Toccata

Description

By definition, a toccata is a fast-moving, virtuosic piece of music designed to showcase the dexterity and skill of the performer. Originating in the Baroque era, the toccata for solo violin often features intricate passages, rapid scale runs, and a variety of bowing techniques that challenge the player’s technical prowess. This form allows the violinist to explore a wide range of expressions, from dramatic intensity to delicate nuance, making it a captivating and dynamic addition to any concert program.

Bruce Levine’s Toccata is about energy and motion. Propelled by striking rhythmic development of embryonic, repetitive thematic kernels and syncopated accents along with rapidly shifting time signatures, this is a piece meant to be a tour de force of the performer’s technique while exciting the audience.