IVC Campinas Blog – Day 5

Posted on 25/07/2024 by DVS

The 49th International Viola Congress takes place from 17-21 July in Campinas, Brazil. Your intrepid DVS bloggers bring you the daily debrief from the pulsating heart of the viola world.

Day 5 – Sunday, July 21st 2024

After 4 full days of intensive viola programming, you might think there’s a risk of running out of steam. But while some of us – speaking for myself, at least – have indeed drifted into the red zone in terms of figurative “battery charge level”, the 49th IVC Organization team had clearly saved some of the best parts of the programme for last.

The last congress day started out with a big tribute manifestation for the 95-year-old German-Brazilian composer Ernst Mahle. He has had a significant influence on Brazilian music, composing pedagogical pieces and learning books for all kinds of instruments. He’s still actively composing today. He was flown in for this concert and was showered in extensive speeches and performances of his works for viola, of which there are quite a few (we already heard his Concertino for Viola on Thursday night with Renato Bandel!). I particularly liked the Duetos Modais (performed by Eric Licciardi and Pedro Visockas), acting as a showcase for different modal scales (pentatonic, mixolydian etc). The Quartet for Violas (2021, a world premiere performance) had my mouth watering in anticipation of a hearty main course, but it surprisingly wrapped up after only about 2 minutes. The actual Viola Concerto (C228, 2015), performed by Marco Catto, in the end provided a fitting anchoring point.

Due to the long Mahle programme (almost 2 hours), I had to miss Karin Dolman’s “Puss in Boots: A Lecture Recital on new approaches for successful concert venues”, but fortunately I had heard the dress rehearsal in Dordrecht 2 weeks ago.

Next it was time for the yearly shopping spree at Ken Martinson’s (Gems Publishing) table. He always makes sure to have some novelties to present at a congress. This year’s catch included two Sinfonia Concertantes by Karl Stamitz, both discussed at Ken’s lecture on Friday afternoon (which I could not attend). Furthermore we bought viola duet books by Félix-Jean Prot, Mathieu Blasius, Leopold Jansa, and “44 18th Century Italian Viola Duets” (in 2 volumes) by “various” anonymous composers.

As mentioned above, a certain fatigue had started to creep into my head, so I allowed myself a late but generous lunch break to catch up on note-taking (and update my viola ensemble music catalogue!) before rejoining the congress programme later in the afternoon.

The Quarteto Ensaio de Naipe is a Viola Quartet from the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra: Lianna Dugan, Eric Licciardi, Bruno de Luna and Pedro Visockas. They kicked off with a Scherzo Pastorale by Leonardo Martinelli (a São Paulo based composer), in fact nothing less than a brand new set of La Folia variations – sure, why not! They’re interesting listening and even more interesting to play, by the looks of it.

The transcriptions of a Piazzolla tango and the Choro standard “Feira de Mangaio” (hey, there it is again!) were very decent, but more interest went out to the two World Premiere performances on the programme: Firstly “A Viagem” by Nayara Tamarozi (1991), inspired by the memory of passing carnival rhythms (Maracatu again).

Secondly the work “A Mariposa” (The Moth) by Carlos Moreno, dedicated to the memory of Ricardo Kubala. In this piece, undulating arpeggios emulate wings, with long waves of dynamics and delightful shifts in the sound tapestry, eventually morphing into a melody. Big bravo’s resounded in the audience for this piece (and I joined in)!

Symbolically starting the transition to next year’s congress in China, the last recital on the regular congress roster was brought by Yue Qi with the title “Emoting through the Landscape: A Lecture Recital of Five Chinese Viola Compositions“. These new-romantic pieces by leading Chinese composers are often inspired by poetry, which prof. Qi heroically tried to translate for us, with variable success. The piece “Thunderstorm” by Juan Zhou was based on incidental music to the play of the same name; according to Qi a cornerstone of Chinese realistic drama (written in 1925). In terms of musical language it was the most “modernistic” of the set, and by far the most dramatic. The pieces were all very well played (with good backing by pianist Jennifer Alexandra), but I may need to do some cultural stretching to grasp the deeper layers of this music. A nice challenge for the coming 12 months until we head for Xi’an!

The Final Evening Concert was a two-part deal: The IVC Viola Orchestra (in which I took part) played first – as Former IVS president Carlos Maria Solare conducted two movements of the Suite for 8 Violas by Gordon Jacob. As a tribute to the next IVC hosts, we also played the Chinese traditional “Jasmin Flower“. The big showpiece (which had also captured most of our rehearsal time) was however “Festa para Donatella“, composed and conducted by Newton Carreiro. And Yes, without false modesty, the Viola Sisters Ursula and Sunniva shone in their solo parts, using a pair of borrowed “sister” violas kindly provided by our host Emerson. The audience clearly appreciated this piece of swinging Brazilian rhythms (and yes, these themes are still dancing around in my head as I write this, 3 days later).

The orchestra cleared the stage and then, suddenly, there she was – Jennifer Stumm, IVC featured artist and passionate viola advocate – but sadly only able to join us for this one evening. Her brilliant orange tunic made every bow stroke a feast of wavy motions. At the piano she was accompanied by the great André Mehmari. Under the programme title “Flow, my Tears”, together they blazed new trails in Dowland, Kurtág, Schubert and various Brazilian classics (yes, more choro!). Britten’s masterpiece “Lachrymae” op.48 (variations on Dowland songs) was in my ears the climax of the concert.

Obviously, the evening did not end with this concert. There was a long afterparty at the hotel, where notes were compared and joint plans drafted for next year’s congress. Well, that too, but mostly just enjoying snacks and drinks in each other’s company. This year’s congress has been a great success both programmatically and socially – the atmosphere was always relaxed and friendly. Infinite thanks – muito obrigado!!! – to our host Emerson de Biaggi and his ABRAV team, they have set a great example.

See you all in Xi’an next year!

Kristofer Skaug, DVS

IVC Campinas Blog – Day 4

Posted on 24/07/2024 by DVS

The 49th International Viola Congress takes place from 17-21 July in Campinas, Brazil. Your intrepid DVS bloggers bring you the daily debrief from the pulsating heart of the viola world.

Day 4 – Saturday, July 20th 2024

One of the many extra nice aspects of this year’s congress in Campinas is that almost all Congress Presenters are in the same hotel, “The Visiting Professor’s House” (CPV for short) on campus. It’s a mere 10 minutes’ walk to/from the Music Institute (Congress venue), and it even features a luxurious swimming pool, which there is unfortunately absolutely no time to hang out in. But we all meet and mingle during the café de manhã (breakfast), accompanied by a handsome variety of Brazilian bolos (cakes) and pasteles (pastry).

