Nabokov, Nicolas [Nikolay]

Newton, Ivor

(b London, 15 Dec 1892; d London, 21 April 1981). English pianist. He was a pupil of Arthur Barclay, and then, deciding to devote himself to the art of accompaniment, studied lieder with Zur Mühlen and accompaniment with Coenraad Bos in Berlin. In his early days he played for De Groot at the Piccadilly Hotel, but he quickly won a reputation as one of the world's leading accompanists. During his long career he appeared in all parts of the world with many of the greatest singers and string players, including Melba, Chaliapin, Callas, Flagstad and Casals. As adviser in music to HM Prisons, Newton was influential in bringing good quality music to prisoners. His autobiography, At the Piano – Ivor Newton (London, 1966), is valuable for its detailed character studies of the performers with whom he was associated. He was made a CBE in 1973.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anon.: ‘Accompanying the Immortals: Mr. Ivor Newton Looks Back’, The Times (10 Dec 1962), 5

FRANK DAWES/R

New Violin Family [Violin Octet].

A consort of eight acoustically balanced instruments in graduated sizes and tunings (see illustration), ranging from the contrabass violin (tuned like the double bass) to the treble violin (an octave above the normal violin). This family of instruments developed out of the violin research by the physicist Frederick A. Saunders of Harvard, who began work in 1933. Tests made on excellent violins established some of the acoustical characteristics found in violins of desirable tone quality. These characteristics were projected, by the application of scaling theory, into seven other tone ranges, and gave rise to a new family of violins embodying the results of theoretical and practical experiments (see Table 1). This research was coordinated by members of the Catgut Acoustical Society (founded by Saunders in 1963), and the first set of the new instruments had been prepared by 1965. The instruments are designed to possess a homogeneity of tone which distinguishes them from the existing family of strings (in which the acoustical characteristics and tonal qualities of the viola, cello and double bass contrast with the violin and each other; see Acoustics, §II, 2, especially fig.35). It is intended that the instruments be used in ensembles of up to eight; as solo instruments with distinctive characteristics; to blend and contrast with other instruments (particularly wind) or the human voice; to augment the strings in the symphony orchestra; and in combination with electronic sounds (where their clarity and distinctiveness have been found most effective). Michael Praetorius, in his Syntagma musicum, ü (2/1619), listed a family of eight Geigen with practically the same tonal ranges and tunings.

The treble violin or sopranino, tuned g'–d''–a''–e''', is the smallest and highest member of the octet; its dimensions are approximately those of a quarter-size violin, and it can be played either under the chin or, rebec style, on the arm. It has very thick top and back plates and extra-large f-holes so that its main resonances occur at the desired frequencies. The extremely strong and thin E string (tuned to 1320 Hz) is made from carbon rocket wire, which has a tensile strength nearly twice that of normal E-string wire. The short strings of the treble violin make it possible to play a tremolo in intervals of up to an octave and double stops of up to a 12th. The soprano violin or descant is tuned an octave above the normal viola (c'–g'–d''–a''); it is comparable to a three-quarter violin in size and string length, though it is somewhat broader in outline and has shallower ribs. The mezzo violin is an enlarged version of the normal (35·5 cm) instrument, with a body length of 38·2 cm, though its ribs are about half the usual height; it maintains the standard string length. It has large top and back plates and is thus more powerful, particularly on the lower strings, than the normal violin. The alto violin, tuned c–g–d'–a', is essentially an enlarged viola but has additional clarity and power. Its body length (50·8 cm) makes it difficult to play under the chin, so it is often played like the cello, but on a longer endpin; the strings have been shortened to 42·5 cm to facilitate viola fingering.

The tenor violin, tuned G–d–a–e', is similar in size to a three-quarter cello, but has thicker top and back plates, and shallower ribs that give it more the appearance of an enlarged violin. The baritone violin is tuned C–G–d–alike the cello, and has a nearly comparable string length but larger body dimensions. Since its resonances are lower than those of the cello, the tones on the C and G strings are unusually clear and powerful; its A-string resonances are not stronger than its lower tones, however, as is the case with the normal cello. The small bass violin is tuned A'–D–G–c, a 4th above the double bass; it is about the size of a three-quarter bass and has a similar string length, but has rounded shoulders and an arched back like the violin. The contrabass violin, tuned E'–A'–D–G, has a body length of 130 cm but a string length of only 110 cm. Its size, comparatively light construction and the tuning of its plates cause the lower notes to produce organ-type sonorities.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PraetoriusSM, ii

C.M. Hutchins: ‘The Physics of Violins’, Scientific American, ccvii/5 (1962), 78–84, 87–92

C.M. Hutchins: ‘Founding a Family of Fiddles’, Physics Today, xx (1967), 23–37

C.A. Taylor: ‘The New Violin Family and its Scientific Background’, Soundings, vii (1978), 101–16

C.M. Hutchins: ‘The Musical-Acoustical Development of the Violin Octet’, Experimental Musical Instruments, ii/6 (1987), 4–7

C.M. Hutchins: ‘A 30-Year Experiment on the Acoustics and Musical Development of Violin-Family Instruments’, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, xcii (1992), 639–49

CARLEEN M. HUTCHINS