I

Viola via Violin?

'sflould
t)At"-ror.\ you rather accept a pupil who has come to the viola
via the violin, or one who was a violist from the beginning?
PRTMROSE I prefer someone rvho has come via the violip with a
lefthand technique which is in reasonably good condition. That makes it
much easier for n.re. Most of the faults that I find rvith people that come
fronr the violin lie in the bow arm, and that's a very big problem indeed'
anci one that I find deeply interesting. Those students that started on the
viola lvere usually tnught by violinists who finger rhe viola in the violin
way. That I have o chnge. Often this is a matter of pure m_echanics, for
insiance, 'Use the open siring here instead of the closed.' That's simple
enough.
, Solar as tone production is concerned, I have
rarely fou'd a new
'!le need to take into
student who hal a satisfactory bow arm.
consideration the fact that most children should start playing a stringed
instrumenr at about five years of age. As few of them are big enough
physically to play on even a cutdown viola, or a small one, I have seen
.hildt.t-, play-viola on a violin tuned a fifth down. But this defeats its
o*n putpote, because the main difference in playing the vjolin and viola
lies in the tone production, and it is hardly satisfactory when you play a
sickly-sounding violin with droopy strings tuned down.
'sfalter Trampler, who prefers
DALT6N I recently read an article by
having str"rdents who started on the violin. He found that original violists
often haue what he calls a 'slow technique', a slower left hand than
violinists rvho have converted. Trampler remarked that his violists are
point where they werc
far bette r off if they have been violinists up to the 'Wieniawski
playing
-Con..ito, Mozart concertos at least' maybe the D Minor
Lalo's Sympbonie Espagnole, and pieces such as these. They
then have facility. He commented that it has not usually been imposed
upol young violists, through the literature at least, to play wit| that sort
of dextelity.
pRrMRosE I agree with him a hundred per cent. It seems like a
psycholggical cluirk, btrt I have found that violists are apr to play on the
sl<itu sid.. J'hey rernind me so muc1r of organists who play the pieno.
6 Viola uia Violin?
Whereas the organist rnay hit his key and have to"wait for the sound, the
pianist hits the I<ey rncl tlre sound is inst:rntaneous. hr rhe old days, I very
ofteu lrad to play r c()ncert r,vith r.rn organist playing the acconrprrninrcnt
on the piano, and tl.rere was always sonretl-ring wrong about it. As I
6gured it, he u,as used to hitting the key and raving the sound corr-re a
lirtlc bir after. Violists then were notorious for alw:rys being:r little bit
on tle slor,v sicle. Ir rr.r:ry have something to do with the tone being nrore
difficult to produce ol a more recalcitrant instrurnent.
DAL'roN Have you had nuch experience in helping a violinist make
the transition to the viola?
prrMROsE Some. If a vioiinist came to me and said, 'Look, I wish to
become a violist,'I would ask him (l will use'him' meaning both kinds)
u'hy. If it is just a matter of economics in that he thinks that there are
more openings professionally, I will say, 'That's a good reason, but I
could think of more lofty reasons.' If the violinist has a definite and keen
desire to play viola, perhaps because of the sound, then this is ideal. This
is something that brings joy to the older violist's heart, and I would
welcome him into our fraternity. But once having seen the light, he must
never revert to impioris ways, never look backward over the shor-rlder to
prior sir-rfulness.
Actualy, there have been a few isolated cases when I have had to
dissuade a violinist seeking my opinion from changing to the viola.
Usually it had to do with the vibrato. It was just hopeless, much too fast,
and couldn't be slowed down. I imagined that even on the violin such a
vibrato would prove itself excessive, but on the viola it rvould be
impossible. The bor.ving technique can usually be put in order.