After the daily 08.30am Viola Ensemble rehearsal, the first lecture of this fourth congress day was “Bowing Practices in the Baroque Era” by prof. Christine Rutledge (University of Iowa). She had prepared a really nice handout with lots of bowing examples from Bach and Telemann classics. She discussed the controversy over dogmas such as the “wretched rule” (sic, Geminiani) of the French baroque school, prescribing a default down-bow on every first beat. To get past this, prof. Rutledge suggested a number of aspects to be considered when designing your own ‘best bowing’. These are essentially corollaries to key principles of “informed performance practice” such as knowing the style and rhetorical aspects of the work, and to be aware of the characteristics of various baroque-era dance styles (e.g. Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, Minuet). She showed with played examples how also tempo could influence the choice of slurring. Prof. Rutledge also mentioned the relevance of using a baroque bow, insofar as this changes the physics of the bowing game. One should avoid the temptation to compromise the stylistically ideal strategy simply because one is using the wrong materials. A perfectly fine baroque bow can be bought for a fraction of the price of classical bows.

The French delegation at this congress – Karine Lethiec and Francoise Gneri – had a full program in the auditorium this morning. Due to the Bach lecture upstairs I had to miss the first part – a very intriguing program of viola duos. But I was able to attend the recital “MUSICoMAN – The french contemporary new viola repertoire” with Karine Lethiec. Herein new works for solo viola were combined with poetry and images relating to prehistoric archaeological finds such as the Dame de Brassempouy – a 30,000 years old stone carved femaie head. It was all very artfully curated video – with glimpses of Karine herself playing in ancient locations. The audience clearly appreciated all the work that had been invested in this project! Here’s the compete playlist of YouTube (including interviews and extended clips not shown in the recital).

In the afternoon I attended the workshop “Teaching music with visualization” by our Finnish colleague Lauri Hämäläinen. He has literally created “The Amazing Violin Comics: Tips for practicing and mental images for learning stringed instruments“, a comic book that visualizes various ergonomic / physical tips and insights related to violin and viola playing (Amazon link here). The common denominator of these exercises – practiced in the workshop – is that they visualize physical analogies of various posture / motoric motion aspects of playing the viola (or violin).

This year, the IVS Annual Presidents’ Meeting functioned (for the first time!) as a hybrid online / live event. The presidents from a handful of societies (Canada, Italy, Finland, Poland, Portugal) joined us online, while the rest (South Africa, Norway, Brazil, Netherlands, France, USA, China plus the IVS board) were together in classroom 41 in Campinas.

First some key announcements: The next IVC Congress will be held from 13-17 August 2025 in Xi’an (China), with the theme “The Silk Road through the four strings of the Viola – East, West, Tradition, Novelty“. Featured artists include Ning Shi, Atar Arad, Garth Knox, Paul Silverthorne, Haofu Chang and Antonello Farulli. The congress website is already online (link here – note: you can switch to the English-language version using the top right menu selection).
The 2026 IVC Congress has also been decided: it will be only 5 months after the Xi’an congress, 19-23 January 2026 in Paris (France)!

One key general discussion topic was (same as last year in Salaya) the urgent need for rejuvenation of the IVS and some of the older sections that have been declining in recent years. The newly established IVS youth chapter “Juventus“, spearheaded by Nehir Akansu and friends, could hopefully become a catalyst in this process by developing a new and enthusiastic generation of “viola society leaders”. Several constructive ideas were fielded by the meeting delegates.

Due to the IVS meeting, I unfortunately missed the introduction to the much-anticipated performance “Works for Viola and Taonga Puoro” by Sophia Acheson (viola) and Ariana Tikao (taonga puoro, a collection of traditional Maori musical instruments); and I also missed the poignant circumstance that this performance had been dedicated to Sophia’s sister Helen, who died suddenly one year ago today. Those of us who attended the 2017 IVC in Wellington will be able to remember that Helen performed (as a mezzo-soprano) together with Sophia at that congress.

The taonga puoro programme did not disappoint! It held a full hour of captivating soundscapes – a feast for the eyes and the ears (although the airco once again snuffed out the subtler parts of the audible spectrum). I lack the language to properly describe what I saw, heard and felt – but it was overwhelmingly beautiful! The performance culminated in a veritable viola quartet (big soft spot for me!) when Sofia’s former teacher Donald Maurice and others joined her on stage. Now that Donald has declared his final retirement, it seems that his former pupil is picking up where he left off with his Taioro collaboration.

Next, Emlyn Stam and Sherry Grant took the stage with “Vio-Latino: new works from the South American diaspora”, a program consisting entirely of specially commissioned (and hence World Premiere) works by contemporary South American born composers who have since moved to other continents. This music was accompanied by projections of South American art and poetry. The two musicians showed excellent command of the powerful musical language – virtuosic and dynamic, so the performance was very engaging. After the congress they will tour this programme in São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.

The evening concert with the accomplished Chilean violist Georgina Rossi and her pianist Milena Lopes featured a predominantly Chilean programme with works by Osvaldo Lacerda, Federico Heinlein, Ernani Agular, David Cortés and Juan Orrego-Salas. It was an impeccable performance, offering insights into a sphere of music that is rarely heard in Europe (although she did perform a work by Chile-based composer Rafael Diaz at the congress in Rotterdam, 2018).

A late-night “Viola Café” had been announced to take place in a pizzeria some 20 minutes’ walk from the Unicamp Music Institute. Rather against my principles, however, I succumbed to my feeling of fatigue and walked in the opposite direction towards our hotel, only to be hijacked by a spontaneous pizza-and-beer event in the hotel mezzanine foyer. The battle cry “Kaaah!!” (borrowed from Emlyn’s VioLatino concert) served as mandatory entry password. Live choro improv arose from one corner of the room, while repeated sips of Cachaça and chocolate liqueur made a blur out of time. That’s the true spirit of viola congresses working its magic!

Kristofer Skaug, DVS

IVC Campinas Blog – Day 3

Posted on 24/07/2024 by DVS

The 49th International Viola Congress takes place from 17-21 July in Campinas, Brazil. Your intrepid DVS bloggers bring you the daily debrief from the pulsating heart of the viola world.

Day 3 – Friday, July 19th 2024.

A really early start today with a 08:30am Viola Orchestra rehearsal of the new piece “Festa Pra Donatella“, composed by Newton Carneiro for the Congress. Donatella is the name of the composer’s soon-to-be-born daughter. This piece is for 4-part viola ensemble with 2 solo parts, assigned to our very own Ursula and Sunniva! There are significant rhythmical challenges, esp. given the size of the ensemble. The composer therefore conducted this piece himself.

