first
note of the passage starts with a second finger on the C string, the first finger for the C on the G
string should be placed simultaneously with the first note of the sixteenth-notes group. The same
applies for every string change as if the left hand is playing short double stops when approaching
a new string. Practicing the first measure of the excerpt in different rhythmic patterns will greatly
benefit the synchronization of the hands. Especially helpful are rhythms with alternating slow
and fast note values, since the dotted rhythms create a different type of demand for the bow
hand.
The excerpt starts with a sixteenth-note rest. In a moderate tempo practice, the rhythm
should be organized towards the C of the following beat. In this way, the rhythmic pattern will
facilitate the direction of the passage. In the fast tempo (half note equals 84bpm), the first strong
beat shifts to the half note E. The bow-stroke of the sixteenth notes is short and into the string.
The length of the bow-stroke in the fast tempo should be applied in the slow tempo. The
sixteenths should be marked, accented in the bow so that the stick comes close to the string with
each note. Thus, the bow will naturally bounce off the string in the fast tempo. The sixteenth-
note passage from the beginning is played by the strings.
The diverse rhythm of the first nine measures requires special attention in order to
execute the triplets, dotted eighth-notes and the sixteenths without a change of the tempo.
Frequently, the triplet at the beginning of the second measure gets slightly rushed. The quarter
note after the triplet should be full and strong, but not over held, and the dotted eighth with a
sixteenth after the rest should be placed exactly on time. There is a frequent tendency among
64

players toward rushing the rest, and therefore many performers try to avoid this problem by over
holding it. Both tendencies should be avoided. Constant subdivision of the beat is strongly
suggested during practice, as well as during performance of the whole work.
The quintuplet and sextuplet at the end of m. 4 should sound clear and with crescendo to
the B. Only the cellos, violas, and harp from the orchestra play this passage. The rhythmic
organization of the motif should be focused on the first note of the sixteenth-note groups, E and
C-sharp. Playing the quintuplet and the sextuplet separately or in reverse order, and/or practicing
the groups as a scale by starting always from the beginning and adding a note with each
repetition are examples of different ways of learning the passage.
In the execution of the abovementioned sixteenth-note passage or any fast sequence of
notes, it is important that the left hand is adjusted to play all notes in the position. Therefore, the
left hand position does not change with every note but it shifts only with the change of the
position. This is especially true when the use of the fourth finger is required. The first and fourth
fingers frame each position and in order to smoothly execute the notes in the position, the
shortest finger (4 th ) should stay above the string at all times.
The prevailing dynamics for the first fifty measures are ff with the exception of the
accompanying passage of triplets in mm. 17–20 in mf, the triple fff in mm. 31–34, the subito pp
in mm. 43–44, and the p tranquillo in m. 48. Therefore, the basic sound of the excerpt should be
strong, rich and resonant, including the parts in pizzicato. Often when the player tries to achieve
the appropriate sound for the Don Juan excerpt, there are unnecessary accents in the music,
which occur during bow changes. Sustained and strong sound supports a continuous line in the
phrasing, so accents that do not exist in the music should be avoided. For instance, in the first
two measures of the excerpt, the half note E should not decrease in sound because the bow
moves towards the tip. The sound of the half note should sustain an even crescendo to the next
measure where the triplets lead to the quarter note B. The B should not be accented and control
of the bow speed will help in achieving strong and sustained sound of the note.
Here is a suggestion for fingerings and bowings of the cello part in mm. 23–49 (Ex. 6.2):
65

Example 6.2. Strauss, Don Juan, mm. 23–49
In the first part of mm. 23, 25, 27–9 and the second part of mm. 40 and 42 there is an
ascending triplet motif. Close attention to the rhythm should be paid because the tempo of the
triplets often tends to speed up towards the end. The length of the notes in the triplet groups
should be even and with the same bow-stroke in ff. Difference in the sound for the down- and
up-bows should be avoided, and an equal attack of every note needs to be mastered.
The rhythm of m. 30 could be challenging because of the 3/4 meter. It will be helpful for
the player if the half note of the previous measure is subdivided in quarters. That way the
pulsation of the quarter note will continue naturally to the following measure.
There is another rhythmic issue in mm. 38–9, in which the triplet is followed by a quarter
note, tied to a dotted eighth-note with a sixteenth. The slurred note should not be played too long
and a rather earlier stop of the bow is required in order for the sixteenth note to be on time and
not late. Practicing with the metronome and subdividing the beat will contribute to a successful
performance of the passage. It is important to note that there is a rhythmic unison in mm. 38–9 in
the whole orchestra.
66

