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Caprice no. 21



Have you ever heard of a polonaise for solo viola - or for any solo string instrument? ....Neither have I. Number 21 is a diamond in the rough. Until I learned it for this project, I would take one look at this caprice and immediately move on to the next one, intimidated by the amount of trills and 32nd notes.

Last year, it was finally time to learn the piece for real. After analyzing, practicing, and playing it A LOT, I realized that I needed to play my viola like a pianist playing a polonaise. Just let the notes fly.

Easier said than done, of course. It took a lot of experimentation and tested my patience. But in the end, I had a lot of fun playing this piece. In fact, now I would love to record it again - and play it just a notch faster. But first, I have a few more caprices to go....


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