Julian Matthias and I: Playing second fiddle

I haven't sat down and worked out the stats but I'd say that 60-70% of the time that I've been in an orchestra I've played the second violin part.  So I've spent a fair amount of time literally playing second fiddle.  Which isn't always such a bad thing.

The second violin part usually doesn't get to play the melody often,  and many times if the melody is in the part it's to accompany the first violins who play it in a higher octave.  In early classical works the second violin, viola and cello play the same note over and over again, with no change in rhythm.  It gets boring because it's so easy, so I try to find ways to make it more interesting.  I try to memorize my own part, listen to the melody, think of my part as dots in a pointalist painting.  But at the same time I have to be careful not to wander off; I'm a daydreamer, impulsive with a slight tendency toward anarchy and have to wrangle my attention in and make every note blend in with everyone else's and in the context of the music. 

In my sophomore year in high school I placed in the second-to-last row of the second violin section of the orchestra.  I spent a lot of that year being passive-aggressive and acting it out in my playing.  I felt that I was unjustly placed in that part of the section, disliked my stand partner for no legitimate reason and sawed out my frustrations on my violin.  It was the worst seating placement I have ever received in an orchestra, but in retrospect I deserved it and it was good for me.  The music wasn't too demanding so I could spend less time practising and more time procrastinating studying.  We did play "The Sorceror's Apprentice" at the end of the year (the music that accompanies the famous bit from the movie Fantasia with Mickey and all the brooms) and that was nightmarish to play, and I regret that I didn't put as much time into it as I should have, considering all the technical demands.  If I had been in the first violin section I probably would've been grumbling about the music, anyway.

Playing second fiddle isn't always inherently exciting or interesting, but it is necessary, both in the structure of an orchestral work and as an experience that all violinists should have.  It's like spinach or broccoli, like a vegetable kids are forced to eat for the sake of nutrition and "building character".  Except that now I like spinach and broccoli and playing the second violin part.