spiccato

Which is why I often find myself most looking forward to a quiet moment when the violin, with barely noticeable accompaniment, plays a variation of the theme with bouncy spiccato and double stops.

The bow strokes range from a heavy, brutal martellato to a lighter spiccato so harsh and spiky as to turn the violin into a percussion instrument.

Spacek’s bow arm, too, is splendid; perfect distribution seemed to happen naturally, chords never scratched and the spiccato in the finale of the Saint-Saëns Sonata No. 1 had real teeth.

And he should add some grittier sounds to his palette, as well as a more biting spiccato.

And Mr. Tetzlaff was born to play the lightly bouncing spiccato flourishes in the penultimate “Mingling of Rainbows.”