Yet more than affectations are wanted to electrify an audience. Life and colour in interpretation are the true secrets of great art. And sweetness of interpretation depends, first of all, on variety of color.

Violin technic is, of course , only secondary. No matter how well played a composition be, its performance must have color, nuance, movement, life! Each emotional mood of the instant must be totally voiced, and if it is its appeal is sure.

Naturally the only mechanical must always be controlled by the inventive character of the player. Yet technique is also a vital part of interpretation: knowing exactly how long to hold a bow, the most delicate inflections of its stress on the strings. After all it's just about the standard of the instrument and about violin price.

There has to be perfect sympathies also with the composer's thought; his spirit must stand behind the character of the artist. In the case of certain famous compositions, like the Beethoven concerto, for example, this is so well established that the artist, and never the composer, is held responsible if it is not well played.

But too severe an adherence to 'tradition ' in playing may also be an extreme.

Absolute pitch the first necessary of a perfect violin technique

"What is the fundamental of a perfected violin technique?" is a natural question.

"Absolute pitch, first of all," many reply rapidly.

"Many a violinist plays a troublesome passage, sounding each note; and yet it sounds out of tune.

The 1st and second movements of the Beethoven concerto have no double-stops; yet they're very tough to play.

Why? Because they call for definite pitch: they must be played in perfect tune so that each tone stands out in all its fullness and clearness like a rock in the sea. And without an elemental control of pitch such an accomplished work will be outside the violinist's reach.

Many a player has the facility; but without perfect intonation he will be able to never reach the highest perfection. On the other hand, any one who can play a single phrase in comprehensive pitch has the first and great essential.

Few artists, not barring some of the best, play with excellent intonation. Its control depends first off on the ear.

And a delicate ear finds differences and shading; it bids the violinist play a trifle sharper, a trifle flatter, according to the general harmonic colour of the accompaniment; it leads him to see a difference, when the harmonic atmosphere demands it, between a C sharp in the key of E major and a D flat in the same key.