Tamás Varga, principal cellist of the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Wiener Staatsopernorchester, gives a master class on Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A Minor, featuring New World Symphony alumna Meredith McCook.
Composed in two weeks in the Fall of 1850, the concerto was only premiered in 1960 with cellist Ludwig Ebert as soloist, four years after the composer’s death. In the master class, they work on this dark and personal piece, focusing on the importance of maintaining energy in the sound and on phrasing according to the harmony.