Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers

by Frederick H. Martens

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2006

Reviews

[Tori Whitacre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this five stars with the “caveat lector” that this is a collection of interviews with non-Christians. And yet their insights into art and violin mastery and their understanding of technique is incredible.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful resource to have on hand, one I'm glad I bought essentially on a whim. I do think that these people (and we still do this today, I'm guilty of this too) occasionally get caught up in abstractions when they talk about playing the violin, but at the same time... it's hard not to? There's a lot that needs to come from feelings rather than logical concepts when it comes to honing your craft. There's also a lot of practical advice in this book, as well as a lot of name-dropping and potential leads toward other works on this topic.

The only vaguely "negative" thing I have to say is that you might not get much out of this if you're not a violinist or a teacher of violin. If you have an interest in reading interviews given by some early 20th-century violin greats, though, don't listen to me and just go for it.

[raysilverwoman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little overview for any violinist in need of inspiration. My main issue is that the interviews don’t go more in-depth across the board. A few of the interviewees get specific on their craft and outline how to think about or practice certain things—these particular sections stood out to me. Unfortunately most of the masters offer more abstract analyses, though their words are quite meaningful if not enlightening.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are not a string player don't bother to read this. If you are it is worthwhile. It is a Dover reprint of a collection of interviews from 1919. The most famous violinists of the time were interviewed about violin pedagogy, performance, practice and repartoire. I found it interesting and inspiring. Made me go practice Kreutzer. Interesting that many of the stapels of the concert repartoire from the early 1900's are no longer played.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't have to play the violin to enjoy this book, but it helps at least to be familiar with some of the technical challenges of playing violin at a high level. Really a book for extremely advanced violin students, Violin Mastery can also be enjoyed as an inside look at the approach violin masters take to making emotion come alive through technique.

[Nel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the various opinions shared by some of the most accomplished violinists of the last century. Discussion topics range from how much one should practice to how one would define what the mastery of the violin is. This book is of most use to violinists, although other string players might also enjoy it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning about great violin playing... from the greats.