mozart 40, first movement no 2
Fig 1 my version
And my You Tube clip is:-
Mozart40_2
I base my version on Owen Lee's (see below), with only minor fingering
changes, the main one being the first 5 notes. I prefer playing the G up on the
A string, rather than on the D in Lee's version.
The versions in the literature include:-
IMC Orchestral Excerpts (Fred Zimmerman), Vol I, p112 - has the
notes, but no clues as to the all important fingerings
Ludwig Streicher, My way of playing the double bass vol 3, p23
- almost identical to Owen Lee's version but with a little more reliance on 4
Owen Lee tutorial in The Double Bassist - as with the 4th mov
excerpt, this is a fantastic article.
Streicher has a useful LH exercise for the intonation of the double stops:-
How to prepare (long term):-
The main issues are:-
I. quick string crossings
II. keeping in time when the rhythm changes in the middle section
The tricky are the string crossings. Lee mentions that there are two ways of
doing this:-
start down - this works out getting into and out of the
passage, but is the "wrong way around"
start up - I feel this makes the actual string crossed quavers
(bars 191-197 and 211-216) easier, but there will inevitably be a couple of ups
to get the bowing that way around, either before or after the passage, and its
difficult to get this sounding the same in time
Lee mentions that the player should do whatever sounds best, but he starts down.
I have swung both ways on this, but on balance I play it starting down. It takes
some slow practice with the metronome to get it working but its possible and
worth the effort. In the UK auditions are done with no screens, and I am willing
to bet that if a candidate played this passage starting up bow they would be
asked to play it again starting down.
It is easy to lose the pulse when the rhythm changes in bar 198 - I have to
practice slowly with a metronome to keep this passage in time.
What is being tested - string crossings, double stopped
intonation, rhythm, shifting, flexibility and mobility
Notes written on the part - I put reminders to myself to read
in the audition just before I play:-
Sautille - from the string
bow close to D and G
Set tempo - think viola quavers at start of the movement
Extension - open, E flat
Tempo - Lee suggests 100