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Demetrius Constantine Dounis

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Name
  
Demetrius Dounis


Died
  
August 13, 1954

Demetrius Constantine Dounis httpsstatic1squarespacecomstatic55b19157e4b

D.C. Dounis : Nocturne (Chopin)


Demetrius Constantine Dounis (also Demetrios), also known as D. C. Dounis (Greek: Δημήτριος Κωνσταντίνος Δούνης; c.1886 to 1894 – August 13, 1954), was an influential teacher of violin and string instrument technique, as well as violinist, violist, and mandolin player.

Contents

Demetrius Constantine Dounis Dounis Demetrius Constantine The Dounis Collection Eleven Books

Life and work

Demetrius Constantine Dounis The Artists Technique of Violin Playing Dounis Demetrius

Considerable uncertainty prevails on the subject of Dounis's early life, beginning with the date of his birth in Athens, variously given as 1886 (according to most library catalogues), 1893, or 1894. He is said to have performed his first violin recital at the age of 7, and to have toured the United States as a mandolinist at 14. He studied under František Ondříček in Vienna, where he also took a medical degree, specializing in neurology and psychiatry. He also studied in Paris with César Thomson. After World War I, when he served as a doctor in the Greek army, he was appointed to the chair in violin at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, but soon established himself in the United States.

Demetrius Constantine Dounis The Artists Technique of Violin Playing Dounis Demetrius

Dounis focused his early medical career on treating professional musicians from the world's major symphonies. He would work with a musician for at least six months, observing the musician's technique, asking questions, and devising new exercises to indirectly address the problem. Dounis also wrote several instructional books. In his 1921 volume The Artist's Technique of Violin Playing, Dounis emphasized the importance of shifting and finger exercises. These were to develop the musician's mental map at the beginning of practice, after which scale drills would be more effective.

Selected works

Demetrius Constantine Dounis D C Dounis Interview Master The Cello
Dounis Violin Pedagogics
Demetrius Constantine Dounis Emily Stewart Violin

  • The Artist's Technique of Violin Playing: A New Scientific Method for Obtaining, in the Shortest Possible Time, an Absolute Mastery of the Higher Technical Difficulties of the Left Hand and of the Bow, Op. 12 (1921)

    • Demetrius Constantine Dounis Dounis Demetrios Constantine Specific Technical Exercises for
    1. First Part: The Left Hand
    2. Second Part: The Bow

  • The Absolute Independence of the Fingers in Violin Playing on a Scientific Basis (in 2 Books), Op. 15 (1924)
    1. The Absolute Independence of Three Fingers
    2. The Absolute Independence of Four Fingers
  • Preparatory Studies in Thirds and Fingered Octaves on a Scientific Basis for Violin, Op. 16 (1924)
    1. Thirds
    2. Fingered Octaves
  • Fundamental Trill Studies on a Scientific Basis for Violin, Op. 18 (1925)
  • The Dounis Violin Players' Daily Dozen to Keep the Violinist Technically Fit for the Day's Work: Twelve Fundamental Exercises for the Left Hand and the Bow, Op. 20 (1925)
  • The Staccato (The Accented Legato, the Accented Staccato): Studies on a Scientific Basis for the Highest Development in Staccato-Playing on the Violin, Op. 21 (1925)
  • Preparatory Studies in Octaves and Tenths on a Scientific Basis, Op. 22 (1928)
    1. Octaves
    2. Tenths
  • Fundamental Technical Studies on a Scientific Basis for the Young Violinist, Op. 23 (1935)
  • Specific Technical Exercises for Viola (Left Hand – Bow Arm), Op. 25 (1941)
  • New Aids to the Technical Development of the Violinist, Op. 27 (1935)
    1. The Independence of the Bow from the Left Hand
    2. A Neglected Phase in the Study of Thirds
  • Studies in Chromatic Double-Stops for the Violin, Op. 29 (1942)
  • The Higher Development of Thirds and Fingered Octaves: Twenty-four Advanced Formulas for the Violin, Op. 30 (1944)
  • Advanced Studies for the Development of the Independence of the Fingers in Violin Playing on a Scientific Basis, Op. 33 (1945)
  • The Development of Flexibility in Violin Playing: Studies on Scientific Principles for the Fingers and the Bow, Op. 35 (1945)
  • Chopin Étude, Op. 25 No. 6 for Violin (in 2 Books) (1945); technical studies after Frédéric Chopin's Étude, Op. 25 No. 6
    1. In Thirds
    2. In Tenths
  • The Development of Flexibility, Studies on Scientific Principles for Violin, Book II: Change of Position Studies, Op. 36 (1947)
  • Essential Scale Studies, on Scientific Basis, for the Development of the Rhythmic Impulse of the Fingers for Violin, Op. 37 (1947)

    • References

    Demetrius Constantine Dounis Wikipedia
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