Violin as a musical instrument

It is difficult to meet in our time a person who has no idea about the violin - the main musical instrument belonging to the bow family. The violin is one of the most noble, widespread and perfect musical instruments of our time. The Queen of Music is the most apt description of this amazingly beautiful sounding musical instrument. The enormous performance capabilities, richness, expressiveness and warmth of its timbre have ensured this instrument a leading position in symphony orchestras, in various kinds of ensembles, in solo performing practice and in folk musical life.

The Encyclopedia gives us the following definition:

The violin is a high-register bowed string musical instrument. It is of folk origin, acquired its modern appearance in the 16th century, and became widespread in the 17th century. Has four strings. There are also five-string violins, with the addition of a lower alto string. The violin often solos melodious and virtuoso melodies.

But I like the first definition better, as it reflects all the versatility and splendor of the violin!

Violin structure

The structure of a violin is very simple: body, neck and strings. Tool accessories vary widely in their purpose and importance. For example, one should not overlook the bow, thanks to which sound is extracted from the strings, or the chinrest and bridge, which allow the performer to place the instrument most comfortably on the left shoulder.

Each of its parts or body elements is made of a certain type of wood. Spruce is used for the top soundboard, on which there are two resonator holes in the central part, reminiscent of the English letter “f”. This type of wood has the most pronounced elasticity, which allows you to achieve excellent sounding of bass notes. The top deck is made either from a single piece of wood or from two parts.

The back, on the contrary, is responsible for the top notes, and maple is generally recognized as the appropriate material for this. In addition, for a long time, wavy maple was used, which was delivered to medieval Italy from Turkey, thanks to which violin makers produced their unique creations.

The fingerboard is another important element of the instrument, which is an oblong plank. It is constantly in contact with the strings and, therefore, is subject to wear. It is made from rosewood or ebony (black) wood, which are particularly hard and durable. Rosewood also does not sink in water. Iron wood is not inferior in these properties, but due to its green color, which does not harmonize with the general color scheme of the violin, it was not used.

Strings - they are made of different materials and can be strand, silk, or metal.

The violin has a complex configuration, which has bulges and bends. Each master who creates this instrument has his own style of creating it. There are not and cannot be two violins with the same sound, but not only for this reason. The main one is the properties of wood, which can never be repeated.

History of the creation of the violin

Disputes about when and where this legendary musical instrument appeared continue to this day. Some historians suggest that the bow appeared in India, from where it came to the Arabs and Persians, and from them it passed to Europe. Over the course of musical evolution, there have been many different versions of bowed instruments that have influenced the modern appearance of the violin. Among them are the Arab rebab, the German company and the Spanish fidel, the birth of which occurred in the 13th-15th centuries. It was these instruments that became the progenitors of the two main bowed instruments - the viol and the violin. Viola appeared earlier, it was of different sizes, they played it standing, holding it on their knees, and later on their shoulders. This type of viol playing led to the appearance of the violin.

Some sources indicate the origin of the violin from the Polish instrument skripitsa or from the Russian skripli, the appearance of which dates back to the 15th century. For a long time, the violin was considered a common instrument and did not sound solo. It was played by wandering musicians, and the main place for its sound was taverns and taverns.

In the 16th century, Italian craftsmen who were engaged in the production of viols and lutes began making violins. They put the instrument into perfect shape and filled it with the best materials. Gasparo Bertolotti is considered the first master to make the first modern violin. The main contribution to the transformation and production of Italian violins was made by the Amati family. They made the timbre of the violin sound deeper and more delicate, and the character of the sound more multifaceted. They accomplished the main task that the masters set for themselves excellently - the violin, like the human voice, had to accurately convey emotions and feelings through music. A little later, there in Italy, the world-famous masters Guarneri and Stradivari worked on improving the sound of the violin, whose instruments today are valued at entire fortunes.

Relatives of the violin

The violin has many sisters and brothers and their history is very interesting. Everyone knows the viola and cello. But I want to talk about little-known instruments that perhaps few people know, but they have a very interesting and rich history.

