Synopses & Reviews
How long should I practice? Which pieces should I study? How can I develop a singing tone? All violinists ponder these questions, striving to make the most of their practice and performances. This enlightening and encouraging book holds the answers, offering a series of interviews with the most celebrated violin teachers and performers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Twenty-four famous violinists reveal the secrets to their success, sharing the lessons of their artistry and experience. In addition to aesthetic and technical aspects of playing, they discuss their personal conceptions of violin mastery. Eugene Ysaye reminisces about his studies with Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski, and Leopold Auer emphasizes the importance of fostering students' individual talents. Maud Powell describes her pioneering role as a female orchestral musician, and Jascha Heifetz voices his views on technical mastery and temperament. Hints and advice from other masters include tips on efficient practice, improving bow technique, and refining intonation. A rare find in the musical literature, this book is essential reading for every serious violinist.
Synopsis
Twenty-four famous violinists reveal the secrets to their success, discuss the aesthetic and technical aspects of playing, and define their personal conceptions of violin mastery. Advice from the masters includes tips on efficient practice, improving bow technique, and refining intonation. A rare find in the musical literature, this volume is essential reading for every serious violinist.
Synopsis
A rare find amongst musical literature,
Violin Mastery is a collection of interviews with the most famous violin teachers and performers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Delving into such topics as efficient practicing, bow technique, interpretations of Bach, and first-hand accounts of being a pioneering female orchestral musician (by Maud Powell), this book is a must-have for every serious violinist. Complete with bios and portraits of all those interviewed.
Synopsis
Twenty-four famous violinists reveal the secrets to their success, discuss the aesthetic and technical aspects of playing, and define their personal conceptions of violin mastery. Advice from the masters includes tips on efficient practice, improving bow technique, and refining intonation. A rare find in the musical literature, this volume is essential reading for every serious violinist.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Eugène Ysaye
The Tools of Violin Mastery
Leopold Auer
A Method without Secrets
Eddy Brown
Hubay and Auer: Technique: Hints to the Student
Mischa Elman
Life and Color in Interpretation. Technical Phases
Samuel Gardner
Technique and Musicianship
Arthur Hartmann
The Problem of Technique
Jascha Heifetz
The Danger of Practicing Too Much. Technical Mastery and Temperament
David Hochstein
The Violin as a Means of Expression and Expressive Playing
Fritz Kreisler
Personality in Art
Franz Kneisel
The Perfect String Ensemble
Adolfo Betti
The Technique of the Modern Quartet
Hans Letz
The Technique of Bowing
David Mannes
The Philosophy of Violin Teaching
Tivadar Nachéz
Joachim and Léonard as Teachers
Maximilian Pilzer
The Singing Tone and the Vibrato
Maud Powell
Technical Difficulties: Some Hints for the Concert Player
Leon Sametini
Harmonics
Alexander Saslavsky
What the Teacher Can and Cannot Do
Toscha Seidel
How to Study
Edmund Severn
The Joachim Bowing and Others: The Left Hand
Albert Spalding
The Most Important Factor in the Development of an Artist
Theodore Spiering
The Application of Bow Exercises to the Study of Kreutzer
Jacques Thibaud
The Ideal Program
Gustav Saenger
The Editor as a Factor in "Violin Mastery"