News & Views Friday, March 29, 2024

Mazas' 75 Melodious and Progressive Studies Thursday, April 21, 2011

Mazas 75 Melodious and Progressive StudiesSo what’s new in the world of Violin music? Well…how about G. Schirmer reproducing all 3 volumes of Mazas' “Seventy-five Melodious and Progressive Studies, op 36” in one volume! Each volume challenges students to develop new techniques.  In the first volume, students will practice trill techniques, exercises in crescendo and decrescendo, crossing strings, short staccato strokes, pizzicato with the left hand and much more. Volume two helps develop a student's sense of legato, arpeggios, various bowing techniques, melody on the G-string, finger exercises and many other valuable lessons. The third volume introduces tremolo bowing technique, arpeggio exercises and many adagio, andante, allegro, legato exercises. All of these volumes are now available in one collection for one low price at Stanton’s Sheet Music.

So who was Mazas? Mazas was a brilliant pupil of Pierre Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire, from which he received the first prize in 1805. In 1808, he played a violin concerto dedicated to him by Auber. He then performed widely across Europe. In 1831, he accepted the post of first violin at the Theatre du Palais-Royal. A short time later, he was appointed directeur des concerts in Orleans, where he directed that city’s Opéra Comique theater. From 1837 to 1841, he was director of the conservatoire in Cambrai.  His compositions for violin are, for the most part, studies and duets for young string players of all abilities that constitute methods for both violin and viola.

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