"Pizzicato Polka" by Johann Strauss Junior and Josef Strauss. Transcription for Flute Quartet by Francesco Leone. Score & parts (5): 1-4 C Flutes, included optional parts for G Alto Flute (instead Flute 4). Key concert F / duration 3.00 (+-).
The Pizzicato Polka is a piece of orchestral music by Johann Baptist & Josef Strauss composed in 1869 for a trip to Imperial Russia. It was published in 1870. The polka was written for string orchestra and glockenspiel. It was hugely popular, especially in Italy, where it was included on every program Strauss played there. The piece consists of four melodies and the work is arranged in ternary form (A-B-A). The original piece is scored for plucked strings.

24 all original Clarinet duets for intermediate to advanced players by Keri Degg. Containing a multitude of styles from Swing, Celtic, contemporary, classical, Rock and more, these are a must have for the intermediate to advanced player wanting to improve their playing.

As the duets are all original, no 'cheating' can take place by already knowing the melodies so good tactical mathematical skills must be employed. Some of the duets zone in on intonation, others on rhythmic precision, or expression. There are a number of light hearted duets in the collection which provide welcome relief amidst exam study work (after all, music should be fun too!).

The duets stick mainly to the keys and note ranges for the given grades but there are occasional exceptions (in our opinion this is good preparation for what is to come ahead) and generally the lower Clarinet part (Clarinet 2) is a little easier in standard and has more notes in the lower range than the other (although often the melody line will switch from player to player to share the tune and encourage sympathetic listening skills).

Apologies for the (rather poor) audio file; it's a digital interpretation of 'The Chase' - a comedy duet from the collection. They sound amazing on real instruments! There are 23 more duets too remember.

Examples of the included duets include; 'Desert Scape' (with ethereal timbral trills for a shimmering effect), 'The Chase'.... a comedy romp (imagine a cartoon chase; Tom and Jerry etc!), 'Seventh Heaven' a swing jaunt, 'I baroqued it' (a baroque-inspired fast paced duet), plus Celtic flavoured duets and more....

This is the sequel collection to the popular '40 Graded Clarinet Duets' (Grades 1-5) by Keri Degg. Also available in Saxophone, and Flute editions.