Odd Stagings #5: THE TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO CUTTING CONTEST SMACKDOWN by Joel Sattler

The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878, is a virtuoso piece considered to be the epitome in the repertoire of most, if not all, concert violinists. There are pieces that are much more difficult, almost unplayable, technically, and there are pieces that are, perhaps, more emotional. But this piece combines those two elements to such a degree that puts it, in my opinion, miles past the nearest contender.

In this, what we shall call the TVCCC, there are two violinists instead of one.

This fact alone would rankle the ego of any master of strings. Perhaps the most problematical aspect of this idea is getting two prima donnas to agree to do it in the first place.

A “cutting contest” is a New Orleans jazz term for a contest between musicians and/or orchestras. The most famous of these was between the bands of Chick Webb and Benny Goodman in 1936 [Benny lost!]. When played as a one-on-one competition between two players of the same instrument, the pugilists would take turns playing and improvising on a tune, each doing a phrase while the other listened and waited for his cue to respond. At first, one player would play a full chorus before giving the other his chance, the other sometimes filling the gap with a toot or two, but then the intervals would get shorter and shorter, "trading fours" [four measures each], then two, then one, then simply trying to outblow the other.

[Aficionados of musical history will recognize this as typical of the African musical traditions and patterns of call-and-response, “playing the dozens”, signifying, etc.]

In the TVCCC, there would be no improvisation in the usual sense. The competitors wouldn’t play any notes that were not there in the sheet music.

Perhaps only the first movement is played.

The combatants would each take turns playing the violin part. At first, they would take long phrases, but as the concerto progresses, each would take a short phrase, four measures or less, sometimes playing over each other, sometimes playing together.

I would like to think that such a thing could be spontaneous, but it probably would have to be scored in advance, to prevent it from becoming an aural mess.

Nevertheless, each of the divas would be egging each other on, with facial and hand gestures and their bodies and attitudes, waving their bows and the violins while the other played, getting physically aggressive without actually touching each other.

It’s all an act.

At the end, the violinists are playing together, each trying to be LOUDER than the other. And when the piece is finished, and the audience is going nuts, they tuck their violins under their arms, and salute each other with their bows.

This is how to prevent violins in the streets.

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