Cello excerpt · Audition repertoire
Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Opening hero theme (cellos & horns)
The hero's grand, expansive theme. Cellos and horns surge upward over three octaves.
At a glance
- Instrument
- Cello
- Composer
- Richard Strauss
- Work
- Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
- Movement
- Opening hero theme (cellos & horns)
- Era
- Late-Romantic (c. 1880–1910)
- Composed
- 1898
- Key
- Eb
- Metre
- 4/4
- Tempo
- Lebhaft bewegt · ♩ ≈ 72
- 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.
Fingering
Sweeping arpeggio across all four strings, practice the shifts isolated.
Style
Heroic, generous, a touch swaggering. Strauss as Strauss.
Tags
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.