David Runnion wrote,

>If she broke a string on the instrument she probably would have had
>to stop and either replace the string or, what's often done, grab the
>concertmaster's instrument and finish the piece.  ...  (you simply can't
>continue after breaking a string, either you need it for certain notes,
>also the breaking of one string changes the pressure on the bridge and
>throws the other strings out of tune)

I have to disagree.  In my student days, my A-string broke shortly after
I began the finale of the Mozart D major (4).  I didn't stop and, while
it was scary -- the broken string was hard to keep out of the way, for
instance -- and while I had to avoid open strings at all cost, it wasn't
as hard to play in tune as you might imagine.  Afterward the conductor told
me drily that I should play with three strings all the time since that was
the only way he'd ever heard me paying attention to what I was doing.  In
fact, I was a crummy violinist and it was an easy concerto compared to
some.  I couldn't have done it with the Beethovn, I'm sure, let alone the
Tchaikovsky or Bruch or . . .  But that's okay.  I couldn't play those
concertos with four strings either.

"Richard Todd" <[log in to unmask]>