Mystery solved: Nathan Milstein interview in The Way They Play
TL;DR Summary: In "The Way They Play" vol 1", in the interview with Nathan Milstein, there's a strange jump in the conversation between Milstein and Applebaum. Applebaum's earlier book "With the Artists" contains the same interview with an extra page of text at that point, making the transition much clearer/less puzzling.Long version:
Every 20 years or so, I re-read "The Way They Play" vol 1, by Samuel Applebaum. It contains interviews with famous violinists, violists, cellists, and teachers of the time. It was published in 1972; I think the interviews were done well before the book, possibly for some periodical.
It's fun to read; there's lots of violinistic history, anecdotes, technical and musical information. But there are a few places where the interviews suddenly jump in subject matter, so much so that I've often wondered if something was cut out in the publishing process. Well, I found the missing material for one of the cuts, and wanted to place it on the Net, in case some other folks found it useful/interesting. I found the missing material in Applebaum's earlier book "With the Artists", 1955. It contains some of the same interviews (some added, some others missing) as "The Way They Play", and I found my solution there.
In "The Way They Play", there's an interview with Nathan Milstein on pg 127. On page 131, Milstein discusses the question of what to practice, and the text goes as follows:
____________________________________________________________________
[Milstein]
"For example, I remember as a youngster being occupied too much with
Kreutzer and Paganini, so much that I became quite annoyed and felt
the urge to get away from them. Now this may sound strange to you, but
do you know what I played in their place?" He looked quizzically at us,
and said, "I took up quite a few of the Chopin pieces for piano and tried
to play them on the violin. You know, they are very unviolinistic and of
course uncomfortable to play, but to adapt and make them sound violinistic
is of great benefit to one's technic. I used some of the melodic studies.
Almost any violinist can pick some that can be used on the violin."
[Applebaum] "Would you vibrate while playing this?"
[Milstein]
"No. I shall give you another. Play, in the first position, the fourth
finger on G string playing D#, third on D playing G#, second on A playing
C# and the first on the E playing F natural. Hold that chord down
for a few beats to create strain or tension, then play a chord using the
four open strings to relax the hand; open G, open D, open A and open E.
It may be a good plan to do these two chords in slow quarter notes."
"Wouldn't you also suggest doing them in the high positions?"
{Milstein goes on to suggest some fingered octave exercises involving jumps.)
____________________________________________________________________
Now Applebaums's question "Would you vibrate, etc." seems odd following the remark about playing Chopin. But Milstein's answer seems to answer an entirely different question - "I shall give you another. etc." He hasn't really given a first whatever, has he?
This would bother me when reading it - did I miss something? I'd go back and try to make sense, and at some point go on.
Looking at it again today, it occured to me to see the earlier printing of the interview, to see if there's any missing material. And indeed, there is! Here's the original interview text from "With the Artists", 1955 (starting at the same point):
____________________________________________________________________
Milstein:
"For example, I remember as a youngster being occupied too much with
Kreutzer and Paganini, so much that I became quite annoyed and felt
the urge to get away from them. Now this may sound strange to you, but
do you know what I played in their place?" He looked quizzically at us,
and said, "I took up quite a few of the Chopin pieces for piano and tried
to play them on the violin. You know, they are very unviolinistic and of
course uncomfortable to play, but to adapt and make them sound violinistic
is of great benefit to one's technic. I used some of the melodic studies.
Almost any violinist can pick some that can be used on the violin."
The subject of warming-up has been gone into by us with many of the
touring artists. We have observed them at leisure during the summer.
Some do not touch their instruments for days. And with many it thus
becomes a question of serious application to practice to get back into
trim. Others, while on tour and with very little opportunity to practice
during all-day travel, step right out on the concert platform after a short
period of setting-up exercises. Some find it easy to get back into trim;
others, not. Some hands get stiff quicker than others.
Naturally, each artist analyzes his own physical nature and develops
the most efficient way for him to return to good playing form. And artists
hold diametrically opposite views on this subject; one will do with good
effect what another says should never be done.
Questioned, Mr. Milstein said, "The real secret in warming up and
getting back into good form quickly is to create tension. It is wrong to
relax the hand. No, the important thing is to tense the hand. After you
tense it, you relax it and that is when you gain strength."
"Which reminds me of what I saw in a gymnasium once," I said. "A
professional boxer was being prepared for a bout. The trainer insisted that
he do a certain type of calisthenic repeatedly. The only way to strengthen
those feet is to tense them,' he said. 'You tear down tissue and then as it
builds up to replace the torn down tissue, you gain strength.' He spoke
constantly about tension, and I presume that is what you mean."
"Precisely."
"If a violinist wishes to warm up, what would you advise to create that
tension with resultant strength?"
"When a violinist hasn't played all day, he is apt to be rather stiff. We
must assume there is a loss of energy in the muscles. This must be restored.
The real method is not just play anything, but to keep the fingers
down. To create tension we must keep all the fingers down in awkward,
unusual positions."
"For how long, and what notes would you play?"
"Let me give a few examples," he said. "Let us play a chord in the
first position in which the first finger on G plays A, the second finger
on D plays F, the third finger on A plays D and the fourth on E plays
B. Play that chord. Keep the fingers there for about sixteen beats. Press
the fingers firmly and create tension.
"Then remove the fingers and play open D. Relax the fingers completely
while the open D is being played. The open D need not be played
for more than four beats. Repeat this process quite a few times. Always
bear in mind that the object is to strain the hand."
"Would you vibrate while playing this?"
"No. I shall give you another. Play, in the first position, the fourth
finger on G string playing D#, third on D playing G#, second on A playing
C# and the first on the E playing F natural. Hold that chord down
for a few beats to create strain or tension, then play a chord using the
four open strings to relax the hand; open G, open D, open A and open E.
It may be a good plan to do these two chords in slow quarter notes."
"Wouldn't you also suggest doing them in the high positions?"
____________________________________________________________________
This makes a lot more sense. And Applebaum's question "Would you vibrate, etc." makes sense in context.
So there it is. My 50-year old mystery solved (I didn't lose much sleep over it). I think there may be a few more cuts to investigate in "The Way They Play"; if so, perhaps I can find the original text in the same way.
I hope someone finds this useful/interesting! By the way, I found "With the Artists" on the Internet Archive.
Replies (9)
Travers
Schuster
Corigliano
Hilsberg
Applebaum
Berkley
Kurtz
Stassevitch
I have found two opposing ways of warming up.
- Milstein's increased tension before lightening;
- Dounis's light touch before energising.
I have used and proposed both, at different times and with different students.
Szigeti mentions the Cowell Violin Sonata - well, I can find a recording of him playing it! Carroll Glenn and husband Eugene List (pianist) mention a violin and piano concerto (with orchestra) by Paul Nordoff - well, there's the recording of the two of them playing (I particularly like the 2nd movement). Louis Kaufman mentions his American album, and I can listen to parts of it. Albert Spalding talks about Spohr #8, "Gesangscene" with fingering examples, and I can listen to folks playing it, and so on.
When I first read this (1970s), if I didn't own a record or find it at the library, that was it. I like now. -)
My loss!
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