🎶 Start your 14-day free trial & unlock the full course today. Start Free Trial →
tonebase Cello Course

Elgar -

Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

Taught by renowned cellist

Julian Schwarz

Join esteemed American cellist Julian Schwarz for an in-depth look at one of the most autumnal works in the repertoire: the Elgar Concerto. From the iconic opening chords to the haunting coda and everything in between, this concerto challenges you to flex your interpretive muscle as much as it does your technical facility. Schwarz shares a panoramic view of this essential work, projecting every nuance using a highly creative approach to bowing, slides, left-hand technique, and overall relationship with the instrument.

  • checkmark icon
    Category: 
    Repertoire
  • checkmark icon
    Difficulty: 
    Advanced
  • checkmark icon
    Duration: 
    2
     hours 
     hour

Course Syllabus

I. Adagio – Moderato

In this lesson, Schwarz demystifies this famous opening movement by sharing insights into bowing, intonation, and how to break chords for maximum expressivity. To address these and the other challenges of this movement, Schwarz offers exercises in bow speed and independence of the left and right hand, corrects misconceptions about bowing with flat hair, and presents the “Resonance Principle” of longer versus shorter strings.

He presents outside-the-box thinking on key topics like slides (the principle of fewer slides for fast music, and maximum slides for slow music), projection (how to project — and when not to), always keeping in mind Elgar’s many expressive markings.

II. Lento – Allegro molto

In the second movement, Schwarz brings careful attention to the tempo between Lento and the first movement’s Adagio, making your articulation match the expressive goals of each passage, and how to physically achieve it (even when your endurance is running low). He offers key tips for how to hide bow changes, when to switch between sautillé and spiccato stroke to make the Allegro molto feel grounded and rhythmic, and how your thinking affects how fast you perceive a passage to be (the left hand doesn’t have shift as much as you think).

III. Adagio

In this short but heartfelt movement, Schwarz shares how to bring a vocal quality to your playing using highly varied slides, vibrato, articulation, choice of string, and creative bowings. You’ll learn how to make your left hand supple and controlled.

IV. Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non-troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio

In this substantial finale, Schwarz offers you pathways to inhabit the varied characters of this movement and bring expressive nuance to every gesture. Remarks on interpreting the “nobilmente” share space with detailed technical insights: how to save energy through more “slapping” in the left hand; using modified ricochet stroke (and practice tips for applying it to Duport No. 7); how to adjust your left-hand technique to suit the character of each passage.

The emotional center of the entire concerto is the slow coda: Schwarz recommends studying this complex coda to map out the tempo changes like a conductor to best prepare the “glorious and devastating” return of the opening chords, organ-like and magisterial, and rewriting the ending for maximum projection.

Click here to download the course workbook PDF and see the full syllabus →
Access this course and hundreds more.

Click below to access hundreds of exclusive cello courses, available only on tonebase.

Unlock Course →
meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Julian Schwarz

Julian Schwarz is a prize winning cellist and serves as professor and soloist around the world.

read full bio →
explore our courses

Join tonebase today to unlock this course plus 100s more!

Preview our curated selection of courses below. With lessons covering fundamentals, technical training, style and interpretation, you won't find a more thorough and enriching learning experience anywhere else.

preview
play-button-icon
Playing The Cello

with Richard Aaron

preview
play-button-icon
Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 (Bach)

with Mischa Maisky

preview
play-button-icon
The Ten Cello Commandments

with Amit Peled

preview
play-button-icon
Playing Without Tension

with Jan Vogler

preview
play-button-icon
Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129 (Schumann)

with Pablo Ferrández

preview
play-button-icon
How to Shift Cleanly

with Julian Schwarz

preview
play-button-icon
Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 (Bach)

with Matt Haimovitz

preview
play-button-icon
The Art of the Bow

with Astrid Schween

preview
play-button-icon
The Ultimate Cello Warm-Up Routine

with Daniel Lelchuk

preview
play-button-icon
Variations On A Rococo Theme

with Johannes Moser

preview
play-button-icon
Essentials of Cello Playing

with Sara Sant’Ambrogio

preview
play-button-icon
Concerto No. 1 in C Major (Haydn)

with Santiago Cañón-Valencia

See what fellow cellists are saying.

Our members rate us at 4.8/5 stars. Here’s how a few of them transformed their piano skills since joining tonebase.  

“Instead of scouring the internet for hours for performance tips and tricks, I now have access to a wealth of high-quality content from renowned artists at my fingertips!“

Omid S.

joined Sep. 2022

“Sincerely speaking, a few months with tonebase help me solve many issues I have had with my fingers for years if not decades.“

Giao P.

joined Mar. 2021

“We [in the community] all give each other wonderful, positive feedback. The teachers also give incredibly detailed ways that we can improve our playing."

Eric P.

joined Apr. 2020

Ready to begin learning?

Start your 14-day free trial today!

All plans include:
  • checkmark icon
    Unlimited access for 14-day free trial
  • checkmark icon
    Full 90-day satisfaction guarantee
  • checkmark icon
    Access to 100s of video lessons & courses
  • checkmark icon
    Structured & guided course content
  • checkmark icon
    Free PDF workbooks & annotated scores
  • checkmark icon
    Feedback from our active Community
  • checkmark icon
    Bonus: The Ultimate Practice Toolkit

Monthly

$
49.95
/mo
Billed monthly
Give tonebase a try with our Monthly plan. Cancel anytime or upgrade your plan later when you find it’s a good fit.
Select Monthly →
Best Value - save 50%

Yearly

$
24.95
/mo
Billed at $299 yearly
Make music your priority for the next 365 days and save BIG with our most popular plan. You’ll be amazed what a year with tonebase can do…
Select Yearly →

Lifetime

$
895
/once
Billed just once
Ready to invest in your future education? Get our Lifetime plan and gain full, unlimited access to tonebase for life!
Select Lifetime →