'A very supportive role': 8 tips for second violinists

If any supposedly equal member of a string quartet is going to be overlooked, it is bound to be the second violin. The viola and cello may have their problems but at least those difficulties do not concern their very identities. As it is, the term 'to play second fiddle' has a pejorative tone it is never likely to lose. Yet the role of second violin is incredibly important and demands a highly skilled performer, as the quotes by leading second violinists below demonstrate:

'I think the second violin is the most important glue in the string quartet. It's a harder job than being a leader. You have to be a virtuoso or you're lost in the shuffle. You have to blend with the leader and you have to play along with the lower instruments. Because of the nature of the writing you're always either a non-entity or terribly important - there's no middle ground.'

Paul Shure, Hollywood Quartet