10081 –Csárdás

Vittorio Monti (1868-1922)

arranged by Roger Harvey

Difficulty: solos - hard; accompaniment - medium

Price: £22.50

Programme notes:
Vittorio Monti was born in Naples where he studied violin and composition at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella. Around 1900 he was appointed as the conductor for the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris where he wrote several ballets and operettas. His only famous work is his Czárdás, ubiquitous in the repertoire of the gypsy orchestra and a favourite encore for violin soloists.
The origins of this dance can be traced back to the 18th century Hungarian verbunkos, used as a recruiting dance by the Hungarian army.
Csárdás is characterized by a variation in tempo: it starts out slowly (lassú) and ends in a very fast tempo (friss, literally "fresh") with other changes of tempo between. Numerous classical composers have used the dance but this one by Monti is the best known. It has been arranged as a showpiece for numerous instruments. Here it features a group of players in competition.

Performance notes:
This arrangements depends on a good degree of theatrical interaction between the players. The solo trombone should begin as if he is the only soloist and as each of the other 3 soloists interrupt there should be a sense that this is an unwanted disturbance. Each of the 4 vie with each other to be the main soloist by trying to take the limelight from each other. By the middle of the piece a greater degree of co-operation becomes acceptable.

The accompaniment is mostly light - adjust the dynamic if necessary, to ensure that the soloists are clearly audible.