Posted by Mark on September 14, 2002 at 19:43:38:
In Reply to: Re: bydlo posted by John on September 14, 2002 at 14:19:34:
I agree that there are plenty of excerpts, solo compositions, etc... that are technically and musically more demanding and require more range than Bydlo. There is obviously no question to that. But having played Pictures with one professional and two community orchestras and having played lots of solo literature including the Vaughan Williams with orchestra four times, there is also no comparision on what is more stressful. Bydlo is the most stressful piece of music I have ever played.
For me, the stress comes from where it is placed among the other movements in the piece (playing "big" in the preceeding movements and then sitting and waiting for it to come), the texture of the instrumentation accompanying you, and knowing that every player in the orchestra knows what you are playing. It really is just a feeling of anxiety that swells up. Again, for me, It requires much more than just playing the excerpt, even more than the other famous "sit, wait, blow" orchestra passages like Fantasique, New World, and so on. You don't know what it's like until you have to do it.
Having said all of this, I hope I get a chance to do it again.
Just my $.02!
Mark
P.S. Just for the record...not that it really matters much...I played it all three times on a Hirsbrunner CC, only because that's all I had at the time. Now I have a Eb and would definitely play it on it!