The sixteenth-note run at the end of m. 35 presents another problematic passage and it is
in all strings. It is fast, with crescendo, with staccato bow-strokes, and requires the change of
three strings for the cellist (considering the fingerings suggested above). It is necessary to set the
bow and the left hand just before the beginning of the passage. The fingers of the left hand
should form double-stops between B–D and G–B. The cellist needs to place the bow close to the
new string(s) in order to execute the passage efficiently and quickly. Practicing in a slow tempo
and in different rhythmic patterns will help in precise performance.
During the quiet passages in mm. 43–44 and m. 48, there is the theme of a girl in the
violins (according to Del Mar). Maintaining a strict tempo is hard in a sudden dynamic change as
in these two instances. The celli are the only section in the orchestra playing triplets at this point.
It is necessary to note that the bow should be prepared on the string in advance before the left
hand and before the beat. In mm. 43–44, there is a pp subito and in m. 48, a p tranquillo sul
ponticello.
The theme in mm. 46–47 is an anticipation of its appearance in the horns in mm. 89. It is
described by Norman Del Mar as the theme of the ‗the first true love scene.‘ It is marked molto
espressivo in the horns and its appearance in the celli should not be less expressive, even though
espressivo is not indicated.
67

CHAPTER VII
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Date of composition: 1878
Premiere performance: February 10, 1878 in St. Petersburg
Dedicated to: Nadezhda von Meck
The Composer and the Symphony
There is not a single line in this symphony that I have not felt with my whole being and
that has not been a true echo of the soul. 78
Tchaikovsky wrote his Fourth Symphony during a period of great personal struggle and
distress; the music is a reflection of the composer‘s most intense and passionate feelings. The
orchestral score of the work does not contain any text suggesting a programme behind the music,
but in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck, his patroness for thirteen years, Tchaikovsky reveals some
of his most detailed and intimate thoughts about each movement. In the letter (March 1, 1878),
the composer estimates poorly his real ‗first opportunity‘ to put ‗musical ideas into words and
phrases.‘ 79 This statement comes from the conviction of the composer that it is impossible for
words to describe ‗a purely lyrical process‘ and also ‗that music disposes of incomparably richer
means, and is a more subtle language for the expression of the thousand fold different moments
in the moods of the soul.‘ 80 Symphony No. 4 was written simultaneously with the opera Eugene
Onegin during the mature period of the composer, in which the most characteristic features of his
style are present.
The first movement, Andante sostenuto, Moderato con anima (In movimento di Valse),
begins with a slow introduction (mm. 1–26). The opening fanfare theme establishes the dramatic
idea or ‗the germ of the Symphony‘ – ‗the fate, the tragic power which prevents the yearning for
happiness from reaching its goal.‘ 81 This motto theme returns in the course of the development in
78 Daniel Zhitomirski, ―Symphonies,‖ in Russian Symphony: Thoughts about Tchaikovsky by Dmitri Shostakovich
and Others (Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1969), 106.
79 Edwin Evans, Tchaikovsky (London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1943), 117.
80 Ibid., 113.
81 Ibid., 114.
68