DAr-roN Are there any particular physical endowments you would
expcct of a vioia student?
prrN,rr.osE One would think that the obvious physical endor'vrrrenr is
the size of the hand. The iusfruneut's being larger and slightly heavicr
than the vioiin imposes an added burden. But I have had students,
particularly women who have been of small build and with srnallish
hands, who sirnply rvouldn't be denied the instrument and their quest
for the beautiful. (An indication of the loftier feminine taste and
sensitivity, I suppose.) Perhaps there is an analogy to certain pianists,
Josef Hofmann for one, who had small hands yet could play all the
literature that was required of him. He managed somehow. I irave had a
yourlg lady fron Japan with small hands, who can play the virtuoso
viola rvorks outstandingly. And I witnessed a rwelve-year-old girl playing
a Paganini violin concerto impressively. Her phvsical build rvas such
rhst when she went up into the high positions, her thLrmb was lving on
Viola ui,t Violirt? 7
top of thc instlrmeut, eway from the neck attd nof even on the top rib
lirre. For playilg tlie viola, having a large hand and being of tnedignr to
Lrrge statrre is an irdvatrtage, br'rt certainly not a requirenellt'
DAr.r-oN Do yog regard your own irand as beiqg particularly suitecl to
the viola ?
plri\4r{osE I lvogld say so, thoLrgh my hand is not terribly long. Ir is
broad, ancl the fingers are l'tlore or less the same length, which is a big
advantage on the violin too. I am not an expert in playing ter-rths on the
viola. I very seldom have to use them, but when I do, I can manage then-
(Figs. ra and rb). Rarely have I encountered an applicant to these higher
things whom l have discouraged because of lack of physical endowment'
and the very aspiration itself is an earnest of such superior intelligence
and good taste that I have no disquiet in cheering him on his virtuous
way.
DALToN When the student goes about purchasing an instrument with
the proper'fit', how do you help in the selection?
pRrMRosE I'm afraid that this is going to be very cynical. In many
cases it depends on which dealer you know. The student should always
have in mind caueat emptor. That's Latin for'let the buyer beware'. It
has become almost impossible for a student to get hold of a high class
instrument, because of the considerable money involved' At one time, a
Vuillaume viola was witliin reasonable purchase price, but now they are
way beyond any student's means unless he comes from a wealthy family
or has got a patron. Students have to have recourse to contemporary
instruments. Thank goodness there is a sufficient number of excellent
instrument makers today that if a student will have the patience to buy
an instrument that is well crafted, and realize that it's going to take tlvo
or three years for the instrument ro start to sound, and also that he has
to deveiop a relationship between himseif and the instrument like
hLrsband and wife, there shouldn't be a problern. Contemporirry violas
can be purchased from $3,ooo upwards.
DAr-ToN lffhere clo you and the student try out the instrument?
IRTMROSE I tell the studeut to make sure that the dealer provides that
he has the viola for a reasonable amount of time for trial purposes. I
know that in certain rooms rvhich are bad for sound, if the viola sounds
u'e11, it's going to sound anywhere. It is perhaps ideal to go to an
ar.rditorium, then one can get a bcrter irnpressior.r of the iustruntettt's
projection qualities.
DALToN l-{ave you ever been trtcked in selecting a viola that soundecl
very good to you under the ear, but when you payed on it for e lvhile in
 Viola uia Violin? Viold uitr Violirt? I
was not
conccrt atrcl irt larger halls, yotr were disilppointcd to 6nd tl.rar it
lvhat you anticipated?
pr{rMlosE Oh yes, many times. This was in the days wiren I lvas
,....t'ri,tg fnr. io" of er,tra,rr,Jinary quality, ?.ntl I would nattrrally
l',uue ,eurse to thc great aucl faurous dealers' They seemed
to alrvays
\What sou.ded
have a room ."vhere"e'erything sounded narvellous.
going to marvellor'ls
marvellous in that room was not necessarrly sound_

ourside of ir. I learned ro beware. But ttris condition will exist

with
;;;;;, of any product. They are goi'g to show their wares to the best
you wish to buy a Rlls:l9lte, the dealer is not going to
If
sell it tJ you in a coal-cellar' He will display it in a
"uunrug.. very handsome
showroom.
