ABSTRACT
The beginnings of violin playing and teaching in the United States (US) are often described as resulting from several transformative nineteenth-century changes that swept the US classical music scene. The Mannes School of Music survived many obstacles and continues to provide exceptional educational opportunities for young musicians today. However, it is the three immigrant violinists from Russia, Ivan Galamian, Josef Gingold, and Raphael Bronstein, along with the first internationally recognized American woman violin pedagogue, Dorothy DeLay, who would define the pedagogical practices of the American violin school. Like his Russian teacher Konstantin Mostras, Galamian emphasized mental control over physical movements as the key to technical mastery. His knowledge and understanding of bowing techniques were further refined through his studies with his French teacher Lucien Capet. Bronstein explained that the old approach of endless repetition meant to cultivate intonation that rarely produces consistently reliable results.