the succeeding sections of the sonata form (mm. 193, 355, 389) to ‗scatter the dreams‘ and
‗sweet visions.‘ The exposition starts at m. 27 with a melancholy theme (In movimento di Valse)
in the violins and cellos in 9/8 meter. The rhythm of the theme and the accompaniment are
phrased in irregular eighth-note groups which musicologist Preston Stedman calls ‗one of
Tchaikovsky‘s most interesting rhythmic experiments.‘ 82 The second theme is introduced by the
solo clarinet in m. 115, followed by another waltz tune in the violins (m. 133), which the
composer describes as ‗Oh, joy! At least a sweet, tender dream has appeared.‘ After the return of
the fanfare theme the development begins in m. 201; the recapitulation is at m. 284. Another
return of the motto marks the beginning of the coda in m. 365.
According to music critic John Warrack, the sonata form movements in Tchaikovsky‘s
symphonies establish a particular pattern which presents ‗an ingenious episodic treatment of two
tunes rather than a symphonic development of them.‘ 83 Warrack explains this phenomenon with
the fact that the composer‘s ‗basic act of invention was not structural and hence symphonic, but
melodic.‘ The treatment of the melodies in Tchaikovsky‘s symphonies is through repetition, re-
orchestration, variation, and modification rather than motivic development and contrast between
the themes.
The second movement, Andantino in modo di canzone, is in ternary form (ABA‘). The
first section opens with a folk-like theme in the oboe, marked p semplice ma grazioso. The theme
is in B-flat minor and its rhythm is in eighth notes throughout. Its intervallic contour is
characterized by ascending and descending fifths. The melody is repeated by the cellos in m. 21
and violas in m. 77, and after the middle section, by the violins in m. 199. The last statement of
the theme, which is in the bassoon (m. 274), ends the movement. Più mosso marks the beginning
of the middle section with a contrasting theme in woodwinds in F major (m. 126).
Tchaikovsky describes the mood of the second movement as ‗suffering in another phase‘
when turning to the past:
How sad that so many things have been and are past, but yet it is pleasant to think of
one‘s youth…One thinks of joyful hours, when the young blood still rushed and glowed,
and there was satisfaction in love. One thinks also of sorrowful moments, of irreparable
losses, but all that is so far, so far away. It is bitter, yet it is so sweet, to dive into the
past. 84
82 Preston Stedman, The Symphony (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1979), 172.
83 John Warrack, Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Concertos (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1969), 11.
84 Evans, Tchaikovsky, 116.
69

The third movement is Scherzo (Pizzicato ostinato), Allegro. The composer creates a
unique effect by juxtaposing different orchestral timbres in each section. The opening section is
played by strings alone and pizzicato throughout. The middle section consist of two contrasting
segments: the first is a playful tune in the woodwinds (m. 133), and the second is a pp march in
the brass (m. 170). The score is an example of the brilliant skill of the composer as an
orchestrator. There is a short antiphonal imitation between winds and strings before the return of
the pizzicato section (mm. 206 – 217) and at the beginning of the coda (mm. 349 – 364).
Tchaikovsky applies the same compositional technique in the last movement.
In the letter to Nadezhda von Meck, the composer explains the movement as lacking
‗definite feelings‘. Rather, there are ‗confused images‘ which ‗have no connection with actuality,
but are simply wild, strange, and bizarre.‘ Tchaikovsky‘s subjective interpretation of the third
movement reveals rather a recollection of thoughts of the compositional period from a year
earlier than an actual programme idea.
The fourth movement, Finale, Allegro con fuoco, is a festive climax of the Symphony
described by Tchaikovsky as ‗a picture of popular holiday merriment.‘ The movement consists
of variations on the Russian folk song In the fields there stood a birch tree. The different stages
of varying the theme are framed by the orchestra tutti scale-like passage that opens the
movement. The ‗inexorable fate‘ fanfare from the first movement appears again (m. 199), this
time to mark the beginning of the last section (coda) of the Finale.
The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt from Tchaikovsky‘s Fourth Symphony is in the second movement,
Andantino in modo di canzone. It is in mm. 21–41 and presents the second statement of the
theme immediately after its exposition in solo oboe.
70

Example 7.1. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, II, mm. 21–41
71