Aside from the price, the viola must fit the player. other.instrumental-
ists don't face tire^considerable difference in the size of their
instruments
itn, *. violists clo-anywhere from about tJ3/+ t! t7t/a inches in
to the viola by having
i.,Url,. Su.h pro.edures for measuring the student
with the insrrument in
ir-i,r gr"tp *ith e"re the scroll in th left hand
o, forming a rerrach.ord with the fingers placed or rle
;6ff;'"ririo",
'C
ri,g i, first posirior,, .n be applied. The stude't must be able to
;;;ri;, the hiih positions, becauie of the literature thatselection. has been
*r"." for us in ih. p"rr fifty years. The teacher guides in the
Frc. ra
I o not have to dal with'beginners directly, but I strongly disapprove
of those organizers of pre-sch"ool teaching who, for.reasons I hardly
venture ro suggest, constrain numbers of thiir charges into assuming
t6e
role of violist'and tune down a violin (in some cases even a three-qltarter
And that's
or a half-size insrrumenr) in order that they may learn the clef.
essence of
;il;; irl Sur.ly ttt. r."ity important dissimilarity-the .very in the
ii-b.r*.r' volin playing and performance on the viola be perceived resides
subtle distinctions in tone"ptoduction. These may not even
unless the student is utilizing something approximating to
a full-size
viola.
That in turn gives us a latitude of some ry'' inches: between 16 and
,llt,. I l'rau", tJ be sure' encountered students wlto, ab initio' played and
;ri;, ;;J onLy viola, tus demonsrraring a .r^re discriminationI must
discretionl So, once again at the risk of seeming to be a bore'
insist that rhe vernal iiolirr shouid be instructed in the rare subtleties
to right-hancl technique. From my experience the prevailing
,.i.ok.r.rr, oth iriiolin a.d in viola playi'g, resides i' the right arm.
^pp.rr"i,rrrlg

DALToN As ro the disproportionate size of the viola in the violirr

l""lly, you once colcl m tt Stokowski wanted to have his Philadei-
;lri;;i"i" se.tio,-t play on the tenor violin, or Tenorgeige'.which is larger
Frc. r Prin.rrose's left hand ii nn ttr" viola, smalle, than the cello' and is played on the knee'
 r o Viola uio Violin?
p^rMrosE This is rrue, and acoustically the-idea
was righr. BLrt he
woulcl have had a muriny o'his hands had he tried ro .,rfor.i rliis on his
There is .o eirsy way around rhe disproporrio'atc size of the
'usicians.
viola for the rirnge thar it has ro play. Tertis tried smewliat successfullv
to overcome this difficulty, he having played on a monstrous i,,srrumerit
uis-ti-uis his physicai s[ature. I-{e was not a we;rkliug in a'y rvrry, but he
\1/as a sr"n;ill man wirh proporrionarely small armsl and playeJ on his
very large Morragn:r'a for years u'til ihe physical price ex"crcci beca'.re
too mLrch. I' order ro overco'oe the difficulties a'd disadvantages of
playing on whar would be an oversized viola and to cornpensare tnally
for what would be.to him a less acceptable smalr instrunrert, Tertis
ingeniously designed an insrrument, th Tertis-Ricriardson nodel. He
definite right direction, ir seemed, although
I19. llep i".the J I don,r
believe".his rnodel ovir'viola construction.
has 'taken
. Tertis appeared to favour the sonority and modelling of violas after
the Gasparo de sal prororypes, where I favour the tanclard set bv
stradivarius and Andreas Guarnerius. I am inclined to enjoy th.'
soprano rather than the contralto quality in the sound of violas-^ezro-
which he preferred.
DALloN o'er and abo'e the problerns which face a luthier i, making
avi.lin, in pro-ducinga viola, if a good A string is achieved, the c strin[
sonetimes suffers, and vice versa.
pl(rr"{osE An experience that I had which is interesting
_ in this respect
rvas whe' I first bought my Andreas Guarnerius. It *"i nr. irsrrument
that i'every way gave sarisfaction, except there was a little ciisrrppoi't-
nrcnt ir.the quality of the c strir-rg. Aftei playi'g ir for severel weeks, I
returred ro that genius luthier, sacco'i, aid -expressed to him niy
colcenl. Fie i.vas asronished as he admired the instrirment grcarly. After
tossing the proble'r-r back and forrh, I suggesred, 'suppose"I rrv a gut A
srriug insread of the sreel that is preseuily on it?''He embrac.j,.,.,.,
bcc;rLrse ro him, a mall wirh his oLrilook on ltaliarr insfrurnents
of thai
period, the use of a wire string was irnathema. within a few clrrys the c
string starred to ope' up like a sleeping pri'cess. There ,"., ,o-.
relatronship, and it was the tensio' .rn ih.'-top sicle of rhat vi.le, causecl
by_rhe lvire srring, which apparenrly subdued ihe C string.
