Otakar Ševčík

Selected Violin Studies 2

In Carl Flesch's opinion, 'the studies [by Ševčik] are the most important and time-saving material by which a modern violin technique can be achieved, but always provided that they are correctly applied.' He compared them to medicine which, 'according to the amount taken can either kill or cure.'

To prevent a 'lethal' dose, editor Hertel chose from op. 1 (Violin Technique) and op. 7 (Preliminary Studies for the Trill) only the sections that he considered most important, while op. 8 (Changes of Position and Preliminary Scale Studies) is given completely, whereas the transcribing sequential passages for all four strings are dispensed with. Equally complete is op 9 (Preliminary Studies in Double Stopping), which has been newly arranged only according to interval.