Chris Bonds wrote:

>Can anyone think of other examples where the effect would be enhanced by
>the opposition seating of violins?

How about the last movement of Brahms 1st Symphony? In the introduction
there's that part -- played twice -- with descending scales in the violins.
The scales are divided between the first and second violins, each group
playing three (32nd?) notes, but staggering their entrances by a 32nd (?)
or 16th (?) of a beat, producing if you will a kind of "spinning" effect on
the listener.  (The recording I have by Roger Norrington was the first time
I became aware of this feature in the work having not seen the score
beforehand: needless to say, if I'm wearing headphones when this part
comes up, I get the impression of spinning.  Go figure.)

Walter Frisch's book "Brahms: The Four Symphonies" -- a fantastic
introduction to these works and highly recommended -- devotes a chapter
or two at the end to a wide range of recordings including the Norrington.
He notes in his review that the 3-note groups which make up the scales are
motivically important (I don't recall how at the moment).  Subsequently,
the separation of the violins in performance in a sense shines a brighter
light on this motif than otherwise would be the case.

Mark K. Ehlert