Yampolsky, Abram Ilyich

He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the violin class with Sergei Korguev , as well as compositions with Nikolai Sokolov , Jazeps Vitols and Maximilian Steinberg . At the end of the conservatory in 1913 he returned to Yekaterinoslav, performed as a soloist and chamber musician, and was engaged in teaching. In 1920 he left for Moscow, where he received the position of deputy accompanist in the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra . Two years later, he became a member of Persimphans , and also got a place as a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory (since 1926 - professor, since 1936 - head of the department of violin), he also taught at the Gnesins Institute .

Abram Yampolsky is one of the founders of the modern Russian violin school. His teaching was based on a deeply individual approach to each student, the development of a creative feeling and performance temperament. He spent almost all of his students from the first steps in training to the stage of a mature, mature artist. Among the students of Yampolsky are Leonid Kogan , Boris Goldstein , Julian Sitkovetsky , Igor Bezrodny , Eduard Grach , Yuri Yankelevich , Mark Lubotsky , Mikhail Fikhtengolts , Leonard Brushtein , Alexey Gorokhov and many other famous violinists.

Yampolsky outlined his pedagogical methods in brochures - “On the Method of Working with a Student” ( 1959 ), “On the Question of Education of a Sound Culture at the Violinist” ( 1968 ). Etudes for violin were edited by A. I. Yampolsky; he is also the author of cadences for Beethoven , Brahms and Paganini concerts, and many arrangements for violin and piano.

He died in Moscow in 1956, was buried in the New Don cemetery.

Brother —— Mark Ilyich Yampolsky (1879, Yekaterinoslav - 1951, Moscow), Soviet cellist, teacher, stepfather of the cellist J.P. Slobodkin .

• two orders of the Red Banner of Labor (06/03/1937, 12/28/1946)

Recitation in legato

Within phrases performed by legate, it is possible to pronounce pronunciation of individual sounds. In this case, a small impulse of horizontal movement should be made at the beginning of each such sound, and somewhat slow it down before the beginning of the next sound.

This technique should be made very distinctly in episodes requiring increased recitation (for example, in the climactic monologue before the reprise of the second part of Shostakovich’s concert No. 7). To a minimum degree, this is possible in almost all episodes - even of a contemplative nature. ^[one]

When reciting in legato, each sound as it takes shape, completeness, there is a violin bel canto. For large modern violinists, this trick is almost always present in the cantilena. However, the educational process should be careful with its use. You can demand it from the student only with perfect mastery of the main touches and an already formed artistic taste, sense of proportion, since even with a little abuse this technique can lead to caricature in the game. ^[one]

A. I. Yampolsky noted that often behind excessive recitation lies a bad legato. To this we can add - and the lack of a true highly developed artistic taste.

There are many episodes in violin literature (for example, in Beethoven and Brahms concerts) where the legato should be “as if crystal clear, calm, without underlining: transitions from sound to sound.” When performing slow parts! Bach's sonatas will also sound very parody of the recitation of relatively short sounds in a long league. In such cases, it is advisable to apply only a general acceleration or deceleration of the bow speed.

Emphasis in legato

Often in legato it is necessary to apply a bright accent (for example, in episodes of the heroic plan - the beginning of concert No. 1 of Paganini). Her degree is determined by the nature of the music. The sound attack in legato, as in detache, is made by the impulse of horizontal holding the bow, which can be connected with an injection to strengthen the dynamics - pressing “into the string”. Emphasis is often made at the beginning of leagues, which is not difficult to accomplish by mastering the types of detache and martele. It is more difficult to accentuate the sound inside the league (coinciding with a strong beat, or specially accented), when the attack of the sound should be carried out without changing the direction of movement of the bow and without stopping it. In such cases, one should proceed from the principle of performing the Viotti stroke, initially pausing before the accented sound, and then gradually moving to a single stroke. ^[one]

Portato

The portato bar is intermediate between legato and staccato. It is used to increase the articulation of moving sounds inside the legato and to create a specific wave-like sound effect.