This is the Arabic great-great-grandfather of the violin and is considered the ancestor of all European bowed instruments. No one can even name the date and history of the origin of this musical instrument. He enjoyed enormous popularity in the East. Folk singers and musicians of the East played it. In Europe, this instrument appeared in the 10th century.

This is a wandering violin of Western European traveling musicians and part-time dancers, magicians, poets, and storytellers. The rebec was once played in fairs, streets, but also in churches and palaces. Images of the rebec remained in the paintings of cathedrals.

The greatest artists of the Renaissance painted angels and saints who played the rebec: both Raphael and Giotto.

Raphael - "Coronation of Mary"

The history of the disappearance of this instrument is not clear and at present it is practically impossible to find. But how did he disappear? Firstly, caring people made reconstructions in the 20th century, and secondly, maybe we feel some features of this instrument when we play the violin.

Pontic lira

The Pontic lyre appeared at the crossroads of cultures. At first, it came a long way from somewhere in Persia or the Arab East before appearing in Byzantium and finding its current form there. But even this Byzantine form hardly belongs entirely to any nation: Byzantium was a multinational empire, and Byzantine music absorbed elements of Arabic, Persian, Coptic, Jewish, Armenian, Syrian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian and even Russian musical culture! The Pontic lyre is considered one of the “wandering violins” of the East.

Legends and stories associated with the violin

For centuries, the amazing sound of the violin has fascinated people. Its melodic sounds pleased the ears of spoiled aristocrats and forced ordinary people to dance at simple village holidays.

I want to tell you about the most interesting stories and legends associated with the masters of violin music.

Master's riddles

Of course, a wary attitude towards the violin also concerned its creators. At all times, people looked at violin makers with distrust, and legends were made about the most outstanding of them during their lifetime. Although it should be noted that the personalities of these people posed many riddles to those around them.

The violins created by the great Antonio Stradivari, even three centuries after his death, have no equal. But even a careful study of these instruments did not reveal the secret of their divine voices. Stradivari's creations did not differ from other violins either in the quality of the wood, or in size, or even in varnish.

But for a long time it was believed that an amazing varnish made according to a special recipe gives an incomparable voice to the instruments of a great master. But a few years ago, some brave researchers conducted an almost barbaric experiment. The varnish was completely washed off from one of the Stradivarius violins, but even after this sacrilege it still sounded the same.

A few centuries ago, the following version was born, trying to explain the phenomenon of the master. Allegedly, in childhood, little Antonio was blessed by the Lord himself, giving him the talent to create instruments whose voice would remind people of the Kingdom of Heaven.

At the same time, the future great master received a wonderful substance from the Almighty, which he subsequently added to the varnish for his violins. And it was this secret ingredient that supposedly gave Stradivarius instruments a divine sound.

The story of master Paganini

It all started with the gloomy name of the birthplace of the greatest violinist of all times. In a small quarter of Genoa, in a narrow alley called “Black Cat”, on October 27, 1782, Antonio Paganini, a former port worker, and his wife Teresa Bocciardo, a simple townswoman, had a son, Niccolò. Antonio had a small shop in the port, was passionate about music and played the mandolin and violin. These were simple songs, cheerful and catchy folk melodies, sung by Antonio with a gloomy face. Fortunately, his wife, Teresa, was a soft, meek and submissive woman. Unable to change the character of her husband, who was always dissatisfied and grumpy, she tried not to contradict him. Teresa found solace in religion and children. She had five of them. One day, Niccolo’s mother had an amazing dream: an angel appeared to her and asked what kind of mercy she would like to receive from God. Since a deeply religious woman loved music very much, she asked the divine messenger for her son Niccolo to become a great musician. The story of this wonderful dream made a strong impression on Teresa’s husband, who was also partial to music. After consulting, Niccolo's parents firmly decided to teach their child to play the violin - an instrument that, thanks to the efforts of Guarneri, Stradivari and Amati, became the musical symbol of Italy.

Niccolo was seven years old when his father first placed a tiny violin in the hands of the future virtuoso, which from that day became his only toy. But very soon the young violinist realized that playing music is not only pleasure, but also hard, painstaking work. The boy was very tired, but the father forced the talented child to study all day long, not allowing him to go outside to play with his peers.

