Rudolf Matz: 12 Duets for Two Cellos (complete). Micah Donar and Stephen Feldman, Cellos.

Celebrating Rudolf Matz Part 1: Reintroducing Cellists and Teachers to the Foundation Materials of Master Cello Pedagogue Rudolf Matz (1901-1988). Dr. Stephen Feldman--Professor of Cello at the University of Central Arkansas. 12 Duets for Two Cellos: Micah Donar and Stephen Feldman, cellos. 00:00 Duet #1: Intrada 00:42 Duet #2: Aria 01:56 Duet #3: Danza Antica 02:55 Duet #4: Un Poco Triste 04:12 Duet #5: Melody and Variation 05:33 Duet #6: The Bee 06:51 Duet #7: Prelude 08:44 Duet #8: The Echo 10:03 Duet #9: Canon 11:05 Duet #10: Kolo (Croatian Dance) 12:12 Duet #11: A Joke 13:13 Duet #12: Invention [Find these Duets and other works by Matz at www.dominismusic.com] Rudolf Matz published 3 different sets of materials for two cellos. His 21 Duets for Young Cellists are very short works that are always in 1st position. The two parts of presented in score format, so both parts are visible on the page. Matz’s 12 Duets are written for a more advanced player, though they only use 1st and 4th positions, and do not require extensions. These duets are more complex rhythmically and require a great deal of technical sophistication to bring out all that is possible in the writing. The individual parts are equal in difficulty, often trading lead and accompanimental roles. Only one part appears on the page, so all the more rhythmic understanding and precision is required. The third and final work for two cellos by Matz is his Duet in C major. This is a large scale, four movement work for two cellos, with melodic and structural elements from baroque and classical musical languages. This work too can be played using 1st and 4th positions nearly all the time, so it is playable by an adept early student with well-developed left hand and bowing skills and good musicianship. __________________________________________________ Croatian born Rudolf Matz (1901-1988) began work on what would become his First Years of Violoncello in the early 1940’s, and he would continue to expand, revise, and make more complete this monumental undertaking for the next 45 years. His interest and experience as a teacher, performer, composer and author informed the content of these of these technical exercises, etudes, and concert pieces, as did his early life experience as a competitive sprinter and his later interest in and study of anatomy, physiology, and ergonomics. Furthermore, Matz’s work with the Vaclav Huml, a Prague-trained violinist and former student of Sevcik, and Antonio Janigro, a virtuoso cellist well-versed in the modernizations of cello technique by Casals by way of Janigro’s study with Diran Alexanian provided a model and added richness and depth to Matz’s endeavor. The 31 volumes of Matz’s First Years of Violoncello were published in Zagreb between 1946 and 1971, but these editions are no longer in print. Many of the works have been newly published by Dominis Music beginning in 1982—a publishing house established by Matz’s former student and friend, Slobodan Gospodnetic. All of the pieces I will add to this channel in the first part of this Celebration of Rudolf Matz are published by Dominis Music and are widely available.