In the movement, the opening theme is stated five times in its entirety by different
instruments. The oboe is followed by the cellos at the beginning, then in m. 77 it is in the violas
and bassoon, and violins and violas in its second part, which creates a unique timbre; later (after
B section) in m. 199, it is in violins; finally, as an echo in m. 274, the theme is played by solo
bassoon in pp without any indication of dynamic change but just esspressivo. Each time the
melody keeps its character. The indications in the score differ from statement to statement but
they stay in the same mood range as (by the order of their appearance) p semplice ma grazioso; p
grazioso; and twice p cantabile. The dynamic as a part of the musical character indicates that the
theme is quiet and intimate with every repetition. The words further describe the theme as simple
(semplice), which is also to be found in the continuous eighth-note pulsation; graceful (grazioso),
suggested by the ascending fifths; and song-like (cantabile) as the nature of the melody reminds
one of a folk tune. The key of the movement is B-flat minor and the sound color of the theme is
rather dark and also melancholic in character.
The theme remains the same throughout the different sections of the movement, but the
accompaniment changes thus creating characteristic variations and rhythmic acceleration. At the
beginning, simple pizzicato chords in the strings accompany the oboe; the woodwinds play
sustained chords when the theme is in the cellos; a sixteenth-note counterpoint in m. 77 is
derived from the climax of the transitional section; in m. 199, thirty-second-note runs alternate
on every beat between the instruments of the woodwind group and the pizzicato chords in the
strings emphasize the weak beat of the measure; arco strings sustain while the theme is in the
bassoon at the end of the movement.
The cello excerpt from m. 21 presents the player with challenges regarding phrasing,
intonation, and sound.
Some parts of the phrasing are already determined by the slurs and dynamics indicated by
the composer. Most frequently, the slurs separate repeated notes as is the case in mm. 22, 24–26,
and 28. More importantly, the slurs mark the beginning of a continuous motion in the same
direction. In the music, slurred notes in one direction follow slurred notes or gestures in the
opposite direction. The closest image to this type of contrary pulsation is the side to side motion
of a cradle, an image closely connected with the folklore tradition in general.
Another consideration to keep in mind is the length of the phrases in the cello theme
(mm. 21–41). The first phrase is eight measures and it is accompanied by the clarinets in octaves
72

in mm. 22–5, and ends at the beginning of m. 29 with a half cadence. The second phrase repeats
the first five measures which are followed by a six-measure sequential extension. The sequential
extension is accompanied by a counter melody in the flutes and ends with a perfect authentic
cadence in m. 41. It is necessary to pay attention to the phrase structure in order to better
understand and control the musical shape during the performance.
Different ways of phrasing exist for this excerpt, but one will be suggested here. In the
first four measures there are two important notes, the A at m. 22 and the A at m. 24. In the
following two measures the crescendo reaches to the E, which is the climax of the first part of
the theme, and then the phrase goes back in intensity until m. 29. The theme repeats in mm. 29–
33. An espressivo marks the last section of the tune which is a descending sequence. Every two
measures the parentheses shape the phrase towards the repeated note and the overall dynamic
decreases in order to emphasize the first and highest part of the sequence in mm. 34–5.
The staccato notes constitute an important part of the articulation of the theme. In the
orchestral score they are on the notes after the shifts in mm. 22, 30, 34, 36, 38, and in m. 24 and
m. 32 it occurs at the end of the slurs. The dots imply certain lightness and breathing quality to
the melody during the upward shifts. The exact length of the staccato notes depends on the
performer, on the tempo, and the dynamics. It is not advisable to play too short eighth-notes in a
slower tempo. The soft dynamics allow shorter articulation of the stroke while in louder
dynamics longer dotted notes can be performed.
There are various possibilities for fingerings of the excerpt, but the most appropriate for
the nature of the theme remains the one using only the D string (Ex. 7.2). This way, the bright A
string color is avoided, an approach considered beneficial for the continuity of the sound.
Example 7.2. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, II, mm. 21–41
73