At 10am we followed the lecture “Student-centered teaching and the development of self-regulated learning” by Hella Frank. This “new” learning model is in clear contrast to the classical “Teacher-centered” learning model, where teacher hands out instructions to a passive student that is not expected to provide any inputs. In the Self-Regulated learning model, the student instead has to drive his/her own feedback loop to a point where it becomes continuous learning and improvement. The teacher helps the student to analyse deficiencies and to find solutions, but in a dialogue rather than as a one-way stream of directives. The teacher helps the student clarify his/her goals, and in doing so should strive for a non-controlling approach, always providing multiple options.

Next came a program we certainly had been looking forward to: “New Folk Romantic Music from Norway” with Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota. We first met Povilas at the congress in Thailand last year. He’s a great performer, using his whole body and supplements with an impressive voice that is integrated in his music. By “New Folk Romantic Music” the emphasis is on the first word – these are new compositions (many of them his own), but in a romantic style; for example Vidar Kristensen’s “The Norse Voyager”, which includes some historical perspectives from when the first viking explorers/conquerors sailed deep into the Meditteranean and up the Russian rivers. Entirely unforgettable was “Crazy Horse”, where Marcin Murawski joined him on stage in a kind of rodeo act.

After lunch we visited the lecture “Finding Smooth Pathways Through Viola Literature” by Andrea Houde from West Virginia University – basically concerned with designing a repertoire list (trajectory) for a Bachelor student. Key point was to find a path with a smooth learning curve, tailored to the talents and skill gaps of a student – seeking to avoid traumatizing roadblocks. It’s important to understand the student’s background, starting point and goals/motivations before drawing up this list of coursework.

By simply remaining seated, we went straight to the next session on the program, a talk titled “Some Ideas About Viola Making” with luthier Luis Claudio Manfio from São Paulo. Manfio specializes in building violas (only!), and after having briefly reviewed the classic Italian (Brescia and Cremonese) viola models, he explained the key factors of relevance for violists choosing a viola model: Shape, size, dark/bright sound, dynamic range, clarity/evenness of sound, responsiveness and so on. He then went on to demonstrate how he tackled different challenges and tradeoffs in his viola designs.

Next on my program was the performance “Contrasts and Connections” with the Piedmont duo (Ayn Balija on the viola and I-Jen Fang, percussion) from the University of Virginia. They played a selection of pieces by “underrepresented composers”, but it was not clear (to me) from the program notes in which sense these composers are considered “underrepresented”, as they mostly seem to have (had) quite successful careers in general. But their names (Marco Schirripa, Melanie Farrin, Ney Rosauro and others) are unknown to me, perhaps demonstrating at least that composing for viola and percussion is not your easiest path to gain widespread recognition. I really enjoyed the performance anyway.

Time for some action – in the workshop titled “Language of Choro on Viola” with Luiz Freire and Camila Meirelles. This particular type of Brazilian popular music has been around for almost 200 years, in fact preceding Jazz, but including similar aspects of rhythmic and harmonic improvisation. We learned by group exercise to emulate rhythms and articulations used as the fundament for further improvisation. Good fun, and also a cultural eye-opener for me. It’s stuff like this that justifies travelling 10,000km to go to a viola congress!! Musical styles you have no exposure to at home: if you don’t know it exists and don’t ask for it, you also won’t find it in today’s algorithm-based internet bubbles. It’s rather paradoxical that the Internet hasn’t contributed much to increasing cultural awareness.

In the evening we are transported by bus to the venue of the Gala concert – the Sala Watari. Finally a nice acoustic concert hall with no drone of airco! And a very nice atmosphere it has, too. Principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Tatjana Mead Chamis is this evening’s featured artist. The first half of the program she plays together with renowned Brazilian composer/pianist André Mehmari – who composed most of the music on the menu. Most impressive is his Viola Sonata, with the vibrant “Maracatu” – a rhythmic dance from the Northeast of Brazil – forming an exciting backbone of both the first and last movements.

The last part of the concert consisted of “Bachiana Brasileira 2.0” for Solo Viola and Jazz Trio. The title refers to the original suite of pieces written by Heitor Villa-Lobos, combining Brazilian music with Bach. Some of the most famous ones feature the cello prominently, while the viola is at best a tutti supporter in the string orchestra. In this new 2.0 version created by Flavio Chamis, selected movements from Bach’s cello suites (played on the viola) are answered by a jazz trio arrangement with a particular Brazilian flavour, e.g. Prelude – Frevo, Allemande – Samba Canção, Courante – Gaudério Gaucho and ending with a Gigue – Bailão. Lots of fun surprises in the jazz bits!

The musical treat was followed by a gastronomical treat in the form of a Brazilian buffet dinner at Espaço Malbec, a quaint restaurant at the outskirts of Campinas. But before we could eat, there were some traditional ceremonies to be observed. Firstly, the annual “Silver Alto Clef” award. This year it has been awarded to Konrad Ewald, the man behind the invaluable book/catalogue “Musik für Viola” (aka. Music4Viola.info). The IVS Presidency (Jutta and Karin) had personally visited mr. Ewald in his retirement home in Switzerland, and we were now shown the video recording of the award ceremony held there. A resounding and heartfelt “THANK YOU, KONRAD EWALD” was recorded from the IVC crowd which will be transmitted to him.

The next ceremonial task was to duly thank our host Emerson de Biaggi with a proper IVS Certificate of Appreciation, and Karin Dolman received a special token of appreciation from her IVS board colleagues. And last but not least the announcement of the next International Viola Congress, by way of a very impressive “welcome” video by the future hosts: It will be in (… drum roll …) Xi’an, China! from 13th-17th of August 2025. The call for proposals is hereby opened. So make your plans for “Viola army meets the Terracotta Army”!

But first, we’ve got 2 more Congress days to go here in fantastic Campinas!

Kristofer Skaug, DVS

IVC Campinas Blog – Day 2

Posted on 19/07/2024 by DVS

The 49th International Viola Congress takes place from 17-21 July in Campinas, Brazil. Your intrepid DVS bloggers bring you the daily debrief from the pulsating heart of the viola world.

Day 2 – Thursday, July 18th 2024.

Viola Ensemble rehearsals started at 9am today – there was some unavoidable chaos trying to cram 50 fanatical violists into a simple classroom and then split them into 8 groups so as to be able to rehearse Gordon Jacob’s Suite for 8 violas. It was worth the trouble – exciting sounds definitely happened!

At 10, we gathered to hear Dorotea Vismara and Andrew Filmer (via video link) give a lecture about “Viola Family Trees”. They explored the commonalities between the generational shifts in viola culture in Malaysia and Italy, and the significance of “lineage” when the next generation takes over.

