Theory + style

• Counterpoint

  The art of weaving independent melodic lines that work together harmonically. Bach's unaccompanied works are the gold standard — one violin or cello producing two or three lines simultaneously. Audition panels listen for whether you can articulate the voice-leading without losing rhythm.

• Cadenza

  Solo virtuoso passage in a concerto, usually unaccompanied, often near the end of the first movement. The performer's chance to show off — Joachim's cadenzas to Brahms, Kreisler's to Beethoven, and Heifetz's to Tchaikovsky are the most-played.

• Period style

  Playing music in the bowing, vibrato, and articulation conventions of its era. Baroque (Bach, Vivaldi) is detached, lighter vibrato, gut-string sound. Romantic (Brahms, Tchaikovsky) is connected, heavy vibrato, modern bow weight. Audition panels listen for whether you can switch.

• Cantabile

  'In a singing manner.' Italian marking that asks for vocal-like phrasing — long lines, breath-shaped dynamics, the bow imitating a singer's lungs. The Bach Sarabandes, the slow movements of Mozart concertos, the Brahms sonatas all live in cantabile.

• Articulation

  How notes start, sustain, and end. Encompasses bow attack, length of note, and connection or separation between notes. The marking 'staccato' versus 'tenuto' versus 'legato' versus 'marcato' all describe articulation. Distinct from dynamics (volume) or tempo (speed).

• Tempo rubato

  Italian for 'stolen time' — flexible tempo within a phrase, slowing slightly at the apex or accelerating into a climax. The art is making it sound intentional, not nervous. Audition panels can tell the difference within one bar.

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