Shostakovich Violin Concerto

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The Scherzo of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto opens with Bass Clarinet and Flute three octaves apart in a duet that can best be described as a pinky-twister! Depending on the configuration of your low D keys, this can be merely difficult, or extra challenging. It is very fast, and needs to sound easy and not tubby.

Try to use nuanced inflection, and not accenting, to give a sense of where you are in the meter. Do not rush through staccato eighth-notes, especially the ones at the end of a sixteenth-note run. Crescendo into accents in measures 4 and 6, and at the end of the longer run into the low E-flat in 14. Start 17 a little lighter and crescendo for four measures to the accented low A. Breathing is a challenge, but the good news is you have to play so fast, you might not need extra breaths. If you have to play softer to make it, do. There is no place to sneak a breath in - you just have to push yourself and make it.

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