why is the violin (and especially the first violinist) the most important instrument in an orchestra?
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In a modern orchestra, it could be argued that the principal players of each section are equal in importance. But the principal 1st violinist gets the special title of “concertmaster” and a little extra respect and responsibility for largely historical reasons, although they do still carry over today.
The orchestra first came into existence in the very late Renaissance period to early Baroque period. In these times, the ensemble was either just strings, or had a very small number of other instruments, such as just a pair of oboes. The woodwind and brass instruments either didn’t exist yet, were too primitive and limited in their capabilities to keep up with the nimble strings, or in some cases with brass and percussion were thought of as instruments of war and too uncivilized for the concert stage. The earliest orchestras also didn’t have conductors, and so it fell to the concertmaster to lead entrances and cutoffs. The violin usually has the melody, and the instrument being held aloft with the longest bow sticking up in the air makes it easy to see their motions.
As the ensemble got bigger and the compositions got more complex, conductors became mandatory. Today more of the leadership goes to the conductor, but the principals of each string section are still responsible for making bowing decisions, and the other string section principals will defer to the concertmaster when unity across the whole string section is needed. And even though the modern orchestra is much larger, the bulk of the music still tends to be carried by strings, so the person in charge of the strings remains the most important player overall.
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