# Question about violin technique/style



## Common Listener

I know nothing about this subject, so here goes. I can't think of a real good specific example for some reason but maybe comparing these two (which seem generally similar) will give a hint of what I mean. Mutter vs. Hahn.

There are two things about them - the Hahn (especially towards the end) seems to have a lot more of what I think of as "sawing" on the violin with rough, abrasive transitions and, as a secondary thing, other parts of it sound "pinched" or tight or small or something. The Mutter has less sawing and is smoother while it's fuller and less pinched. Baroque music seems to generally have smooth and sweet (but not syrupy) sounds (though Locatelli is sometimes an exception) while much Romantic music seems to saw away. Sometimes people seem to take different approaches between, as in the Mozart. What is all this called and what's the rationale behind the sawing?

Thanks for any kind responses.


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## vsm

more "I love them both, and being a violinist myself, I can tell that what you describe is just their different "playing style." One is probably more aggressive and "extrovertedly passionate" (Hahn) whereas the second is more intimate by generally showing a more tender interpretation (Mutter).

Is this the answer you were looking for?


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## senza sordino

I heard Hahn playing some broken chords. On a violin you can only play two notes at the same time. (Well, probably three if you're further away from the bridge, aggressive and the bow hair is stretched over and around three strings). So in order to play a four note chord, Hahn plays two then two in quick succession, the chord is broken. 

I didn't hear Mutter playing any broken chords.


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## Common Listener

vsm said:


> more "I love them both, and being a violinist myself, I can tell that what you describe is just their different "playing style." One is probably more aggressive and "extrovertedly passionate" (Hahn) whereas the second is more intimate by generally showing a more tender interpretation (Mutter).
> 
> Is this the answer you were looking for?


Could be, or it could be that I made a mistake. I was most interested in what seems to me a dominant playing style in Baroque vs. a more virtuoso-style Romantic era thing but I couldn't think of examples and didn't think I could describe it well, so just used the Mutter and Hahn approaches to the Mozart as examples that seemed to hint at what I was getting at. But if you're saying that all this is a matter of style and it's not a particular "thing" with a name like (to use an extreme example) _col legno_ or the various other named violin techniques then that would answer my question. Thanks. 



senza sordino said:


> I heard Hahn playing some broken chords. On a violin you can only play two notes at the same time. (Well, probably three if you're further away from the bridge, aggressive and the bow hair is stretched over and around three strings). So in order to play a four note chord, Hahn plays two then two in quick succession, the chord is broken.
> 
> I didn't hear Mutter playing any broken chords.


So is it that "quick succession" that results in the harsh grinding sound as she moves from the first to the second pairs?

If not that, I guess it all could boil down to style but it seemed so different (not the Mutter and Hahn - which, as I say, are pretty similar, though I prefer the Mutter - but Baroque and Romantic sonic effect) that I thought there might be categorical terms for it, either in violin technique or in music theory or something. Kind of like how some electric guitars were initially played with a bare sound until the use of fuzz and distortion. (In that, I like the development, bless you Dave Davies. ) When it comes to the violin I thought the "sawing" might be like "distortion."


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## Common Listener

To take the focus from the Mutter/Hahn and Mozart, there's this from Haifetz playing Bruch (particularly, e.g., 1:54-58, which I should have thought of earlier) and this of Ayo and Apostoli playing Corelli (particularly, e.g., 0:36-42). (One of my favorite pieces of music from all time and space.)


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