Showing perseverance and unstoppable will, Niccolo became more and more interested in playing the instrument every day. Undoubtedly, such excessive activities, lack of oxygen, movement and nutrition could not but affect his growing body and, of course, undermined the boy’s health. One day Niccolo, exhausted from hours of study, fell lifeless in a cataleptic coma. The parents considered the boy dead because he showed no signs of life. Niccolo came to his senses only in the coffin to the heartbreaking sounds of mourning music. His perfect hearing was not able to perceive falsehood even when Paganini was between life and death. Returning from the “other world,” the young violinist set about mastering the complex technical techniques of playing his favorite musical instrument with even greater zeal. Thanks to his diligence and strength of character, in a very short time, Niccolo achieved such great success that the fame of his extraordinary abilities went far beyond the modest lane of the Black Cat.

Already at the age of eight, Niccolo wrote a violin sonata and several difficult variations. Paganini's first serious teacher was the Genoese poet, violinist and composer Francesco Gnecco. At the age of ten and a half, Niccolo took 30 lessons over the course of six months from the violinist Giacomo Costa and, at the same time, began to regularly play in churches on Sunday and holiday services. In the Genoese newspaper “Avvisi” dated May 31, 1794 one could read: “On Monday, May 26, a mass took place in the church of San Filippo Neri. A harmonic concerto was performed by a most skillful young man of eleven years old, Signor Niccolò Paganini, a student of the famous music teacher Giacomo Costa, who aroused everyone’s admiration.” It is impossible not to mention another teacher of Niccolo Paganini - cellist and excellent polyphonist Gasparo Garetti, who instilled in the young man excellent compositional technique. Developing the ability to hear with his inner ear, he forced him to compose without an instrument.

As Niccolò's art of playing the violin becomes more virtuosic and refined, Antonio Paganini goes with the young violinist on his first concert tour to the cities of Italy: Milan, Bologna, Florence, Pisa and Livorno. Success accompanies the little virtuoso everywhere and increasingly inflames the soul of the young talent. Niccolo intuitively understands that he will not be able to best express himself and reach the pinnacle of his art if he does not find an outlet for his passionate temperament in his compositions. His predecessors were great: Corelli, Vivaldi, Tartini, whose work Paganini deeply studied, but their music, written in a calm and restrained manner, did not correspond to Paganini’s stormy and unrestrained character. Oddly enough, it was at a young age that many of his famous capriccios were born, where a creative rethinking of violin techniques and principles in music, first introduced by the Italian composer Locatelli, which were rather technical exercises, can be traced. But as soon as the hand of a genius touched the dry formulas, they were transformed and turned into original, brilliant miniatures, stunning in their virtuosity. Paganini's 24 capriccios still remain one of the most unique phenomena in the musical culture of violin art, striking with their uncontrollable passion, incredible courage and originality of thinking. These small works had a colossal impact both on the musicians of the great Italian’s contemporaries and on composers of future generations. Inspired by the new, original ideas of the Genoese virtuoso, transcribing the “Companellas” and some of Paganini’s capriccios for his instrument, Franz Liszt opened a new era in the history of piano art.

Niccolo, playing the violin, imitated the singing of birds, the sound of a flute, trumpet, horn, the mooing of a cow and human laughter, using contrasts of timbres and registers, using a stunning variety of effects. Once Paganini replaced the usual bow with a long one, which at first caused laughter among the listeners, but he was soon rewarded for this oddity with warm applause. These were the early years of the genius, Niccolo Paganini, but there were still quite a few mystical rumors and legends surrounding the life of the legendary violinist.

Red Abbot

On March 4, 1678, the great Italian composer Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born. His most famous work is "The Seasons". Four violin concerts - autumn, winter, spring, summer. He is still one of the most popular composers in the world.

In his youth, Antonio was tonsured a monk. And after 10 years, Vivaldi became an abbot and he had troubles with the Inquisition. One day during Mass, he left the altar three times to write down a melody that came into his head. A call to the inquisitor and interrogation followed.

