Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 268
Scan 268
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
12 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 240. See the scan on archive.org.
1Play measures 15 to 22 mezzo forte, if not forte, since otherwise the violin tone will be covered by that of the wind instruments. Measures 23 to 38 should be played broadly, laying a great deal of weight on the basses. The following fingering best suits the inner logic of the exposition:
3Play measures 1 to 10 with a certain amount of expansion; somewhat softly and tenderly. In measures 4 to 7 there should be a slight crescendo and in measure 10 a pronounced crescendo ending on the G of measure 11.
5The G sustained in the bass from measures 11 to 18, which supports the melody played by the wind instruments of the orchestra, must necessarily be played forte. Measures 19 to 30 offer a marvelous phrase, full of charm and depth, and which should be played with a smile, that is to say as though it were purity itself. This is a section in which the player may give free rein to his talent and show his artistry in one of its fairest aspects, that of sincerity.
7It is all too easy for the violinist to yield to the dictates of poor taste and the phrase under consideration is a species of stumbling block whose proper playing serves to measure the true worth of the artist. We have heard this fragment played times without number in the most insipid manner, the artist "letting himself out" in the most ridiculous way. Owing to the beauty of the admirable Stradivarius which he possessed, and also to the quality of the tone he produced, Sarasate was able to approach this phrase with a kind of aristocratic deference which was sincere enough, yet his interpretation as a whole was marked by the "bored" manner which this great violinist liked to affect.
9Measures 1 and 2 should be played a trifle breathlessly, hurrying a little and retarding on the B of measure 3. In measure 4 there is a reversion to calmness subsequent to the preceding brief agitation, to which measure 4 offers a characteristic contrast.
11Beginning with measure 12 and up to measure 18 we have a little poem of joy and gratitude, and the four A's of measure 15 seem to enclose a whole world of charm and delicacy of their own. The glissando from the upper A
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