Cello excerpt · Audition repertoire
Dvořák, Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
I. Allegro (cello entrance, mm. 88ff)
The most famous cello concerto entrance. A heroic, declamatory tutti gesture answered by tender song.
At a glance
- Instrument
- Cello
- Composer
- Antonín Dvořák
- Work
- Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
- Movement
- I. Allegro (cello entrance, mm. 88ff)
- Era
- Romantic (c. 1820–1880)
- Composed
- 1895
- Key
- D
- Metre
- 4/4
- Tempo
- Allegro (Quasi improvisando) · ♩ ≈ 116
- Clef
- Tenor clef
- Level
- Audition, professional standard
- Audition list
- Yes, standard excerpt
How to practise it
The bow style, the trouble spots, and the stylistic decisions that come up most often on this excerpt.
Bowing
Marcato attack on the opening Bs, full bow, then immediate decay.
Fingering
High position work, practice intonation slowly, arrival notes first.
Style
Quasi improvisando, declamatory, like a heroic speech. Don't play it metrically square.
Tags
The full score is on IMSLP.
Work on the technique underneath
Arco's cello curriculum builds the bow strokes, positions, and clef reading this excerpt assumes, with recorded cello playback throughout.