CONTENTS
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III
EDDY BROWN
HUBAY AND AUER: TECHNIC:
HINTS TO THE STUDENT
Notwithstanding the fact that Eddy
Brown was born in Chicago, Ill., and that he
is so great a favorite with concert audiences
in the land of his birth, the gifted violinist hesitates
to qualify himself as a strictly "American"
violinist. As he expresses it: "Musically
I was altogether educated in Europe—I never
studied here, because I left this country at the
age of seven, and only returned a few years
ago. So I would not like to be placed in the
position of claiming anything under false pretenses!
HUBAY AND AUER: SOME COMPARISONS
"With whom did I study? With two famous
masters; by a strange coincidence both
Hungarians. First with Jenö Hubay, at the
National Academy of Music in Budapest,
later with Leopold Auer in Petrograd. Hubay
had been a pupil of Vieuxtemps in Brussels,
and is a justly celebrated teacher, very
thorough and painstaking in explaining to his
pupils how to do things; but the great difference
between Hubay and Auer is that while
Hubay tells a student how to do things, Auer,
a temperamental teacher, literally drags out
of him whatever there is in him, awakening latent
powers he never knew he possessed. Hubay
is a splendid builder of virtuosity, and has
a fine sense for phrasing. For a year and a
half I worked at nothing but studies with him,
giving special attention to technic. He did
not believe in giving too much time to left hand
development, when without adequate bow technic
finger facility is useless. Here he was in
accord with Auer, in fact with every teacher
seriously deserving of the name. Hubay was
a first-class pedagog, and under his instruction
one could not help becoming a well-balanced
and musicianly player. But there is a higher
ideal in violin playing than mere correctness,
and Auer is an inspiring teacher. Hubay has
written some admirable studies, notably
twelve studies for the right hand, though he
never stressed technic too greatly. On the
other hand, Auer's most notable contributions
to violin literature are his revisions of such
works as the Bach sonatas, the Tschaikovsky
Concerto, etc. In a way it points the difference
in their mental attitude: Hubay more concerned
with the technical educational means,
one which cannot be overlooked; Auer more
interested in the interpretative, artistic educational
end, which has always claimed his attention.
Hubay personally was a grand seigneur,
a multi-millionaire, and married to an
Hungarian countess. He had a fine ear for
phrasing, could improvise most interesting
violin accompaniments to whatever his pupils
played, and beside Rode, Kreutzer and Fiorillo
I studied the concertos and other repertory
works with him. Then there were the conservatory
lessons! Attendance at a European
conservatory is very broadening musically.
Not only does the individual violin pupil, for
example, profit by listening to his colleagues
play in class: he also studies theory, musical
history, the piano, ensemble playing, chamber-music
and orchestra. I was concertmaster of
the conservatory orchestra while studying with
Hubay. There should be a national conservatory
of music in this country; music in general
would advance more rapidly. And it would
help teach American students to approach the
art of violin playing from the right point of
view. As it is, too many want to study abroad
under some renowned teacher not, primarily,
with the idea of becoming great artists; but in
the hope of drawing great future commercial
dividends from an initial financial investment.
In Art the financial should always be a secondary
consideration.
"It stands to reason that no matter how
great a student's gifts may be, he can profit
by study with a great teacher. This, I think,
applies to all. After I had already appeared
in concert at Albert Hall, London, in 1909,
where I played the Beethoven Concerto with
orchestra, I decided to study with Auer. When
I first came to him he wanted to know why I
did so, and after hearing me play, told me that
I did not need any lessons from him. But I
knew that there was a certain 'something'
which I wished to add to my violinistic make-up,
and instinctively felt that he alone could
give me what I wanted. I soon found that in
many essentials his ideas coincided with those
of Hubay. But I also discovered that Auer
made me develop my individuality unconsciously,
placing no undue restrictions whatsoever
upon my manner of expression, barring,
of course, unmusicianly tendencies. When he
has a really talented pupil the Professor gives
him of his best. I never gave a thought to
technic while I studied with him—the great
things were a singing tone, bowing, interpretation!
