Theory and Practice in Late Nineteenth-Century Violin Performance: An Examination of Style in Performance, 1850-1900 (review)

David Milsom's study examines the differing performance styles of the Franco-Belgian and German schools of violin playing between roughly 1850 and 1900. By considering a wide selection of instrumental treatises from the period, together with recorded performances from the early twentieth century, he reviews the approaches of these schools to using expressive devices in performance and reflects on the often conflicting relationship between actual practice and written theory. Indeed, Carl Flesch observed 'a gulf which cannot be bridged' (in Die Kunst des Violinspiels (Berlin, 1923–8); Eng. trans., The Art of Violin Playing (New York, 1924–30), i. 30) when considering the correlation of violin playing to printed hypothesis. Milsom's book eloquently verifies for us that this was often the case. Taking advantage of the rich and largely untapped resource of archive recordings to illustrate his findings, Milsom's study is a welcome contribution to the growing research areas of both performance practice and recording studies.

Recalling Robert Philip's similar chapter headings in his Early Recordings and Musical Style (Cambridge, 1992), Milsom examines the expressive application of phrasing, portamento, vibrato, and rhythm and tempo. Where Milsom builds on Philip's work, however, is in his more detailed consideration of a greater number of relevant treatises and in his closer focus on selected recordings. In addition, he uses early vocal recordings to draw comparisons between the practices of singing and playing the violin. As he makes clear, for nineteenth-century teachers, critics, and theorists the use of the metaphor of the human voice to explain musical expression on the violin was the dominant mode of pedagogical, critical, and analytical discourse. The inclusion of singers in the discussion should ensure that this book will be as valuable to those interested in historically aware vocal performance as it will be for violinists.

The book is, however, not without its problems. Milsom's assertion that Fritz Kreisler's influence on vibrato was 'not as exceptional as one might imagine' (p. 143) needs further development, especially given his comment, in a footnote in his introduction (p. 11), that Kreisler's bearing on vibrato was significant and his later suggestion that Kreisler introduced 'decisive changes' to vibrato style (p. 127). To support his claim that Kreisler's influence was not unique, Milsom writes that Jeno Hubay's vibrato, too, contained elements of modern practices. As illustrated by recordings of 1929–35, Hubay's vibrato was, in the main, continuous. But precisely what it was like at the beginning of the century is uncertain. Milsom's comparison between Hubay in the 1930s and Kreisler in 1904 is, therefore, a mismatch. Hubay's pupil Joseph Szigeti provides evidence that the performing styles of these two players were clearly different at the beginning of the century. Recalling his adolescent impression of hearing Kreisler play in 1905, he wrote: 'I sensed a dividing line between the playing I had heard in my Budapest days and what I was hearing now. One I associated with the past, the other with the future' (Joseph Szigeti, With Strings Attached (London, 1949), 90). That Szigeti perceived discernible differences surely indicates that Kreisler's fast and continuous vibrato was a departure from the mode of playing taught him by Hubay. Moreover, Szigeti's vibrato in his 1908 G & T recordings is strikingly similar to Kreisler's in his performances from the same period.

Milsom's text is very occasionally let down by inaccurate biographical details. He states that Hubay 'trained' (p. 130) at the Paris Conservatoire. While Hubay certainly owed aspects of his performing style and his early career development to Vieuxtemps, including a teaching post at the Brussels Conservatoire, sources suggest that the two did not have a formal teacher–pupil relationship, let alone one at the Paris Conservatoire (although Hubay may later have had instruction from Vieuxtemps in Algiers (see Jean-Théodore Radoux, Henri Vieuxtemps...