Harmonics
Leon Sametini, at present director of the violin department of the Chicago Music College, where Sauret, Heermann and Sebald preceded him, is one of the most successful teachers of his instrument in this country. It is to be regretted that he has not played in public in the United States as often as in Europe, where his extensive _tournÈes_ in Holland--Leon Sametini is a Hollander by birth--Belgium, England and Austria have established his reputation as a virtuoso, and the quality of his playing led Ysaye to include him in a quartet of artists "in order of lyric expression" with himself and Thibaud. Yet, the fact remains that this erstwhile protege of Queen Wilhelmina--she gave him his beautiful Santo Serafin (1730) violin, whose golden varnish back "is a genuine picture,"--to quote its owner--is a distinguished interpreting artist besides having a real teaching gift, which lends additional weight to his educational views.
Reminiscences of Sevcik
"I began to study violin at the age of six, with my uncle. From him I went to Eldering in Amsterdam, now Willy Hess's successor at the head of the Cologne Conservatory, and then spent a year with Sevcik in Prague.
Yet--without being his pupil--I have learned more from Ysaye than from
any of my teachers. It is rather the custom to decry Sevcik as a
teacher, to dwell on his absolutely mechanical character of
instruction--and not without justice. First of all Sevcik laid all the
stress on the left hand and not on the bow--an absolute inversion of a
fundamental principle. Eldering had taken great pains with my bow
technic, for he himself was a pupil of Hubay, who had studied with
Vieuxtemps and had his tradition. But Sevcik's teaching as regards the
use of the bow was very poor; his pupils--take Kubelik with all his
marvelous finger facility--could never develop a big bow technic. Their
playing lacks strength, richness of sound. Sevcik soon noticed that my
bowing did not conform to his theories; yet since he could not
legitimately complain of the results I secured, he did not attempt to
make me change it. Musical beauty, interpretation, in Sevcik's case were
all subordinated to mechanical perfection. With him the study of some
inspired masterpiece was purely a mathematical process, a problem in
technic and mental arithmetic, without a bit of spontaneity. Ysaye used
to roar with laughter when I would tell him how, when a boy of fifteen,
I played the Beethoven concerto for Sevcik--a work which I myself felt
and knew it was then out of the question for me to play with artistic
maturity--the latter's only criticisms on my performance were that one
or two notes were a little too high, and a certain passage not quite
clear.
"Sevcik did not like the Dvor·k concerto and never gave it to his
pupils. But I lived next door to Dvor·k at Prague, and meeting him in
the street one day, asked him some questions anent its interpretation,
with the result that I went to his home various times and he gave me his
own ideas as to how it should be played. Sevcik never pointed his
teachings by playing himself. I never saw him take up the fiddle while I
studied with him. While I was his pupil he paid me the compliment of
selecting me to play Sinigaglia's engaging violin concerto, at short
notice, for the first time in Prague. Sinigaglia had asked Sevcik to
play it, who said: 'I no longer play violin, but I have a pupil who can
play it for you,' and introduced me to him. Sinigaglia became a good
friend of mine, and I was the first to introduce his _Rapsodia
Piedmontese_ for violin and orchestra in London. To return to
Sevcik--with all the deficiencies of his teaching methods, he had one
great gift. He taught his pupils _how to practice_! And--aside from
bowing--he made all mechanical problems, especially finger problems,
absolutely clear and lucid.
A QUARTET OF GREAT TEACHERS WITH WHOM
ALL MAY STUDY
"Still, all said and done, it was after I had finished with all my
teachers that I really began to learn to play violin: above all from
Ysaye, whom I went to hear play wherever and whenever I could. I think
that the most valuable lessons I have ever had are those unconsciously
given me by four of the greatest violinists I know: Ysaye, Kreisler,
Elman and Thibaud. Each of these artists is so different that no one
seems altogether to replace the other. Ysaye with his unique
personality, the immense breadth and sweep of his interpretation, his
dramatic strength, stands alone. Kreisler has a certain sparkling
scintillance in his playing that is his only. Elman might be called the
Caruso among violinists, with the perfected sensuous beauty of his tone;
while Thibaud stands for supreme elegance and distinction. I have
learned much from each member of this great quartet. And if the artist
can profit from hearing and seeing them play, why not the student? Every
recital given by such masters offers the earnest violin student
priceless opportunities for study and comparison. My special leaning
toward Ysaye is due, aside from his wonderful personality, to the fact
that I feel music in the same way that he does.
TEACHING PRINCIPLES
'My teaching principles are the results of my own training period, my
own experience as a concert artist and teacher--before I came to America
I taught in London, where Isolde Menges, among others, studied with
me--and what either directly or indirectly I have learned from my great
colleagues. In the Music College I give the advanced pupils their
individual lessons; but once a week the whole class assembles--as in
the European conservatories--and those whose turn it is to play do so
while the others listen. This is of value to every student, since it
gives him an opportunity of 'hearing himself as others hear him.' Then,
to stimulate appreciation and musical development there are _ensemble_
and string quartet classes. I believe that every violinist should be
able to play viola, and in quartet work I make the players shift
constantly from one to the other instrument in order to hear what they
play from a different angle.
"For left hand work I stick to the excellent Sevcik exercises and for
some pupils I use the Carl Flesch _Urstudien_. For studies of real
_musical_ value Rode, of course, is unexcelled. His studies are the
masterpieces of their kind, and I turn them into concert pieces. Thibaud
and Elman have supplied some of them with interesting piano
accompaniments.
