JAVS Summer 2026

their ranges, combines them in unconventional ways, and deploys them to create a primitive and sometimes threatening sound. Our objective was to remain faithful to these vivid colors and sharp contrasts. Pursuing this goal yielded an additional benefit: both viola and piano parts, while at times extremely challenging, are highly engaging for the performers.

strained, reedy color. We kept the viola part at pitch; the interpreter is left to seek out the fingering and color to best simulate this timbre. Motifs and melodies in our edition are generally transcribed at pitch. The only limitations we had were when the instrumentation went below the open c-string (C3). Bowings and fingerings in the viola part are sparse; best left for the soloist to explore. Harmonics in the viola part are partially taken from the orchestral part (see Figures 1 and 2).

In the opening of the “Adoration of the Earth,” the solo bassoon appears in a high register that creates a

Figure 1. The Augurs of Spring.

Figure 2. Mystic Circle of the Young Girls (rehearsal no. 101).

Other harmonics in the solo part were added for effect (see Figure 3) while some were introduced for playability purposes.

Figure 3. Mystic Circle of the Young Girls.

The piano part, skillfully transcribed by Dr. Arakelyan, has perhaps the greatest virtuosic demands. At the beginning of “Dancing Out of the Earth,” the piano acts as tam-tam with glissandi in the right hand generating dramatic swells while building tension through the

pulsating ostinato in the left hand. The viola part combines violin, woodwind, and horn material through upward-sweeping interjections and exclamatory on-beat and off-beat chords (see Figure 4). The piano then takes on the rapid succession of triplet

Figure 4. The Dancing Out of the Earth.

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