Need help in shortening 1st Mvt. of Mozart G Major Violin Concerto

February 16, 2017 at 10:12 PM · Might cut all of opening tutti except last four bars before solo entry. This would save about 90 seconds, plus or minus, depending on tempo.

No idea which cadenza the student will play. I played the Sam Franko cadenza in its entirety. Some artists, Stern for one, have made trims in this cadenza -- possibly to take out the excessive Romanticism it drifts into in a few spots -- definitely out of whack with Mozart's style. Perlman has cut this passage even more -- I'd estimate he saved 30 seconds.

I wouldn't cut anything else -- it would ruin the musical and dramatic shape of the piece. Hope this helps.

EDIT: Couldn't quite tell from your post whether the student is going to play a cadenza at all or just leave this out entirely -- owing to time constraints.

February 16, 2017 at 10:15 PM · I just finished the first movement, and am working on the 2nd movement and the cadenza for the first. My teacher decided to take out the barriolage at the end of the Franko cadenza. I agree with Jim. Tutti can be cut quite a bit, and I'd say the transition to the development could be cut a bit.

February 16, 2017 at 10:18 PM · Cut the tuttis to a bare minimum, and then trim the cadenza so that the work fits within the time limit.

Making cuts to the main body of the work is almost certain to be frowned on.

February 16, 2017 at 11:12 PM · One must never cut Mozart's music... haha

February 16, 2017 at 11:52 PM · 'Make your own cadenza.' (Nathan Milstein)

February 17, 2017 at 12:24 AM · If you want to really hack it severely you can just enter at the reprise of the main theme (m 156). It depends what the judges are looking for -- clean Mozart written by Mozart, or a polished cadenza written by someone else. If you want a shorter cadenza, take the little Kuchler cadenza out of the Haydn G Major!! LOL

February 17, 2017 at 05:13 AM · What Lydia said. Actually it is standard practice to cut tutti passages to the bare minimum when playing a piece in an audition or contest. No judge wants to sit and listen to a pianist play an orchestral reduction, trust me on that. Just play a bar--or two, or four--before the soloist's entrance, and cut any tutti longer than just a few bars.

Don't cut any of the violin solo. Adjust the cadenza if necessary.

February 17, 2017 at 05:22 AM · Also make sure that any cuts in the cadenza are clearly indicated in the judge's score. You don't want them to think your student had a memory-slip or similar mishap.