HOFFMEISTER, Franz Anton
Concerto for viola and orchestra in D major (reduction for viola and piano)
I. Allegro
Gérard Caussé, visiting professor
Candela Arancón Gonzalo, student
Antonia Valente, accompanying pianist
Professor Caussé was pleased with the student’s performance of the 1st movement of Hoffmeister’s Viola Concerto, both in terms of tempo and technique. He asks her why she sometimes starts trills with the upper note and other times with the lower, explaining that the reason depends on the melodic direction at that moment. It is a very simple matter, but one that is important for her to consider.
Caussé explains that Hoffmeister is a member of the Mannheim School, like Stamitz, and that she needs to understand the characteristics of his musical language (they will review these by returning to the beginning of the movement).
At the beginning, she must be careful with the open A string so that it sounds as elegant as the rest. At the end of the theme, she has two options for the ornamentation. They also review the articulation of the initial notes (which should be slightly shorter) and the double stops section. They discuss the edition the student is using and the decision to play a quarter note or an eighth note when the theme repeats. A certain ornament sounds more Arabic than classical, so he recommends changing it. The repeated sections should be played differently the second time. Then, there are like two different characters singing, as in an opera, and she must be more expressive in her interpretation, reflecting this with more emotion. Afterwards, the professor suggests she try playing spiccato. Later, they review a somewhat confusing section to ensure the execution sounds clearer.
In this type of music, it is important to have one’s own thoughts to make it more personal. They do not review the cadenza, but Caussé comments that she can write her own instead of performing the more typical one.
Language: English