I studied Brahms and Beethoven, and
though Hubay always finished with the Bach
sonatas, I studied them again carefully with Auer.
TECHNIC: SOME HINTS TO THE STUDENT
"At the bottom of all technic lies the scale.
And scale practice is the ladder by means of
which all must climb to higher proficiency.
Scales, in single tones and intervals, thirds,
sixths, octaves, tenths, with the incidental
changes of position, are the foundation of technic.
They should be practiced slowly, always
with the development of tone in mind, and not
too long a time at any one session. No one
can lay claim to a perfected technic who has
not mastered the scale. Better a good tone,
even though a hundred mistakes be made in
producing it, than a tone that is poor, thin and
without quality. I find the Singer Fingerübungen
are excellent for muscular development
in scale work, for imparting the great
strength which is necessary for the fingers to
have; and the Kreutzer études are indispensable.
To secure an absolute legato tone, a
true singing tone on the violin, one should play
scales with a perfectly well sustained and
steady bow, in whole notes, slowly and mezzo-forte,
taking care that each note is clear and
pure, and that its volume does not vary during
the stroke. The quality of tone must be equalized,
and each whole note should be 'sung' with
a single bowing. The change from up-bow to
down-bow and vice versa should be made without
a break, exclusively through skillful manipulation
of the wrist. To accomplish this unbroken
change of bow one should cultivate a
loose wrist, and do special work at the extreme
ends, nut and tip.
"The vibrato is a great tone beautifier. Too
rapid or too slow a vibrato defeats the object
desired. There is a happy medium of tempo,
rather faster than slower, which gives the best
results. Carl Flesch has some interesting theories
about vibration which are worth investigating.
A slow and a moderately rapid vibrato,
from the wrist, is best for practice, and
the underlying idea while working must be
tone, and not fingerwork.
Staccato is one of the less important
branches of bow technic. There is a knack in
doing it, and it is purely pyrotechnical. Staccato
passages in quantity are only to be found
in solos of the virtuoso type. One never meets
with extended staccato passages in Beethoven,
Brahms, Bruch or Lalo. And the Saint-Saëns's
violin concerto, if I remember rightly,
contains but a single staccato passage.
"Spiccato is a very different matter from
staccato: violinists as a rule use the middle of
the bow for spiccato: I use the upper third of
the bow, and thus get most satisfactory results,
in no matter what tempo. This question as
to what portion of the bow to use for spiccato
each violinist must decide for himself, however,
through experiment. I have tried both ways
and find that by the last mentioned use of the
bow I secure quicker, cleaner results. Students
while practicing this bowing should take
care that the wrist, and never the arm, be used.
Hubay has written some very excellent studies
for this form of 'springing bow.'
"The trill, when it rolls quickly and evenly,
is a trill indeed! I never had any difficulty in
acquiring it, and can keep on trilling indefinitely
without the slightest unevenness or
slackening of speed. Auer himself has assured
me that I have a trill that runs on and
on without a sign of fatigue or uncertainty.
The trill has to be practiced very slowly at
first, later with increasing rapidity, and always
with a firm pressure of the fingers. It is a
very beautiful embellishment, and one much
used; one finds it in Beethoven, Mendelssohn,
Brahms, etc.
"Double notes never seemed hard to me, but
harmonics are not as easily acquired as some
of the other violin effects. I advise pressing
down the first finger on the strings inordinately,
especially in the higher positions, when
playing artificial harmonics. The higher the
fingers ascend on the strings, the more firmly
they should press them, otherwise the harmonics
are apt to grow shrill and lose in clearness.
The majority of students have trouble with
their harmonics, because they do not practice
them in this way. Of course the quality of the
harmonics produced varies with the quality of
the strings that produce them. First class
strings are an absolute necessity for the production
of pure harmonics. Yet in the case
of the artist, he himself is held responsible, and
not his strings.
"Octaves? Occasionally, as in Auer's
transcript of Beethoven's Dance of the Dervishes,
or in the closing section of the Ernst
Concerto, when they are used to obtain a certain
weird effect, they sound well. But ordinarily,
if cleanly played, they sound like one-note
successions. In the examples mentioned,
the so-called 'fingered octaves,' which are very
difficult, are employed. Ordinary octaves are
not so troublesome. After all, in octave playing
we simply double the notes for the purpose
of making them more powerful.
