... - ~.~

AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETYAmerican Chapter

of the

INTERNATIONALE VIOLA FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFr

November NKtNSLETTEFt 21

A MESSAGE FftOK OUR NEW PRESIDENT-. - - -_.-_--

19t5l

A Tribute to Myron ftoaenblulD

I want to thank the members of the American Viola Society for trle honoryou have beatowed on me in the recent electiona. I am indeed grateful, butalac awed by the responsibility of being the prei1dent of the American ViolaSociety. It wll1~be very difficult to fill the ahoes of Myron Roaenblum, thefounder of our Society. Durin! hi. tenure as prealdemt, the society member­ah1p has grown to over 38' memberlil. For many yearl, Myron was the preslden.t,secretary, treasurer, and edltorof the Newsletter of our organization. Inaddition, his home was stored with booka, music, and recordinga w·hich werema.de available to members of the Society at reduced ratel. Mra. Pto8enblumahould a1ao receive due credit for a811atanoe and interest in this project,which did not include any monetary profit.

The New.letter, which Myron hal ed1ted, hag been a. source of information1n all ares.& perralnin~ to the viola. ",:tTe all regret that this will be thela&t Newiletter written by Myron. He will continue, however, to contributearticles and act a8 .n advlaer for future issues.

The recently ratified iy-La.wl of the American Viola Society provide thatthe immediate Past-Prealdent will contluue to serve aa an officer. Thil 1.indeed fortunate for the new president. I aha.II rely on Myren for advice andaaalatance during the next two yeara, whenever new problema confront theSociety.

A new alate of officer; 18 expected to atate ita objective. for the comingterm of office. Th18 iubject will be covered more completely in the nextlaRue of the Newaletter, after the new Board of Directors has been aelected,8.nd after it fiai been possible to !et their recommends.tiona. An immediategoal for the Society ahould be to attain a larger membership. Everyone in the··Society 18 ur!ed to bring 1n new membera. The alma of the American ViolaSociety can be attained ·to ahlgher desree if we have the support of moreviollats.

I know that all members of the Society join me in saying, "Our thank. toyou, Myron, for a job well done.·'

Maurice W. Riley

AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY, INC.: Dr, Maurice Riley, Prea1dent, 512 Roosevelt Blvd.,Ypal1&ntl, MI 49197; Dr. DW1~ht Pounds, Vice-President, 1713 Karen st., Eow11n!Green, KY 42101; Harold Klatz, Secretary, 1124 Maple Ave., Evanaton, IL 61212;Dr. Ann. Woodward , Treasurer, 209 W. University Drive, Chapel'Hill, NO 27514.Editor of the Amerioan Cha.pter Newaletter: Myron Ro&enblum.The Amer108.n Viola society is the American ChQPter of the Internationale ViolaForschungspe&Jellachaft (I"TIFG), A-582v) Sslzbur!, Hochachule "Mozarteum," Austria.

-2-

The ,9th International Viola Congress

June 11 - 14, 1981

The Unlver'81ty of Toronto, Canads-

Toronto, one of the major cltlea in Canada, played hOit to the 9th Inter­national Viola Congre81i1 •. Under the lJuperb admlnlstr8tlon of A. Baird Knecrltel.and the Unive rei ty of I' oronto, thi8 congre Ii Ii proved to be a aupe rlor one onall eounta. Baird, an ea.rly member of the society and the head of the Canad1anchapter ov~rcame al'l obstaclea with seeming eaaa, 1ncludlD! that of managingthecongreaa 'at 'the game time hill wife gave birth to their third child.

The Uriiveraity of Toronto offered fine dormitories, a lovely a,ampUI. withpleasant walks and well-kept lawn. and excellent mUQ1c facilities. The ma­jority of events took placeln the lrlalter Hall of the ~dward JohnaonBulldingof the Faculty of Nuala, with the larger concerta (with orchestra) in theMacmillan Theatre.

The tenor of the c'ongre is . was set on Tb.uraday, June 11th in the late after­noon when we all assembled for a reception on a bright, .un-lit day. Almost4Qi vlo11eta, teachers, aolclata, student., and viola enthus1aata from canada,America, Australia, Germany, Auatrla, aua.i_, Italy, and other countrle.gathered and mixed in great friendship and common cauae. The Great Hall ofHart Houae on the university campus WRi the setting for a dinner and concert,preceded by welcome speecnes by Baird Knechtel and Simon Streatfield.

The Iaraell-born-Candian violist. ~lvka Golanl-Erdeaz performed Handel'.Sonata in G minor, Bernd Aloia Zimmerman's Sonata for Viola Alone, Schumann'gMirchenb11der, David Jae~er '8 Fool' & ParB.dlse for amplified viola. and twojercusllonlstl, and "'tTeber'g Andinte 8nd HUn!8,r1an !tondo. Owing to the verypoor acoust1oa in the hall, it was difficult to really haa.r rv:s. Gola.ni-Krdeazas Qhe really pl&.ya. David Jaeger' a piece seemed a fascinating one and thllwriter yearned to hear it in a more fla.tterlng concert hall.

Solo recital. were ~1ven major Candlan, AmericaR, Italian, and KUlilanartiste. In addition to Ma. G91anl-Erdelz'a recital on Thuraday night, weheard steven nann, Fecdo.r Druabyn1n, Raphae] Hillyer, Jerzy Koamala, ltobertVerebei, Ulrioh VOR ~roch.m, and Bernard Zaalav in recital. of unulual variety.steven Dann, assi2ted by Bruce Vogt, pianist, and Gerald Corey, heckelphoneplayer, performed H1ndemltb.'a Sonata, 0'."25, no. 4 and Iiach's Sons.ta. in DM·a·jor, both for viols. and piano, and Hindemlth t s rarely-performed Trio, OPe47 for viola, heckelphone, and piano. This young, talented Canadian artlatwaa impressive, &me~lne: ~reat verve and musicality 11l' hi; perform8.ocea. ·~~re

underatand that Mr. Dann head.' for the Amsterdam Concertgebeouw' Orehe'a-t ra" .atheir new prlnc1palvlo11st. Hobert Vereb•• , aali.teo. by William Aids ,layed• concert fe8_tur1n~C•.nadla:n music for the viola. Hi. program conalated ofLe aIle Mann' 8 'lmpre aa1 on18tle-Hlnde ml t h1an Sonata j And.re Prevost' a tenleImp~o,1.atlon No.3 for viola alone and Milton ~arnea' Ballade, also forvfola _loiier-and jian Coulthard t. Sona.ta 1!hapaody (1962' for viola and piano.Mr. Verebea 11 one of the veteran viola Jilolo1ata and teacher. 1nCanada and,greatly lmpresisd those of ua hearing him for the first time.

Ulrich von Wroohem from Mila. gave a moat intriguing recital of mu&lc forunaccompanied viola which conalsted of G.mlnlani t a Ada!10 e Fuga, ien ZionOrged'a Monologue, M. Peps'a Sonata (eomm18a1oned for the 9th Viola Congrea8and dedicated to Baird Knechtel), lIerlo' i S.~uenza, and liach' 8 Chaconne.

The appearanee of the !rea.t Jiuaa1aa violist' J Feodor Drushynln (his firstin North America to the best knowledge of this' writer) eauaed much excitement.Mr,. Druahyn1n, a Profealor at the Ivloacow Cona·!rvatory, hea.d of tha1r violadepartment linee 1976, and a member of The Beethoven C'uartet ~ ahowed h1maelfto be a ~rest arti8t in Sach'. G Major aonata, schumann's Adagio and Allegro,hie own Sonata for uDaccempan1ed viola, and Shoatakov1ch'. Sonata, which the

-3-

compoaer dedioated to Mr. Druahynln. The performer's wide variety of dynamics,ahad1ng, contraat of ~ulet and vibrant playing, and wonderful bow arm weremost convincing 1n his own lonata--a tour·;:de ·force, v1rtuoao piece. HisSchumann was filled with much poetic playln~. Mr~ Drushynln treated hi. audi­ence to the Brahms Lullaby as an encore.