Hella Frank gave a lecture (in Portuguese) titled “Aprenda mais rápido! Torne seu estudo mais eficiente!“, or in other words “Learn faster, make your studying more efficient“. According to one attendee it was a very interesting talk.

After lunch, the incomparable Marcin Murawski gave a masterclass in the Main Auditorium. It was admirable how he was able to level with each student and and make his points subtle, even though the levels were quite diverse.

Meanwhile in the upstairs lecture room, Jorge Alves presented a 4-piece Suite by the Portuguese composer Fernando Lopes Graça. Born in 1904, Graça had to spent most of his life in opposition to the regime. Only in 1974 did he obtain full freedom of speech. While he composed the Suite, he was also working on the Requiem to the victims of the Fascism. Jorge, whose parents also suffered during the dictatorial regime, gave a clear picture of the oppression and its influence on this composition. The score was shown on-screen during Jorge’s very good performance, and Graça’s “accusation” against the regime could be both seen and heard.

Daphne Gerling presented the program “Music from Latin and North America for Viola and Piano”, assisted by Tomoko Kashiwagi on the piano. Although currently teaching at the University of North Texas and being a long-standing board member of the American Viola Society, her family is rooted in Brazil, and in this congress she is firmly on home turf. The program featured works by Jessie Montgomery, Modesta Bor and Ilza Nogueira. Most appealing in my ears was the sonata by Marcelle Soulage, a French composer who earned a spot in this programme by being born in Lima, Peru. Finally Daphne gave an encore where she delighted us with a very good soprano voice rendering a Brazilian song.

After this it was time for the pitch talk “Toward an International Working Group for Viola Music Catalogues”, promoted by Daphne Gerling, Myrna Layton and yours truly, intended as a follow-on of our talk at the 2017 congress in Wellington. Instead of summarizing here, as promised in the lecture I leave you here the download link for the presentation slides. Please send us a mail (mail@dutchviolasociety.nl) if you’re interested to join this working group.

The evening concert was presented by the Unicamp Symphony Orchestra and its conductor Cinthia Alireti. From the name, I had expected a good student orchestra, based on a core of conservatory students. Instead it turned out to be a very decent professional orchestra. The climax of this concert was no doubt the Concertino for viola (1978) by Ernst Mahle, featuring one of today’s foremost Brazilian violists, Renato Bandel. While the Concertino itself may be quite modest in thematic material, Bandel made it a colourful and vivid Brazilian festa with his powerful sound and energetic musicality. We were left longing for more!

Back at the hotel, the IVS board had arranged a tribute event for prof. Donald Maurice, who has declared that this may be his last Viola Congress. Former host of multiple IVC congresses himself, he was an easy target for ad-hoc limericks and various viola choruses of thankfulness and encouragement, including some beautiful poetry, song and Taonga Puoro – playing from his fellow Kiwis.

More action from the 49th IVC tomorrow!

Kristofer Skaug and Karin Dolman, DVS

IVC Campinas Blog – Day 1

Posted on 18/07/2024 by DVS

The 49th International Viola Congress takes place from 17-21 July (2024) in Campinas, Brazil. Your intrepid DVS bloggers bring you the daily debrief from the pulsating heart of the viola world.

Day 1 – Wednesday, July 17th 2024.

The 49th International Viola Congress kicked off today in Campinas, near São Paulo, Brazil. It is the first time that an IVC is held in South America, so this is truly a milestone! The Host of this year’s congress is prof. Emerson de Biaggi at UNICAMP Institute of the Arts. The attending crowd is strikingly young, with lots of student delegations from all over South America, but especially from Brazil. The Dutch Viola Society is represented by 7 delegates, most of whom will also be performing or presenting at the congress.

The opening ceremony in the packed main Auditorium of the School of Music offered the customary speeches of welcomes and thanks from the hosts and the IVS President. It was elegantly and playfully wrapped up with two entertaining viola ensemble pieces performed by prof. de Biaggi’s own viola students. To celebrate the kick-off, we were served a wide variety of Brazilian pasteles, bolos and pãos with coffee and – my favourite – guaranã juice. Along with all the socializing with new and old friends, for many of us this meant skipping a real lunch and diving head-first into the first serious congress sessions.

The first recital session started at 1pm with a world premiere of Matthew Heap’s “Finding Balance” for Viola, Horn and Piano. The spouses Andrea and Albert Houde celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary today with this performance, joined by Luiza A. Salles on the piano.

Camila Meirelles brought us an interesting “local speciality” – a concertino (for viola and piano) that she herself had commissioned in 2016 from the revered José Ursicino da Silva – also simply known as Maestro Duda, composer and conductor from the North-East of Brazil. The composition features some typical rhythmic elements of that region’s traditional music, including the Maracatu and the Frevo

This was followed by a set of popular Brazilian children’s songs, arranged for viola duo by Flavio Chamis. Timothy Deighton and Tatjana Mead Chamis performed with humour and conviction. Stephen Nordstrom painted for us “A Musical Portrait of the American Southwest – Reflections on a Desert Winter”, accompanied on the piano by the composer himself – Dominic Dousa.

At this point, the Congress had already started to run parallel tracks – so the schedule forced us to make tough choices. I apologize in advance to everyone whose presentation I missed (or will miss) and therefore cannot describe here!

Next, I chose to follow the Lecture-recital “Unconventional Cadential Conventions: Exploring the World of Ogu Music on the Viola through African Pianism“. While the Ogu people are spread over several countries on the African West coast, they have a strong common musical “gene”. Ethnomusicologist dr. Joseph Kunnuji delivered a pre-recorded video lecture, explaining some key concepts and harmonic analysis of this music. After this, a number of examples were performed live by Jeanne-Louise Moolman (from South Africa) with Ana Carolina Sacco on the piano . With complex rhythmic patterns and a wide range of tonal expressions, it provided a fascinating peek into an unsuspected musical world.

Meanwhile in the other auditorium, some delays had accumulated, which gave me the chance to hear the last part of Jessé Máximo Perreira’s recital of four premiere viola solo compositions, a tribute to the late Brazilian violist Ricardo Kubala. The last piece, a solo sonata by Marco Padilha, featured a particularly dramatic scordatura. Some of the finer details were unfortunately drowned out by the (indispensable, but rather loud) airco system.

Those who attended last year’s congress in Salaya (Thailand) were fortunate to witness the premiere of Marco Anzoletti’s viola concerto. Since then, Anzoletti’s work can be said to be in a state of “revival”, and his Trio in b minor (1906) was given a rare outing today by Alicia Valoti (viola), Matheus G. Souza (violin) and Luciana Gastaldi (piano). They skipped the 2nd movement (for schedule reasons), but there was enough evidence of nice melodic viola lines.

