Sound connections

Teaching & Playing

ITZHAK RASHKOVSKY

Professor of violin at the Royal College of Music, London, UK; founder and music director of Keshet Eilon Music Center, Israel; founder and artistic director of Music Masters, London, UK

• BORN Odessa, Ukraine

• STUDIED WITH Yair Kless

• TEACHES Undergraduate and postgraduate conservatoire students plus exceptional younger students

In my teaching experience I have come to view sostenuto as a key focal point, meriting a lot of detailed attention. Sostenuto is often considered to be the ability to hold notes for a long time (son filé). However, I apply it more widely, to include the ability to listen and to follow every note from the beginning to the end (whether the note is long or short, separate or legato), and to connect it to other notes mirroring the human voice as closely as possible. Sostenuto applies mostly to music of the Romantic period (it is completely different from Baroque bowing) and there is no doubt that it is the greatest gift that God gave to string players. Without an understanding of sostenuto we interfere with nature and break the musical line by playing bowings rather than phrases, with a discernible diminuendo on the down bow and a crescendo on the up bow.

EXERCISES

TO REMEMBER All our arm movements are naturally circular, so any attempt to pull the bow in a straight line is unnatural. This diagram, reproduced from Leonard Rose: ‘All about the bow’ (The Strad, November 2020), shows the circular movements that connect a down and up bow in one uninterrupted action:

PHOTO JACOB AVIRAM. ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OSKAR FALTA

Three basic movements are involved to achieve this. For the down bow, firstly use the shoulder, then the elbow and finally the forearm, which should come forward a little. Reverse for the up bow. Practise each of these movements separately (Kreutzer no.1 is useful for this). I ask my students to do a series of exercises for sostenuto playing using three- or four-octave scales (‘daily bow hygiene’), bearing the following in mind:

• Do not use the last 2cm of bow at the tip because it is a dead area; your sound is produced because the flexibility of the bow stick and hair allows the penetration of the contact into the string. The last 2cm of the bow has no flexibility whatsoever.

• While changing bow near the tip, ensure that all the bow hairs are connected with the string, as this is the weakest part of the bow

• In the upper third of the bow, watch especially that you don’t revert to using your shoulder, or your bow will drift on to the fingerboard and you will lose contact and sound

• Start with long notes (8 beats at q= 60), forte. Keep the bow near and parallel to the bridge, moving from shoulder–elbow–forearm. When you work (no vibrato, then with), stop 2cm before the tip to check you keep full contact. Check the stick and hair are close to one another, then play the up bow with full hair. Repeat without rest

• Repeat pianissimo with the bow near and parallel to the fingerboard

• Repeat with crescendo/diminuendo, gradually changing the point of contact

OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

• This Lucien Capet exercise (example 1) teaches players to focus on the amount of hair they use and how to control it, rolling the bow stick between the thumb and middle finger

• Shifting is a huge subject in itself, but always support shifts with bow contact or you will get holes in the sound. You will and should hear a little (tasteful) glissando in the shift, just as you would hear if you listen to a singer.

REPERTOIRE

Sostenuto on long notes In this excerpt from Chausson’s Poème op.25, based on Turgenev’s book The Song of Triumphant Love, start near the bridge and gradually move towards the fingerboard. Connect the first beat in bar 34 (often mistakenly played as a rest) to the second beat by flattening the hair. Keep the sostenuto, then avoid a crescendo in the following legato. Vary the speed and width of the vibrato according to the dynamics and string used, and ensure it is continuous on bow changes and string-crossings:

On short notes In this excerpt from Brahms’s Violin Sonata no.1 in G major, third movement (example 3), the quavers (e) at the ends of bow strokes tend to fade because the player moves the bow too fast initially and starves the last note of oxygen (bow speed). In example 4, practise with this different bowing to connect the short notes and sustain a long line.

Another example is Wieniawski’s Concerto no.2, first movement (example 5, page 81). In bar 86 the semiquaver (s) G often sounds weak in the shadow of the tied B flat. Leave plenty of bow for the short G and start it with emphasis, connecting it to the next note.

In fast runs In Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole op.21, first movement (example 6), practise runs with additional accents where marked *.

Exaggerate the dynamics (crescendo when ascending, diminuendo when descending) creating what Casals referred to as ‘rainbows’:

IN YOUR PRACTICE

• The key to good practice is dedicated focus

• Spend time on the bow. I like Leopold Mozart’s advice: ‘Always practise with a full and big sound.’ Don’t be afraid of a harsh sound; over time you will learn to refine it. Read Leopold Mozart’s Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing (translated by Editha Knocker).

• The 5cm between the bridge and the fingerboard is the universe for our sound; explore it thoroughly

• One note is a sound; where there are two notes there is instantly a relationship and connection between them

• Listen for friction in your bow changes; it isn’t possible or even desirable to try to hide them

• You can always listen more carefully to your sound. It is your signature.

TIPS FOR TEACHERS

• Adjust your teaching to accommodate the physiology, strengths, weaknesses and interests of each student

• Cultivate a desire to produce a beautiful, round and expressive sound

• For the three-part down-bow movement mentioned above think of a triangle (shoulder), a square (elbow) and then a forward movement (forearm). Reverse for the up bow.

• The French terminology for down and up bows is useful as they translate to ‘pull’ and ‘push’

• Encourage your students to use visual as well as audio senses. When working on bowing, make sure that they watch the point of contact. Mirrors are useful for this.

• The student should feel the teacher constantly observing

• Guard against student frustration and lack of motivation by setting new repertoire regularly, especially with younger students. You can always revisit and refine older repertoire at a later date.

• A ‘simple’ piece played with beautiful phrasing and focused attention to the connection between each note is more impressive than any pyrotechnics

• Practice charts are useful; my charts cover specific exercises to tackle individual weaknesses, scales, studies, two to three short pieces, and large-scale pieces that are studied for longer. If progress slows, I re-balance the practice routine.

INTERVIEW BY NAOMI YANDELL

FURTHER MATERIALS

The importance of singing to Pablo Casals is very evident in David Blum's book Casals and the Art of Interpretation (left). I would also recommend listening to Michael Rabin playing the Adagio from the Brahms Violin Sonata no.3 op. 108 with David Garvey (bit.ly/3xiBAIf ). It is an example of great sostenuto playing. Watch the circular movement during the bow changes at the tip.

NEXT MONTH Violist Caroline Henbest on the Feldenkrais method