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Ka’Mari Cobbett

Matthew Davis

Orchestra

20 February 2022

Orchestra Makeup Assignment

Franz Schubert’s “Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D. 821” is a

piece of music that’s history is strongly tied to the instrument it was originally written for.

The Arpeggione was a six stringed fretted instrument that was tuned similarly to a guitar

(E–A–D–G–B–E) but possessed a curved bridge so it could be played similarly to a cello.

The sonata has received many transcriptions (some more appropriate in key signature to

the instrument) such as the cello, and of course, viola. There is much debate about

whether the sonata is better suited to be performed on the viola or cello. Thumb position

is greatly utilized by cellists that perform the Arpeggione Sonata to be able to reach the

register needed to perform the piece. Though I have no particular reason to have this

belief, I feel that the sonata is more suited to the viola despite how unforgiving the key

that the piece was originally written in is for viola. I will be critiquing Richard O’Neill’s

performance of the Arpeggione Sonata;s first movement and be giving insight on how he

provides such an encapsulating interpretation of the piece.

A noticeable trait about O’Neill’s performance is that the difference in tempo is

noticeably smaller between the initial statement of the first theme and the second theme.
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Many recordings lean towards a more drastic shift in tempo but O’Neill keeps the tempo

more restricted and controlled. This affects the quality of his sound due to the fact that the

tempo is heavily linked to the level of bow control required. O’Neill’s bow control

noticeably plays a role in his warm, resonant, and powerful tone. He maintains his bow in

the area between the bridge and fingerboard when he plays in the middle register of the

viola. When he reaches the upper registers of phrases, he shifts his bow more closely to

the bridge and applies more bow weight.

O’Neill’s style is a perfect combination of the warm and dark tone needed for the

first theme and the playful and light needed for the second theme. The style is historically

accurate as Schubert was an early Romantic era composer and wrote the Arpeggione

Sonata in 1824, which was relatively deep into the Romantic era’s time period. He is able

to maintain such a perfect balance of the two different moods due to his extreme bow

control. Within the more technical sections, he is able to produce a more light and bouncy

articulation style yet his sound still resonates strongly and clearly. His dynamic contrast is

also very noticeable as he can convey the dark and somberness of phrases alongside the

powerful and climatic peaks of phrases.

In conclusion, many of the factors that make O’Neill’s performance so great can

be attributed to his masterful bow control and it’s ability to convey strong dynamic

variation alongside his rich tone. Despite the difficulties of playing without access to
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thumb position, O’Neill still delivers a faithful and encapsulating performance of the

Arpeggione Sonata.