Today’s professional orchestral musicians are highly specialized and highly qualified instrumentalists. While the traditional study at universities and music schools gives students an excellent foundation for orchestralplaying, it has long been acknowledged that it often does not prepare a musician for all the challenges of orchestral life. The Orchestral Violinist´s Companion imparts knowledge and skills essential for theorchestral violinist, extending on the musician’s high school or university education. This advice and training manual is intended to serve as a guide for the full course of a musician’s career from the preparation foranaudition to the long-term heavy work load in an orchestra. The volumes cover an abundance of themes, including: Practice techniques Sight-reading Daily practice routine Looking after yourbody Bow technique and tone production Left hand technique Pizzicato technique and other special techniques Rhythm and ensemble playing Notation and performance practice Preparing oforchestral parts Italian, French and German terms and abbreviations Knowledge of style Development of a core repertoire Preparation for auditions Coping with stage fright Coping withorchestral life Appreciation for the orchestra as a social environment Coping with the long-term physical and mental pressures in an orchestra Included is a detailed, annotated index of orchestralexcerpt collections, thematically relevant books and articles, and recent important studies on “Performance Science”. Chapters on essential practice and performance techniques include hundreds of examples from over 300 orchestralworks, which encompass the areas of symphony, oratorio, opera, operetta and ballet from the period between c. 1750 and 1950. In addition, there are exercises specifically designed to advance a player’s orchestraltechnique.