Here the phrasing would become clearer and more intelligible if the legato signs were made to include the notes next to them in the following passages: (1) the E in the second bar; (2) as far as D in the fourth bar; (3) E in the sixth bar, (which would be better tied to the F♯); then in the following bar the two d’s could be played in one bow, &c.
It is still harder than in compositions by violinists or in pieces marked by them, to make the right changes of bow in the sense of the phrasing in the works of composers who are not thoroughly familiar with the technical handling of the violin, and whose indications of bowing are somewhat eccentric, or merely mark the difference between staccato and legato. Even our classical composers have not always been sufficiently strict in this respect, and the appropriate phrasing has been supplied by many violinists, as for example in the Quartets of Mozart and Beethoven.
The fingering is just as essential to correct phrasing as the bowing. Generally the changes of position are made so as to suit the requirements of the phrasing, that it may be rendered smoothly. This is particularly needful in long sequences of notes on one string.
In the first four bars the positions are not so well suited to the phrasing as compared to bars 5 and 6.
