ABSTRACT
Reciprocal influence is evident between the French and German treatises of the early nineteenth century. Like their Parisian counterparts, none of the Dresden School pedagogues used an endpin, so by necessity held the cello relatively upright. Commonalities in their technique include low positioning for both arms, a high right wrist, and active forearm and wrist movements in bowing. In thumb position, Bernhard Romberg teaches hand shape using a cork between forefinger and thumb. Johann Justus Friedrich Dotzauer teaches portamento shifts as an expressive device, while Romberg recommends same-finger shifts if they enable the smallest possible shifting distance. Dotzauer, Friedrich August Kummer, and Sebastian Lee use Duport’s “square” position, in which the joints are rounded and the fingers perpendicular to the string. Dotzauer, who is credited with being the first cello pedagogue to teach vibrato, describes it as a “tremolo” executed with the wrist. Kummer extends double-stopping technique by combining them with trills and double trills.
