Etudes is usually a short piece of solo music which, as one of the music genres, is useful for cellists to refine playing techniques. The word itself comes from French for “study” and it gives a preconceived impression of dullness and rigidity. Indeed it is true that composers write etudes not only for their own musicality, but also for specific techniques such as fingering, intervals or rhythms, so that students can be familiar with different combinations of phrases and play smoothly. Nevertheless, many of the popular etudes are both technical and musical that listeners or performers can still find pleasure in them!
One of the most iconic among all is the series of 40 etudes in the Czech musician David Popper’s High School of Cello Playing, Op.73. Popper studied at the Prague Conservatory under J. Golterman and graduated with a concerto of his own composition. As a Cellist, he toured in several European cities, including Berlin and Vienna, and gave the premiere of the Haydn and Schumann concertos. He was also a teacher of the cello, teaching many outstanding cellists, such as Jenő Kerpely, the founder of the world-famous Hungarian String Quartet.
In Popper's time in 19th-century Europe, there were still few solo works specifically for the cello. Many of which were adapted from violin works, and the possibilities of playing this instrument had yet to be explored. His High School of Cello Playing is not sequenced according to difficulty, yet each short piece clearly involves particular playing techniques. Also, since the pieces are in general technique-demanding, professional cello students find it worth challenging to succeed. Tunca (2014)1, a cello pedagogist of this age, attempted to analyse this series. He pointed out that the etudes involve a large number of chromatic scales in general, which are very useful for practising intonation, and in specific, he also categories different etudes according to the technical points required. For example, the mobility of the left hand(No. 6,7,18,26), positions (no. 1,2,3,28), double stops (no. 9,13,17), skipping (e.g. 27), ornamentation (e.g. 37), bowing (e.g. 35, 38) and so on.
For sure each etudes include not only one technical point; After listening to 40 of Popper's etudes in one sitting, you may figure out that it does not only train cello students to play, but also familiarising yourself with the different techniques of playing the cello. As audiences, listening to this series can learn to appreciate the cello in a more profound way. However, the technical emphasis of different exercises varies according to the musical background of the composer and the years of composition. Not all exercises are suitable for all students, but it may be a good choice for students who want to challenge themselves a little in their spare time!
[1]Ozan Tunca(2004), Cello Etude Books in Colleges and Universities, American String Teacher, Vol 54, No.3