Is it true that you left the altar during Mass?

I was forced to do this because I suffer from asthma attacks.

And they say you went away to record the music that came into your head.

Slander! Anyone who knows me will confirm that this is due to attacks of chest illness.

He was really unwell. A thin red-haired man with a sunken chest, narrow shoulders, pale, in a black cassock. The disease was choking him. But he was very energetic and worked at a crazy pace. Vivaldi was the only composer of that time who could compose an opera in three days. This is still a record today. Moreover, he staged his operas himself. Swiftly. Three or four rehearsals and it’s done. He wrote the score faster than the copyist could make a copy of it. He worked mainly on order. He wrote music for almost every holiday, and Catholics have many holidays. Moreover, he became famous throughout Europe as a virtuoso violinist, and in his native Venice he was a prominent figure.

For 36 years, Vivaldi was director of music at the Ospedale della Pieta orphanage for girls. Thanks to Vivaldi's intense and multifaceted musical activity, his small "conservatory" began to stand out noticeably among others in Venice. Red-haired, lively, there are always musicians and children around him. And, naturally, the Inquisition became attached to him.

Vivaldi received the nickname “The Cunning, Red-Headed Abbot.” This was due to the fact that he had a cheerful and unrestrained disposition, and also always came out of difficult situations with honor.

...Vivaldi ended his life in Vienna as a beggar, forgotten by everyone, sick...and for a long time his music was not heard anywhere. Only the great Bach remembered him, who made several arrangements of his violin concertos. But this was quite a bit, Vivaldi had 500 concerts, more than 50 operas, contatas, symphonies... All this was not remembered for almost three centuries. Only in the 20s they discovered some old, useless notes and began to play them - great music! It turned out to be Vivaldi. And since then, Antonio Vivaldi has become one of the most popular composers among classical music lovers. Even mobile phones now play “Seasons” (c) Andrei Konchalovsky, “It’s Worth Remembering”

There are not so many mystical stories and legends about any musical instrument, and there are also no such brilliant musicians and composers who would play and compose music for any other instrument. This indicates that the sound of the violin leaves no one indifferent and the violin is a truly Great instrument.

The most important part of a modern symphony orchestra. Perhaps no other instrument has such a combination of beauty, expressiveness of sound and technical agility.

In an orchestra, the violin performs various and multifaceted functions. Very often, due to their exceptional melodiousness, violins are used for melodic “singing”, to convey the main musical idea. The magnificent melodic capabilities of violins were discovered by composers long ago, and were firmly established in this role already among the classics of the 18th century.

Violin names in other languages:

• violino(Italian);
• violon(French);
• violine or geige(German);
• violin or fiddle(English).

The most famous violin makers include such personalities as Antonio Stradivari, Niccolo Amati And Giuseppe Guarneri.

Origin, history of the violin

It has folk origin. The ancestors of the violin were Arabic, Spanish fidel, German company, the merger of which formed.

The forms of the violin were established by the 16th century. Famous violin makers, the Amati family, date back to this century and the beginning of the 17th century. Their instruments are beautifully shaped and made of excellent materials. In general, Italy was famous for the production of violins, among which Stradivarius and Guarneri violins are currently extremely highly valued.

The violin has been a solo instrument since the 17th century. The first works for violin are considered to be: “Romanesca per violino solo e basso” by Marini from Brescia (1620) and “Capriccio stravagante” by his contemporary Farina. A. Corelli is considered the founder of artistic violin playing; followed by Torelli, Tartini, Pietro Locatelli (1693-1764), a student of Corelli, who developed a bravura technique of violin playing.

The violin acquired its modern appearance in the 16th century and became widespread in the 17th century.

Violin structure

The violin has four strings tuned in fifths: g, d,a,e (small octave G, D, A of the first octave, E of the second octave).

Violin range from g (S of the small octave) to a (A of the fourth octave) and higher.

Violin tone thick in the low register, soft in the middle and brilliant in the upper register.

Violin body It has an oval shape with rounded notches on the sides forming a “waist”. The roundness of the external contours and waist lines ensures comfortable playing, particularly in high registers.