The execution of this passage on the D string presents the player with challenges
regarding the sound control and intonation. The string has the soft and dark color preferable for
the character of the theme. Problems arise when the D string is played above fourth position
because of the lack of clarity in the sound. Exact position of the bow between the fingerboard
and the bridge should be considered. The bow position should change with respect to the
distance between the left hand and the bridge. The bow speed has an important role in the sound
control and especially in the execution of dynamics. The speed of the bow increases with louder
dynamics and decreases with softer ones; this technique should be applied in mm.34–5, mm. 36–
7, and mm. 38–9 of the excerpt.
The shifts in the left hand are especially challenging for the intonation in this passage.
The change in the hand occurs between positions using four fingers (1 st –4 th positions), and the
higher positions using three fingers (5 th –7 th positions), which require a completely different
balance for the whole arm during the shift. It will be helpful for the player to focus on the sliding
finger, for in most cases this is the finger which starts the shift. There are two types of shifts in
the excerpt: under a slur as in m. 22, m. 23, etc., and shifts between slurs as the C to A in m. 23
to m. 24. The shifts occurring within the slur should be well connected and more audible than the
ones happening after the slurs, so a glissando during the execution of the latter type should be
avoided.
74

CHAPTER VIII
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Requiem
Date of composition: April 16, 1874
Premiere performance: May 22, 1874, the Church of San Marco, in Milan
Dedicated to: In memory of Alessandro Manzoni
The Composer
At the time of the composition of the Requiem, Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was in the
climax of his career. The composer‘s mature period includes the operas La Forza del Destino
(1862), Don Carlos (1867), and Aida (1871). The Requiem is the most important non-operatic
work of Verdi and stands with the Haydn masses, Mozart‘s Requiem, and Beethoven‘s Missa
Solemnis at the summit of liturgical music of the nineteenth century.
The Work
The official name of Verdi‘s Requiem is Messa da Requiem, or Requiem Mass. It has
been also called Manzoni Requiem since it was composed in memory of the eminent Italian
writer Alessandro Manzoni.
Verdi considered Alessandro Manzoni and Gioachino Rossini as pillars of Italian glory. 85
In 1868, six years before the completion of the Requiem, Verdi initiated the composition of a
Requiem Mass for the anniversary of Rossini‘s death. 86 The work was to be written by Verdi and
twelve other leading Italian composers. The realization of the last movement, Libera me, was
assigned to Verdi. The Messa per Rossini project failed to come to fruition but its plan preserved
the large-scale structure of the work which Verdi adopted for the Requiem in 1874. The
composer‘s contribution to the Mass for Rossini, the movement Libera me, became the basic
material for the first two sections in the Requiem of 1874 – the Requiem e Kyrie and Dies Irae.
Although the first performance took place in the church as part of a liturgical service, the
Requiem is not considered a religious work. According to Verdi‘s biographer George Martin, the
85 David Rosen, Verdi: Requiem (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 5.
86 Ibid., 2.
75

controversies come from the fact that the composer ‗had not written ecclesiastical music
although using an ecclesiastical text.‘ 87 The shape and form of Verdi‘s melodies and the
extremely dramatic, essentially operatic character of the music, was not a part of the canons for
the music in the Church. According to the same author, another perspective presents the
―message‖ of the composer when he chooses to end the Requiem with the poem Libera me
instead of the traditional final movement Lux Aeterna. The affirmation of God and eternal light,
and the prayers for peace for the dead at the end has been replaced with prayers for the living
with Libera me or Free me. 88
The composer was described by his wife as ‗not an outright atheist, but a very doubtful
believer‘, but in a different letter she explained her thoughts about the Requem in the following
way:
They have all talked so much of the more, or less, religious spirit of this sacred music, of
not having followed the style of Mozart, Cherubini, etc. etc. I say that a man like Verdi
must write like Verdi, that is, according to how he feels and interprets the texts. And if
the religious themselves have a beginning, a development, some modifications or
transformations etc. according to the times and peoples, evidently the religious spirit and
works that express it must carry the stamp of their time and (if you agree) of an
individual personality. 89
On the other side, the composer clearly wanted to distance the Requiem from the opera by
making a difference in the performance styles:
One mustn‘t sing this Mass in the way one sings opera, and therefore phrasing and
dynamics that may be fine in the theatre won‘t satisfy me at all, not at all. 90
Important feature in Verdi‘s Requiem is the incorporation of four solo voices – soprano,
mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass.
Verdi‘s Requiem consists of seven movements and follows the sections of the Roman
Catholic liturgy with parts of the Latin text traditionally set to music: Requiem e Kyrie, Dies
Irae, Offertorio, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Lux Aeterna, and Libera me. The poem Libera me is an
optional part in the official service of the Mass, but it was often included on solemn occasions
because of its beautiful text. Verdi‘s Requiem, Cherubini‘s Requiem in C minor, Berlioz‘s
87 George Martin, Verdi: His Music, Life and Times (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1963), 485.
88 Ibid., 493.
89 Ibid., 493–4.
90 Rosen, Verdi: Requiem, 17.
76

