Another Great Feuermann Quote

A scale made up of clean tones, the fingers going down in such a way that the unequal strength of the fingers is hidden; a scale in which audible string crossings do not exist and in which the position is changed so quickly that the difference between a finger placed on the string and a change of position can hardly be felt; thus a row of notes of uniform strength, perfect in intonation and without disrupting, extraneous noises, these are the fundamentals of a scale, the ideal!

I've spent essentially the whole day working on p. 2 of Elgar mov. 2 ... I'm trying to get it up to tempo ... so far, I'm somewhere in between 100 & 120 ... it needs to be at 160 ...then there's the whole issue of making it spicatto, but one step at a time ...

I'm gonna take a break, work on the Weber a bit, and then do more Elgar .. 3 hrs. so far ... 3 to go..

Edit: more from Feuermann:

What must be practiced, watched for, and accomplished to dojustice to a scale according to the very highest of musical demands?

1) Even articulation for each individual note, whether fingering, change in positions, or open strings are concerned.
2) As little difference as possible between going up the scale and going down.
3) Rhythmical independence of string and position change arranged so that, the notes are played on a string or in a position, groups of two or three note are formed.
4) No break in the scale because of bow changes.
5) Secure intonation.
6) Rhythm: a scale as practiced is a matter of mechanics.