Posted by Charles Brooks on May 14, 1999 at 17:54:33:
In Reply to: "Right/Wrong"????? posted by Victor Sazer on May 14, 1999 at 06:51:39:
I study with the cellist from the New Zealand String Quartet (Rolf Gjelsten - student of Starker and Greenhouse) and they have a most interesting seating arrangement.
Appart from having the cello swapped with the viola (which in quartets is becomming more and mor common) the cellist is also on a podium and the other three players stand!
Trying this in by own quartet I found this to be very benificial. Violinists/violists usually practice standing up and it seems to help communication a lot. There is a large increase in body language whilst standing, and for the viola, who is facing sideways - it is much easier to turn out to the audience when it is required as you can easily turn by moving your legs rather than having to twist the upper back.
About the only drawback we found was that in long rehersals/performances fatigue came on a lot quicker. We now use a combination of both styles in our rehersals but usually peform standing.