Taught by renowned cellist
Amit Peled
The Eccles sonata is a common beginner piece, but it’s also one that Amit Peled has revisited in recent years during his tours with Pablo Casals’s cello. Despite its apparent simplicity, we must treat every phrase as if it were in the Dvořák concerto. In this lesson, Peled applies the principles from his Ten Commandments course and leads a scholarly discussion on phrasing, poetry, and technique.
I. Grave
The first movement is a great opportunity to practice verbalizing each of Peled’s ten commandments. For this lesson, he provides some backstory on how he came to learn this piece and discusses how to pace yourself during this short but climactic movement.
II. Courante
The Courante is highly emotionally charged, and asks us to balance speaking with singing. Peled demonstrates how he uses the hand and elbow to achieve this and shares ideas for practice exercises.
III. Adagio
In his lesson on the Adagio, Peled introduces the idea of “pillar notes,” where the cello is particularly sensitive to sympathetic resonance. He applies this idea to the piece and demonstrates how he incorporates color and vibrato.
IV. Vivace
Finally, the Vivace movement is a lesson in thumb position. Peled explains how Boccherini first popularized the use of the thumb to remain in fixed positions and how he applies this to the Eccles.
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Unlock Course →Amit Peled is admired as both performer and teacher. He serves on the faculty of the Peabody Institute.
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