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Caprice no. 36


Back to Etude Land with Caprice number 36. The piece is a study in positions 1-3, as well as major and minor keys ordered by whole step. Bowing and rhythm variations are thrown in for further interest. For that, it is pretty creative but certainly not the most captivating. However, I would prefer playing this caprice over any Kreutzer or Sevcik etude!

Considering that this is a caprice, an effort does need to be made to make it as musical as possible. I found it helpful to emphasize rhythmic changes and have that be the driver of different sections' moods. Some examples: At m. 9,  the dotted rhythm feels militant and upright. This is followed by a triplet section (m. 13) which was looser and swinging. Fast-forward to m. 24: here we have a backwards bowing, which serves to make the music feel more muscular and aggressive, working toward the A minor cadence at the end.



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