I had Lrsecl steel srrings for a long ti're, largely througthe irflLre'rce of
T'ertis, :rnd tliey do have rheir advanrag.s oue. g,,r ttii,rgr. wc are not
troLrt.,led with false 6fths so nrucli. They lasr and iray in rLiue longer, ancl
the sound is very prudent under tlrc ear. However, I founci thei r,r,hen I
rvris a member of an audience, this clid nor mantain. I got the inrpression
i' hearing'ther violists that it was rrl<in to the feeling f , p.rr,r, hauing
his or her throar c'nstricted a'd rlren being askea tu rng. Irronr an
Viola uia Violin! r r
acoustical angle, I can't explain why this was so. I am only being
pragmatic, and that was my impressiotr. An instrument that was strllng
entirely with steel strings was not nearly so satisfactory as an instrument
nlore conventionally strung. Alas, later in my career I had difficulty
fincling gut strings of good qr-rality, and perforce had to resort morc attd
lulore to wound strings.
DALToN No cloubt many violists can be at a handicap with our
instrument,
pRuvrRosE I'm reminded that I would come up against Lionel Tertis if
he were alive and we were discussing this subject. To him there was no
warrant for a viola except it was well over sixteen inches. However, if I
understand it correctly, the older and larger violas were often employed
in doubling voices, and not for virtuoso performance. I doubt very much
that the violist of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries moved much
beyond the third position. Now we are using the viola as a virtuoso
instrument and scarnpering all over the finger-board. Hence our
problems are compounded considerably. True, a smaller viola generally
cioes not have the C string quality that we all desire in the viola. Br.rt if
the smaller player can nurse that particular string to give it a sonority
that is satisfactory, let's accept it. I wouidn't proscribe a student's
playing on a viola under 16'/, inches if all other virtues are at hand.
Dirring to pluck Montaigne by the beard, I cannot see why virtue should
have naught to do with ease.
l)Ar roN We have discrrssed the irrstrrrnrent as bcing art obvious llctor
in the transition from violin to viola. There is an inteilectual transitiou in
the aspirant as well: learning the viola clef.
prrNrrosE I'rrr afraid that my own experience ir.r this regarcl lirs
dimmecl beyond n'enlory. I can't remember rvhen I didn't l<now the clef.
Do you have irny ideas?
DAI-roN I first shorv tire srudent graphically the irlto clef 's pt.rsitic'rr
superirrposed on the great staff lretween the treble and bass clefs. With
some clean staff paper the stuclent locates the open strings on the staff.
For sever:rl clays he does nental exercises by randomly filling in the
intervals of the open strings with notes and fingerings in thc 6 rst
position. The process can be reversed by taking a printed score and
naming at rindonl notes and fingerings. A few tucles in the vrrious
positions r.vill put the problem of reading the new clcf to rest. Initialy,
the new violist will have to be facile in mind and sigirt to transfer back
and forth bctween tl-re viola and treble clefs.
prlrrRo.sE I'r,e remarked in anorher rvriting thar violists, being of rhe
 Viold uia Violinl
niture that they usually are) are nor stymied by these liabilities of the
professior-r.
This volrrrne Technique is Memory is meant for viola players as much as for
violir.rists but, for reasons of clarity and as viola players are equally familiar with
bor1l 6lefs, the treble clef only has been used. In support I quote that most
perceptive of rnusic critics, Irving Kolodin, who states: 'As a fledgling viola
piayer I naturally regard all other violists as studious chaps who don't have tire
6nger facility of the No/crnfressers who nrake agile first violinists, but are better
read, have heard more nrusic, and are altogether men of superior taste.' I find
myself in full agreement with the above glimpse of the obvious, and therefore,
feel it quite unnecessary [for the publisher] to go to the expense of printing a
special edition of this book for us violists. Transposing a fifth down from the
treble clef is mere child's play to those of such superior intelligence.'
