Simandl Revisited +++
Inspired by two arrangements by Franz Simandl, the second movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Romance, this new series of arrangements by Michael Klinghoffer offers young players the opportunity to play these and other favorite pieces with a small chamber ensemble accompaniment, readily available at any high school or college.
All arrangements are also playable by strings only and of course, with piano.
Each of the three +, stands for one feature:
The first + implies that there are more arrangements than the ones by Simandl.
The second + implies that all arrangements come with ensemble accompaniment. (Vl, Vla, Vcl, Cb,Fl, Cl, Bsn.). All arrangements can be played by strings only as well as with piano.
The third + is a very interesting feature that works for most of the pieces in the series:
As this series was created with young players in mind, in order to give them a practical opportunity to play solo with ensemble, all of it uses standard orchestral tuning. However, if one chooses to use high solo tuning, ( High C string), one can keep the exact same fingerings and end up in the original key that the piece was composed in. At that moment the original orchestra materials are available.
Beethoven - Romance Op. 50 is one of the Simandl’s arrangements. In his arrangement, the bass part appears in the piano score in concert pitch, in the key of C Major. I have realized over the years that playing this piece in standard orchestra tuning, in C Major, is rather “user friendly”. As mentioned in the introduction, if one choosesto try playing with a high C string, one can keep the same fingerings and end up playing in the original key of F major.
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