Study Note in San Leo: Rubato is Like Poetry

22 - 24 Aug 2025

"Rubato is like poetry. You cannot define it; the moment you define it, you destroy it. But that doesn’t mean it has no structure. In poetry, the language has its rules, and you need to know it inside out to truly digest the art. It is like longing for freedom within a cage. And the resistance against the cage is where the beauty lies.”

For three days, I attended a HIP masterclass under the guidance of Maestro Enrico Onofri. I listened to 14 lessons and had two myself, working on the Loure from J.S. Bach’s 3rd Partita and the Concerto No. 1 by W.A. Mozart.

What inspired me most during those days was not only witnessing Maestro Onofri's unlimited knowledge and vast range of expression in his playing but also seeing that he was never dictated by that knowledge and intelligence. He possesses an incredible library of information in his mind, yet his relationship with it is gentle, beautifully sensitive, and full of artistic freedom.

(Photos above by Jaime González:))

Here are some of my lesson notes:

-Dario Castello 2nd Sonata (Savio Dipalo)

French ornaments and appoggiaturas are different from Italian ones.

There are 4 elements in violin playing:

•instrumental

•speaking, talking 

•singing 

•dancing

He wanted to recreate the rhetoric of that time.

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania

Ciceronianism

Cadenza - to finish your sentence 

The second sentence comes a 5th higher, presenting more tension and with the character of insisting on something.

Each modus has different characters but the topics are the same, talking about the same thing - 4 times in different ways, in articulations, in rubatos.

The recitativo is not free improvisation; it's a dance.

Francesco Rognoni Taeggio (16th century violinist) 

Tempo was rigid.

Back then, spiccato was considered disgusting ;D

Tremolo - like a sigh - as the gesture of pushing your heart with your bow

-J.S. Bach Sinfonia (Jaime Gonzales, conducting)

Quantity 

French overture 

Concept of inégal and égal 

What is “égal” for our aesthetic is not really the same as how they perceived “égal” 

In terms of articulations and the lengths of the notes, forms - they were not as consistent as we are.

Physical space between the 1st beat and the 2nd beat 

You can slow down the orchestra by using the upper part of your arm

Difference between a March and overtures - in a March, lengthen the second beat, with some resistance 

The conductor is the servant of the orchestra 

Conduct the shape of the notes 

Use of the upper arm 

Psychology of the orchestra

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Above all the countless musical insights I gained during those three days, I will remember the warmth and generosity of Maestro Onofri and his wife, Maria-Cristina, who made us all feel so welcome.

Hugs,

Yuko