DALToN Times have fortunately changed from the days before'$7orld
War II lr,heu, as Louis Kievman, the violist, tells it 'All we violinists
were required to learn the viola. The only trouble was that Juilliard, if
you can believe it, didn't have a viola instructor. We simply had to do it
on our orvn.' Most music schools in the US now have a viola teacher,
and not a few schools mandate of their violin students that they take
instruction and gain practical experience on the viola. Do you endorse
this quite forceful approach?
pRrMRosE Weli, it pLrri6es their souls.
DALToN Do you subscribe to the idea that every violinist should be
able to play viola sufficiently well to sit down and read a Haydn or
lr4ozarf quartet?
prrNrr(osE Oh yes, I think a violinist should. But how adequately he
rvould play is something else again. By all means, let him have some fun.
Jur rvhen a violinist comes to play sometl'ing on the vioia of a higher
technical encl artisric level, that is a different matter.
DALToN There are violinists r,vho have established then-rselves with
audiences as solo violinisrs, and very good ones, who sonretimes present
rhenselves as violists.
pRrMRosE I have thought on this subject very much in recent years,
because I am persuacled that during this century, when the viola was
more or less foisted ou an apathetic public by Lionel Terris, we have aii
had a hard enough time ro establish it as an instrument distinct and
unique in the string f:ulily. I do not see any reason why those violinists
who have macle a successful career for then-rselves as such should find it
necessary to trespass on the vioiists' domain. It must be very frustrating
' \Villiaru l)rinrnrse 'Tccltnique is Mentr:ry, Oxford University Press, l"ondon, r 96o, preface.
Viola uid Violitt? |J
for aspiring young violists today to find distinguished violinists,parading
t6emselves"u, uiiu soloists and being accepied as such by_the
p_ublic
t .."ur. they are distinguished violiniits._'Moonlighting.violists',
I call
them. They h"u. no eco-nomic reason to do so' and they have.no
reason
so far as ,p.rtation or career are concerned' If they want to
play for the
1.," li (u'a Coa bless them if they do), it should be done private for
in
"f
it-,. u-uo-ent and amazement of their friends. They shouldn't trespass
on tt't. t.ttitory of the young violist who is aspiring.to be a legitimate
i" frir own right- an chtviolist-and to establish a career on the
"ioUt,
uioi". "forrunare, we haven'r reached the stage quite yet where there
are well-defined standards of viola playing' People are pt to accept
anything on the viola because they don't know any better'
DALToN You seem to devalue your own career-or do you actually
believe that your work has been ineffectual in setting a standard?
pRrMRosE If you wish me to be perfectly honest about it, I would say
;;;;t.r, in a iay, it has helped t define a standard. But there are still
to -"r,y violinists playing te viola these days.as more qt lt:t a hobby'
ra ,f-,., are doing it ii public. I'm sometimes doubtful that this
doesn't
situation will ever Jh"ng., iartly because the average person
ino* *tr"t to listen for In a viola. I remember an occasion where I was
in r-,o*., and a fiddler essayed on the viola playing Hindemith's Der
"
scbwanendreher. It was a horrible performance, disgraceful. But the
'The
listeners' impression was not 'That prson's a bad player.' Rather,
viola is not a good solo instrument.'
r)ALroN Or that Der Schwattenclreheris a wretched piece'
pr.rMIosE This is what people who have tried to propagate..the viola
as being a distinct and uique instrument in the string family are
up
against.
DALToN What is the answer to this dilemma?
pRnvrRosE I'm nor quite sure. Perhaps shoot all violinists who play
viola publicly.
DALTON That u,ould be only half a cure. Taking the places of the
cleceased would have to be a bevy of echt violists who play the
viola as it
should be played and in a convincing, even virtuosic, manner'