Piotr Tchaikovsky, Symphony n°4 in F minor

ORCHESTRAL SOLOS FOR PICCOLO

A serious flutist usually begins piccolo study due to participation in a symphonic concert, an opera performance or a flute audition which includes piccolo.

Another motivation for playing piccolo is the understandable desire to participate in orchestral performance. There are many beautiful and inspiring piccolo solos in music from the second half of the twentieth century that attract attention and motivate young flutists to play piccolo.

Here, we analyze important orchestral excerpts for the piccolo and offer suggestions for studying and performing them.

Let us begin with an excerpt which is always required at auditions, the notorious solo from the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.
 
The two excerpts analyzed here also share traits found in other virtuoso passages in Tchaikovsky. Frequently they are included in the context of orchestral dance.

The first, in A major, is played at the peak of a crescendo which is introduced by the oboe and involves the flutes as well.

Even if you play it fortissimo, the original and correct dynamic level (not mezzo piano, as Trevor Wye and Patricia Morris state), the piccolo gives the impression of being flat. This is because the notes on the flute are high (and sharp) most of the time. The piccolo only plays after almost thirty minutes of rest, against the flutes, which have had strenuous playing during that time and much opportunity to go sharp. However, at an audition, even when your intonation is not heard against other players, there are still many challenges.

The F# and the Es of bar 4 and 8 are hard to control and to keep in balance with the C# ’s of bars 4, 6 and most of bar 9. In many piccolos this is a flat note while the F#, the E and the D# are sharp notes.

The prominent rural dance character obliges us to emphasize these notes, making control harder.

We need to arrive at bar 3 with energy, but with the jaw down and with a relaxed embouchure.

It may be advisable to use an alternative fingering for the C#2 to keep it sufficiently high without fruitless embouchure work.

We also find the rhythmic pattern of bar 2 in the second passage which must be played accurately – it is not a sextuplet, a group of 6 even notes!

Personally, I don’t like to use alternative fingerings such as the trill fingering for the A3 approaching and leaving the G#3, but on many instruments, there is little difference. In the final analysis, it is the effect that counts. I recommend practicing this passage with standard fingerings before seeking alternatives.

Regardless of the fingering you use, the problem of producing the G# cleanly remains. This can be facilitated by accenting the first G#3 and making believe that you are playing a crescendo, in order to make certain the production of the second G#3 is clear.

The rapid group of four 32nd notes in bar 2 must be practiced in the same way as for the same thematic passage in the rapid tempo that follows. We will discuss this method in the discussion of second excerpt, as follows.

Now to one of the most difficult passages in the piccolo repertoire which takes only seconds to play. If the conductor is in a hurry, the many hours of practice you have invested in this passage you can be thrown away!

First, practice the Ab major arpeggio without the rapid four-note figure as in example 1. Repeat each sixteenth note at least four times while trying to keep your throat open and free of tension, otherwise, you will not be able to manage the final two notes in the descending octave interval. Play with a soft staccato.

Practice the passage without the rapid four-note figure. This will help you place the C and the Bb correctly.

Avoid playing the four thirty-second notes and the two sixteenth notes as a group of 6 equal notes. This would make it easier, but that figure is of course the main theme, so it cannot be modified!

The hardest part is the group of four rapid thirty-second notes. First, as a preparation, study each interval as in example 2, trying to coordinate finger movements perfectly. Then practice by repeating the 32nd notes at different speeds, first as written, then starting from each of the following notes, as in example 3.

Play the passage up to the second beat of bar 2. Concentrate on relaxing the muscles, starting from the first two notes. Often, this is the critical point for the performance of the following four notes!

Play the entire passage, controlling the quality of the sound, the rhythmic precision and the technical clarity.

Finally - the second excerpt is played twice, with two bars rest between repetitions. Play the repetition and count the measures in between exactly, as if you were performing. Practice this way on your own and perform it this way at an audition. You must demonstrate to the committee that you know the passage and its context!

You must be willing to study in this way each time you have to prepare this as a solo. Good luck!