A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing

by Leopold Mozart

Translated by Editha Knocker and With a preface by Alfred Einstein

Known principally as the father of Wolfgang Amadeus, Leopold Mozart was a distinguished musician in his own right. An excellent violinist and composer, his greatest contribution to music was his Treatise on Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing. Published at Ausburg in 1756 it was the major work of its time on the violin and it contains much that is of considerable interest and value to musicians today: notes on performance, practice, a glossary of technical terms and specific chapters on the playing of written and improvised embellishments, the trill, and special rhythmic figures. Copious exercises illustrate each point made in the text. A Preface--revised for this edition--offers an illuminating biographical study of Leopold both as a man and as a musician.