Concertmaster vs Concert Violin Soloist
The contrast between the concertmaster of a famous orchestra and an established violin concert violin soloist is a minimum, I believe.
Both — the violin soloist and the concertmaster had a wonderful education at a great conservatory.
Both had the passion to be a performer, but for each student at the conservatory, the ambition as a performer will be very different. So the goals of how they study during their time at the conservatory will be different. When you want to be a violin soloist, you will be at the orchestra of the school, but you’re more likely to perform more solo concert.
The concertmaster has to perform and prepare before and during orchestra rehearsals with co-workers and has to play orchestra work, give concerts and so on. They also train to students at the conservatory but also doing side projects as the concertmaster.
A violin concert violin soloist performs solo concertos with (less) famous orchestras and chamber music with their fellow violin soloist musicians. I want to tell you, that concert violin soloist could also perform with less well-known orchestra’s. The violin soloist doesn’t have to be less good than the other violin soloist. The violin soloist has a different viewpoint and a different way to play the same pieces.
It is the fire between the orchestra and the violin soloist. You can relate it as a love relationship. You can feel the love or you just don’t.
Orchestra musicians might do chamber work as well, but less at the famous concert halls as the violin soloist — they’re booked at these big concert halls much more than the orchestra musicians (they’re nog famous musicians, orchestra musicians are playing chamber music more at churches and other less big concert locations. They also teach students, but mostly to children or to students at less well-known conservatory.
A concertmaster needs to lead a group of the first violin section, think about the bowings and sometimes playing a solo. The concertmaster is the link between all string groups and leaders of their string section. In addition, they must be able to consult well with the suppliers and the conductor, and they must communicate that.
The concertmaster practises and performs a whole programme for the performance while a violin soloist only practices the solo concerto. The concertmaster is an important person through the whole orchestra and the conductor and sometimes with the violin soloist too.
Don’t get me wrong, they all work very hard to establish what they want.
They both have had a great study at a wonderful conservatory or other musical institution.
People think the concertmaster just has this function because they couldn’t become a violin soloist. Nonetheless, this is not true. Totally not true. Maybe for some, but most of them like this function. They have this function because they just love it. Yes, they want to be important — I guess, but they can be important by being a concertmaster as said what they have to do.
There will be moments that the concertmaster has important concerts as a chamber musician together with a great violin soloist.
This story has been published originally on Quora.
Agnes Laurens is a writer. She writes for the local newspaper. Agnes lives in Bunnik, The Netherlands, with her husband and three daughters. Writing is — aside from playing the violin — one of her passions since childhood. She is on Twitter and Instagram.
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