"For bowing, with the exception of a few purely mechanical exercises, I
used Kreutzer and Rode, and Gavinies. Ninety-nine per cent. of pupils'
faults are faults of bowing. It is an art in itself. Sevcik was able to
develop Kubelik's left hand work to the last degree of perfection--but
not his bowing. In the case of Kocian, another well-known Sevcik pupil
whom I have heard play, his bowing was by no means an outstanding
feature. I often have to start pupils on the open strings in order to
correct fundamental bow faults.
"When watching a great artist play the student should not expect to
secure similar results by slavish imitation--another pupil fault. The
thing to do is to realize the principle behind the artist's playing, and
apply it to one's own physical possibilities.
"Every one holds, draws and uses the bow in a different way. If no two
thumb-prints are alike, neither are any two sets of fingers and wrists.
This is why not slavish imitation, but intelligent adaptation should be
applied to the playing of the teacher in the class-room or the artist on
the concert-stage. For instance, the little finger of Ysaye's left hand
bends inward somewhat--as a result it is perfectly natural for him to
make less use of the little finger, while it might be very difficult or
almost impossible for another to employ the same fingering. And certain
compositions and styles of composition are more adapted to one violinist
than to another. I remember when I was a student, that Wieniawski's
music seemed to lie just right for my hand. I could read difficult
things of his at sight.
DOUBLE HARMONICS
"Would I care to discuss any special feature of violin technic? I might
say something anent double harmonics--a subject too often taught in a
mechanical way, and one I have always taken special pains to make
absolutely plain to my own pupils--for every violinist should be able to
play double harmonics out of a clear understanding of how to form them.
"There are only two kinds of harmonics: natural and artificial. Natural
harmonics may be formed on the major triad of each open string, using
the open string as the tonic. As, for example, on the G string [and Mr.
Sametini set down the following illustration]:
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
Then there are four kinds of artificial harmonics, only three of which
are used: harmonics on the major third (1); harmonics on the perfect
fourth (2); harmonics on the perfect fifth (3); and harmonics--never
used--on the octave:
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
Where does the harmonic sound in each case? Two octaves and a third
higher (1); two octaves higher (2); one octave and a fifth higher (3)
respectively, than the pressed-down note. If the harmonic on the octave
(4) were played, it would sound just an octave higher than the
pressed-down note.
"Now say we wished to combine different double harmonics. The whole
principle is made clear if we take, let us say, the first double-stop in
the scale of C major in thirds as an example:
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
"Beginning with the lower of these two notes, the C, we find that it
cannot not be taken as a natural harmonic
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
because natural harmonics on the open strings run as follows: G, B, D on
the G string; D, F{~MUSIC SHARP SIGN~}, A on the D string; A, C{~MUSIC SHARP SIGN~}, E on the A string; and
E, G{~MUSIC SHARP SIGN~}, B on the E string. There are three ways of taking the C before
mentioned as an artificial harmonic. The E may be taken in the following
manner:
Nat. harmonic Artificial harmonic
[Illustration: Musical Notation] [Illustration: Musical Notation]
Now we have to combine the C and E as well as we are able. Rejecting
the following combinations as _impossible_--any violinist will see why--
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
we have a choice of the two _possible_ combinations remaining, with the
fingering indicated:
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
"With regard to the _actual execution_ of these harmonics, I advise all
students to try and play them with every bit as much expressive feeling
as ordinary notes. My experience has been that pupils do not pay nearly
enough attention to the intonation of harmonics. In other words, they
try to produce the harmonics _immediately_, instead of first making sure
that both fingers are on the right spot before they loosen one finger on
the string. For instance in the following: [Illustration: Musical
Notation] first play [Illustration: Musical Notation] and then
[Illustration: Musical Notation] then loosen the fourth finger, and play
[Illustration: Musical Notation]
"The same principle holds good when playing double harmonics. Nine
tenths of the 'squeaking' heard when harmonics are played is due to the
fact that the finger-placing is not properly prepared, and that the
fingers are not on the right spot.
"Never, when playing a harmonic with an up-bow [Symbol: up-bow], at the
point, smash down the bow on the string; but have it already _on_ the
string _before_ playing the harmonic. The process is reversed when
playing a down-bow [Symbol: down-bow] harmonic. When beginning a
harmonic at the frog, have the harmonic ready, then let the bow _drop_
gently on the string.
"Triple and quadruple harmonics may be combined in exactly the same way.
Students should never get the idea that you press down the string as you
press a button and--presto--the magic harmonics appear! They are a
simple and natural result of the proper application of scientific
principles; and the sooner the student learns to form and combine
harmonics himself instead of learning them by rote, the better will he
play them. Too often a student can give the fingering of certain double
harmonics and cannot use it. Of course, harmonics are only a detail of
the complete mastery of the violin; but mastery of all details leads to
mastery of the whole.
VIOLIN MASTERY
"And what is mastery of the whole? Mastery of the whole, real violin
mastery, I think, lies in the control of the interpretative problem, the
power to awaken emotion by the use of the instrument. Many feel more
than they can express, have more left hand than bow technic and, like
Kubelik, have not the perfected technic for which perfected playing
calls. The artist who feels beauty keenly and deeply and whose
mechanical equipment allows him to make others feel and share the beauty
he himself feels is in my opinion worthy of being called a master of the
violin."
XVIII
Violin Mastery