Cello excerpt · Audition repertoire
Tchaikovsky, Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Theme (Moderato semplice)
Tchaikovsky's tribute to the classical era. Pure, transparent, devilishly hard to play with simplicity.
At a glance
- Instrument
- Cello
- Composer
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Work
- Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
- Movement
- Theme (Moderato semplice)
- Era
- Late-Romantic (c. 1880–1910)
- Composed
- 1877
- Key
- A
- Metre
- 2/4
- Tempo
- Moderato semplice · ♩ ≈ 76
- Clef
- Tenor clef
- Level
- Advanced, conservatory level
- 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
Detaché, clean separations, never rough.
Style
Mozartian elegance, light, transparent, perfectly in tune.
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.