The Polish delegation in Campinas is vital as always. In a program titled “Solo, duo, quattro“, Wojciech Kolaczyk “and friends” performed 3 very authentic Polish compositions: First a commissioned piece for the occasion, a solo piece simply called “Campinas” by Dawid Pajdzik (b.1984). Next, Wojciech was joined by the always dynamic Dutch-Canadian Emlyn Stam in “Duo nr.1” by Przemyslaw Pujanek. The performance drew cheers from the audience, but that would soon be overshadowed by the “Elegia for 4 violas” (again by Dawid Pajdzik). Here the previously mentioned duo was expanded to a quartet by adding Karin Dolman and Marcin Murawski. What a fascinating piece! As a “planned encore”, the merry band gave a rendition of Michael Kimber’s classic “Viola Fight Song”, always good for a laugh.

Kevin Nordstrom rounded off today’s recital sessions. He started off with the solo pieces “Simply Purple” and “Wild Purple” by Joan Tower (b.1938). Most impressive was however his rendition of Sonata Pastorale by the “First Lady of the Viola”, Lillian Fuchs (1904-1995).

After a rather hurried dinner back at the hotel, we reconvened in the main Auditorium for the “Opening night concert”, featuring the Jundiaí Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Claudia Feres and last but not least IVS President Jutta Puchhammer as a soloist. She first performend Sitt’s Concertino op.46, warmly appreciated by the audience, and followed through with Istvan Eröd’s “Fantasia” for viola and string orchestra, composed in 1981 for Thomas Riebl. This rarely heard piece was a very pleasant surprise! It all suited the soloist’s virtuosity and sound shaping very well, and the audience rewarded her with their abundant appreciation.

The orchestra sprinkled the menu with an appetizer by Rossini (ouverture La Gazza Ladra) and a dessert platter by Dvorak (his Slavonic Dances). Never before have I seen an orchestral viola section so passionately applauded, with loud cheers for VIOLA, VIOLA!. It was all very deserved, but viola sections rarely ever get the appreciation they deserve, so savour the moment! This can only ever happen at a Viola Congress!

Kristofer G. Skaug, DVS

PS. More near-real-time news tomorrow!

Report from ARD Competition 2023, 4th Round (Finals)

Posted on 10/09/2023 by DVS

The prestigious ARD music competition 2023 (ARD Wettbewerb) for Viola is ongoing these days in Munich (D). Karin Dolman reports exclusively for the DVS her personal impressions day-by-day until the Final on Sunday, Sept. 10th.

Round 4, Finals (Sept 10th, 2023):

I meet my friends from The Netherlands, now residents of Munich, and we go together to the Finals of the competition, which is held in the “Herkulessaal” of the Residenz, a very noble hall. The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks led by Andrew Grams will accompany the finalists in the Bartók and Walton concertos.

This time there is a program with background information on the final competitors: Ionel Ungureanu, Takehiro Konoe and Haesue Lee. For the Dutch it would be great if Takehiro wins the competition. But it can go in any direction, it depends also on the jury taking the other rounds into consideration.

Ionel Ungureanu was the first to play. He chose the Bartók concerto. He had trouble getting the sluggish sounding orchestra going. The second movement was touching and all the solos in the orchestra were well matched. Here was chemistry. Unfortunately in the last movement he had trouble organizing the orchestra. The public was nevertheless very enthusiastic about Ionel, bit of a “home favourite”.

O wow, Takehiro Konoe’s performance was really amazing. We have to turn off our mobiles so I always make my report after the performance. Takehiro was playing the Walton and the orchestra was ready to play as well! I must say, they did a better job than in the Bartók. Maybe they should have put the Bartók in the middle!

Takehiro’s vibrato, mentioned earlier, is just right, a bit big in amplitude, which helps his sound carry. I am wondering what instrument he plays on. But it is clearly his playing, not the instrument. I am really proud of this performance. In the program it said where he was born and raised in the Netherlands, so our country gets a bit of credit.

Now we return go back to hear the last of the finalists, Haesue Lee! She also plays the Walton concerto! So mobile and really enjoyable! Yes yes, what a performance!!!! For today she was the one who grabbed the audience by the throat!! Her timing was great, she took the lead, not the conductor. I hope a lot of people watched the livestream.

But being here was so great. Now we have to wait for the jury decision. All of the competitors were excellent in their own respects. Ionel is the greatest all-round musician, Takehiro has the best tone and vibrato and my beloved Haesue is the one who stole my heart, already in her Brahms.

Ionel will have a great career, hopefully write a lot of pieces for the viola (maybe the next solo piece for the ARD!!!!) Or for another competition, or play his own pieces like Hindemith did! And Takehiro will be the best ambassador for new music, hopefully with his pianist Meeuwsen.

And the winners are ..: (drum roll)… :

First prize and Audience Prize: Haesue Lee (South Korea)
Shared 3rd prize: Takehiro Konoe (Japan/Netherlands) and Ionel Ungureanu Germany)

The Jury of the 2023 ARD Viola Competition consisted of:

Lars Anders Tomter, Chair
Steven Ansell
Tatjana Masurenko
Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot
Naoko Shimizu
Edward Vanderspar
Wen Xiao Cheng

—

Note: The competition was Livestreamed on the ARD website, and also on YouTube, where you can go back and listen (if you missed it) and make up your own mind of the performances!

Report from ARD Competition 2023, 3rd Round (Semifinals)

Posted on 09/09/2023 by DVS

Round 3, Semifinals (Sept 8th, 2023):

When I arrived with my ticket to the concert hall it turned out that my seat didn’t exist. I had a ticket for the middle of the hall so I just looked for and found another nice place to sit.

The first candidate of this Semifinal round was Kyungsik Shin. He plays the Hoffmeister concerto with the Kammerorchester vom Bayrischen Rundfunk. The orchestra plays without conductor, which is very interesting. He moves very well and plays with a nice open sound and open strings flageolets. He plays one of the standard cadenzas, which I had hoped would not be the case. Here is an opportunity to present your “business card” to your audience. But on the positive side, Kyungsik is wearing a traditional suit from South Korea.

The second movement was a bit aggressive. But in the third movement, the rondo was very clear and joyful. Communication with the orchestra was good as well.

Njord Kårason Fossnes

Njord Kårason Fossnes played second, and chose the Mozart clarinet concerto. Great opening by the orchestra, especially the horns. They play on natural horns and sound very good in the orchestra. The concerto is more difficult than the Hoffmeister or Stamitz, but it’s all about the style and brightness, and only a perfect performance impresses. Njord is doing a great job to make the concerto more popular in the viola repertoire. But I’m not sure if it fits in a competition. The concerto is also much longer than the two others. In the recapitulation of the first movement he feels more comfortable, and dares to turn to the orchestra more. This concerto is filled with more themes, characters and harmonies than the Hoffmeister. And there are no standard cadenzas, so you have to make your own.

