String Instruments

A full-size symphony orchestra comprises over one hundred players playing 18 to 25 different instruments. There are four families (also called sections) of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The largest section is the string section. As it begins to play Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) Symphony No. 5, for example, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra uses about 105 players. Of these, 68 belong to the string section. Of those 68, 34 play violin (18 first violins and 16 second violins), 12 play viola, 12 play cello, and 10 play double bass. Each of the four instruments has four strings, and these are raised from the body of the instrument with an arched, small, wooden bridge, so that the strings may be bowed separately or in pairs. The technique of playing with a bow is called arco; the technique of plucking with the fingers is called pizzicato.

The violin is the smallest instrument in the string section—the soprano of the family. Its four strings are tuned to G, D, A, and E. Because the fingerboard is unfretted, the violin can play every note in a chromatic scale, as well as quarter tones and other microtones, over four octaves. From its earliest development in the Middle Ages, the violin has been adopted for all kinds of music by all strata of society. Composers, inspired by its versatility and potential for nuance, have written much music for the violin as a solo instrument as well as an essential featured instrument in orchestral and chamber music.

The modern violin evolved out of a group of less sophisticated bowed instruments of the Middle Ages, including the rebec (with two or three strings) and the medieval fiddle (which often had five strings). Both of these instruments were tucked into the crook of the arm, against the shoulder, or under the chin. However, both lacked an arched bridge. The strings were arranged in a level row, which meant they could only be played all at once, producing chords. They were accompanying, not solo, instruments. A turning point for the instrument was the invention of the arched bridge, and in 1483 the Flemish composer and music theorist Johannes Tinctoris (c. 1436–1511) described “… a viola…” with strings “… stretched in a protuberant manner so that the bow can touch any one string the player wills, leaving the others untouched.” Not to be mistaken for the modern viola, the instrument Johannes saw could have been any one of the family of “viols.” By the early sixteenth century, viols of different sizes were playing together in the courts of northern Italy, in groups known as “consorts.” The highest members of the consort, known as violettes, or violini, developed rapidly into the violin. By 1538, Andrea Amati of Cremona (c. 1505–c. 1576) was manufacturing an instrument very much like the one we know today. Cremona remained the center of violin manufacture, and Amati’s family continued to make great violins through the mid-eighteenth century. The greatest of all violin makers, Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), trained in the Amati workshop. By the time he died at the age of ninety-three, Stradivari had made 1,116 instruments, of which 600 are still in existence. The Stradivarius violin is still the preferred instrument of many violinists.

The violin lends itself to virtuoso performance. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) composed extensively for the violin, and his Four Seasons, for solo violin and chamber orchestra, is in the repertory of every virtuoso violinist. Some of the world’s best western European music has been written for the violin: Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685–1750) Double Concerto, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (1756–1791) Violin Concertos No. 3 and No. 5, Ludwig von Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Johannes Brahms’s (1833–1897) Violin Concerto in D Major, Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809–1847) Violin Concerto in E Minor, Antonin Dvorák’s (1841–1904) Violin Concerto in A Minor, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s (1906–75) Violin Concerto No. 1 are among the most frequently-performed works in the violin’s repertoire. Solo violinists have composed works that demonstrate the instrument’s range—and their own skills. The skill and speed of Niccolò Paganini’s (1782–1840) playing was demonstrated in his performances of his own compositions, such as his 24 Caprices. Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) wrote music that showcases the more lyrical qualities of the instrument; his ,Liebeslied is a favorite encore piece for today’s violinists. Itzhak Perlman (b. 1945), Anne-Sophie Mutter (b. 1963), and Maxim Vengerov (b. 1974) are some of the most successful solo violinists today.

Viola

The viola is the alto of the string section. Similar to the violin in shape, and sharing the same ancestry, the viola is slightly larger than the violin and has a characteristically mellow tone. It is a fifth lower in pitch than the violin, and its strings are tuned to C, G, D, and A. The viola provides the essential inner voices of harmony and warmth to the string section of the orchestra and to string quartets and quintets. Because the neck is longer than that of a violin, the intervals are more widely spaced on the fingerboard—this makes it a little more difficult to play. Pieces featuring solo viola are not as plentiful as those for violin. J. S. Bach transposed some of his unaccompanied cello pieces for viola; Max Reger (1873–1916) wrote suites for solo viola; Paul Hindemith’s (1895–1963) Viola Sonata, Op. 25 No. 1, is one of the finest pieces in the viola repertoire; and Rebecca Clarke's (1886–1975) Viola Sonata is a fine example of further development of the sonata form after the Romantic era. Luciano Berio’s (1925–2003) Sequenza VI for viola explored new colors in the instrument.

Cello

The cello is the tenor and sometimes the bass of the string section. Its strings are tuned to C, G, D, and A. The cello shares a common ancestry with the other strings and evolved specifically out of the Renaissance viola da gamba—gamba means “leg” in Italian, and the name refers to the playing position of the instrument, as distinct from that of early violins and violas, which were viole da bracchia (bracchia meaning “arm”). The cello has a warmly melodic tone, but is capable of a wide range of moods and dramatic effects. J. S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello are probably the best known of all cello music. The mellow depth of the cello is beautifully suited to Romantic composition. L. van Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 is basically classical but gives hints of Romantic potential that came into full flower in the cello concertos of Robert Schumann (1810–1856), Antonin Dvorák, and Edward Elgar (1857–1954). Today’s modern cello virtuosi include Mstislav Rostropovich (b. 1927), Jacqueline du Pré (1945–1987), and Yo-Yo Ma (b. 1955).

Double Bass

The double bass is the lowest voice of the string section. Its thick strings are tuned to E, A, D, and G, and it is so tall that the bassist has to stand or sit on a fairly high stool while playing. Solo music for the double bass is not plentiful, but J. S. Bach, George Frederic Handel (1685–1759), and Franz Schubert (1797–1828) wrote pieces for unaccompanied double bass. The double bass plays an essential role in jazz, and virtuosi include Charles Mingus (1922–1979), Ron Carter (b.1937), and Niels-Henning Örsted Pedersen (b. 1947).

String Quartets

Players of string quartets have access to some of the most charming, beautiful, and profound repertoire in the western tradition. W. A. Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn (1732–1809) composed a great number of engaging string quartets. Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and String Quintet in C Major (scored for two violins, viola, and two cellos) are probably his best-known pieces. Beethoven broadened the technical and emotional scope of the form with his Rasumovsky string quartets and created some ground-breaking string quartet music during the last few years of his life. Beethoven’s late quartets (No. 12 through No. 16) are known for their daring, depth, and bold experimentation. D. Shostakovich, too, in his powerful String Quartet No. 15, uses the form to express the depths of human experience.

Harp

The harp is also included among the orchestral strings and has perhaps the most ancient lineage of all—5,000-year-old frescoes in Egyptian tombs depict instruments similar to harps as we know them today. The modern pedal harp, a developed form of various Celtic and European instruments, has 47 strings, covering six-and-one-half octaves. The harp plays a central role in Celtic folk music, as an accompanying, ensemble, and solo instrument, but its orchestral repertory is more limited. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) used the harp to great effect to accompany arias in his opera, Orfeo. G. F. Handel and L. van Beethoven both composed concertos for harp. The harp’s delicate, yet lush qualities lend it beautifully to Romantic music, especially ballet music. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) used the harp as a featured instrument in The Nutcracker. Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) wrote an interlude between the third and fourth movements of his Symphony No. 5 that is a mystical, calm oasis in the middle of a large, turbulent work. Carlos Salzédo (1885–1961) is considered one of the most important composers of harp music and, by many accounts, revolutionized harp technique in the twentieth century. Some of today’s leading harpists include Judy Loman of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Lynne Aspnes, who teaches at the University of Michigan; Nancy Allen from The Juilliard School; Yolanda Kondonassis of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music; and Lucille Brais of the University of Ottawa.