The Bohlen-Pierce system - La Scena Musicale

Instrumental
INSIGHTS: VIOLIN
by CARISSA KLOPOUSHAK
Early History
The violin is the highest-pitched member of
the string family. Predecessors of the violin
can be traced back as early as 800 C.E. Early
examples include the Arabian rebab and instruments
by the nomadic, equestrian cultures
of Central Asia. The bows of horsehair
are still part of our violin heritage today.
As trade increased between East and West,
so did the sharing of new ideas. The first variant
of the rebab, called the rebec, appeared in
Spain during the 11 th century. Other variations
followed, such as the vielle by the 13 th
century in France. The route through Europe
transformed the original two-stringed instrument
with the body of a gourd into a
three-stringed instrument with a body of
wood. These violin-like instruments were
common by the 1500s. The violin proper
evolved directly from the Italian viola da
braccio at the beginning of the 16 th century.
The violin underwent its most innovative period
of development in Italy, becoming the
universally used and appreciated instrument
of music that it is today. The four-stringed violin,
the first of which is attributed to Andrea
Amati in 1555, quickly became very popular
in certain courts. By the 17 th century the violin
was ubiquitously known, even replacing
folk instruments all around Europe. The
Amati family was pivotal in establishing the
basic proportions of the violin, viola, and
cello, and the original Amati design was perfected
over the next 200 years. The family’s
contribution to the art of violin making was
evident not only in the improvement of the
instrument itself, but also in the apprenticeships
of subsequent gifted makers including
Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari.
Recognized as the greatest violin maker in
history, Stradivari’s instruments are still
prized today. He finalized and refined the violin’s
form and symmetry, and experimented
with the type and thickness of wood
which helped to improve the acoustics of the
instrument. By this time, the violin had acquired
most of the specifications common to
the instrument today, but for a few additional
changes. Makers continued to experiment
through to the 19 th century with the
overall length, the angle of the neck, the
length of the bass bar, and the bridge height.
The violin achieved mainstream use during
the Baroque period, becoming the fixture of
western art music that it is today in solo,
chamber, and orchestral settings.
Upper Bout
Waist
Bridge
F-Hole
Lower Bout
Fine Tuners
Tailpiece
Chinrest
Tuning Pegs
Neck
Scroll
Top Nut
Fingerboard
Isabelle Faust
with Alexander Melnikov, piano
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas
for piano & violin
[Harmonia Mundi (2009)]
VIOLIN’S GREATEST HITS
Il Giardino Armonico
directed by Giovanni
Antonini
Viaggio Musicale
[Teldec (2001)]
Modern Mastery
The position that the violin enjoys in western
music is truly enviable. No other instrument
can boast a larger or more musically diverse
repertoire as the violin. For over the last 200
years, a rich heritage of master composers,
performers, and pedagogues has developed.
Many of the greatest violinists were also composers
for their instrument, including Corelli,
Vivaldi, Tartini, Kreisler, Ysaÿe, Enescu,
Sarasate, and Paganini. Other violinists collaborated
with composers in famous pairings,
like Joachim and Brahms, David and
Mendelssohn, Oistrakh and both Shostakovich
and Prokofiev. In the last century, violinists
have focused more on interpretation rather
than composition, giving rise to many virtuosi
like Heifetz, Menuhin, Mullova, Bell, Hahn,
Haendel, Neveu, Gitlis, Stern, Mintz, Ehnes,
Faust, Kremer, Mutter, Kavakos, Zehetmair,
Perlman, Szeryng, Tetzlaff, Shaham, Znaider,
and Zukerman. A great many more gifted performers
are not predominantly soloists, performing
in chamber music ensembles or
specializing in Early Music.
The violin has an important role outside of
the western art music tradition; for example,
Indian classical music relies heavily on the violin.
The violin is extremely important in folk
traditions around the world, including Maritime
and Acadian fiddle traditions in Canada.
Roby Lakatos, Gypsy fiddler, and Gilles Apap,
who bridges the gap between folk and classical
traditions, are commanding performers of
the genre. The violin has a solid presence in
jazz, thanks to players like Stephane Grappelli
and Stuff Smith. Toronto-based violinistcomposer
Owen Pallet is a prime example of
the ever-merging worlds of indie and classical
music.
LSM
James Ehnes Prokofiev’s
Sonata in F minor (with Wendy
Chen, piano). Prokofiev: The Two
Violin Sonatas and Five Melodies
[Analekta: Fleurs de Lys]
PHOTOS Marco Borggreve, David Ellis/Decca, Benjamin Ealovega
12
APRIL 2012