Concertinos for Young Violinists

Student Violin part with either teacher (as violin duets) or with piano accompaniment (Vln & Pno).

This bumper volume incorporates the three separate former publications from Spartan Press, the series called ‘Concertinos in the Olden Style’ (SP1121–3). Piano accompaniments by Heidi Rolfe.

Nigel Goldberg writes:

I can still remember the thrill I felt as a child of 8 when my violin teacher introduced me to my first concertino. Learning, playing and eventually mastering the famous Küchler Concertino in D major made me feel privileged and grown-up, as if I were joining a very special club.

That was a long time ago, yet for me concertinos still hold a distinctive place in the teaching repertoire. Having now taught the violin for the last thirty years and seen how happily my pupils respond to learning duets – that distinctive sense of enjoyment at playing with an adult, the improvement of intonation and tone production, the liveliness of the lesson – I have composed three new concertinos, inspired by the duet form.

Taking three great keys for the violin – G, D and A minor, I have endeavoured to combine emotionally engaging and technically educational music in the ‘Olden Style’. Uniquely, I have written a second violin part for the teacher to play alongside their pupil’s part and there is also a piano accompaniment for use alternatively in concert settings.

I very much hope that these concertinos prove as popular and as helpful as the series of duets in my previously published books, Sounds of a Rainbow and, that they ignite that sense of wonderment and purpose I experienced while playing the Kuchler, all those years ago.