String sections in an orchestra commonly have their parts marked so that all players switch bows at the same time. This job is usually performed by the principal player in that section. In my former community orchestra, however, the conductor decided to have a professional violinist---who happened to be my private violin teacher---bow the parts instead. I noticed that she wrote her initials, "V.S." at the bottom of one of the pages, which I thought was a little strange; it's hardly a difficult or creative enough task that it justifies a personal signature.
Years later, I've discovered that V.S. in fact did not stand for her name, but is an abbreviation for volti subito, or "turn page quickly".
- Language Lover
- In no particular order: mom, engineer, activist, polyglot, violinist, Unitarian Universalist
4 comments:
and to think when i saw your headline, i thought this was about v.s. naipaul. silly me.
i love insight into other worlds, especially any having to do with classical music...
I didn't even know who V. S. Naipaul was, until I looked him up following your comment. Insight into other worlds, indeed. Thank you.
Funny! I've been singing with a group that specializes in recently commissioned choral works. The group changed its name from San Francisco Chamber Singers to Volti precisely because it sees it self as 'turning the page' musically speaking. :-)
http://www.voltisf.org
That's awesome, Celeste. I knew about the group (probably from you) but didn't make the connection from name to mission. Obviously, my Italian leaves a bit to be desired. :)
Post a Comment