Upper and lower body decks connected to each other by shells. The back is made of maple, and the top is made of Tyrolean spruce. They both have a convex shape, forming “arches”. The geometry of the vaults, as well as their thickness, to one degree or another determine the strength and timbre of the sound.

Another important factor affecting the timbre of a violin is the height of the sides.

Two resonator holes are made in the upper soundboard - f-holes (in shape they resemble the Latin letter f).

In the middle of the top soundboard there is a stand through which the strings pass, attached to the tailpiece (underneck). Tailpiece It is a strip of ebony, widening towards the fastening of the strings. Its opposite end is narrow, with a thick vein string in the form of a loop, it is connected to a button located on the shell. Stand also affects the timbre of the instrument. It has been experimentally established that even a small shift of the stand leads to a significant change in timbre (when shifted downwards, the sound is duller, upwards - more shrill).

Inside the body of the violin, between the upper and lower soundboards, a round pin made of resonant spruce is inserted - dushka (from the word “soul”). This part transmits vibrations from the top to the bottom, providing resonance.

Violin neck- a long plate made of ebony or plastic. The lower part of the neck is attached to a rounded and polished bar, the so-called neck. Also, the strength and timbre of the sound of bowed instruments is greatly influenced by the material from which they are made and the composition of the varnish.

Violin playing technique, techniques

The strings are pressed with four fingers of the left hand to the fingerboard (thumb excluded). The strings are drawn with a bow held in the player's right hand.

Pressing the finger against the fingerboard shortens the string, thereby increasing the pitch of the string. Strings that are not pressed with a finger are called open and are designated zero.

Violin part written in treble clef.

Violin range- from G of the small octave to the fourth octave. Higher sounds are difficult.

From half-pressing the strings in certain places, harmonics. Some harmonic sounds go further in pitch than the violin range indicated above.

Putting the fingers of the left hand is called fingering. The index finger is called the first, the middle finger is the second, the ring finger is the third, and the little finger is the fourth. Position is called the fingering of four adjacent fingers, spaced one tone or semitone apart. Each string can have seven or more positions. The higher the position, the more difficult it is. On each string, excluding fifths, they go mainly only up to the fifth position inclusive; but on the fifth or first string, and sometimes on the second, higher positions are used - from the sixth to the twelfth.

Methods of bowing have a great influence on the character, strength, timbre of the sound, and indeed on phrasing in general.

On a violin, you can normally play two notes simultaneously on adjacent strings ( double strings), in exceptional cases - three (strong bow pressure is required), and not simultaneously, but very quickly - three ( triple strings) and four. Such combinations, mainly harmonic, are easier to perform with empty strings and more difficult without them and are usually used in solo works.

The orchestral technique is very common tremolo- rapid alternation of two sounds or repetition of the same sound, creating the effect of trembling, trembling, flickering.

Reception Kol Leno(col legno), meaning the blow of the bow shaft on the string, causes a knocking, deathly sound, which is also used with great success by composers in symphonic music.

In addition to playing with a bow, they use one of the fingers of the right hand to touch the strings - pizzicato(pizzicato).

To weaken or muffle the sound use mute- a metal, rubber, rubber, bone or wooden plate with recesses in the lower part for strings, which is attached to the top of the stand or filly.

It is easier to play the violin in those keys that allow the greatest use of empty strings. The most convenient passages are those that are composed of scales or their parts, as well as arpeggios of natural keys.

It is difficult to become a violinist in adulthood (but possible!), since finger sensitivity and muscle memory are very important for these musicians. The sensitivity of an adult's fingers is much less than that of a young person, and muscle memory takes longer to develop. It is best to learn to play the violin from the age of five, six or seven, perhaps even from an earlier age.

