Instrumentation:

solo violin

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Duration: 4'

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Commissioned by the National Arts Council, Scherzo Nervoso is written as a movement of a larger work, a violin sonata.

 

Scherzo Nervoso explores the phenomenon of nerves experienced by violinists on stage, albeit taken from a humorous vantage point. The performance marking of “Capriccioso; Improvvisare; Tempo Rubato” points the performer toward the nature of this Scherzo – a capricious improvisation with a volatile temporal (and rhythmic) design. The contrasting quasibaroque episodes represent a calmer state of mind; these are interspersed throughout the scherzo serving as fragments of a Trio.