Beauty ‘On The Threshold Of Sound’

It was a phrase Dan Lewis used often when he wanted members of the USC Symphony to play really quietly. And when he spoke it was in a stage whisper, barely audible but incredibly intelligible.

Those days were quite a few moons ago for me, but the phrase has remained in my memory as unforgettably as the first time I heard Nathan Milstein draw a bow across his fiddle.

Speaking of Milstein, he loved to play quietly. One day I showed up to play for him and I walked in to find his practice mute on. Naturally I asked why he needed it in the middle of the day.

He answered by putting his fiddle up and playing the Grave movement of the Bach A minor solo sonata. It was as if I were hearing it, clearly and distinctly, but from a great distance. It was absolutely magical.

But don’t just rely on a mute to play quietly.

To stretch my expressive control I will play Bach fugues pianissimo or, say, the Paganini Caprice in G minor, #16. The challenge is to impart all the passion, intensity, and drive while you remain ‘on the threshold of sound.’

Kreutzer #11 is a wonderful etude to cultivate this ability, especially as it also requires you to make quick clean shifts up and down the violin.

All the best,