"As regards the playing of tenths, it seems
to me that the interval always sounds constrained,
and hardly ever euphonious enough
to justify its difficulty, especially in rapid passages.
Yet Paganini used this awkward interval
very freely in his compositions, and one
of his 'Caprices' is a variation in tenths, which
should be played more often than it is, as it
is very effective. In this connection change
of position, which I have already touched on
with regard to scale playing, should be so
smooth that it escapes notice. Among special
effects the glissando is really beautiful when
properly done. And this calls for judgment.
It might be added, though, that the glissando
is an effect which should not be overdone. The
portamento—gliding from one note to another—is
also a lovely effect. Its proper and
timely application calls for good judgment and
sound musical taste.
A SPANISH VIOLIN
"I usually play a 'Strad,' but very often turn
to my beautiful 'Guillami,'" said Mr. Brown
when asked about his violins. "It is an old
Spanish violin, made in Barcelona, in 1728,
with a tone that has a distinct Stradivarius
character. In appearance it closely resembles
a Guadagnini, and has often been taken for
one. When the dealer of whom I bought it
first showed it to me it was complete—but in
four distinct pieces! Kubelik, who was in
Budapest at the time, heard of it and wanted
to buy it; but the dealer, as was only right,
did not forget that my offer represented a
prior claim, and so I secured it. The Guadagnini,
which I have played in all my concerts
here, I am very fond of—it has a Stradivarius
tone rather than the one we usually associate
with the make." Mr. Brown showed the
writer his Grancino, a beautiful little instrument
about to be sent to the repair shop, since
exposure to the damp atmosphere of the sea-shore
had opened its seams—and the rare and
valuable Simon bow, now his, which had once
been the property of Sivori. Mr. Brown has
used a wire E ever since he broke six gut
strings in one hour while at Seal Harbor,
Maine. "A wire string, I find, is not only
easier to play, but it has a more brilliant quality
of tone than a gut string; and I am now
so accustomed to using a wire E, that I would
feel ill at ease if I did not have one on my instrument.
Contrary to general belief, it does
not sound 'metallic,' unless the string itself is
of very poor quality.
PROGRAMS
"In making up a recital program I try to
arrange it so that the first half, approximately,
may appeal to the more specifically musical
part of my audience, and to the critics. In the
second half I endeavor to remember the general
public; at the same time being careful to
include nothing which is not really musical.
This (Mr. Brown found one of his recent programs
on his desk and handed it to me) represents
a logical compromise between the
strictly artistic and the more general taste:"
PROGRAM
I. Beethoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sonata Op. 47 (dedicated to Kreutzer)
II. Bruch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Concerto (G minor)
III. (a) Beethoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Romance (in G major)
(b) Beethoven-Auer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chorus of the Dervishes
(c) Brown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rondino (on a Cramer theme)
(d) Arbos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tango
IV. (a) Kreisler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Gitana
(Arabo-Spanish Gipsy Dance of the 18th Century)
(b) Cui. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orientale
(c) Bazzini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Ronde des Lutins
"As you see there are two extended serious
works, followed by two smaller 'groups' of
pieces. And these have also been chosen with
a view to contrast. The finale of the Bruch
concerto is an allegro energico: I follow it with
a Beethoven Romance, a slow movement. The
second group begins with a taking Kreisler
novelty, which is succeeded by another slow
number; but one very effective in its working-up;
and I end my program with a brilliant virtuoso number.
VIOLIN MASTERY
"My own personal conception of violin mastery,"
concluded Mr. Brown, "might be defined
as follows: 'An individual tone production,
or rather tone quality, consummate musicianship
in phrasing and interpretation, ability
to rise above all mechanical and intellectual
effort, and finally the power to express that
which is dictated by one's imagination and
emotion, with the same natural simplicity and
spontaneity with which the thought of a really
great orator is expressed in the easy, unconstrained
flow of his language.'"
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