Piccolo Pzazz for Piccolo and Piano

From the Publisher

Exploring both the expressive and vivacious character of the piccolo, the three pieces in this edition are drawn from early works by Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) all composed whilst he was still at school in Munich, but characteristic of his more mature style,as he had already composed 100 other pieces.

Träumerei, as the name implies has a dreamy nature, offering scope for interpretation and rubato.

Adagio Cantabile forms the central piece. It is a highly expressive movement but with a capricious middle section.

The final piece is a vigourous, light-hearted Rondo. Marked Prestissimo and with triple tonguing almost throughout, it offers plenty of opportunity for fun and for wowing an audience.

As shown above, there is a free to use rehearsal play-along of the piano accompaniment https://youtu.be/egijZKuplp4 a moderate tempo is selected for the Prestissimo 3rd movement.

Contents

• Träumerei (Stimmungsbilder op.9 no.4)
• Adagio Cantabile (2nd movement, piano sonata op.5)
• Rondo Finale of the Violin Concerto (op.8), which I have adapted from the original piano reduction made by Strauss. As well as being great fun, the music immediately interested and attracted me because contains elements reminiscent of the better known horn concerto (op.11), written just a year later, while measure 297 pre-echoes a similar passage in the much later Der Rosenkavalier.

Item Details

Instrumentation

• Part 1: Piccolo
• Part 2: Piano