Requiem or Grande Messe des Morts, and Mozart‘s Requiem employ the same text of the
Requiem Mass, but only Verdi includes Libera me as a last movement.
In the Requiem e Kyrie Verdi, like Mozart, incorporates the Introit of the Requiem Mass
and Kyrie into a single movement with two distinct sections. Only muted strings accompany the
chorus during the first part (Requiem aeternam) in A minor (mm. 1–77). The second part (Kyrie),
a contrasting section in A minor, continues with the entrance of the solo voices, and addition of
the woodwinds and horns to the orchestra.
Dies Irae presents the central part of the Requiem Mass. It is a medieval poem in verse
by Thomas of Celano (c. 1250), Dies Irae or Day of Wrath, which depicts horrifying images of
the Judgment Day. There are three reprises of the Dies Irae music that represent the opening
sixty-one measures of the movement. Two of the reprises are within the Dies Irae, and one is in
the Libera me section.
The ten separate sections in the Dies irae movement are Dies Irae in G minor for chorus
and orchestra: its first stanza is the original draft of Libera me from 1868; Tuba mirum for
chorus, orchestra, and four off-stage trumpets, in A-flat minor; Mors stupebit, a twenty-one
measure solo for bass and orchestra; Liber scriptus in D minor, for solo mezzo-soprano and
orchestra, with a reprise of the Dies Irae in mm. 239–69; Quid sum miser for solo soprano,
mezzo-soprano, and tenor with orchestra, with a characteristic accompaniment of bassoon, in G
minor; Rex tremendae majestatis for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, in C minor;
Recordare for solo soprano and mezzo-soprano with orchestra, in F major; Ingemisco, a
complete section for solo tenor with orchestra, in E-flat major; Confutatis maledictis for solo
bass with orchestra in E major; and Lacrymosa for four solo voices with chorus and orchestra, in
B-flat minor: the principal melody here is a version of a tenor-bass duet written for the opera
Don Carlo, but later discarded. During the time of the first performances of the Requiem,
applause was customary and an intermission followed the Dies Irae movement. 91
Offertorio is a movement for four voices and orchestra. The text and music form a five-
part structure ABCBA, in which each section changes character, tempo and key, according to the
text. The first three sections are ‗Domine Jesu Christe‘ in mm. 1–88 in A-flat major, Andante
mosso; ‗Quam olim Abrahae‘ in mm. 89–118 in F minor/A-flat major, Allegro mosso
traditionally set as a fugue, but Verdi‘s interpretation opens with an imitation in a two-measure
91 Rosen, Verdi: Requiem, 16.
77

