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- Since the Baroque era, the violin (Baroque violin) has been one of the most important of all instruments in classical music, for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line. In the hands of an adept player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes. The violin is also considered a very expressive instrument, which is often felt to approximate the human voice. This may be due to the possibility of vibrato and of slight expressive adjustments in pitch and timbre. Many leading composers have contributed to the violin concerto and violin sonata repertories. Violins make up a large part of an orchestra, and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins (who are often given more technically difficult music), while second violins play harmony, accompaniment patterns or the melody in a lower range than the first violins. A string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the double bass. Some modern classical violinists are returning to the art of improvisation as an integral part of their classical music performance, with their own improvisations and embellishments in cadenzas, and even entire concerts through improvisation. These include Algerian-French violinist Gilles Apap, Finnish violinist-composer Pekka Kuusisto and Australian violinist-composer Rupert Guenther (en)
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