An analysis of a performance by the violinist D. Oistrakh: the hypothetical role of postural tonic-static and entourage movements.

In an interdisciplinary research project carried out by a violinist and a psychophysiologist which is based on a videotape of a performance by the violinist, David Oistrakh, we draw attention to certain postural attitudes and movements which appear in sequences of his rendition of the Brandenburg Concerto N. 4 by Bach and the Concerto for Violin in D Major by Mozart. These postural attitudes and movements occur with a certain regularity and are particular to each piece of music. For example, in the Brandenburg Concerto, one can observe rhythmic oscillations of the musician's whole body, with a shifting of the weight (alternanza di appoggio) from the left to the right foot. The performer's movements were compared with corresponding points of the musical score. Within this analytical framework, we hypothesize that these movements have not only a mechanical postural role but an expressive aesthetic one.