JAVS Spring 2007

BRAHMS HAYDN VARIATIONS

By Mark Jackobs

The Brahms Variations on a Than~ by jos~ph Haydn, Op. 56a presents a variety of challenges for the audi tioning violist. Precluding h.is First Symphony by three years, this piece is the first orchestral work com pleted by Brahms and, incidentally, his only career symphonic variation work. Excerpts from Variations 5, 7, and 8- as well as Symphonies #2 and #4- are frequently requested for auditions because they dearly demonstrate the musicality and technique of the vio list. In an audition the player must convey the musi cal style of each Brahms excerpt, and exhibit an understanding of phrasing, tempo, and articulation.

Variation 5 presents the task of mastering a conrroUed spiccato and, ar the same time, shaping phrases using sforzandos and accents. rroke, articulation, and tempo are the most important elements in this excerpt. Sraning this excerpt with the slurred-separate bowing is difficult because of the forte/piano on the b Aatla slur, foUowed by a fast spiccato. Th.is figure should be played with equal eighth note emphasis in the slur, only coming ofF the string after the third, short eighth note. This ensures thar the spiccato stroke starts dose to the string. This specific articulation should be used every time the two, slurred eighth note figure appears. From the beginning one has to have a clear idea of the tempo, which must remain consistent between forte and subito pianos. I like to think of the sforzandos as merely soft accents as opposed to hard attacked strokes, so thar the phrase is nor interrupted by harsh articula tion. I use the sforzandos char Brahms wrote to guide the phrases, arriving at the fortes in a proportionately longer line rather than a series of short accents. Another difficult aspect of this variation is to hold the same tempo between the 6/8 and 3/4 groupings. The 3/4, double eighth note passage (m212- 215), should be played effortlessly without accenting the quartet note bears. Brahms wrote dots over the eighth notes, not accents, so we must be keenly aware of making seamless transitions between measures. At the end of the excerpt, floating between F-sharps (rn252- 253) on the C, G, and A strings should be done without changing the dynamics or articulation. This is one of the most difficult aspects of this excerpt and must be practiced slowly, in the middle of the bow, to match the srroke and intonation on each string.

The rhythm after the tricky F-sharps seems to be a major issue with most players; the off-bear, two eighth

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