I once got chided by an orchestral violinist for writing 'stratospheric violin parts'. 'Why don't you just use the warm and rich open G, D or A strings?' she asked. 'Well, I could.... but then it wouldn't sound like me', I replied.
She was irked.
The truth is, I love high (very high!) violin section writing. It's icy and glassy. There's lots of 'frosty' violin section writing in this piece and a few open low G strings to suit everyone.
Violin I, Violin II, Violas, Violoncelli, Double Basses, Harp
Lovely and lush. Love how it constanly builds and swells. Really adds to the emotion of the piece.
I remember back in college the entire French horn section having a similar conversation as you had with the violinist over a composition by a graduate student. Not just most of it being above middle C, but also a ridiculous number of sharps in the key signature for a French horn. So I get it, but those high strings do sound fantastic.
