# Modern and Baroque Violin video.



## Ingélou

I found this on YouTube.

I do like the second HIP playing best. That's not surprising because my teacher is an HIP violin professional and though I learn on a standard violin, my favourite musics are 1. Scottish folk 2. early music and 3. baroque. They are all played without vibrato, and Scottish folk music is also akin to baroque musically.

So I find the first violinist on the video to be 'overegging the pudding' - too rich in terms of vibrato and depth of sound. It's actually the violin sound that my grandmother, who lived from 1889 to 1986, would have gone for. Rich Victorian varnish.

But when I think about my response, I'm also wondering whether the fact that the baroque violin is tuned to a lower pitch has contributed - that lower mellow 'viola' sound that seems so heartfelt and sincere. Also the way she pauses as if the emotion has much more significance.

I also wonder whether it's because we have two soloists side by side - because when I'm listening to the sound of an HIP baroque ensemble playing live, I often actually think that the sound they produce is a bit 'thin' and anaemic in comparison to a group of modern violinists.

Thanks for any replies. I know that there won't be many, as this is a little visited corner of Talk Classical, but I would be very interested to know what you think.


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## Taggart

Fascinating. I agree with Ingélou in preferring the second version.

I play piano and my teacher always goes on about catching the era of the piece - whether the slightly staccato harsichordy quality of Baroque with limited dynamics, or the swelling lushness of the romantics or the slightly discordant and somewhat jazzy feel of the moderns. Listening to the first performance, there was no sense of period or attempt to catch what the composer was after. The piece could have come from any era and was played with all the standard violin techniques. The second performance much more in keeping with the era of the piece and showed a greater sensitivity to the composer.

Interestingly, as the piano is a solo instrument, pianists can specialise in certain eras or even composers. They can develop their technique to suit an era or a composer. Since the violin is an orchestral instrument, violinists have to be more generalists and develop a general technique which may not suit all eras or composers. That is not to deny the skills of some soloists who specialise in certain eras or styles. Nor to deny the presence of HIP ensembles. But it does raise an interesting question about performance education.


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## Guest

The second version is the one I like most,but I could make two other comparisons and the result of that may differ.In general the first has to much muscle ,the sound is to big and the playing to wide.The HIP playing is more to my liking.My last HIP recording is from Mulova,my first was Sigiswald Kuijken on DHM.I also like Salvatore Accardo and Arthur Grumiaux.It is not advisable to compare them but to listen with a friendly ear.I have two favorites,Accardo and Mulova,their playing is great art.I had great difficulti to find the Accardo recordings.Their are several HIP recordings I do not like,so the HIP approach is no guarantee for a good performance in my opinion.:tiphat:


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