Let's talk a little about that marvelous instrument that Maestro Rieu
uses to make us dream ?

Can you think of any instrument in the whole world that is more sensual than the violin 
Is there an instrument with which the musician can identify himself as much ?
An instrument that is so kindly looked upon ?
Is there anybody out there who hasn't, at least once in his life, dreamed of being "reincarnated" as a Guarnerius or Stradivarius and being cradled in the crook of a violinist's neck ?
All I can say is that it is more enjoyable than to find yourself in a triangle or in a horn !

I have this habit (a bad one !) of saying : "It's unbelievable the type of emotion you can
bring across with just a few pieces of wood, a horse's tail and less than half of the scale !".
Oh, alright, so it's not a very elegant definition... But it's correct anyway.

All you need are four notes: Re, Sol, La and Mi and the next thing you know you are flying
off to an imaginary country.
They make you dream, sing, dance, laugh or cry. And, if on top of all this,
the artist really "lives" his music and is able to bring across his own emotion...it is heavenly

I'm not a musician. In fact I've never ever been able to learn the solfeggio...
And I can't say I didn't try. But I love music. When I say music I mean "real music"
not the noise that passes for music. Ah ! Music.
One of the rare things we still have left to escape life's problems.

By the way, did you know that the wood used to build violins are not the rare types you might imagine ? it's:  

Pernanbouc wood (usually from Brazil) is used for the bow, it is a hard yet extremely flexible reddish wood.

A wick made of about 150 "thorough bred" horse hairs is stretched from the head to the heel
and is parsimoniously coated with rosin.
The violin bow measures a little more than 70 cm and weighs around 60g.

But don't get the wrong idea !  The bow is not just an accessory.
It's the bow that makes the strings vibrate...
In other words it's the bow that makes the music.

The Luthier can to replace the wick on the bow, however, he does not manufacture bows.
It is the bowmaker who makes bows. Some bows are worth more than a violin.
Shows you how important it is to keep the bow in perfect condition.

Of course, it's nice to have a magnificent violin and a superb bow...
But if you don't know how to use them you are nowhere.

The violin's technicality is very complex and is the result of years of much work and daily training.
There is no other way to attain and master the wide variety of sounds a good violinist
is able to obtain from the instrument. In fact, the whole difficulty in playing the violin is
that it is up to the violinist to create the sounds. As compared to
the piano and the piano player it's worlds apart.

Well, if you have two hands it's to use them, right ?   

The left hand takes care of the violin.
The violin needs to be tucked in between the clavicle and the chin in order to give
the musician's fingers total freedom to roam across the strings.
The clarity of the sound is determined by the speed at which he moves his fingers .
The pitch is directly influenced by the pressure placed on the strings and the passage
from one to the other. A chord can be obtained when pressure is placed on two strings.
A light oscillatory movement ( the vibrato) slightly modifies the pitch.

The sequence and the continuous changes in the positioning of the fingers are crucial 
in the technique involved when playing  the violin.
Nonetheless,both serve to not only expand the range of sounds but also play
an expressive and esthetic role.

The right hand is in charge of the bow.

The index, the middle finger and the ring finger rest on the stick whereas the 
thumb presses against the frog . The pinkie is held  slightly apart and the ring finger is a little bent.
The wide movements of the arm is compensated and balanced off by the  continuous
repositioning of the joints of the fingers.  The palm of the hand is almost parallel with the stick.
As the hand repeats the forward and backward motions  it creates a motion resembling
a figure eight laying on its side. The bow is pressed more strongly at its point than at its heel.
It is important to maintain the bow as straight as possible keeping it at
a 90°   angle  with the vibrating string.
The speed of the movement made by the bow is very important for the dynamism of the sound.
The quicker the bow  the stronger the sound. The transfer from a string to the next is
done by lowering or lifting   the wrist.
If you place the fingers of the left hand  on two strings and simultaneously draw the bow
across them you obtain what is called a double string used for chords. 
In certain cases a third note can be held by means of a light bouncing movement!

Pressing a string with the index, the middle finger or the thumb is called
"pizzicato"( this is what we liked so much in Waltz No. 2)
As was the case of the  "twirling" created by the fingers of the left hand, the structure
and elegance utilized during bow stroking represent an important  source of expression for the violinist.

Is it really necessary to mention that the flexibility of the muscles and the joints is of utmost importance ?

I agree that these explanations are rather broad and far from explicit.
There are professionals who can certainly do a more thorough job of it.

My aim here was simply  to explain the violin in broad terms .
I have never felt my lack of musical  knowledge more than now.
Nobody is perfect. We are all good at something.

In a nutshell, it takes a lot of work for a violinist to become a "Virtuoso" or a "Maestro" .