The bar represents a kind of soft staccato in the cantilena, and it is advisable to use it even more moderately than accepting the recitation pronunciation in legato, since excessive use of portato will lead to importunity and uniformity in interpretation. In a slower movement, portato is used in cantilena, and in a faster movement - to enhance expressiveness, “coloring” virtuoso-graceful turns. ^[one]

The portato stroke can be achieved by increasing the pressure of the bow hair at the beginning of each legato sound and then releasing it with the help of soft brush movements while maintaining the bow speed. It is advisable to work on the stroke as follows:

Portato is sometimes incorrectly called portamento, which actually means the audible, expressive glissando in the cantilena. (Performing similar light vibrations of the brush with greater speed, in the form of vibration, with a slow bow on a lingering sound, you can achieve the reception of vibration with your right hand, which creates a characteristic coloristic effect.) ^[1]

If it is necessary to enhance the articulation of sounds (especially when playing repeated sounds in one direction of the bow), in the portato stroke, add soft horizontal impulse pulses of the bow at the beginning of each note, performed by the forearm in the presence of light depreciation movements of the brush. Before each sound, bowing is paused. The result is a series of detache strokes strung on one bow (Tchaikovsky, Canzonetta's reprise). The degree of their cohesion should be established depending on the artistic task in this episode.

Bariolage

Bariolage is a rapid alternation of adjacent strings in legato and is mainly found in virtuoso-violin literature (for example, in the second variation of Caprice No. 24 Paganini). At a fast pace, he gives the performance an elegant virtuosity (the whole Caprice No. 12 of Paganini is built on this line). ^[one]

When performing a stroke, it is necessary to ensure that the change of strings in any part of the bow is made exclusively by tilting the brush with a minimum amplitude of movement, with a calm position of the elbow at the level of the lower string. To reduce the amplitude of motion, the following exercise can be recommended:

To highlight the sound of one of the voices as the main one, melodic in a polyphonic episode, one should use “oblique” bowing, which will make it possible to perform one of the voices closer to the stand. ^[one]

If necessary, select only individual sounds, the movement of the brush should make certain emphasis on them.

Combination strokes from legato and detache

Combined strokes from legato and detache are widely used in violin literature. Sometimes large episodes are built on their various combinations. Most often, various variants of their combination are used in effective episodes of a developing nature. The principle of execution of these strokes is the same as the legato and detache separately, and when mastering them, the study of combined strokes should not be very difficult. The main tasks in the combined strokes are to find the most appropriate bow distribution, the degree of density and emphasis of individual sounds. The most common types of combined strokes from legato and detache are the following options:

These strokes can be performed at various paces, including fast enough. At the fastest pace, it is desirable to use the middle and upper parts of the bow, at a calmer time, the lower part and the whole bow (its quantity, of course, also depends on the dynamic nuances).

The study of these stroke options is useful to start on study No. 1 Kreutzer.

A variant consisting of a detache sound and three legato sounds (Example 28a) should be performed at a calm pace using the entire length of the bow. It is important to achieve the impulsive holding of a significant amount of the bow on the first league sound and the whole bow on a separate detache note. In order for a separate sound to not roughly “shoot”, it is necessary to use a quick, easy bow holding with a low pressure density. Legato sounds should be performed with greater density. In the beginning, it is useful to achieve a fairly strong degree of emphasis and phasing of sounds. ^[one]

A variant combining two legato sounds and two detache sounds (Example 286) should also be performed at a calm pace with the whole bow and alternately the upper and lower halves. It should achieve a balance of emphasis and sound density between the lower and upper parts of the bow. It is desirable to learn to execute these strokes both very impulsively and more smoothly, since the nature of their use in works of art can be very different.

Similarly, one should study the variant (example 28g) using a whole bow and alternately the upper and lower quarters of the bow (the distribution of the parts of the bow should be extremely accurately measured). ^[one]

Then these stroke options should be studied at a faster pace, alternately only in the upper, lower, middle parts of the bow. It is necessary not to lose the feeling of free-impulsive inertia in the most fluid versions. When studying them in the future, it is advisable to use various dynamic nuances, crescendo and diminuendo.

The Paganini stroke, combining labeled detache and two legato sounds, should be studied above the middle of the bow, gradually achieving the pace needed when performing the stroke in his works. When performing this stroke in four-part groups, it is desirable to be able to shift the emphasis in accordance with a strong beat. ^[one]

Performing all of the above options at a fast pace with a small part of the bow, it is important to ensure that the wrist makes light, as if “flattening” movements to the movements of the forearm on small detache (similar to executing the detache stroke at a fast pace, which was previously discussed in detail).

• Abram Yampolsky in the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia