“Of course the purely mechanical must always be dominated by the artistic personality of the player.  Yet technic is also an important part of interpretation:  knowing exactly how long to hold a bow, the most delicate inflections of its pressure on the strings.  There must be perfect sympathy also with the composer’s thought; his spirit must stand behind the personality of the artist.  In the case of certain famous compositions, like the Beethoven concerto, for instance, this is so well established that the artist, and never the composer, is held responsible if it is not well played.  But too rigorous an adherence to ‘tradition’ in playing is also an extreme.  I once played privately for Joachim in Berlin:  it was the Bach Chaconne.  Now the edition I used was a standard one:  and Joachim was extremely reverential as regards traditions.  Yet he did not hesitate to indicate some changes which he thought should be made in the version of an authoritative edition, because ‘they sounded better.’  And ‘How does it sound?’ is really the true test of all interpretation.”

ABSOLUTE PITCH THE FIRST ESSENTIAL OF A
PERFECTED TECHNIC

“What is the fundamental of a perfected violin technic?” was a natural question at this point.  “Absolute pitch, first of all,” replied Elman promptly.  “Many a violinist plays a difficult passage, sounding every note; and yet it sounds out of tune.  The first and second movements of the Beethoven concerto have no double-stops; yet they are extremely difficult to play.  Why?  Because they call for absolute pitch:  they must be played in perfect tune so that each tone stands out in all its fullness and clarity like a rock in the sea.  And without a fundamental control of pitch such a master work will always be beyond the violinist’s reach.  Many a player has the facility; but without perfect intonation he can never attain the highest perfection.  On the other hand, any one who can play a single phrase in absolute pitch has the first and great essential.  Few artists, not barring some of the greatest, play with perfect intonation.  Its control depends first of all on the ear.  And a sensitive ear finds differences and shading; it bids the violinist play a trifle sharper, a trifle flatter, according to the general harmonic color of the accompaniment; it leads him to observe 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.

TECHNICAL PHASES

“Every player finds some phases of technic easy and others difficult.  For instance, I have never had to work hard for quality of tone—­when I wish to get certain color effects they come:  I have no difficulty in expressing my feelings, my emotions in tone.  And in a technical way spiccato bowing, which many find so hard, has always been easy to me.  I have never had to work for it.  Double-stops, on the contrary, cost me hours of intensive work before I played them with ease and facility.