Taught by renowned cellist
Clive Greensmith
In this course, Clive Greensmith, Professor of Cello at the Colburn School, takes us into the colorful and dramatic realm of the Debussy Cello Sonata. The work, written in 1915, is one of the shortest major sonatas for cello, yet presents myriad challenges to the musician. In addition to brilliant solutions to the work's many difficulties, Greensmith also presents fascinating historical context for this most enigmatic sonata.
Prologue – Cello Part Focused
In this lesson, Professor Greensmith takes us through the first movement, focusing only on the cello part. Greensmith explains the many techniques we need to play this music, which is full of innovations and sounds never heard on cello. We learn the importance of adhering to the many specific markings of Debussy.
Prologue
In this lesson, we learn about pacing the music with the piano. This movement is full of mood and character changes, and we need to be able to switch musical personalities on a dime in tandem with the piano. This is a lesson in chamber music as well as a lesson on Debussy.
Sérénade et Finale – Cello Part Focused
In this lesson on the second and third movements focusing on only the cello part, we study different methods of pizzicato, perhaps imitating a flamenco guitar. There are many characters to explore here, and as Professor Greensmith says, "The quirkiness is what I love about this movement!" While we may have a range of fingering and bowing choices, Greensmith imparts the wisdom that the musical character is of utmost importance.
Sérénade et Finale
In this lesson, Professor Greensmith teaches us about imitating the sound of the piano. He makes the interesting point that the strumming rather than plucking could be Debussy's homage to Spain, who had helped France in World War I during which the sonata was written. We also learn how to create the different moods of the music using a variety of bow strokes and expressive means in the left hand.
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Unlock Course →Clive Greensmith is Professor of cello at The Colburn School and former cellist of the celebrated Tokyo String Quartet.
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