Zweite Violine

As Printed on a Score

Labels the second-violin staff in German scores — Zweite Violine or Zweite Violinen; Violine II or 2. Viol. — with Zweite Viol. on later systems. The name may also be reprinted inside a system beside a change of texture, as a reminder of who is playing.

Abbreviations: Zweite Viol., II. Viol., 2. Viol.

Also spelled: Zweite Violinen, Violine II

How Composers Use It

The second violins sit just below the firsts in range and role: they double the tune a third or an octave lower, fill the inner harmony, or answer the firsts in dialogue. With the older seating that puts the two sections on opposite sides of the conductor, such exchanges are heard across the stage; with both sections on one side, they blend into a single body.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, second movement, second-violin part, m. 551: “Zweite Viol.” printed inside the part beside “a.3.” and “pizz.”, at p.

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