I am just finishing up the Arpeggione Sonata, and in between, I have started typing up Elgar's Cello Concerto. This piece seems to have been widely rediscovered by the world because of the passionate performance by Jacqueline du Pré, the genius cellist who died young. However, I think her performance is too passionate for me, and I think it would be better to express it a little more "deeply" to suit the conception of the piece. Anyway, thanks to her, this piece is now one of the masterpieces of cello.
Now, as for the beat, the very impressive cadenza at the beginning of the piece tells the whole story of this piece (see sheet music below). (sheet music below) So I think how you play this part will decide the impression of this piece very early on. Especially, the four heavy notes at the beginning, how to play them. Here, Elgar deliberately instructs us to play "nobilmente" (elegantly, nobly). This is a point that concerns me a little in Jacqueline du Pré's passionate performance. She is trying to figure out how to make us hear the path to the glissando in the following fourth bar.
Also, this is the first time I've ever struck full brass, woodwind, strings, and timpani as a concerto, so I'm having fun with it. I decided to start with the solo cello to set the mood of the piece as a whole, and then work on the orchestration. It will take a while to complete the first movement, since I will be examining each part.
A review of Beethoven's late piano sonatas is also in the works, so let's see what happens....