Althou!h the emphallatoday 1s on original works for viola, Raphael Hillyerand Jerzy Koamala made stron~ cases for performing tranQcrlpt1ona. In thehands of superior artiste, transcrlptlona work. Raphael Hillyer performedtwo of his own transcrlptlons--Leonard Bernstein's Sonata for viola and piano(originally for clarinet 8.nd piano) and liartok' a sonata for unacoompaniedviola (after the unacoompanied violin sonata), and the Franck Sonata in AMajor transcribed by V1eland/H111yer. Onoe again, Mr. Hillyer impressedas one of the major viola aololata around today.

Jerzy Koamala's recital waa devoted entirely to Follah mualc for viola inhis own transcriptlona. Chopin's Sonata in G Minor, OPe 65 (after the celloand piano sonata) , szymanowak1'a Sonata in D Minor, OPe 9 (tranacrlbedfrom the violin an~ plano sonata) ,and "!toxana's song" helped reinforcethe validity of performing tranacrlpt1ona.

iernard zaalav, aasisted by hie wire Naomi on piano, played the finalconcert of the congress. The Zasla.vs' Interpretat·1ona ·or· Elliot· Carter,I .•Pastorale, Brahma' Sonata in F Minor, Ml1haud'l Sonata No.2, and FrancescoTrev8.ni t & Sonata No.1 in E Flat were beautifully played. It was a delightto hear Mr. Zaslav perform on hla small, but large-sounding J.B. Guada~nlnl

instrument. .Chamber music for viola was represented by three ooncerts. The Kennenaon

Trio from Canada, Carolyn Kennenaon, viola, Claude Kennenaon, cello, andJanet Scott Hoty, piano played ·Eugene Zador'liI Duo Fantaay, ioccherlnl t ISonata in· C Minor, and Violet Arober'a Sonata for viola, ~ello, and piano,written in 1976.

The styrian Chamber Tr1o--Franz Zeyrln!er, viola, Josef PottIer, B,ndIn!ebor! Ertel, piano prelented three works for this intriguing combination.Fetitlonen by Paul Walter Furat, Jan Zdenek Bartoa' Trio (world premiere),ilid ;eet6oven'a, Op. 11 Trio were very well played 'by all three art1ata.

Mua1c for Multiple Viola••· directed by Thomas Tatton, offered music byieethoveD, iowen, Anton Wranltaky, Paul Piak, and Gordon Jacob. These en­ae"mble piece for three to eight violas were played by Mr. Tatton, EleanorTatton, Baird Knec~tel, John iarnum, Susan L1pchak, and other member. ofCanadian orcheatraa. This music 11 always fun to hear.

Master Claases were given by two of the 20th century's greatest performeraand teachera--W1111am Primrose and Lillian Fuchl. Mr. Pr1mroae'a class waadevoted exclusively to the ~ach Sultea 1n Mr. Primrose's own edition. Pre­fa.c1ng the actual playing J lvir. Primrose apoke of the trad1 t10n of liaehper"form­.nc~,tb.e early manuscript; of the suitss, the inherent elegance of the worka,and problem; of tempo. We then heard 80m. good. play1ns of exoerpts from thefirst four lultea.

Lillian Fuoha t first appee.rs.noe at a viola oongress was Lnet with grs&tapplsuae and enthusiasm. Those aee1n~ and hearing her for the first timewere impressed at her ener~y I her musical insight, and her sense of humor.Two talented -youll@ ladies played Mozart'; Duo in Gin whioh Miss Fuchsstressed phrasing, the operatic line of Mozart, and the oontraat of theme ••aptly demonstrated by her. Following lwlozB.rt t we heard movements -trem ~tb.e.·.

Tele mann and t~Ha.ndel"-.;Casade aus v 10 la conce rtos. M1 sa Fucha was honor'ed bythe American Viola Society 1. belne presented with a scroll in appreciationof her important contributions &8 a performer" teacher, and. recording artlat.

There was one lecture-discuss1on-- tt The Viola Bow, A Perspective Lecture­Dlscuaaion & Question Period" given by Ja.ak Ll1voja and two lecture-recitals.Hani-Karl Piltz from the University of S·r1t·lah Columb1a op~ned the Fr1d.aymorning seaa10ns with his lecture-recital,- "Neglected Baroque Music forViollats. tt Prof. Piltz spoke of the differences between the modern a.pproach

-4-

\l .'.

,;;7. £..1,,;;; . _i.e,;.}., \.

lit 11 :l'IN~SRNATION.AL:Jl,lI OL2\ fie ONGRZSS :\';The-:i.tti Vj; ol!['JCengr~8 si.JWilQ;.;talfe·}' plae,e',

to viola playing as opposed to the current interest in th.e tlbBro~uett

performance practioe of playing to a small hall. He spoke about lower pitch(approximately A'= 415), use of gut strings for the A and D strings andbaroQue aspects of holding and using the bow. Brief mention was made ofscordatura notation. Piltz 111uetrated his talk with mus1c by Johann PaulWesthoff, Nicholas Matthela, Thomas Baltzar, Domenico Gabriell, some Anony­mous Allemandei and an Adagio by de Tremala. As fascinat1ne as this talkwas, one could only wish that the· music he performed wag originally forviola instead of violin.

lJIyron Rosenblum's Isotupe-recital des·It \-J1trl "The lviusic for 'Viola d'amoreand Viola." fAith the fine artistic support of Ralph Aldrich, Baird Knechtel,SU sanLlpchak (all vi o11st a), Chrl s 1,afealt, bas.8oon ,. Margaret Baraton J t cello,Jane McAdam, double basa, and Harry Dank., viola d'amore, Rosenblum's talkcovered the· re pe rt 01 re for this c cmb inat 1 on from Graupne r t o.Staml t zandRust to Arcidiacono in the 20th century. Harry Danka, former principalof tile London BBC Orohestra and viola d 'amore player of note,was ·gra.o1oUIenough to agree to perform ex.e·r.ptl from the stam1tz Duo for viola d t amore andviola and the Graupner Slnfon1a for viola d' amore, 3 violas, basaoon,oello,and oontinuo. The other works performed by ltoaenblum and Aldrich were Ruat'.Duetto al1~' Aurel'10 Aroldla.cono'a Due Iv:oviment1, both for viols d'amore andv1ola.

The two concerts for viola. and orchestra. provided some of the moat ex­cltlnE playing of the congress. TheCongree Nine Symphony Orchestra (aadeup largely' of me:rbera from the Toronto symphony) e:ave very profaslillonaliupport in mus10 by Berlioz, Hummel, Jacob. Bruch, and, Bartok. Paul Neubauerwag the impressive viola soloist in Hummel's Fantas1e and Gordon Jacob'aConoerto No.. 2 for. v1~,1.aand.,,·orcheatra,., After·· lnter/mlsalon, Donald 'l~lcln[l~iI

iuperbl~perf6rmed Bruet1:~ilf;):ftOmanze aftd"the*":aartok':'~oneer~b(~Si:m~ij ~t'reiitfe!:l~.the .;;.ooaQ::yctlOl', d id/'>a (,iile J: ~~otr.>a.~\·~ mU"'lcal d l·re·ctor,,·, 'a Itholigh' ~6ne,.:.w+ah~'d tar·t:.:,:):;::;a bit more senalt1v1ty in letting the viola soloists b .• heard:~·jabove',"tti.·~,··'~oreb.eat,ra • ~,- ~~.. .r:. i'X E; (~en r.~ .;.:; :-'~,i ;~\~ ,it ;".; ,j' i:·.~;

, Then1iecond;,orche's t ira Ii,:; ctSne~rt, (:'Qnd uct"ed"bl\nthe. faTa~[f':'?ori,i ~!e;~fid ~ct or""'!°and v!lo11it. Uri'. Maye ~; fa e t UPed ,;'Ra1ph1\A ldpi'ch;;1' ilnd<Z: R":1.vk.a i~:'GoHi n}~Kro i.,~.~~t~"""the viola ioloists.. j,ftet- Me'ndeli8ohn' ~"; Sln~on1a;)N'G~,.e,·" f~r:;'~~r~fi!l(rJft~lPq :)OJ

AId rtdh pe rf~rmed"God frey,,: ardou!t '!;8Ilia±lid'e~il,:~nd1~~liade . :U: tt li~ latte.ri\'a/eolDmlss1 Oiled ,::.~w ork'; for.\';~be..congp~ i aJ·. t"o.r",v1 ola:,.n~:;.tr!ng ,f()~et4~I,~rj., ~une t'u~musieuYe:ry:.::,beaut ifI.111y;;pleyed,.by'tthe '''80161 ist '~'" .I~'H ;'G91an.f~Mtde.,z.8:Jfd~tHi!~j":

~:~fri~;e~~~~~:;~n~~~~~:~f~~a:'6;~:~;t;:~:~~~;~2t~~~~::g;~~;;~:.:~~:~;~;f:B6~~'~;:'i;:In 2:Iv!l!IOibr,ltlm t'or':Yi~If:£.· tl,ndJSfFifie;a." SO~<?i~t8~'}ebridu·cH o~,~, 'i1atrq, (H"Che'stZ".~P!a1ed

loved by all those who particiPated •.................. '.' ' ,.;I.<~G,;',!r. ~','The "e~n~re a'liI wa i'.;a, grea t :~:~811Ccess i :':It'' walil:e;'x·t :NIme]~y we 11'!, 0 re-a;ri1~e d~ ;;::tlelq in

a mo st<L Comfort~ble .·::·and '. i U1;t~:Bbl~e· ·-it rob lan,c~e j;.i ~:c 0l'1ta l'ne~: :,·l"a~t~l· j··tf,c~' i.....;a"ri4:ou;{a'1 (fa~l' '::;ey,e'rft &1oft herr'.h1:ghe s t ::'" Ij.u·a11·t'-·y., .G'··:'Q,.r1d J s.: e-: ·(w it h t· pa~8 t >'·'11 10 is: c on·g·pe~ i'ae ~~.~j~ ha'd:--;a:' ;::*' q'rla,~'.'rfU'~liplr1t of.~.. 'ca.ma:r'1"d·:'·er'1•.~':·\";·-- Bi!av·oriGan~jjd:a~,;· , " C:' ~<{ 2':';·:i':,S.l.JC~t~,;,

-5-

v·l~61~n-Consortlum stuttgart (music by Lupo, lvIorley, Locke, Ortiz, Scheidt,and 5iber), a chamber music concert (music by J. Weinreich, X. Thomas, v.d'Indy), the WUrttemberg state Orchestra (music by Berl0, Fortner, andthe world premiere of Wolfgang Fortner'a Concerto Grosso per Viole e Or­cheitra), and a concert of chamber music of Alessandro Rolla. Among theaolo recitals, Prof. E. santiago of stuttgart will perform music by ChauaQon,Reuter, and Vieuxtempa. A group of violists from the -i.,vUrttemberg orchestrawi 11 pe rform mus 1 c for vi olas by TI\:Te inz1e rl, Be ethoven, Henze (~~orld premiere),Cage, and Dale. Also performed at this congresa tor the f1rat time will betwo hitherto unknown and unpublished 8010 sonatas for viola by Hindemlth,dating from 1923 and 1937. Lecturea by Ulric-h DrDner, Dr. Luigi Inzagh1,Dr. D. Rexroth, Dr. G. Schubert, Dr. Wolfgang Sawodny, and Prof. FranzZeyringer will be on Hindemith, A. Rolla, the viola in 18th-century religiousmusic, viola problema, Wagner and strings, and other themes. Although thisis an initial program and there are likely to be changes of format and con­tent, this congress looks like it will be an important one. The Internation­al Viola Research Society will be- sending for:lal announcementa of the con­greaa to all members aDon after the New Year.

* * * * * *

127 votes6 votes

125 votes3 votea

97 votes35 votes

1 vote

100 votes28 votea

1 vote

Ann \t/oodward J

Barbara Hardin,','!rl te -in vote s,

Harold Klat z,ltobe rt Sch1ebe r,~i,rr1te-1n vote s,

Secretary:

TreaBurer,

Vice Pres.: DWight Pound&,'fi4fri te-in vote s,

ELECTION RESULTS: Of the votes received by Robert Slaughter for the electionof ne\.~ officers. of the Amer1cB.n -viola Society, these are the results:

Pre s ident: l-ia uri ce Rile y ,~~r1 te-1n votes

Con~ratulationl to Maurice Riley, Dwight Pounds, Harold Klatz, and Ann Wood­ward to their election as the new offlceri of the American Viola Society. Wewish them great auccess and appreciate their time and contributions to thesociety and the viola. The Society would also like to thank Prof. Slaughterfor his time in receiving and tallying the votes. Thanks also to theother candidates who so graciously offered to run for office.

* '* '* '* * *YEARbOOK OF THE IVFG: The third Yearbook, The Viola is in preparation now.The editor, Dr. Wolfgang sawodny, in an effort to improve the English trana­lation,8ika for help from any member of the AVa whose German 18 good enoughto assist in translating or refining the translations from German into Eng­liah. If you can &pare aome time and contribute to this Journal, contact Dr.sawodny at Elchenweg 27, D-7915 Elchingen 2~ West Germany.

CONCERTS: An lntereatlng chamber musio concert took place la'st August, 1981in Avery Fisher Hall, New York City. Included on the program was an arrange­ment of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola for atr1ng sextet.Published in 1805 by an unknown arranger, it 11_ scored for two violine, two

-6-

violaa, and two cellos. As performed by ~1ncha8Zukerman a..nd Arnold Steinhardt,vio11nists; Michael Tree and Toby Appel, violists; and Lynn H~rrel1 andTimothy Eddy, celllata, the New York Tlmea' critic gave the transcription amOQt favorable review.JOHN GRAHAM participated as viola soloist in the Kunmo Featlval, Finland inJuIYJ~I: and then went to Shanghai and Peking during August and Septemberwhere he Fave master classes.NElN l\11USIC'" FOR VIOLA, Tina Pellk&.n, vlo11at and founder of New 1vlua1c for Viola,WIll give .-conceri in New York on November 23, 1981. The program will includeLinda Bouchard' &I, Before the 01 tyaet for eight violaa and a trio in the bal­cony (oboe, French horn, and perousa1on),John Os.ge's Dream for 8010 'viola andviola ense mble., Elias Tanenbaum' i Duo for viola and guitar, Herbert Haalam' 8

Haiku Set for viola and cello. V10list Karen Tuttle will also give the NewYork premiere of Robin Herahkowltz ' a work for 8010 viola. Llnda Bouchard 18a forme r pupil of Ja.cob Glick and dedicated her Ma Lune lvlall:ane for flut8 J- ------ ----viola, harp, and percussion to him.EMANUEL VARDI gave a 8010 recital in .~11ce Tully Ha.ll, New York on November 8,1981. --Hla program included Haydn I s Divertimento <, arranged for viola by GregorP1a.t1goraky), Hindemithta Sonata, OPe 11, no. 4, De Falla'; Suite PopulalreEspa~ol (arra.nged by Kochanski a.nd adapted by E. var(1), Seymour Barib 1 a-DuoNo: 2 for viola and plano (world premiere), the Each Chaconne, and Vard1'.Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Paganln1 (world premiere).SIft MICHAEL TIPPETT'S Triple Concerto for violin, viola, and oello W&Iperformeaoy Frlt"zS6gal, violinist, Randolph Kelly, violist, and Anne 1~1artin­dale, celllat with the P1tt;burgh symphony_on November 18, 1981 in CarnegieHall, New York. Th1a~ wal the firat New York performance of this work.

VIOLA CLUB OF THE NORTHWEST: William Primrose, the world-renowned violist, washonoreOiIi seame on Auguat 28th, 1981 at a. Gala Concert .ponaoredby thenewly-formed Viola Club of the Northw6at at the Nippon Kan Theater. Primroaewai invited to Seattle by the President of the Viola Club, Ylzhak Schotten,a former 2tudent of hi; and the resident violist at the University of Waihing­ton. The first half of the Gala Concert featured the viola in varioua combina­tiona with performances by Hans-Karl Piltz of the Un1verilty of ir1t1ihColumbia, Charmian Gadd of ~~~eatern 'Ns8hlngton Unlvera1ty, Richard Skerlong,principal violist of the Seattle symphony (who waa joined by five youngvlo11ata in a viola. ensemble) ,and Yizhak Schotten. FolloWing the intermission,Pr1mroae was introduced and gave an informative and delightfUl talk about theviola and his career and aniwered~ueition&J from the audience. At the end ofevening, all of the performers and' memLera of tr.le audience who had broughttheir instrument s pe rformed a aplr1 ted ve ralon of Bach's Bra,ndenburg Con­certo No.6. The Viola Club of the Northweat haa about 8Q wemberi.

KAREN TUTTLE participated in a panel dlscuaaion on tiThe Art of Str1ngPlay­Ing1Wat 'the·Yale University Schoo'l or 1Ilual0 on October 17, 1981. Ths otherstring artista participating were SZ1mon Goldberg, vlo11nlat a.nd conductor,Fr1tz Ma!g. J ce 111at, David Walter, double baas, and Robert Sherman who wasthe mode rator.

RECORDINGS: JOHN GRAHAM hai recorded all the Mozart _ulnteta with viola withThe jurlIIi~artet:-Also recently 1i&Ued is hi; recording on the CRr labelor laabbltt I i Composition for viola and piano, Ghent' Ii ftEnteleehytl for violaand pia.no, Pollock's nVlo1lllent" for &010 viola, and Peralchett1'a "Parable"for 8010 viola (ORI SD 446; CRI's addreaa 18 17Q w. 74th st., NY, NY 10Q23).YIZHAK SCHOTTEN will have Ii recording released on the eR! label of ErnestilocfiTaSUI-te and Hinde m1th 1 &I Sonata, OPe -25, no. 4. He is also record lnga. di.se of music for violin and viola with music by Martinu, Villa-Loboa,Toch, and Randel-Halvorsen.VADIM BORISS01NSKY. the grea. t , late Russ ian vi o11at, vi ola d. I a more playe r, andteacher was memorialized by a disc titled: ttThe 1,"orld t & Leading Interpretersof Music, Violin, Viola, Cello." On a Melod1a label (M lQ-422Ql-2), Borlsaowaky

-7-

playa Glinka'a Sonata for viola and piano, BUlakhov-~or1aaowakY'8Barcarollefor 2 violaa and piano, Tcha.lko,~sky..Borlsaow&lky· a Ardent Declaration, andSchubert-Borlaaowaky's Impromptu 1n G major. The program notes are of 1n-te re at:

The founder of the Soviet achool of viola playing, Vadim Eorlsovksy,profes;or at Moscow Conservatory and one of the founding members ofthe famoui Beethoven Quartet, devoted his entire life (1900-1972) toachieving a rebirth of the viola as a fUll-fledged concer~ instrument.The idea of giving the viola the same aclo-instrument righta as thoseenjoyed by the violin and cello weB still bold, even excessively so inthe early 1921a when Borlsovaky embarked on his artistic cB.reer.Thegeneral level of viola playing wei low, and no Russian conservatoryoffered special training for viola instrumentalists; perhapi, the onlyser10ua Russian muaician work1nE in this field was Vladimir Bakaleln1­kov,Bor1sov&ky'a teacher. Borlsovaky and his numerous atudents tookit upon themselv&a to train viola playera and teaohers, collect an ex­tenaive and dlverQe instructional and concert viola literature, and toenrich the viola techn1~ue--taski they accompllahed excellently."The B.rtistic B.nd creative mer1ta of th1a remarkable musician," Shoata­kovlch wrote of Borisovlky, "can serve as a model to our young lnatru­mentalists. He was not only a fine artist, but a musician of high cul­ture ai well. I always felt happy when he took part in the performanceof my \A] ark. ~t

An impeccable Qense of style and a refined artl;t1c taste are, per­haps, the principal features of Borisovaky's interpretative art. Hiagift of carrying the audience with him along was intimately linkedto his rare skill in capturi.ng the entire form of a compoa1tlon andrelating the whole and ita detaila. Added to this was a deep and deli­oate lyricism aQ well as his skilfully moulded phrasing, complementedby an unpremeditated rubato. "He achieved an idea.l concordance betweenmusic and its actual exprsialon in his interpretation of works of mostdiverse genres and periods," said conductor N. MaIko of him. This 1aamply borne out by the programme offered on this disc.The viola d'amore figured prominently in the musician's veriat11ecreative endeavours. He mastered the instrument hlmaelf in 1926,and in 1927 was already glv1ne: recitals in .iv~oacow and Leningrad.Ita warm timbre, so much resembling the human voice, and the clearmelodiousness were what primarily at~racted Boriaoviky to the violad'amore. Following in the footatep& of L. Waefelghem in ~rance ~1~(author of tranacript10ns of works by Milandred and l~lartlnl appear­ing on this record), A. Dolmetsch in Britain, and H. casDdesui,Borlsov&ky became a viola d'amore enthusiast as performer, teacher,and author of many transcriptions and editions.

OSCAR SHUlVlSKY, violin B.nd ERIC SfIU"IvlSKY, viola have recorded the two l-1ozartDuo&for vIolin and viola on Spectrum label (SR-135: disc; 80-235: cassette).~~!rlte Spectrum, Hs-rrlman, New York 10926.

***.***VIOLA DISCOGRAPHY, 4th EDITION: This important addition to viola. history andresearch compiled by Dr. Francois de Beaumont of Swltzerla.nd continues to growand '1s now in its 4th edition: Th1a 4th edition is aVB.ilable to members oft.he IVFG. The lest price cuoted was about 35 ·Sw1as Franci, and less a·i· thenumber of orders gro1tJs. If any member of the AVS 1s interested in purchasinga oopy of this, write to our Secretary, Harold Klatz, 1024 Maple Avenue,Evanston, IL 60202. The AVS will arrange for shipment when the total numberof orders is in B.nd a price can be set.

-8-

THE llALTER \-1. NAUi"jBURG FOUNDATION in cooperation with the Atlantic Richfield"'FOUndB.tion announces an Internat1ona'l 'V'101a Competition to ts-ke plaoe Ma.y8-12, 1ge2. The firat prize includes a caah award of $5,OOO.QO, two fullysubsidized recitals in Alice Tully Hall (New York), a commis&ioned workwritten apecif1ca.lly for the Alice Tully Hall recital, orchestral andrecital appearances, and a recording with Mualcal Heritage Society. Anotheraward, the ~rnit Wallflsch Memorial Award of $l,OOQ.OO will be given .to theconteatant, other than the ma.jor award winner, who, according to the jury,has shown the most potential to achieve a aola career on the viola.

This competition 1; open to muslc1ana or every nationality between the,ages of 17 and 35. Applications, tapes, a #25. 00 ,reglstra.tlon fee, andproerams must be received by the Naumburg Foundation office no la.ter thanl\1a.rch 1, 1982 (irIs 1 te r l~~. Naumbu rg .FoundB~ t ion, 144 ~:le at 66 th st ree t J New York,N.Y.IOQ23; Telephone: (212) 874-1150). Any v101i&t 1nterestedln applyingto the Naumbrug Foundation ahould write to the above address for the ap­plication form. Specific information as to repertoire p1acea 1; given 1nthe inatr6 uct1on sheet. The last paragraph of the U Reperto1re ReCluirementa U

page 1~ noteworthy:

Because the Na.umburg Foundation wishes to strengthen the imageof the vlo1~ ai a solo instrument, it 1s required that 1n themake-up of each recital program there will be no more than onework not originally oomposed for the viola. The two Brahmsaonatas a~e excepted.

The finals will take placeln Carnegie Hall a,nd w·l11 be open to the public.

* * * * '* *DUES - 1982: The American Viola Society would greatly appreclateyour aend­lng your-I982 due; with the form encloae~ with this Newiletter. Duea areat111 $lQ.• " for regular membership and #5.~Q for atud8nt me moe r-ship. Over­a8sa members a.re reGuested to send their dues in American currency. Pleasereturn your check or ~oney order and the form in the enclosed envelope andmail to Dr. Ann "~oodward, 2G9 ~¥. Un1veri1ty Drive, Chapel Hill, NO 27514.

... * * '* * * *THE SONNECK SOCIETY 1" an American icholarly organization dedicated to carryiJngout educatIonal projects and to help dl.8sellllnate accurate information B.ndresearch dea11ng with all aspects of American muaic and music in Amerioa.In the past several yeara they ha,ve held Impres21ve conferences in differentparts of America that have dealt with many aspects of American music. Their1983 conference will take place at the Univerilty of Keele, Staffordshire, .England, July 1-4, 1983 in conjunction with the University of Keele. Thetheme of the conference will be ttlir1t1ah-Amerloan Interactions in l"1uslc. u

Dr. Raoul Camus J pres1d.ent of the Sonneck Sooiety, approached me' recentlyto 1nv"ite any member of the.Am~rican Viola. Society to submit an abstractfor a lecture or lecture-recital related to the theme of the conference.In v1e.'A/ of the important contributions to the viola made by performera andteachers from the British Isles in the past (and still continuing), s.ndthat Lionel Tertia and ~v1111am Primrose had such great impact on Americanvjollst& and viola playing, it would seem fitting to include some aspectof th1a within the framework of the conference.

If any member of the AVS would like to coniider giving a talk: or a lec­ture-recital on any aspect of t~e viola as related to Brltlah-Amerlcan Inter­actions, write to Dr. Camus, c/o Music Department, Queenaborough Community'Coll~ge, Bayside, N.Y. 11364.

-9-

A CONy§:RSATION IDtl 1[QQ,OR DRUSH~{NIN

by

Daniel Barach, Oswe~o, N.Y.

Feodor Drushynin, head of the Viola Department at the Moscow Conservatoryand vio11st of the Beethoven String Quartet, was one of the many outstandingperformers ·a.t~ the 9th .Annual International Viola Congress held.' in Toronto,Canada, June 11th-14th, 1981. I had the good fortune of having a lengthy oon­veriation with Dru8hynln during the Congresi. He 1& a very friendly, warmperaon w'lth an1ce smile and c.ourteoua ma.nnera •. Our chat began with an in­formal exchange of slavic phra'aea, but, since I apoke Serbo-Croatlon and heapoke Russ,ia.n, we: did not always mak~ ourgelves understood. Then, we changedto German and carried on in.'. more intelligible manner. In this part of ourd1seuialon, I learned that Druahyn1n playa on a bea.utlful Andreaa GuarneriUIviola., a· state-owned instrument. He hlmaelf owns a large.r viola, possiblyan Alban1, which he used ext~nalvely 1n his early da.ya 1n the Beethoven Quar­tet. He usea t\'ioVolrin bows and Kaplan Itrlngl. He has a apeclal affectionfor the mualc of iach. .

But, as our talk became more Intere~tln~ and involved, and Druahyn1n atart­ed speaking abou~ ShoQtakovlch, hi; string quarteta and the viola sonata, weused the aervlcei of a ftuisian interpreter, Natalja, who was Druahyn1n'aofficial interpreter for tl1e trip. !vluch of tIle inforlnation I 11eard aboutShostakovlch and tne viola sonata was n~w to me, and I thought the personalreminiscences of a performer cloiely &iBOc1ated with tee late Russian maiterwould be of interest to other musicians and string players.

Drulhynln's close association with Shoatakov1ch developed through h1a ac­tivities in the Beethoven c;:utirtet \-rhlch performed and recorded all Shosta­kovich's atring ~uartet& under the perional aupervia10n of the compoier. ThiaaQ8oc1ation ultimately. resulted in Shoatakov1ch dedicating his final work,the Sonata for Viola and Piano, Opus 147 to Drushynin. His performance ofthis \A/ork 1,A18S one of tl16 special events of the congress.

Drushyn1n stated that Shostakovich was one of his ~ost important musicalinfluences. For Drushynin, Shostakovich,more than any other Twentieth-centurycompo~er,carries on the' classic tradition of chamber music, hi~ quartets pro­viding a direct link toHaydn~ Mozart, and Beethoven. This 1& not. to &ay,Druahynin stated ,that there have not been great works written by Ravel,Debussy, Barto.k B.nd the Nineteenth-century maste,rs. but they are not aseconomical or functional in the true classic tradition.

During the preparation of theae ~uartets, Shostskovlch would often per­sonally coach the Russian violist in the important viola passages before thefirst rehearsal. Some of the passsges were written with Dru~hynln in mind.At thia point in our conversation, he related a specific example. Shosta­kovlch had heard Drushynin warming up before a recordine ~ec~1on on somepassagei fro~ Kodaly's transcription of Bach's Chromatic Fantasy. He becamefascinated by the technloallydemanding top note of a run. Shostakovlch aikedDrushynin to play it again'wlt11 vibrat·o. La.ter, when the 13th String Guartet,which was dedicated to Borlssovaky, DrOshynln's teacher and predece2sor inthe Beethoven Quartet, was completed, Druahynin found that the last paee ofthe ~uartet was a hymn to the viola. Everything 1s written in a higher andhigher position until ultimately the viola plays the highest note, crescendo­Ing to the end. At this point, Drushynin added th~",t 11S lat.er wrote the com­poser a letter, praising him for his marvelous memory and thanking him forthe beautiful last page of his ~uBrtet.

11he Sonata for Viola a.nd Piano was written B.nd completed in the last dA)f8of Shostakov1ch'a life. As his lsilt. comp.leted. work, it representil a culmina­tion of a lifetime of prolific musical co~pos1t1on. Shostakovlch hai only

-li-

composed five ~onataa: two for piano, an early cello sonata, a violin sonatawritten in 1968 and dedicated to Oistrakh, and his concluding work the viola.sonata written in 1975. . ,

1plhen Shoita.kovlch called 'Drushynln on the telephone and told him that hehad some ideas for a viola sonata, Drushvnin became very excited. Having knownShostakovich for a number of years, hs knew that when the composer made sucha statement the work was already fully developed in his mind, and basicallysimply needed to be ·~~frltten down with a tew additional minor details. Sinceat this time Shostakov1ch was an 111 man, much of the conferences withDrushyn1n were carried on by phone.

The oomposer was concerned that certain progressions of double atopi beplayable and practical for performanoe. Shostakovich wanted the double stoppassaEea in the Scherzo played with a certain speed andfla1r, 80 hOe aangthese to Druihynln on the phone. Could they be played in te'mpo? Dru8hyniniuggested that they could be played aa a aeml-v1brato motion if neoeaaary,but that Shostakovlch ahould wr1tewhet he wanted mualcally, and he, theperformer, would have to find a way to execute theae paaaagea.

During the writing of the aonata, Shoatakovlch'a right arm was in a atateof para.lY'i11 and the process of writing the notes down wait a painful one. Inap1te of this pain and difficulty, Shoatakovloh called Druihynln on July 5thto tell him that the third movement was comPleted. It was an incredibleachievement when one consldera it 1; a movement twenty-two pages long.

One of the important pieces of information that Shoatakov1ch conveyed toDruahyn1n was that the sonata ahould last about thirty mlnutea. Druahyn1natated that when he played the sonata for the first time, it lasted 29 min­utes and 27 seconds. Drushynin felt that the basic timing of a work waa im­portant because great composers feel this perfectly.

As far as the three movementQ of the work were concerned, Shostakov1chtold Druahynin thRt the first movement ahould be noble, the second movementwas s acherzo, and the third movement was dedicated to Beethoven. Druahyn1nstated that his own view of the flr&t movement 1a that it endi ~ul.tly, butall eventa are in the future; the aoherzo hai no end, while the third move­ment fina Ie is a complicated combination of th,e moods a.nd feelingi or allparts of the lonate. Since Shoatakov1ch knew that he was dying, the finalecarr1ea some of the tragic overtones of this 8warenea8.

The final proofs of the sonata were checked over by Shotakovlch two day;before hli death, and, although Druahyn1n never had the chance to personallyperform the work for Shoatakov1ch, he did write the compOier a letter ex­preQs1ng his admiration for the work and ai&urlng him that the work was em­inently playable.

* * .. off .. * *

CHAMiER MUS'Ie WITH VIOLA BY CHARLES MARTIN LOEFFLER

by Ellen Knight, Cambridge, Mags.

Charles Martin Loeffler, for twenty-one yeara second concertmaster of theEoaton Symphony Orcheatra (iSO), was reputedly one of Boaton'a moat popularand brilliant loloista on the violin. As a profeaa1onal in the concert hall,he appeared almost excluslvely as a violinist. As a. chamber mualc1an, however,he was a,lao a violist, and a8 Ii composer wrote aome remarkable worka includ­ing that instrument. Hia Deux Rapsod1ea for oboe, viola, and piano are cer-·the most popu lar of such ohamber worka, and other of h1~ cha.mbe r compoa1tionamight yet find their way into the repertoire,·but, never published, they havebeen overlooked. Accordingly, to help bring these works out of obscurity, thepresent article presents an overview of Loeffler'g chamber music including

-11-

viola followed by a 1iat identifying and locating these wo~a.The firat known instance of Loeffler as a violi.t was during his student

day. in the 1871a with Joachim in Berlin. Ai he related to Carl En e1 1invited to play chamber mUiic at Joachim'. when additional string ~la;6~: waswere needed. He then played aecond viola. 1 Aa a profeisional orchest~ mem­ber in Europe, however, he alwaya played the violin.

Similarly, during Loeffler'i first year in the United state; (1881) whileplaying violin profelaionally in Damrolilch'l New York Symphony, he silIluitane­oualy played viola in a atring .uartet at the Damro;ch home with LeopoldDamroich, Sam Franko, and Karl Bergner. During his tenure with the BoatonSymphony Orcheatra, 1882-19~3, and throughout hig life, Loeffler oontinuedplay1n~ the viola in prlva.te t!uartet8 •.

PUblicly, Loeffler appeared aa a violist aolely when playing his owncompoaltiona, with a rare exception of a8i1ating the Kneisel Quartet. 2Understandably, the bulk of Loeffler'Q 8010 music was compoaed for violin.While there 18 alae a cello 8010 (written for Ca~a18) and one for doublebaa&(written forKouisevlt&ky)~ ther~ are none forvlo1a. Although the Libraryof CongreQi (LC) has catalogued a piece under the title, "Da.nae blzB.rre pourviola .&leul," the composition 18 mistltled. It is actually 8. composition·"pour v101on aeul."

There s.re. however, sev,.ral chamber lAJorks lnvolv1n~ the viola, of whicha list appears below. The Quatuor in A minor 1i apparently the earlieit orLoeffler'e chamber worka. It was compoaed during the iummer of 1889, a 8um­mer during which Loeffler retired to the country with hla friend Denis Bunker,the former to c~mpoie, the latter to paint. The minuet waa performed inPhiladelphia that year, and two movements were done by the Adamowskl Guartetin 1892. Bunker designed a cover for the sheet music, but the ~uartet waanot published. The ~uartet waa dedicated to Henry Higginson, founder of the:SSC.

The Sextet followed the Quatuor in chronological sequence. Loeffler laterextracted the second movement of thla Sextet and let it stand as a separatecowpoiltlon under the title, Le Paaaeur d'eau. While the Sextet itself waadedicB.ted to Franz Kneisel, Loeffler'a deikmate at the· :SSO, he dedicated thesecond movement to the' memory of Denis Bunker who died auddenly in December,189Q.The entire ~uartet TNas performed by the Kne 1ae 1 Quartet in Februa.ry,'1893. They performed the second movement under ita new title in 1909. Thismovement, like Qeveral of Loeffler'i c ompoaltiona, has Ruaa1an color aa itemploye 8, "th'e me Ru aae ,tt t he fa mou i VO 19a. boa t man' a lIong.

About 1893, Loeffler composed five ionga with viola to texta by PaulVerlalne. Two of these 8onga, "serenade tt and "Payaage Triate,11 he la.terpubliahed in his guatre poems, OPe 5, with twoaddltlonal viola song8~ onemore by Verlalne and one by Eaudela1re. The other three were never published.Also unpubli&hed were two songs for either viola or viola dtarnore accompani­ment. The ;tr1ng pa.rt of one of theae, tlHarmonle du iolr, tt beari the indica­tion that it is for either 1nQtrument. The other, "La chanson des ingenues,"appeari to be for viola, although LC has catalogued it for viola d'amore. Ineither case, the song in its preient o.ondltlon is incomplete, since it wantathe final page(a).

The Quintet followed in lB95--under the title, "Eine FrUhllngimualk,"which Carl Engel informa us t1 ev idently refer. to a RUfiJalan Sprlng"3; theOctet WP8 written in 1897. 6here then followed the compo&ltlon of the thresRapaod 1e i from whioh the moat popular ot the the ohamber 'Norki, the De uxltapaod'fii, were compoaed. Loeffler originally llirote in 1898 three rapfiiodleafor voice, viola, clarinet, and piano. He had intended the clarinet part forh1i friend L:on Pourtau who unfortunately drowned that aame luwmer. In 1901,he t'ransformed the first t'AJO rapiod1es into the~ Rap&odiea for oboe,viola, and plart~ (the former dedicated to the memory of Pourtau and thelatter to the oboist Geor~es Longy ~ho frequently performed the Rapiod1eswith Loeffler) and the third rapaody into a aymphon1c poem, La Vl11anell~du diable.

-12-

rewer chambe;. p~eces came from Loeffler during the twentieth centur • TheMusic fOE Four ;)trln1ed In~trument&, however dates from this time 0 ii 1ly composedIli 1~11 -n memory of a fallen aviator during lrr:n, Loeffle~ ;e~a ­viaed the work twice in 1919,atter ita premiere by the ~onzaley Quartetearlier that SBme year! changing the bulk of the tir.t movement and con­den~ln~ the whole signlficantly. Gregorian chant ii used thematically ineacn ~ovement, the laat of which ii pro~ram~atlc, depicting the countrysideof France, the hero'iii funeral and apotheoala. .

In 1921-1922, I.;oeffler composed R Qet of four "Histor1etteli ft which he1 t d " T 1 d · It ..,a eo erme rag come lei. For the2e plece~ for ~uartet and harp (h1a

lSiit~;';11i instrument), he said, "th~ motto [lJight be said to be: 'Crime sa a tineart. 4 The first movement i& dedIcated to Mrs. Iiabella stswart Gardner,the second to Pablo Caiali, and the last to John Singer sargent.

Loeffler returned twioe more to the combination of voice and viola forincidental music for two playa in 1924 and 1925. For a performance of TheCounteas CAthleen by the Concord Playeri in 1924 he wrote a aong for voIce,vIOla, harp, and piano. This muaic haa unfortunately been lost. The mUQlcfor The Reveller of 1925, however, does exist and has been published. Thismusic-JnCludes-rive songs for voice, viols, and piano, pluQ a alxth ion~add Inp men' 51 choru i, and B. 8event 11 song for v·o1 ce and piano a lone. The textla adapted from st. Francia of Aaa1al'Q Canticle of the Sun. The melodies ofthe sones are drawn from medieval a.nd rena18ianceilluilc.~r example, songs4 and 5 Uie the tune, ftBelle ~ui tlene wa vie." -

LoeffJ.er'a mu.a1c of the nineteenth century was often, in contemporary re­vlewi, termed decadent, and the term iurv1v8a in many deicrlptiona ofLoefflerti mu~lc. Ita uaage originated with itQ application to the poets ofopo 5, Verlaine and Eaudelalre, and of the Rapiodiea, Rollinat, who weredeemed "deoadentQ" for their poignant, s1niater, rr.Qcabre texta. Loeffler';aettin@a, effectively oapturing the moods of the texti, acquired the iamedeaignatlon. But the term 1Q outmoded and for mOQt of h1; cowpo81tiona ofboth the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 1s not au1table. More noteworthy1 i a 1904 re v1eT~~ of ie Ie ct lonii 0 fop. 5 and op. 10: "Mr. Loe trIer 1 i, pri­marily, a creator of atmosphere, a weaver of evane~cent and slender ara­bei~uei. His mUiic has the aubdued and eluQ1ve beauty of antioue tapeatrlea •••he hai a concentrated intanalty, a veiled yet at1nglng poignancy and aensu­ousneii of mood •••Here ia a work of authentic d1atlnction, of vivid lndiv1du­s11ty--muiic that has not ita 8uperlor, that haa, indeed, few eouals, fordlitlnction of thou~ht, for originality of contrivance, for delicate elo­quence."4 The description doei not au1t eV:3ry Loeffler composition (theMusic for Four str1n!ed Inatrumenta, for example, ia hardly a ilender ara­bea~ue~however, Gl man has recognizee a key point of Loeffler'a ityle--hewaa a maater at the evocation of mooda, be the piece evanescent or lntenaeand itlngine;.

The range of Loeffler'g evocationQ la broad, from lyrical charm to aweiomedarkness of mood. The Quintet, for example, has quite a different tone fromthe Music for Four Stringed Instrument •• Thua, Loeffler'& most popular work.with vloIa-;-the Deux Ra·Pio<ilea a.na the Quatre poemea (the ffdecadent tl work.),cannot be used as-a-balla for judging the unknown works; however, the ~u8.11tyof the writing of those work; QU~pesti that the unknown worka may well bear1nip~ctlon and revival.

Rou~hly half of the chamber worka listed below havs been published. Whilethe original publications by Schirmera are out of print, the Deux Rapsodlea,Gulntet, and Music for Four Stringed In&trument. are in print from othercompanies. For the remaining works, with the exception of the Sextet, manu­8crlpt parta in excellent condition exist. The manuscript acorea are iomewhatthe worae for wear but ere certa.1nly legible. All LC Loeffler materials havebeen microfilmed, fro~ which microfilm cop1eQ (microfilm or copyflow) mayeasily be made with their permiialon. (LC item numbera for microfilmed rnanu­icripta B.re included in the l1it.) LC holds all rights of performance of~anuscrlpt mUilc.

LIST .Q!' 1,\"ORlCS

Songs with Viola ~ Piano Accompaniment

F1 ve Songl forvolce , viola., and plano to text by Paul Verlalne Ie. 1893.(Isabella stewart Gardner Museum Archive.)

a. Reverie (ep)b •. Lalune blanche .. ··.(4p, text 1ncomplete)c. Serenade (asme aong as Serenade belo~ (8p)d~ Payaage trlste [saline ion~ as Le aon du cor below] (5P)e. Le rosa1gnol (8p)

Note: another MS of thla &ong located aeparately at LO (Item 95).

Harmonie du iolr, tor voice, viola or viola d'amore, and plano, c. 1897(LC 31-32, three cop1es or score, 11,· 15, and 15P).

II;Quatre poemei pour vo1x, alto, et piano, OPe 5 (NY, G. Schirmer, 19-4)

Cha~ber ~alc

Deux rapaod1ea, pour hautbola, alto, et piano, 1911 (NY, G. Sohirmer, 1915),42P.

1. L' eta.ng2. La corne mUle

Hlatoriette8, pour ~uatuor at harpe, 1922 (LC 35, .core and part.), 99p.

1. Hli~or1ette du marlage de Pierrot Fum1ata2. H1atorlette de; tribulation. conJugalea de M. Punch3. Hl1tor1ette de Batyouahka Raapout1ne4. Hlstor1ette de 1a S'erfor1 ta Conc1l1ta P1~uer

-14-

Music tor Four Stringed InQtrum~ntl, 1917, rev., 1919 (NY, G. Schirmer,1923), 37.

1. Poco Adagio2. AdB.g10 rna non t roppo--rtLe3. 1'1od e ra to

J\Saint Jour de Paquea"

Octet for 2 clarinets, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, 1897 (LC~64,i core, and 65 , part,,), 73p.

1. Allegro moderato2. Adagio molto3. Andante--Allegro alIa Z1ngara

Le pai8eur d'eau; poeme d'aprei Verheeren pour 2 vlo1ona, 2 altoi, et 2vlo1oncelles, c. 1891 (LC 99, score), 19p.

Note: thlQ is the second movement of the aextet.

Quatuor pour deux v101ona, alto, et vlo1oncelle, 1889 (LC 86, acore andparta) J 23p.

1.· Allegro moderato "2. Tempo di wlnuette (canon a I'octave)3. Aisal andante4. Rondo pastorale

Quintet 1n one movement for three violins, viola, and violoncello, 1894(NY, G·. Sc irme r, 1938), 39p.

sextuor pour 2 violons. 2 alto8, 2 v'cellea, c. 1891 (LC 98, icore, 2veraions of 2nd movement), 34p, or 4Qp.

1. Allegro vl~o e apPsialonato2. Andante3. Allegro con aplr1to

NOTE§

1 Notes of intervle'.., with Cba.rles Ma.rt in Loeffler by Carl Engel, LoefflerCollection, Music D~vlalon, Library of Ccngress,Waahington, DC.

2 Record of Loeffler'a appearing as viola iolo1at with the BSC in 1892 i8in error. Kneiael was the soloist.

3 Carl Engel, ftChs.r·lea .l\.1art1n Loeffler," Great Modern Compoaera, OacarThompson, ed. J Ne'\T York, Dod.d J 1':lea.d a.nd compiliYJ 1941 ,--rb3. d

4 Charles Martin Loeffler to Isabella stewart Gardner. 22 March 1921,Archives, Isabella ste'iYart Ga.rdner MuaeuLD, Boaton, by permission of theGardner l"iuieulD.

5 L8.wrence Gilman, "some .Remarkable Songi," ljarpez:'ii ~.'leekll 48, 16 Jan 1904:109.

-15-

AN ANONYMOUS AMERICAN VIOLA SONATA

·by

Wolfgang Sawodny, Elchlngen, WS8t Germany

Ftft~en years ago, I w&a able to acquire the manuscript of a sonata forviola ~~d piano at a New York ahop for u~ed mU21c. It is a rather interest­ing pleqe, suppose,dly dating from the flrat ~uarter of our ce,ntury, in Ii

!~,,:~e"j~8}Dant1c style, with only one iierioua omlii1ilon: though there are sev­eral' '~n:'ames on the wrapper and on the manuQcrlpt, none of them &eems to bethat of ,the composer. Therefore, let me give a. short description of the work,hopine that someone might be able to identify the author.

The manuscript'1s1n Blight gra.y pasteboard wrapper, with the follo~",lng

handwritten inQcr1ptions on the front side:right upper corner: "Embree Swift" croased out and replaced

below by "Roland Farley (both na.mesin ink); below Farley'i name is inpe neil, n 57St+7Ave. It

middle of upper half: "For Mr. Bahr,/ (c/o Ma,nag1ng (1) Director)!Philharmonic Orche&tra" (in pencil; bracket­ed line rubbed out, but Qt111 readable)

The viola part la on nine iheeta of music paper with 10 staV8&, G. schirmer,New York (the upper-caie letters GSNY in a croaied &quare) no. 1. On thefrent page 18 the loacription, upper left corner: "Viola." In the middle ofthe upper half 1 t rea.d II: "Sonata for Viola & Piano in A Minor, It all' inblack ink. Between the &ixth and aeventh Itave on the right, there aretraceQ of a label which was paated on, perha.pa containing the composer';name, but now torn out. The he8dln~ of the a6cond page repeat. the lnQcrlp­t10n of the front page followed b-y "lat' tvtovement." Then atarta the viola.part" .16 pages long; the last pa.ge' ia blank.

The pia.no pa.rt 18 on paper, "The Superb,tI A.iN. Tamil l~uaic Library, l~ew

York No.3 with 12 stavei in 4 group.o·or 3 atavea each (two for the pianowith a bracket and one additional staff above). Kach movement is in a ~ep­

arate unit Qewed together They are:1. Tl tle page (Qame text S,& the viola part, only "Piano"

iii written in the upper rlrzht corner 1natead of nViola,"in the left one; also trac~a of a torn out, paated label);blank iecond page; 17 pagea of musio in the first move­ment; laat page blank.

2. 2nd movem9nt: 7 pages and one line of music; at top of thefront page 1a a pencil marking, "Viola Embree S'91:f't. fI

3. 3rd movement: 15 pagea of mu~1c followed by 3 blank pages;pencil marking above this right of the first staff: "EmbreeSwift. tt

Moat likely, Embree Swift WAS th~ player of the viola part. Roland Farley,mentioned on the wrapper, may have obtained the manuscript from him. Theea 111graphy and tile abaence of corrections lndlca,te that it 18 not the orig1­nal cOllipo~er'a manu~cript but a copy made for the purpose of a performancs.

The first movement 1; in sonata form, but with the peculiarity that theexposition end recApitulation are in a slow te.mpo (Ada.gio sostenuto) = 8Q)lind only t,he development aection in allegro (t:J = 88; later on; = 112 and126).The movement ;t~rts with a one-bar motive (EX.' 1) by the piano, repeat­ed ilx times and falling down three octaves, alwayiJ in fort-1ai'lmo, anticipat­1ng .rhythma or the second· part of the main theme (a-b of Ex. 211 ). This 1.ita,ted by the viola over a iem"quaver accompaniment of th8 'piane wlt'h somecontrapuntal baii writing. It haa a total length of 81xteen mea~ures, atart­lng with B. broad melody ("with full alnt;1n~ tone U

) (EX. 2 1 ) having a

--------------- -_._-

-16-

nucleus of characterlQt1c rhythms (3:x. 2 11 ) and endln~ in a more rapid motion(Ex. 2111 ). Then comel the seoond theme (in C major), again entrusted to theviola (Ex. 3). It is repeated one octave lower in double atopQ. An eight-bar tra.na1tlon with the motive "au of Ex. 3. lea.ds to the development "gec­tlon. There is no elaborate polyphonic trea.tment of tossing around ofmotives, but larger parta of the themell are cited \i1th lome modlflca~~tJQ:n8in different keya. TllUS, the modified seoond theme comes t~Tlce in th6';pla!1oIn.E flat 'major f'olloNed by the first part of the main iubject in Ofm·1nor<:-??t~

With motive "a" of Ex. 3 accompanied by viola arpeggios, the aecon,!3 theme· ",come8 baok with double itOPi of the viola in G minor, repeated by 'v:the piano,in the as-me key. The development aectlon ends with freeuent ouotatf"on,s""t<l,Oif;v;;the first two bara of the main iubject 1n the piano with the ·vlo1a a'" sixthlower through the keys of 0, G, and A major. The 'recapitulation 1a complete,with iome change. of the setting and the aecond subject in A major. The move­ment ends in "pppp" with the first bar ot the ascond theme repeated t11reetimea, but always an octave lower.

The aecond movement is called "Scherzando" in an Allegro mode~ (J: 144)tempo ¥Tith the direction, "Light and crlap throughout: ~~ua.sl ataccato" ( evenap1ccato in tee viola part). The key 18 F Kajar and the form ABCBA. After 4bar. of the rhythmic motive (a, Ex.4) on a maintained F, part A atarta withthe &ubject .~x. 4. Then, above chordal quavera in ata.ccato of the piano, atwo-bar motive (~x. 5) ia fre~uently repeated, changing from F Major to DMinor. Part B 1s slightly accelerated (J= 168), it. motive (~x. 6), by adouble ih1~~lne:'Of a fifth, reaohea C l"1aJor, tl1.8 key of the trio (part 0,6/8 meter; .... lQ8, EX. 7). This is rather short (only 16 meaaurea) withtwice the e1~ht-bar theme, Ex. 7 in un1son between the viola and the rl~ht

hand of the piano. On the repeat, it enda in E (dominant of A minor), lead­ing to the B section where it modulates to G minor before returning to theA section and the main key of F Major. Ex. 5 returns to F Major too andthe movement ends briskly after a semi~uaver icale of tbe viola.

The third movsment starts with A very broad melody of the viola (2!2,cantabile, J = 69) and £-'EEre le~;to; Ex. 8) in G Major. Then, the viola in­troducea a second subJect [Ex. , J = 112, piano, but with. full tone (in DMajor), Rod then B th1rd one in A Major (Irx. 11). The latter, a Vivace, 1&marked "quasi ataccato tt 1n the left hand of the piano, with an accompanimentof the viola changing between areo and pizzicato. Theae three themes arenow repeated in the following order: Ex. 9. in the piano with a contrapunt­al melody (Ex. 11) in the viola (D Major); Ex. lQ in G Major, raep. K minor;Ex. 8 (G Major) with a counterpoint derived from Ex. 9 in the piano; Ex. 9(piano) with Ex. 11 (viola) in the same key; Ex. 10 (D IvIa.j.or)l Ex. 9 inf1ngered harmonics on the viola with Ex. 11 in the piano (~ Major). So far,the whole movement wag in the key of G Major,the main key of the &onata. AMinor 1s reached only in the Coda. It starts with a transition of the piano(6/8, J. = 126, GiocoaO,with marked rhythm), reminiscent of the trio of theQecond movement. Ex. 6 (part B of the second movement) appear., but nowadapted to 4/4 meter (Ex. 12, J = 168j A IVlinor through D Minor to G lvlajor).The whole trio or the ~~cond' movement (part C) folloWQ in G Major, thenEx. 12 (modified part B) cornea back again in D Minor, and the very laitportion (ma.rked, "Finale") brlngi back even tile ma.1n theme of the first move­ment in powerful double stops of the viola before five concluding measuresterminate the whole sonata.

The setting of this 80nata 18 not very sophisticated, but rather straightfor,,y'ard and, perhaps, even aimple. However, there 1a some effective partwriting for the viol,a., and, in my opinion, a special Amerioan flav.or inboth rrelodies and rhythms. In any case, it would be falcinatlng to be ableto identify the oompoaer of thi8 sonata.

-17-­

,E)I.2.1:{I.o.r " - Itt-- -..