le Cygne (the Swan) from ‘le Carnaval des Animaux’ by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performed by Zlata Brouwer (viola) and Mariusz Kustra (piano)
the Swan by Saint-Saëns (viola and piano)
Hi! I'm Zlata
Classical violinist helping you overcome technical struggles and play with feeling by improving your bow technique.
This Summer I bought a beautiful German viola for my violin shop in Holland.
I loved it’s sound so much that it inspired my to play the Swan
The only problem was… I don’t play viola. I practiced just this melody for a couple of days (and some scales). Probably real violists will find my bowing technique and vibrato too violinistic, but sometimes it’s good to just follow your inspiration and play with it.
I enjoyed this big beauty and the music very much, but the viola is not mine to keep. We had a short affair and I hope you enjoy the result.
Click here on the button below for the piano accompaniment I used, so you can play along yourself.
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Zlata that is beautiful,
Thanks, Hannah, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
This is a very beautiful performance, Zlata. I love the sound of the viola!
Thank you, Sara!
So lovely to hear you playing the viola, thank you for that, and I hope you might include some more pieces on the viola in future.
Definitely thinking about that, Joanna!
Very beautiful piece. Loved how the notes just flowed so perfectly. Like the wind blows.
Thanks so much for the compliment, William!
Amazingly beautiful piece and delivery of it! Thank you for sharing-and continue to do so! I truly enjoy your playing the heart-felt music!
Thanks so much for your compliment, Wendy!
I’m learning the viola and benefited from seeing how your arm moves while bowing. The angle shot was excellent for observing. Thank you.
Thanks, Elena, I’m glad it’s helpful to you!
Aaaaah Zlata, you brought back the innocent days of my youth! When I was 15 my friend and taped the Swan many times in a row and we listened it over and over again, hanging on my bed, dreaming about the future and writing poetry for the boys we had a crush on. My dad brought us a little glass of sweet wine (the rules were not that strict 32 years ago) and we gigled for hours. My friend and I lost contact but some years ago I moved to another city and found out she was living just around the corner! She still played the piano, I switched to the violin 2,5 years ago. We looked in each others eyes after all this years and made the agreement to play the Swan together. We are still practicing and it will not sound like yours but it ‘s all about the careless days of long ago. Thank you for bringing this memories back to life! With love XXX
Precious memories! How music can bring us back in time… Great how you met again!
Is there a score I can download for my collaborative pianist?
Sorry, I don’t have it, but I’m sure you can Google it and find it.
Alright, I will look into that! Thank you.
Enjoy!