The second movement starts with the viola (I am unconsciously hearing the clarinet) but it suits the viola as well. In the orchestra bits I keep listening to the horns. Njord conducts very well. The rondo has a nice tempo. It can sometimes be played too quickly. He gets a lot of bravos from the audience, so clearly many liked it very much.

Coming on stage with a beautiful red dress is Haesue Lee from South Korea. The dress is well tailored with a touch of a traditional Asian look. She plays Hoffmeister. Her viola is not very bright, but the effort she takes to make it as clear as possible works better than just playing on a bright instrument. Ah, such a pity, again the same cadenza (as Kyungsik Shin). That makes it harder for the jury to judge. On the other hand she plays it with more patience.

The second movement is really exciting. And the cadenza in the second movement was more interesting ending with the high flageolet! The third movement was really funny with many more nice small details. And she enjoys playing with the orchestra.

Haesue Lee

The commissioned piece for this semifinal is called ‘Doryphóros’ for solo viola, by Alberto Posadas. I had a chance to look into the score: Wow, 16 pages and 16 difficult pages. With a lot of double stop flageolets. After that I decided not to take the score into the concert, but just to listen. The three candidates that we just heard now will play this piece, one after another, which improves the comparability.

Kyungsik Shin comes on stage to play the piece first. It works really well, all the high flageolets. And the kind of perpetuum mobile, disturbed again by flageolets, creeps up to your neck. In Kyungsik’s hands it looks very easy, he has fabulous technique. The largo part in the middle sounds like wind and sounds from all kinds of objects moving in this atmosphere. It goes again into the perpetuum mobile. The passages of chords sounds as if we are heading for a great ending. Yes!

There is a lot of talking after the performance. I think for the ordinary public the piece is a bit too much to deal with.

Next is Njord Kårason Fossnes: The beginning of the piece sounds much more friendly in his hands. The perpetuum mobile is a bit slower. The disturbing interruptions in between are less, which makes it all a bit more like one thing. The middle part as well is friendlier. He takes the piece as if it were written in a classical time, which is very good. I think it is a great performance!

Let’s see what Haesue Lee does with this piece. I have high expectations of her. As I already thought, she is even more clear. She plays the whole perpetuum mobile spiccato and the interruptions more legato, which makes it sound as if played by two players. The middle part in her hands has a more timeless feeling.

After a 20 minute break, unfortunately there is a smaller audience that returns, although we go back to the “safe haven” of classical concertos.

Today’s first Stamitz concerto is heralded by the replacement of the oboe with two clarinets. Luckily my favorite horns are still in it. The entrance of the solo of Brian Isaacs from the USA is a bit soft. It is a pity he plays on a (no doubt very expensive) mumbling viola. I hope the jury and public will listen through. He is a great player. Because I was a bit disturbed by the sound, I forgot to listen to his entrance.

As I had expected, he wrote his own Stamitz cadenza! Yeah! Funny as well, sometimes a bit out of context, but nevertheless, he gave his personal touch to the piece.

The second movement suits the instrument, softer in the orchestra and leaves us more together with Brian. The second cadenza was more a walk through of harmonies in which we could walk with him. Good tempo choice. Surprising bits in between the themes. The orchestra has to pay attention. They are sitting on the edge of their chairs. The last quick passages are perfectly played!

Next is “our own” Takehiro Konoe, playing the Hoffmeister. Great playing in the first movement. Very clear. Unfortunately not a self-written cadenza 😳 That could have made the difference with the other Hoffmeister played by Haesue. A very romantic played second movement. His vibrato is great! I do not hear enough personal elements in the third movement, this is something that I miss, only his timing is more personal.

Last candidate, my favorite musician, Ionel Ungureanu, with the Stamitz concerto. Let’s see if he does what I expect. Yes yes!!! Great self written cadenza!!! So good! He will be a great composer as well, mark my words! On stage he is so One with the orchestra! The applause he got was overwhelming. We had to laugh even in the last movement.

But now again the commissioned piece by Posadas, played in succession by Brian, Takehiro and Ionel.

We start with Brian Isaacs. O wow he starts off so beautiful and so quick and soft in the perpetuum mobile. Also the middle part great playing. In his hands the piece is even more beautiful. So far for me the best performance.

Next comes Takehiro Konoe, he plays the piece again a bit sharper, nearer to spiccato. He takes more time and it sounds more easy. The flageolets in the middle part are not an effect anymore but more of a melody. The last part is much slower and he loses his place once, which was a pity.

The last candidate today is Ionel Ungureanu, and again he is great. Well deserved applause!

So my personal favorites are: Ionel, Haesue and Brian

—

Editorial note: The jury selected the following players for the Final on Sunday:

Haesue Lee, South Korea
Takehiro Konoe, Japan (& the Netherlands!)
Ionel Ungureanu, Germany

Note: The competition is Livestreamed on the ARD website, and also on YouTube, (Semifinal session: here); where you can go back and listen (if you missed it) and make up your own mind of the performances!

Report from ARD Competition 2023, 2nd Round (Day 2)

Posted on 07/09/2023 by DVS

Round 2, Day 2 (Sept 6th, 2023):

Today we will listen to the last 9 viola candidates of Round 2.

We start off with Takehiro Konoe, here in the program listed as from Japan, but born, raised and educated in the Netherlands, where he studies with Nobuko Imai and Francien Schatborn at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Takehiro starts with Gourzi’s “Evening at the window” (recap: inspired by the Chagall painting of the same name), with the bells around his ankle. The first movement is again a joy to listen to. And every violist plays it differently. Takehiro plays the “Smoke from the chimney” very softly, and a bit more jazzy than others, with many accents. And all the “yellow Moon“s are very soft. “In your arms” is played with a lot of vibrato, and a very personal big vibrato which I am very fond of.

Chagall’s painting “Evening at the Window”

The next piece is by Takemitsu, but this time not ‘A Bird came down the Walk’, but ‘A String around Autumn’ (Editorial note: sometimes also referred to as Takemitzu’s Viola Concerto). It starts with a romantic build up of perfect harmonies. Earlier this year at Nobuko Imai’s 80th birthday celebration, Takehiro played “A Bird” in a heartbreakingly beautiful fashion, and now his Takemitsu is again touching in this 2nd round. The Adagio and Allegro by Robert Schumann is also so beautiful played, great.

The next competitor is Kyungsik Shin from South Korea. After a nice bow he starts off with Hindemith’s “1939” sonata. Why he has a music stand at all I don’t know, because he plays everything by heart and with a big tone. And with so many characters. He is as well nice to look at.

