These violinists are second to none

Dan Nobuhiko Smiley is principal second violinist for the San Francisco Symphony. He laughs at his title: “Sounds like an oxymoron. How can you be a principal and second at the same time?”

Not every concertgoer realizes that the sea of violins in a symphony orchestra consists of two distinct sections. Likewise, there are two violins in a string quartet. In both cases, the first violins generally “knock out the high melodies,” as Smiley puts it, while the second violins handle the accompaniment.

Take Verdi’s operas or Tchaikovsky’s ballets. While the first violins play the themes that people go out of the theater humming, the second violins most often provide the oom-pah-pahs.

“Playing second fiddle” may connote being second best, but the preparation for playing first or second violin is exactly the same. “You learn concertos and the brilliant, virtuosic stuff,” Smiley explains.

Glenn Dicterow is the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic -- the first violin of the first violin section. He cites his father as an illustration that second violin does not mean second rate. Harold Dicterow was a child prodigy who, according to his son, was hired by Pierre Monteux for the first violin section of the San Francisco Symphony when he was 17 -- the youngest person ever hired in that orchestra. When he enlisted in the Army a couple of years later, he was promised his spot back after World War II ended. Instead, he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as principal second violinist. He stayed there for 52 years.

“There may be a second violin mentality,” Dicterow says, “but I am not aware of it. My father would sometimes make jokes that they never go out of first position” -- the fingering that beginning violinists start with -- “but that is not true. Actually, most orchestral repertoire has extremely difficult second violin material. Zubin Mehta considered my father one of the truly great orchestral section leaders.”

According to Margaret Batjer, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, “often openings in orchestras dictate which section a person will audition for. It is often not ‘their’ choice but a matter of practicality.”

On the other hand, Dicterow says that although all violinists auditioning for the New York Philharmonic prepare a first violin part, “violinists hired by major orchestras usually go directly into the second violin section. Our string sections have rotation, so all second violinists actually end up playing in the firsts at some point during every season -- all except the frozen players, who sit on the first two stands of the seconds.”

If there are vacancies in the first section in the N.Y. Philharmonic, there are always “in-house” auditions first. Only if no one from within the orchestra is chosen is a vacancy advertised and open to outsiders.

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Where to sit?

In all symphony orchestras, the location of the first violin section is set in stone: It is always on the conductor’s left. And the most common placement of the second violins fits with their “lesser-than” status: They’re buried behind the first violins and the cello section is placed directly opposite the first violins. In this configuration, the second violins sit next to the violas -- which, considering that these two sections constitute the “inner” voices, means that their being sandwiched between the treble and bass is helpful.

But that is not always the case. There are certain conductors who use the European set-up, placing the second violin section directly across from the first violins, with the cellos and violas between them. Los Angeles Opera music director James Conlon always uses this format; Esa-Pekka Salonen favored it during his last two seasons as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dmitry Sitkovetsky, who is both a solo violinist and a conductor, believes “it’s good to have the cellos on the inside because then they project.”

Smiley notes that visually, “it’s very impressive, having the violins flanking both sides of the stage. My section has mixed feelings about it. I kind of like it because it brings out a dynamic dualism between the violins and at the same time the equality between the first and seconds.”

Although Sitkovetsky believes the latter setup works better with a chamber orchestra, he too feels there are definite benefits, particularly for the second violins: “Immediately it exposes them, makes them uncomfortable, because they are far from the firsts. But it energizes them, and they don’t feel so invisible and unappreciated.”

Smiley acknowledges that he can’t help but “judge both conductors and composers on how they treat second violinists. There are wonderful composers who will give the second violinists really interesting parts -- not perfunctory, but they will highlight and can be very subtle in the way that they accompany or imitate or embellish the line.”

Sitkovetsky agrees. “Richard Strauss, in ‘Ein Heldenleben,’ very rare in the repertoire, puts the seconds higher than the firsts and gives them the theme, which is unusual.”

Smiley says that “some conductors are more aware than others of that. It’s not uncommon when we’re playing a melody with the first violins for a conductor to say, ‘The first violins are naturally more brilliant here. Firsts play a little bit less, seconds a little bit more. I want to hear that lower octave.’ And that’s what gives it that depth, and the richness pops out.”

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Quartet function

In a string quartet, the second violinist’s role is much the same as an orchestra second. Emerson String Quartet violinist Eugene Drucker explains that the second violinist has to lead or coordinate the lower three instruments -- second violin, cello and viola in supporting the first violinist. “Sometimes, he or she has to provide a secure underpinning for the first violin in octave passages,” Drucker said.

In the Emerson, Drucker and his fellow violinist, Philip Setzer, trade off the first and second parts. Says Drucker: “Twenty-plus years ago, when Phil Setzer and I formed a student quartet at the Juilliard School, it was fairly common practice for the violinists to switch. I didn’t know of any professional groups that did it previously. We evolved quite gradually into a professional group, so there was never a point at which we said to each other, ‘OK, now it’s time to get serious and establish fixed positions.’ ”

Drucker notes that in quartet writing, the second violin part may not be necessarily easier but is “less exposed.” Consequently there is less stress in the job, and “it can be very gratifying if it suits his/her temperament and if the entire group gets along well personally and musically.”

Playing second violin in an orchestra is, for the most part, less demanding technically and requires less practice at home. Still, many violinists who play second violin in an orchestra, like Smiley, keep their chops up by playing first violin in chamber ensembles or when doing studio work. So all that time and energy spent acquiring first-rate technique is definitely utilized.

Occasionally, says Sitkovetsky, “you get a star second violinist.” Such was the case with the Budapest Quartet’s Alexander “Sasha” Schneider. Yet his fame did not come simply from his being a very dynamic presence in the ensemble, but because he did an enormous amount to promote music and help students. Says Sitkovetsky: “He was the biggest attraction, the most active of all, lived the longest and did the most.”

Unlike Dicterow, some observers believe that first violinists are inclined to be Type A personalities and second violinists Type Bs. Whether that’s true or not, “there’s a different kind of virtuosity that goes into playing the inner, or lower, line,” says Smiley. “It’s challenging in a different way from the first violin part. Often you have to play in the middle or low register, where the instrument is not at its most brilliant. To bring out that middle register takes a different technique from the one you learn, generally speaking, as a violinist.”

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No ‘virtuosos’

One observation occurs more than any other from musicians who play second violin full time, and that’s their sense of the music as a whole. A second violinist in a major American orchestra who preferred to remain anonymous put it this way: “The orchestra is not the place for virtuosity. In fact, often the ‘virtuosos’ can be the problem in certain musical situations. Blending is everything.” And second violinists seem utterly attuned to the orchestra as a single entity and to their contribution to it.

“I think you have to subsume yourself into the whole,” Smiley says. “When we have a long accompanying passage that’s repetitive, that could become monotonous, I listen to whoever has the melody, and even though I may be playing off-beats, in my mind I’m playing the melody.

“It’s a very thrilling feeling to feel wired into this mega, gigantic string organism. It’s not always the most glamorous, but it’s very heartfelt -- it’s the soul of music-making at that level,” he says. “When you’re playing the second violin part, you can see the textures, the almost brocade-like tapestry.”

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