The The Orchestral Violinist series

More than just a collection of difficult passages for the aspiring orchestral pro, these extracts from the classical, romantic and twentieth-century concert repertoire reveal the tricks of the trade.

Rodney Friend has over 40 years’ experience as leader (concert-master) of some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and BBC Symphony, and has thus performed with leading maestri such as Haitink, Mehta, Barenboim, Solti, Giulini and Bernstein.

The Orchestral Violinist distils Friend’s expertise by assembling extracts from each work as self-contained studies. Detailed fingerings have been applied, and workable bowings are reproduced in red, solving all of the technical problems faced by the player. Especially important is the commentary peppering the music, and reproduced in green for clarity.

These instructions explain how to negotiate phrasing, articulation and projection of the music through technique: you are shown exactly which portion of the bow to use and the optimum speed of bow at given points; the importance of complementarity of left- and right-hand action is emphasised.

Particularly noteworthy is the detailed commentary on one of the most taxing passages in the repertoire, the Sacrificial Dance from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. This new approach forms an indispensable resource for those preparing for auditions.