His communication with this great pianist who plays with him (editorial note: Ken Nakasako) is also nice to see. Pizzicatos are played holding the viola like a guitar, I see him smile in the funny passages knowing the piano score so well. I am really sure we will see Kyungsik in the next round!

Curious how the Brahms will be! And that’s a surprise! He plays very light hearted. With a very light bow stroke he goes through the piece and takes the higher octave. And it sounds really nice. It will take some effort for the jury to understand this approach. I would play it differently, but that’s a question of taste.

The last piece is a composition by Olga Neuwirth (b.1968) from Austria. Her debut composition, written when she was 17, was ‘Die Kuh tanzt Ragtime’ (the cow dances ragtime). Also she wrote for the viola d’Amore! This piece is called ‘Weariness heals wounds’ with scordatura on the C string, tuned down to a B flat. Virtuosic as well as exploring the sounds of the instrument. You can hear she was a student of Henze. The title of the piece I can’t really hear, but it is really astonishing how Kyungsik plays this extremely difficult piece! Great, we will see you back!

After a 20 minute break we continue with Gaeun Song from South Korea. She starts off with the Fantasiestücke by Schumann. No music stand, so everything by heart and that gives a special feeling. As an audience you are closer to the performer.

The solo piece Gaeun performs is the piece by Betsy Jolas. Hearing the piece for the second time, it starts to form an image. Gaeun’s small and long fingers make all the notes very clear.

Then we hear the (Hindemith) 1939 sonata again. Forget what I said about the sonata not being played often enough… but on the other hand, every musician gives the piece a magical new touch.

The last candidate this morning is the Chinese violist Zihan Zhang, who starts with the sonata in F by Brahms. He forgets to put one stand away and now his sound and view is blocked by this stupid stand.

By the way, there is one thing what I would like to do with nearly all competitors, go and look for better outfits! They are all on stage with awfully dull black clothes! When you come from China, why not some traditional clothing from your home!

Back to Brahms. Zihan tries to keep the Brahms more intimate. But now he is overwhelmed by the piano. It is a pity that Zihan doesn’t take us with him. He is playing along the piano.

As a solo piece Zihan chose the caprice by Bacewicz. Ah, he puts the stand away and there is a totally different viola player on stage. Nice ponticello pizzicatto at the end of the first episode. This is his thing, his fingers are extremely quick which is very imported in the caprice. I am glad he played the Bacewicz!

After the lunch break we listen to Pengxi Zhu from China. He opens his recital with ‘Evening at the window’ by Gourzi. Very impressive playing. The left hand pizzicati are a bit soft compared with the arco. He knows the piece very well, he really performs from the bottom of his heart!

His second piece is the sonata by Rebecca Clarke. It is a very personal approach. For my taste a bit too aggressive, but he plays it convincingly. In the second movement the light-footed element of the music comes across well in his playing. The sonata was composed for the 1919 Berkshire competition. Before that, Rebecca Clarke visited Asian countries with her trio, and used a lot of elements from Asia in her music. Like a lot of French composers from that time.

The last piece is the Arpeggione sonata by Franz Schubert. Pengxi plays very clearly in this sonata, but there is little chemistry between the pianist and viola player. He, on the other hand, tries to connect with the audience. The arrangement is very particular. Could be much simpler.

In the last movement his way of playing comes out very well. He does take a wrong turn at one point. You have to have them very good in your head. This arrangement is for me too much all in the same octave. Unfortunately the piece was not fully mastered by heart.

The room fills up now for the next candidate from Germany and from München; home turf favourite Carla Usberti. I have heard her several times before, and she is a remarkable young lady. She starts off with the Brahms sonata in E flat. Great of tone and expression! And it all goes so easily.

As a solo piece she plays the Beamish. Carla plays it naturally with a beautiful vibrato in the high passages.

And then once more the (Hindemith) 1939. For Carla the program will be more relaxed than last year at the Hindemith competition. They had to learn so many pieces, which helps her now. She plays with so much ease and everything sound good but as well never dull! Always exciting!

After 10 minutes break we continue with Haesue Lee from South Korea. She starts off with the solo piece by Beamish – a great performance. She really plays to the audience. Haesue brings the piece in a timeless atmosphere.

The next piece on the program is the (Brahms) E flat sonata and yes, she plays it with love! And a nice expression on her face. A side note: she is the only one playing on high heels – and they are thin as nails! Back to Brahms, beautiful tempi in the first movement. Nice portamenti, not too much, just right. I wonder, why do the gentlemen (not all) lose so many bow hairs where the women don’t lose a single hair, when they play with the same strength and power? Who knows the answer?

Beautiful portamenti in the ending of the second movement. I think this is the most beautifully played Brahms so far, I know, still 2 candidates to go, but it is all I need, I can’t imagine someone playing even more beautiful.

In this competition, nobody had fine tuners on their instruments, which could have saved so much time in the tuning. The audience is not allowed to applaud between the pieces. Hmm.

The last sonata Haesue chose is the sonata opus 147 of Schostakowitch. Played with good taste, and not for herself but for us. Ah, a broken hair after all! I suppose shouldn’t have mentioned it. Okay it is the exception in the female world, one hair against 50? Heart breaking beginning of the third movement! Again one more for the next round!

It’s 7 PM and we start with the two last candidates!

First is Yixiu Lin from China, who starts with the Arpeggione sonata by Schubert. Great beginning. Yixiu plays the piece very delicately! A beautiful second movement and in the last movement she shows that she is capable of having all the characters in the right place.

The second piece on her program is the Lachrimae by Britten. A very good performance. Maybe sometimes a bit too eager. Sometimes the viola doesn’t respond to what she does.

The last piece is again the Beamish, perfectly played. It will be a tough task for the jury to take 6 candidates for the next round.

The last candidate of the evening (and of this round) is Emad Zolfaghari from Canada. He starts off with the Brahms F sonata. What passion. Emad is very tall! Every movement he makes (and he makes a lot) looks even bigger! But it comes from his toes! (Editorial note: a Dutch colloquialism, not to be taken too literally).

I said no better Brahms, but this one is at least as good as the other. I love his warm slow vibrato. It reminds me of Norbert Brainin, the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet. I think Emad is still very young.

Yeah, a new piece on the program! L. Ronchetti, Studi profondi für Viola solo. The first movement is a very quick and schizophrenic movement. The second with mute sounds more like a passacaglia. The third is like someone wants to sing, but always gets disturbed; then the mute goes on again and the passacaglia comes back. The beginning comes back to the schizophrenic piece but very well performed. All kinds of extended techniques are used.