Famous violinists

• Arcangelo Corelli
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Giuseppe Tartini
• Jean-Marie Leclerc
• Giovanni Batista Viotti
• Ivan Evstafievich Khandoshkin
• Niccolo Paganini
• Ludwig Spohr
• Charles-Auguste Beriot
• Henri Vietang
• Alexey Fedorovich Lvov
• Henryk Wieniawski
• Pablo Sarasate
• Ferdinand Laub
• Joseph Joachim
• Leopold Auer
• Eugene Ysaye
• Fritz Kreisler
• Jacques Thibault
• Oleg Kagan
• George Enescu
• Miron Polyakin
• Mikhail Erdenko
• Jascha Heifetz
• David Oistrakh
• Yehudi Menuhin
• Leonid Kogan
• Henrik Schering
• Yulian Sitkovetsky
• Mikhail Vaiman
• Victor Tretyakov
• Gidon Kremer
• Maxim Vengerov
• Janos Bihari
• Andrew Manze
• Pinchas Zuckerman
• Itzhak Perlman

Video: Violin on video + sound

Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch a real game on it, listen to its sound, and feel the specifics of the technique:

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Interesting facts about the violin
(Anna Blagaya)

God or devil?

Legends about violinists who allegedly sold their souls to the devil are known to everyone: let’s remember Niccolo Paganini.

In many countries, the clergy took up arms against good violinists - even in quiet Norway they were considered accomplices of dark forces, and Norwegian folk violins were burned like witches.
But not everyone knows that there were directly opposite stories!

If we look into a more ancient “layer” of time, we will find that bowed instruments, akin to the violin, were actually originally depicted on temple frescoes and in handwritten Bibles angels, and in one ancient manuscript Christ was named not by anyone, but "beloved violinist"

Such things were later hushed up, and the frescoes were destroyed, but on the fresco of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv you can still see a musician playing a bowed instrument.

(And not only there. See the page “Angels with violins (frescoes)”)

Why did the Mona Lisa smile?

Leonard ordered that the entire time that Gioconda was posing in his studio, there would be music performed by strings. The model's smile was a reflection of the music being played; Apparently, that’s why it is considered either the smile of an angel or the smile of the devil. (See above: God or Devil?)
In general, the artist, apparently, did not accidentally conduct this experiment with music. After all, he wanted to achieve synthesis in his painting, the unity of opposites (see Chicherin’s book about Mozart about this). And the violin has exactly this property. Auer quoted Berlioz as saying that “The violin is capable of many apparently opposing shades of expression. She has strength, lightness and grace, conveys gloomy and joyful mood, thought and passion. You just need to be able to make her talk.”

Violins and Venetian gondolas

There is a beautiful episode in the film “Stradivari” (with Anthony Quinn): a gondola gliding in the rays of the setting sun, on the stern of which a violinist was playing, so captured the imagination of young Antonio Stradivari that he threw himself into the water, tagged along with the violinist and ultimately became a violin maker .

The violin and the gondola actually have something in common. Moreover, this connection is not only aesthetic, it also manifests itself at the most “organic” level.

The violins of the legendary Cremonese school use the same sycamore (wavy maple) from Dalmatia and Bosnia that was used for the oars of Venetian gondolas.

Time machine

Good violinists, in addition to hearing and dexterity, have some talents that have not yet been explained by science. Including the ability to manage time. (Not only violinists, but all concert musicians can do this). V. Grigoriev writes about a curious mechanism that allows you to “travel in time” (let’s call it that), when the entire play in the musician’s mind is folded into a certain formula, a code, and unfolds already when playing on stage. There were also cases when the “machine” malfunctioned. (Which, of course, only proves its existence =) There are a number of interesting evidence about how this or that virtuoso stopped after playing just one note, because time passed for him at a different speed than for the listeners, and the entire work had already been completed echo in his mind.

Another interesting point: musicians often look younger than their years. Apparently, the point here is that time flows differently on stage. But there is something more. Opera bass Matorin recalls Obraztsova’s words on this occasion that “we, artists, until old age - Masha, Petka, Katka, because b O We spend most of our time not in this world.” (That is, in the creative world, this is another dimension where time slows down). Science has yet to explain these things.

Virtuosos are scientists

The word virtuoso was once applied to scientists. Many violinists were not only artists, painters, and violin poets, but also scientists and inventors. (One violin work written in those days was called “sonata for inventive violin”).

