JAVS Summer 2026

horn entrances in a sudden subito piano change of orchestration. The viola answers with sixteenth notes six measures later. As the stretto of the final scene of Part

One intensifies, the piano begins interjecting with its own virtuosic repeated-note gestures, leading to the conclusion of the dance in a frenetic culmination (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. The Dancing Out of the Earth.

In the “Introduction to The Sacrifice” (Part Two) , the solo viola combines the originally orchestrated melody into one seamless line played with natural and fingered harmonics. Toward the end of the introduction, Stravinsky layers together all three materials that appeared earlier in the movement: a brass duet, a combination

of bowed and pizzicato string figuration, and the sustained harmony from the opening. This is one of the most mesmerizing moments of the work. It presented a particularly difficult puzzle, resulting in a technical juggling act for the pianist (see Figure 6). As Part Two progresses through the “Mystic Circle of the

Figure 6. Part two, Introduction.

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue