The violin is known as the queen of instruments. Of the more than 100 musicians in a great orchestra, over 30 are violinists. In chamber music the violin has an equally important part. For centuries violin virtuosos have given dazzling performances.
The violin’s high rank is due to the beauty of its tone and its wide range of expression. No other instrument so closely resembles the human voice. No other can express so many moods with equal effect.
The violin or fiddle as it is sometimes called, took many centuries to develop. Its history begins in India, where the use of a bow to play stringed instruments was probably invented. During the early Middle Ages in Europe various stringed instruments were played with a bow. One of these was the vielle, which was probably introduced to Europe through the Balkan Peninsula in the 10th century. Like the violin, the vielle was held against the player’s shoulder. Later the vielle was changed through the influence of the rebec. This was an Arabic instrument that spread from Spain to the rest of Europe. By combining the sturdy body of the vielle with the clever arrangement of the pegs in the rebec, a new group of instruments was born.
The violin received its basic form between 1550 and 1600. Since that time it has changed only a little bit. The most successful violins were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. Italy was the country for the most popular violin makers, who produced violins which are worth thousands of dollars today.
An important center of violin production was established by the Amati family in the in the northern Italian city of Cremona. The violin Made by Niccolo Amati (1596-1684) Have a tone of rare sweetness and softness. For a long time it was thought that the beauty of sound of Amati violins could not be surpassed. Father had its own secrets that he handed down to his sons. But nowadays the instruments built by Niccolo Amati’s the best student, Antonio Stradivari, called master of all masters, developed a larger, flatter type of violin. It has more tone power, though hardly less tenderness, than the Amati violins. Stradivari is reported to have built 1,116 instruments. Of these, 540”Strad” violins are known to us. Most of them have nicknames, such as the Viotti or the Vieuxtemps. They are named after the famous virtuosos who played them.
Another outstanding family of violin builders was the Guarneri of Cremona. Their most important member was Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri (1698-1744), called del Gesu (“of Jesus”) because he marked his instruments “IHS”, from the Greek word for Jesus. His violins are not as regular and perfect as the Strads. They are more individual in structure. Yet the tone is of the highest quality.
A successful school of violin-makers also operated at Absam in Austria. Jakob Stainer (1621-83) produced violins with a sweet, flutelike tone. His tradition was taken up by the Klotz of Mittenwald, Bavaria. The town was a center of violin-making up to the 19th century.
When violin building reached perfection in Italy, outstanding performers developed the art of playing the instrument and wrote important works for it. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) of Rome, a virtuoso performer and composer, helped give the violin its leading place in music. His student Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) was the author of the first important textbook on violin playing. He introduced a new method of holding the instrument that helped violinists develop the technique of the left hand.
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) was called the master of nations because musicians from all countries flocked to Padua to study the violin with him. Tartini’s playing was sensitive as well as brilliant. One of his compositions bears the title “Devil Trill Sonata” to hint that its technical difficulties could not be solved by ordinary humans.
The idea of help from the devil was more widely accepted in the case of Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), the greatest violin virtuoso of all time. When Paganini played, he swept his audiences off their feet. His competitors spread rumors that Paganini had acquired his virtuosity through a pact with the devil. Paganini‘s strange appearance seemed to bring on such gossip. He was tall and extremely thin. His pale waxlike face was framed by long, dark hair. He liked to play a melody on one string and accompany it pizzicato (by plucking) with his left hand. When strings broke during a recital, he was unconcerned, for he could perform magnificently on a single string.
Germany and France also produced outstanding performers. Paris especially became a center of violin virtuosity. Rudolph Kreutzer (1766-1831) had great influence as a violin teacher at the newly founded Paris Conservatory. His technical studies must still be mastered by students. Viotti (1755-1824) was born in Italy but lived in France. His performances were on such high level that he was called the father of modern violin playing. He also wrote many pieces for the violin, including 29 concertos.
Some of finest works for the violin were by composers who wrote for many other instruments. Johann Sebastian Bach was the author of choice works for unaccompanied violin. Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelsohn, Brams and Tchaikovsky wrote beautiful concertos for violin and orchestra.