The word “virtuoso” is now used (if we are talking about music) in only one meaning – “technical”. Meanwhile, the situation has not changed: in order to play the violin well, including virtuoso music, you still need to have not developed muscles, but a flexible mind and strong intuition.

Can a stone violin sound beautiful?

Swedish sculptor Lars Wiedenfalk constructed the Blackbird violin from stone. It was made according to the drawings of Stradivarius, and the material was black diabase. The idea for such a violin came to Wiedenfalk when he was decorating one of the buildings with large diabase blocks, and the stone, processed with a hammer and chisel, “sang” beautifully. The violin sounds no worse than many wooden ones and weighs only 2 kg, since the thickness of the stone walls of the resonator box is no more than 2.5 mm. It is worth noting that the “Blackbird” is not the only such instrument in the world - violins are made from marble by the Czech Jan Roerich.

Among Mozart's works there is an unusual duet for two violins. The musicians must face each other and place the sheet of music between them. Each violin plays a different part, but both parts are written on the same page. The violinists start reading notes from different ends of the sheet, then meet in the middle and move away from each other again, and as a whole a beautiful melody is created.

Is the price of Stradivarius violins proportional to the quality of their sound relative to modern instruments?

The most expensive violins in the world are instruments made by Stradivarius from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, supposedly sounding better than all other violins thanks to the master’s still unsolved secret. However, in 2010, this prejudice was refuted in an experiment in which 21 professional violinists, using double-blind testing, tested 3 modern violins and 3 old instruments - 2 by Stradivari and another by Guarneri. Most of the musicians participating in the experiment were unable to distinguish old violins from new ones. Moreover, as it turned out as a result of testing, the instruments of living masters have the best sound quality, while Stradivarius violins, more than a hundred times more expensive, took the last two places.

Who called Einstein a great violinist and when?

Einstein loved to play the violin and once took part in a charity concert in Germany. Admired by his playing, a local journalist recognized the name of the “artist” and the next day published a note in the newspaper about the performance of the great musician, the incomparable virtuoso violinist Albert Einstein. He kept this note and proudly showed it to his friends, saying that he was in fact a famous violinist, and not a scientist.

What happened to the inventor of roller skates at their first demonstration?

The Belgian Jean-Joseph Merlin is considered to be the inventor of roller skates. He demonstrated them at a London masked ball in 1760, riding among the audience in expensive shoes with small metal wheels and playing the violin. However, these videos were still so imperfect that Merlen was unable to brake in time and crashed into the wall, breaking a very expensive mirror.

Interesting facts about the violin will tell you a lot about this stringed musical instrument.

The modern violin is over 500 years old. It was designed in the 1500s by Andrea Amati.

In 2003, Athira Krishna from India entered the Guinness Book of Records by playing the violin continuously for 32 hours.

Playing an instrument burns 170 calories per hour.

Violins are usually made from spruce or maple wood. Violins are very difficult. More 70 different pieces of wood put together to create the modern violin.

Until 1750, strings were made from sheep intestines.

The tool stimulates the brain.

The word violin comes from the medieval Latin word vitula, which means string instrument;

The smallest violin in the world, 1 cm long, was created in the city of Guangzhou (southern China).

Violins made by Stradivarius and Guarneri are extremely highly prized.

The most expensive violin ever purchased by a private investor was purchased for 16 million dollars. However, the Ashmolean Museum currently owns the violin, worth $20 million.

Famous violinists:

• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) - Italian violinist and composer, one of the founders of the concerto grosso genre.
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Venetian composer, violinist, teacher, conductor.
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) - Italian violinist and composer. He improved the design of the bow, lengthening it, and developed the basic techniques for bowing, which were recognized by all contemporary violinists in Italy and France and came into general use.
• Giovanni Battista Viotti (1753-1824) - Italian violinist and composer, author of 29 violin concertos.
• Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) - Italian violinist, guitarist and composer, author of violin caprices and concertos.
• Henri Vietan (1820-1881) - Belgian violinist and composer, one of the founders of the national violin school. Author of numerous works for violin - seven concertos with orchestra, a number of fantasies, variations, concert etudes, etc.