At 4:09 PM -0600 2/22/08, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> She didn't even know what scordatura is.....
----- Original Message -----
From: David W. Fenton
2. ask if the composer intends for the player to tune the bottom
string down to accommodate the lower notes, and, if so, shouldn't
there be a note advising the player about that.
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Having talked to several violists about the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante,
they all told me that they play in in E-flat at normal tuning rather than
in D on a re-tuned instrument. Has anyone found anyone who DOES play it as
Mozart wrote it?
This was discussed maybe 6 months or so ago on the ViolaList. There
are some pretty heavy hitters on that list, along with average
players and amateurs. Some said they definitely tuned up as Mozart
wrote it. Our orchestra performed it last spring and our viola
soloist opted NOT to tune up, and while he had just as much technique
and his instrument just as much projection as our violinist, it's the
nature of the writing that the viola tends to get buried. Mozart
knew EXACTLY what he was doing (surprise, surprise!), and it really
needs the extra tension to balance the violin's projection an octave
or two lower.
Whether modern strings will take the added tension or not is, of
course, an entirely separate question. The gut strings used in
Wolfie and Leopold's day were a lot more forgiving. But yes, some
DO choose to play it as Mozart wrote it, because they feel it works
better.
John
--
John R. Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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