motive and later continues with a homophonic exposition of the theme; ‗Hostias‘ in mm. 118–62
in C major, Adagio, begins with one of the most expressive cantilena themes in the whole work,
in the tenor accompanied by tremolo strings. The orchestration of this movement has been
described by Hussey as ‗a model of delicacy and reticence‘ and ‗a touch of pure genius.‘ 92
Sanctus is a fugue for double chorus and orchestra in F major. This movement is the
closest in form and structure to a religious setting.
Agnus Dei is a movement for solo soprano and mezzo-soprano with chorus and orchestra,
in C major. The structure is theme and variations, and according to David Rosen, they are a
‗particular static type‘ of variations or cantus firmus variations. 93
Lux Aeterna is for solo mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass with orchestra, in B-flat major.
The first verse begins with an exact repetition of the Introit antiphon Requiem aeternam.
Libera me for solo soprano, chorus and orchestra with a ‗Fuga finale‘ in C minor/C
major divides into four major sections as follows: ‗Libera me‖, a declamatory solo for soprano in
mm. 1–44; ‗Dies irae‘ for chorus (mm. 45–131), a reprise of the music of the second movement
of the Requiem; ‗Requiem aeternam‘ for soprano solo and chorus, unaccompanied in mm. 132–
70, a reprise of the antiphon of the Requiem aeternam; and a Fugue for chorus and orchestra in
mm. 179–421.
The Audition Excerpt
The cello excerpt from Verdi‘s Requiem is in the first twenty-one measures of the
Offertorio movement. It is one of the most exposed and challenging passages for the celli soli in
the whole orchestral literature.
92 Dyneley Hussey, Verdi (New York: Pelligrini and Cudahy Inc., 1949), 225.
93 Rosen, Verdi: Requiem, 53.
78

Example 8.1. Verdi, Offertorio, mm. 1–32
79

Example 8.1. (cont.)
The cello section opens the movement with an ascending A-flat arpeggio from c 2 to e 5 -
flat in legato, and a cadence in the flute, oboe and clarinet quietly finishes the phrase. The same
motif repeats in the cellos, but at the highest point it falls down through an F minor arpeggio to
d 2 natural (half cadence in F minor). In the following measure (m. 13), cellos introduce the main
theme of the section where the solo mezzo-soprano and tenor, singing ‗Domine Jesu Christe,‘
complete the phrase in the same way as the winds at the beginning.
There are four statements of the theme by the cellos (mm. 13, 17, 21, and 25), and with
each repetition its character becomes more agitated. The first one is cantabile dolce ending with
ppp, whereas the second time it is in p and un poco marcate (a little stressed, marked). The next
statement is marked più marcate (more stressed, marked) where the long note (A) leads with a
continuous crescendo to the climax in f in the last repetition of the phrase. The culmination takes
place during the praising words to God in the text – ‗King of glory.‘
The text of the movement is reflected in the character of the music by the orchestration.
At the beginning, it is a plea for deliverance ‗from the torments of hell and from the bottomless
pit.‘ 94 The mood is rather dark (and hopeless) conveyed through the A-flat tonality and low
strings doubled by the bassoon in m. 31 where the solo bass introduces the theme for the first
94 Rosen, Verdi: Requiem, 45.
80

time. In m. 62 of the same section, the name of St. Michael (‗the standard-bearer‘ who brings the
souls ‗forth to the holy light‘) marks the soprano entrance on a high E-natural which sustains for
seven measures accompanied by two solo violins in high register.
The tempo of the opening section of the movement is Andante mosso (mosso – from It.
‗agitated‘, the past participle of mouvere ‗to move‘ 95 ), which as a character is more fluent and a
little quicker than a normal walking pace. The metronome marking at the beginning is 66bpm for
a dotted quarter note.
In the cello part, in m. 13, 17, and 21–2 there are accents on some notes along with the
marcato indications (except m. 13) and these present an important part for the performance of
the excerpt. It becomes clear from the New Grove Dictionary that the principal use of marcato is
‗to draw the attention to the melody or a subject.‘ 96 Its interpretation is not in accenting or
stressing individual notes but rather stronger and projected sound in performance. With regard to
the accents, from the Critical notes to the manuscript score by David Rosen, Verdi employed two
different types of accents – a horizontal (>), and a vertical (^) one, the latter of which is found in
the cello part. Although there are inconsistencies in the markings, according to the author, the
vertical accent is ‗rarely found in loud passages, and is often present on unaccented neighbor
tones or repeated notes.‘ 97 Suggestion for a lighter attack is made in comparison with the other
type of accents.
The main challenges in the execution of the cello excerpt from Verdi‘s Requiem come
from the constantly moving line at the beginning, the wide range of the passage, and the key of
A-flat major. Here is a suggestion for fingerings and bowings of the excerpt (Ex. 8.2):
95 David Fallows. "Mosso." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/19202 (accessed April 25,
2009).
96 J.A. Fuller Maitland and David Fallows. "Marcato." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/17712 (accessed April 25,
2009).
97 David Rosen, Foreword to Giuseppe Verdi, Messa da Requiem, ed. David Rosen, The Works of Giuseppe Verdi,
Series III, Vol. 1 (Chicago: The University of Chicago and G. Ricordi & C., Milano, 1990).
81

