In the absence of being able to play in a full orchestra (or indeed any orchestra at all), I experimented with playing each part myself and combining them. Well, why not…?
The results are below, in chronological order of recording. For an alphabetical list of all of the videos click here.
When the time came, I also had a go at some Christmas Carols. These can be found here.
Please bear in mind that I was learning as I was going along so there are some distinctly dodgy moments in terms of synchronisation and intonation! But a perfect performance was never the aim: the main point was to have fun and see what was possible…
Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor (opening)
This was the first tentative attempt. It loses the synchronisation a bit along the way, but all I was aiming to do at this stage was put some videos together and see what happened…
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Act 2 Pas de Deux
I added the piano into this one and braved the big violin solos! I’d always wanted to attempt to play this and this seemed like a good opportunity!
Dvořák: Rusalka, Song to the Moon
This was for a Slovak friend of mine who was unable to attend a concert we did just before the lockdown that included a Dvořák symphony: this is one of her favourites!
Delibes: Coppelia, Waltz of the Hours
Everything is made better by a waltz, especially one with a violin-friendly accompaniment!
Delibes: Coppelia, Prayer Variation
An experiment in tremolo…
Delibes: Sylvia, Pizzicati
An experiment in pizzicato!
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Act 4 Dance of the Little Swans
It amazes me how well this stands up to having all of the orchestration removed… Tchaikovsky was a genius!
Adam: Giselle, Act 2 Pas de Deux
Plus a viola this time (and a different violin!). Shame about the rather ghostly lighting on some of the videos (although perhaps appropriate for Giselle…).
Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 violins, L’Estro Armonico No. 8, 1st movement
There are some synchronisation issues with this! But I wanted to try something with three different instruments: the violin 1 parts are all played on one violin, the violin 2 parts on another and the viola and cello parts on the viola.
Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 violins, L’Estro Armonico No. 8, 2nd movement
Having done the 1st movement, it seemed like a good idea to attempt the rest of the concerto…
Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 violins, L’Estro Armonico No. 8, 3rd movement
And finally the 3rd movement…
Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann, Barcarolle
Back to the world of ballet and opera. A violin, a viola and a piano this time…
Strauss: The Blue Danube
This was a bit of a marathon, but everything is made better by a good waltz!
Tchaikovsky arr. Glazunov: Souvenir d’un lieu cher, III. “Melodie”
Bit of an experiment in how many liberties I could take with the rhythm while still using the metronome!
Bellini: Norma, Casta Diva
Channelling my inner Maria Callas…
Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Act 3 Pas de Quatre (Pas de Trois), opening
Short but sweet!
Delibes: Coppelia, Mazurka
Tempo up, note accuracy down…
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Dance of the Mirlitons
Not sure quite what possessed me to take this on! Some technical challenges, both playing and editing, and all for 2 and a half minutes… But it was fun!!
Chopin arr. Glazunov: Nocturne Op. 15, No. 1 (from “Chopiniana” Suite)
This was ambitious! You can tell by the intonation…
Corelli: Concerto Grosso No. 8 (“Christmas Concerto”)
Something seasonal… Individual movements are at the following times: 1. Vivace – Grave 0,00 2. Allegro 1,05 3. Adagio – Allegro – Adagio 3,48 4. Vivace 7,08 5. Allegro 8,22 6. Largo: Pastorale ad libitum 10,06
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Well it had to be done! Complete with snowflakes… Merry Christmas!
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, 3rd movement (opening)
We were attempting to learn this (via Zoom) with my orchestra, which was what prompted this attempt. Good practice…
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, 2nd movement (opening)
This is the best opening chord sequence I know! It had to be done sooner or later…
Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 23 (K488), 2nd movement
Sophie asked for some Mozart, so here goes… (please forgive the intonation – I don’t quite have the precision to do Mozart justice!)
Julia Sherriff 