Orchestral solos on string instruments.
clip 1 -
Manuel de Falla - El Amor Brujo (Love the Magician): Pantomima - High solo cello melody, accompanied by flutes and strings marked sul ponticello and sul tasto.
clip 2 -
Manuel de Falla - El Amor Brujo (Love the Magician): Danza del terror - Muted violins played loud.
clip 3 -
Elgar - Symphony No 1 - Melody played by the back desk of violins only.
clip 4 -
Elgar - Symphony No 1 - Shows the agility of the violins, marked pp.
clip 5 -
Mahler - Symphony No 5 - High four-part chords in violin 1, with violas marked staccatissimo.
clip 6 -
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring - Six solo violas, with solo cellos and basses in harmonics (plus more cellos pizzicato).
clip 7 -
Mahler - Symphony No 4 - Solo violin, playing with scordatura tuning (up a tone).
clip 8 -
Mahler - Symphony No 4 - Cellos playing high melody, accompanied by the other strings, clarinet and cor anglais.
String Section
Examples featuring the string section.
clip 1 -
Mahler - Symphony No 4 - col legno accompaniment, with woodwind.
clip 2 -
Mahler - Symphony No 4 - Contrapuntal string writing - The cello melody is prominent at first, but the violins gradually take the main theme.
clip 3 -
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No 3 - All strings in close harmony.
clip 4 -
Sibelius - Symphony No 5 - Strings in octaves.
clip 5 -
Elgar - Symphony No 1 - Melody in strings, with harp.
clip 6 -
Mahler - Symphony No 5 - The opening of the celebrated 'Adagietto', with harp triplets against rich low writing for the strings.
clip 7 -
Mahler - Symphony No 5 - Artificial harmonics in violins, tune in cellos and basses (plus woodwind and brass lightly stabbed accaompaniment).
clip 8 -
Mahler - Symphony No 5 - String passage, featuring wide leaps and imitation.
clip 9 -
Holst - The Planets: Mercury - Staccato strings in rhythmic unison.
clip 10 -
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring - String melody in harmonics (marked flautando).
clip 11 -
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring - Artificial harmonics in chords.
clip 12 -
Sibelius - Symphony No 5 - A passage for muted strings.