The Orchestra / Instruments / Violins

The violin could be said to define the orchestra. It may be a little provocative to suggest that everything else is there merely an accompaniment to the violin: the other strings just fill out the lower harmonies, woodwinds provide pleasantly contrasting timbres, the brass is for added power when you need it and the percussion creates crisper edges and the occasional crash, but there would be no orchestra without the violin at its heart. Or would there? Perhaps it was true once, but certainly since the beginning of the 20^th century composers have begun to treat the sections of the orchestra as equal partners and distribute the music accordingly. It is also a fact that in the modern professional orchestra all the players are virtuosos and so less reliance need be place on the traditionally more agile violins. ...[more]

Miranda Dale of the Philharmonia Orchestra offers tips and tricks on violin writing from a players's perspective.