I spent a good portion of my prime violin practicing years learning a proper vibrato. I had to do finger exercises, retrain my left arm to hold the instrument differently, and waggle my arm up and down over and over until my hand flopped back and forth on my wrist in a graceful undulation instead of a stiff whap. I can now flatten the top joint of my left pinky in a way that my right pinky would fear meant it was broken. All these efforts delayed the advancement of my repertoire, since all else stopped while we concentrated on my vibrato. For without vibrato, a violinist is nothing. Conductor Roger Norrington might disagree, however. He wrote a NY Times article that laments the advent of the modern “vibrato era.” From Fritz Kreisler’s “gentle shimmer” grew the impressive constant warble that is fashionable today. Orchestras started a shift to continuous vibrato in the 1920s, starting with the French, and reaching the German and Austrian groups in the late 1930s. The implication is that during the lifetimes of the classical, romantic, and even many late romantic composers, vibrato was not a constant feature. Norrington argues for the return to pure tone, stating that “Because the sound is not glamorized, phrasing becomes more important. Nowadays symphony orchestras tend to rely on sound rather than shape.” If this belief spreads, musicians will no longer be able to hide poor tuning behind fancy vibrato technique. (andante.com writeup)