Anne-Sophie Mutter: The violin lies best on bare flesh

Anne-Sophie Mutter: The violin lies best on bare flesh

News

norman lebrecht

January 31, 2022

The German violinist has given a fascinating interview in Prague to our Czech partners, operaplus. She talks about her childhood when she went a year without a teacher, about the development of her technique and about how to hold the violin.

‘I began with a Menuhin support but was never happy with it,’ she says. ‘I went from a small pillow to a smaller one, then to a deerskin that stops the violin slipping. Then I came up with a brilliant idea that works best for women. Just lay the violin on your naked skin.

‘There’s a bit of moisture to hold it there. For me personally that’s ideal. But not for everyone. It depends on the length of your neck.’

Watch. Lovely German expressions (with English and Czech subtitles).

Comments

  • David Leibowitz says:

    BREAKING NEWS: Violinist voices preference for how to hold instrument

    • Fred Funk says:

      And a violist breaks wind, has issues wearing matching socks, and has a grocery shopping list for corndogs & ice cream.

    • David K. Nelson says:

      Well actually it is one of the perennial issues …. Aaron Rosand was abrasively dogmatic at his master classes about not playing with a shoulder rest, and I assume he was even more firm on that point in his lessons. But he himself had a rather short neck.

      After hearing him on the topic I tried very hard to abandon the shoulder rest but it was just too awkward for me (I am very tall, well over 6’6″, and have a long neck). There is no argument that most shoulder rests have a slight muting effect on the fiddle. I can hear it and I can feel the difference when I play without a shoulder rest. But I can also feel that my left hand feels placed in a wrong posture and gets fatigued because of lifting the left shoulder.

      I have read that some solo violinists (men) had their concert dress coat especially tailored to add some puffiness above the left shoulder. There are certainly violinists who put some cloths there under the coat. I’ve tried that too but for it to be enough it gives me rather a Lon Chaney/Ed Sullivan posture ….

      I do have to think that regularly coming into contact with that “bit of moisture” to use her phrase is not great for the varnish.

  • caranome says:

    so that’s why she must wear those strapless Dior gowns? works for me. They make the music sound better, more elegant.

  • John Borstlap says:

    Surely in this case it’s also the instrument’s preference.

    There are widely divergent views on the matter among the string instruments, like the double basses who always feel excluded and discriminated against.

  • Vance Koven says:

    Fair enough, but then again, cloth doesn’t sweat.

  • Amos says:

    Was it Milstein or Heifetz that tried playing with an open-neck shirt?

  • Karl says:

    This is old news. I heard her say that in an interview decades ago. If it really is true then maybe someone can design some kind of shoulder-less shirt for male violinists.

  • Stephen Lawrence says:

    Centre chin rest and no shoulder rest – also works for me, but only with a Jersey or a cloth. My collar bone is too bony!

    • Sue says:

      Sophie Mutter has her violin very high on her shoulder, her chin is almost on the right side of the tailpiece.

  • Mock Mahler says:

    The creepy claim that bare skin makes the violin sound better has been hovering for years. Cellists, please do not try this.

  • Gerry Feinsteen says:

    It helps some violinists play comfortably, yes, but it dampens the instrument’s vibrations, for better tone …or worse.

    (I’m just an architect, who specializes in acoustic spaces)

  • Alwyn says:

    Actually, the violin lies best on the collar bone of Mischa Elman.

  • Henry williams says:

    She is more attractive than some of the other soloists
    I have heard. Which is a bonus

  • The Baroque instruments were laid upon the neck, but for those of us with long necks it is an impossibility to hold (less than one pound) on our shoulders without a rest.

    • Terence says:

      Being comfortable playing is the key.

      I play with a chin rest and no shoulder rest but each violinist must decide what works.

      By the way, there are drawings of early Baroque players holding the violin against their upper chest — some fiddlers still do this.

  • MOST READ TODAY: