This in-depth investigation into three of the main aspects of violin playing as they have manifested different eras of the twentieth century reveals the importance for musicians to understand different stylistic trends, and aesthetic tastes. Both of these have been, and will always be, subject to constant metamorphosis.
In the early twentieth century, violin playing was characterised by a more extreme use of tempo changes to signal contrasts of mood or tension, the general adoption of faster tempos, a greater variety of tempo rubato, the sparing use of vibrato and the frequent use of portamento as a means of expression. In the middle and late decades of the twentieth century, a trend towards greater power, firmness, clarity, control, literalness and evenness of expression became the main hallmarks. There was an emphasis on a sense of proportion in tempo changes, continuous vibrato to gain a more powerful tone and discreet use of portamento for greater clarity. Indeed, a precise and ‘perfect’ style of playing prevailed right up until the 1980s. The name Heifetz became and remains synonymous with this type of violinistic perfection. For more than half a century, he has set standards of performance by which all violinists are measured.
通过对20世纪不同年代小提琴演奏三个主要方面的探讨，我们可以得知音乐家了解不同时代音乐风格和潮流以及审美情趣的重要性。而音乐风格、潮流和审美情趣历来就处于不断的变化中。
20世纪早期，小提琴演奏的特点是大量使用节奏的变化来标志音乐情绪或冲突，人们倾向于使用节奏加快，多样化的自由节奏，尽可能避免使用揉弦和大量使用滑音来表现音乐。自20世纪中叶以来，强调更大的力量、坚定、清澈、控制、无修饰和平板的表述成了弦乐演奏的发展趋势。人们更重视节拍变化的尺度，连续使用揉弦来获得更丰富的效果，谨慎使用滑音使银色更加明朗清晰。当然，精确和完美的演奏方式在20世纪80年代才风靡一时。Heifetz几乎成立小提琴演奏登峰造极的代名词，因为在长达50多年的时光中，他为所有小提琴演奏者设立了争相效仿的标准。
