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tonebase Cello Course

Saint-Saëns -

Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33

Taught by renowned cellist

Zlatomir Fung

Join international star Zlatomir Fung for a course on one of the most popular concertos for young cellists: Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 1. Its direct and ardent character, along with approachable technical demands, make it a great first concerto and a staple of the repertoire. The first three videos address each movement in detail, featuring insightful remarks and vivid demonstration of every technical and interpretive aspect necessary for a convincing performance. The last two videos discuss supplementary etudes to sharpen your chops as well as important recordings of the concerto.

  • checkmark icon
    Category: 
    Repertoire
  • checkmark icon
    Difficulty: 
    Advanced
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    Duration: 
    3
     hours 
     hour

Course Syllabus

I. Allegro non troppo

Fung learned this concerto when he was 12 and deciding to become a professional musician, and his long experience with the piece informs this detailed lesson on the first movement. He addresses key initial concerns such as how to choose a good tempo, switching accurately between triple and duple rhythms, choosing suitable dynamics when Saint-Saëns omits them, and when to accompany the orchestra instead of acting as soloist.
Fung’s technical advice includes a detailed look at bowing Saint-Saëns’ tricky triplet articulations and how to shift “like a jetpack.” For the famous double stop passage, he offers a comprehensive approach: isolating the challenges by practicing simplified versions, using simple and comfortable fingerings, and carefully managing left-hand pressure.

II. Allegretto con moto

This is Fung’s favorite movement, featuring a playful yet rigid character, like a march of toy soldiers. He examines the meaning of allegretto and the need to feel the meter both in 3 and 1 simultaneously, which play into the cello’s accompanimental rather than soloistic role and how to deploy vibrato to enhance the orchestral writing.

Fung breaks down the cadenza by providing exercises to isolate its two major challenges: intonation in thumb position and triplet right hand bowing. His creative fingerings and tips on trill technique and exercises are invaluable for the effervescent character of this movement .

III. Tempo primo

This vibrant finale offers cellists a interpretive puzzle: Saint-Saëns’ tempo markings are sparse, so Fung offers guidance for choosing a tempo based a close reading of the score. The return of the first movement theme brings with it the return of challenges of triple vs duple, and the beautiful second theme makes adds the difficulty of syncopation.

Fung offers a step-by-step approach to practicing the virtuosic passages, with patient attention to finger spacing, efficient shifts, and consistent bow distribution at any tempo. His exclusive fingerings (printed in the workbook) streamline the learning process. In addition to practicing the false harmonics as octaves, Fung presents a highly original idea to split the passage between two different false harmonics for the perfect compromise between projection and ease of intonation.

Supplemental Études to Build Practice Methods

Much of the improvement of our playing happens in our warm-up, which we then implement in our repertoire. Etudes are the core of this warm-up; they simplify the challenging concepts and make it easier to correct our mistakes. In this video, Fung offers a polyrhythmic warmup scale and eight etudes carefully chosen to prepare you for the Saint-Saëns: five Feuillard exercises, two Popper studies, and one Lee etude addressing thumb position intonation and changing rhythmic subdivisions; bowing slurs sandwiching two separate notes; spiccato with string crossings; finger replacement shifts; legato cantabile playing; big shifts; harmonics; and asymmetric bowing.

A Guided Tour of the Great Recordings

By engaging with great recordings of the past, you situate yourself in the performance tradition of a work. Fung shares the recordings of Saint-Saëns that have been most impactful for him (Piatigorsky with Reiner, Yo-Yo Ma with Maazel) and discusses what makes them so remarkable. He also addresses six other famous recordings that influenced him: Isserlis with Tilson Thomas. Navarra, du Pré, Maisky, Fournier, and Rostropovich.

Click here to download the course workbook PDF and see the full syllabus →
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meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Zlatomir Fung

Winner of the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, Zlatomir Fung is establishing himself as one of the finest musicians of his generation.

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