Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 196
Scan 196
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
10 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 168. See the scan on archive.org.
1sonorous while playing, and that when the player is sufficiently carried away he can obtain a superb tone—provided that he plays a high-grade violin.
3Orchestra playing is excellent for broadening the violin tone, the symphonic orchestra above all, provided, of course, that the conductor is a musician of high culture.
5THE STACCATO
7The staccato is a succession of notes played in a single bowing; it is produced by either down-bow or up-bow, though the up-bow is generally used. Charming effects may be obtained by the use of the staccato, and nature has been prodigal of her benefits in this connection to some violinists, while refusing them to others. I am acquainted with many remarkable violinists who find it impossible to produce a brilliant staccato; it is only with the greatest difficulty that they manage to play from eight to sixteen notes of staccato to a measure. A curious point in this connection is that the violinists who have a natural staccato hardly ever can play it in time, they hurry it noticeably. It seems that Wieniawski had the most marvelous staccato imaginable, and Vieuxtemps also possessed a superb one, while in our own day Ysaÿe seems to have inherited their qualities. Marteau has a good but somewhat heavy staccato, while Kreisler produces one which is brilliant but without much power. Sarasate did not have a grandiose staccato, but his playing of it was graceful and correct. A few suggestions for the improvement of the staccato will not be out of place:
9Play the following exercise with the whole bow, using first the down- and then the up-bow:
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