Example 8.2. Verdi, Offertorio, fingerings and bowings, mm. 1–29
With regard to the type of problems in the excerpt, two separate sections can be
distinguished, – the arpeggios from the beginning to m. 12, and the theme from m. 13 to the end
of the excerpt. In the first section, in mm. 1–2, 5–6, and 9–10, the challenge is in achieving a
legato line and good intonation. After carefully considering the fingerings for the arpeggios, it is
necessary for the cellist to realize exactly where the notes change: whether the following note is
on the same or new string, or whether the left hand stays in the same position or it moves to a
different position. It is important to observe this process in detail, because some of the notes in
the cello line are articulated only by the bow and some only by the left hand, as notes of the same
position, or shifts. Great coordination between the hands is required in order to play the passage
in legato. If the next note is in the same position of the left hand but on a different string, the bow
should be placed close to the new string and the change of the string should be as smooth as
possible. If the note that follows is in a different position for the left hand but on the same string,
the shift should be executed at the right time. If the shift occurs too late, the abruptness of the
sound will destroy the continuity of the line, and if it is too early, an unnecessary glissando will
be heard.
In the section where the cellos introduce the theme of the movement, mm. 13–29, there
are challenges in phrasing, dynamics, and shifting. The bow distribution is especially important
in achieving the crescendo and decrescendo at each statement of the theme. The bow speed
should be slower at the beginning of the tune and it should increase gradually with the
82

crescendo, or decrease with the decrescendo. Both hands should articulate the accents in the
theme with slight pressure in the bow and more intensified vibrato in the left hand. The accents
should not interrupt the overall shape of the melody.
The execution of the shift in the theme presents an additional problem to the cellist. The
same shift occurs three times between E-flat and B-flat in mm. 13–14, 17–18, and 21–22.
Practicing the shift in different tempos and at different speeds as well as under a slur (down-bow
and up-bow) or on separate bows will facilitate a more secure intonation in performance.
The intonation in the cello excerpt from the Offertorio is especially challenging because
of the four flats in the key signature and the constantly changing positions of the left hand. The
player will benefit greatly if a systematic practice with the tuner is established. The so called
expressive interpretation of the pitch of the flats is not acceptable in performance, especially in
an orchestra section, given the possibility of having as many perceptions of the appropriate
degree of expressiveness as there are players within the section.
The rhythm of the cello excerpt is equally important. Issues arise from the lack of
pulsation during the held long notes ending each two measures. This is especially evident in mm.
11–12, because it precedes the first statement of the main theme. Subdividing the long notes to
the eighth-note beat at every two measures is vital for a successful performance.
83

APPENDIX 1
MOZART: SYMPHONY NO. 35 HAFFNER IN D MAJOR, K. 385
IV Movement Presto, mm. 128–87
84

APPENDIX 2
RICHARD STRAUSS: DON JUAN, OP. 20, MM. 1–49
88

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Cellist Zlatina Staykova is a native of Bulgaria. She received a Bachelor of Music degree
from the National Music Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1999, and a Master of Music degree
from the Florida State University in 2004. She completed a Doctor of Music degree at the
Florida State University in 2009. Her cello teachers include Gregory Sauer, David Bjella,
Lubomir Georgiev, Anatoli Krastev, Dimitar Kozev, and Petranka Antonova. Staykova has
participated in master classes with Jon Kimura Parker, Andrés Díaz, Felix Wang, Christopher
Rex, Carsten Eckert, Christoph Richter, Robert Cohen, and Michail Homitzer, and music
festivals in Europe and the United States. She is an active performer of chamber music and was a
member of Eppes Trio, Liberache Trio, and Ars Nova Quartet.
99