Beethoven Romances

March 31, 2016 at 03:57 PM · Generally around the same level of difficulty as Mozart 3 (the G major concerto). It's "real" repertoire that professionals play, but not very difficult.

March 31, 2016 at 05:16 PM · I agree with Lydia -- mostly. Let's compare the F-major Romance, Op. 50, which is easily the more popular of the two, with the first movement of the M3. To me the styles are so similar that I could imagine the Romance as the second movement of a long-lost Mozart concerto. Both pieces are quite exposed with high expectations for dead-on intonation, sensitive phrasing, super-clean articulation, etc. That's really what makes them harder than they look. And in this sense they are of the same overall level.

For the left hand, the Romance goes a little higher on the fingerboard, and is in a key that is slightly more difficult for the violin. And those passages really need to be perfect intonation-wise. The M3 is generally played with a cadenza, which generally introduces a lot of double stops, chords, diminished arpeggios, and other tricky stuff that you have to deal with.

In terms of bowing, the Romance has some long lines that require extended tonal control with the right hand, and you need a good portato. Just what you'd expect for something that sounds like the slow movement of a classical concerto. The M3, on the other hand, needs a good spiccato.

I think the interpretation of the Beethoven, that is, creating an overall musical picture, is a little more obvious in terms of the character of the different sections, etc. The M3 first movement follows a standard allegro form but the difference in character among the sections is more subtle.

For both myself and my daughter, I would have to say that, on balance, the first movement of the M3 with Franko cadenza was harder than the Op. 50 Romance, but not by leaps and bounds. We both studied the Romance first.

If you do study the Romance I recommend very highly the masterclass with Roy Sonne that you can find on YouTube for this piece.

March 31, 2016 at 07:07 PM · I think the Romances are considerably easier than Mozart 3, you just need to have a decent sound and some confidence in higher positions. The F major is easier than the G major. Both are lovely and good for developing lyrical sense.

March 31, 2016 at 07:07 PM ·