Last piece on the menu: Hindemith op.11 no.4, and I think this will be great. With his long fingers and beautiful vibrato and communication with his pianist, this can’t go wrong. The passage ‘Mit grosser Plumpheid vor zu tragen’ he did so great. Unfortunately one small mistake. But I think the jury will polish that away, what a musician!

Tomorrow is a day off! Friday we go on with the semi final! Lets see who’s in!

—

Editorial note: The jury selected the following players for the Semifinal on Friday:

Njord Kårason Fossnes, Norway
Brian Isaacs, USA
Ionel Ungureanu, Germany
Takehiro Konoe, Japan (and the Netherlands!)
Kyungsik Shin, South Korea
Haesue Lee, South Korea

Note: The competition is Livestreamed on the ARD website, and also on YouTube, where you can go back and listen (if you missed it) and make up your own mind of the performances!

Report from ARD Competition 2023, 2nd Round (Day 1)

Posted on 06/09/2023 by DVS

Round 2, Day 1 (Sept 5th, 2023):
Today I will make my first report from the ARD international Viola Competition in Munich. The First round was played last weekend, and from the 46 candidates who were pre-selected by video, 17 went to the quarter finals. The great young violists selected are:

Noga Shaham, Israel
Wassili Wohlgemuth, Germany
Rebecca Benjamin, USA
Aleksandr Tatarinov, Russia
Njord Kårason Fossnes, Norway
Yoonsun Jang, South Korea
Brian Isaacs, USA
Ionel Ungureanu, Germany
Takehiro Konoe, Japan (but born, raised and educated in the Netherlands!)
Kyungsik Shin, South Korea
Gaeun Song, South Korea
Zihan Zhang, China
Penguin Zhu, China
Carla Usberti, Germany
Haesue Lee, South Korea
Yixiu Lin, China
Emad Zolfaghari, Canada

Before the competition started, I had to leave my belongings at the cloakroom. Therefore, I am unable to make drawings this time. I also have to learn to type very quickly on my phone. Good practice.

I met Jamie from Australia, 18 years old and visiting his first international viola competition. He was allowed to take a notebook, which makes sense. Young musicians should be able to take notes.

Noga Shaham (relative of a famous violinist?) was the first competitor. She started off with the solo piece ‘Ariel’ by UK composer Sally Beamish. Beamish is a composer I am not very familiar with her music, despite her numerous contributions to the viola repertoire. I will definitely buy this piece and listen to more of her compositions! This modest piece was well treated by Noga.

The second piece on her program was the ‘Lacrimae’ by Benjamin Britten. Her performance was very free and with a very beautiful warm tone which suits the work. When the sordino comes off the string, the power of this young violist is on full display. Noga chooses for the variations with flageolets in the ossia part.

This was followed by the whole first sonata by Johannes Brahms. All played with a beautiful bright tone.

Next was Wassili Wohlgemuth, one of the three German competitors. He started with the second sonata by Brahms. What appeals to me is that his colours in the Brahms are so rich. A very nice quick tempo in the first movement which suits him very well. In the first movement he plays the higher octaves, like the clarinet, which makes sense and he handles it very easily. Also the second movement was quick again, the contrast with the subito piano ending works well. Great performance

The Beamish piece is totally different in Wassili’s hands. More funny moments in it, with humor. The ricochet is very clear. He plays the piece by heart which makes the performance special. Wassili plays with a lot of rosin on his bow. When he pulls off a broken hair you see the dust come off..

The Britten ‘Lachrimae’ is more straight and gives one an idea of the sorts of variations. The last variation is so quick that I feared he would lose tempo, but he managed to keep this up. The Dowland quote is played with great purity, thank you Wassili.

After a small break and a meeting with Lars Tomter and Jutta Puchhammer, both in the jury, we continue with Rebecca Benjamin.

She starts off with the second Brahms sonata. She is a bit insecure in the beginning but already in the second phrase she is on track with a beautiful vibrato and singing voice. Rebecca is a delicate player, not very often associated with the USA. I like her approach to Brahms very much. And she is enjoying it!

In the next piece by Konstantia Gourzi you can really hear that the composer is Greek. The harmonies, intervals and slides and the bells around the foot give a Mediterranean feeling. The piece is named after a painting by Chagall ’Evening at the window’ and has 6 movements:

A Rooster in the sky
The yellow moon
Smoke from the chimney
The yellow Moon
In your arms
The yellow MOON

The first movement is a rhythmic movement, Greek folk music with bells. “The yellow moon” is short with a hotel mute, which gives a specific sound not often used. The third movement is with pizzicatos and glittering quick notes. “The yellow Moon”, is played with a normal mute. “In your arms” definitely refers to two people and has distinctly Arabic sounds. Clearly a love song and passionate. The last movement “The yellow MOON” this time is played without the mute! Great piece and great performance. Like the Beamish, this is a piece to take with me to the viola classroom.

The last piece on the program is the romantic sonata opus 11 nr 4 by Paul Hindemith. Rebecca gives a wonderful performance!

The fourth candidate Aleksandr Tatarinov also plays the piece by Gourzi, which gives us the opportunity to know this piece better. Aleksandr is a performer and plays with his audience. The “Smoke rising from the chimney” is more jazzy! He dares to really play on the fingerboard. The piece is even more rich in his hands! And he plays the instrument as if he is born with it.

The second piece is the Adagio and Allegro by Schumann. In the adagio he takes beautiful opportunities to use octave layers.

In Britten’s Lachrimae, you see that Aleksandr dares to use the bow differently. Like in the tremolo he turns the hair towards the fingerboard which gives a great sound. His playing is humorous as well in the pizzicato, and he communicates with his pianist. On the other hand, sometimes it is as if he is reading his part. It is like he didn’t expect to be in this round of the competition. The Britten is clearly not completely prepared. But I love his way of treating the viola and music.

After a good lunch with two friends, I am ready for the next four competitors. First is Njord Kårason Fossnes, 2^nd prize winner of the Hindemith competition 2022. This very young violist is a student of Kim Kashkashian. She is so capable of giving every student the space to develop their own character. So Njord is not a copy of someone, but just himself.

He starts off with Schumann’s Fantasiestücke. The viola looks like a toy instrument in his giant hands. He is so well prepared. The sheet music is only pro forma. And the way he plays shows he is used to playing in competitions and concerts. Maybe these Fantasy pieces could also be played in the lower registers instead of so high on the instrument. Or could the piano score be altered?

The piece by the French composer Betsie Jolas, “Episode no 6” (1984) is much more abstract than many composers write today. It’s like a half awake dream, where your thoughts go from one absurd moment to the other, where you wake up and still don’t know what you dreamed. It’s music which doesn’t get into your memory. I played the piece myself once and couldn’t remember any of it. But Njord knows the piece very well and plays it by heart, making a story out of it.

The last piece is the Hindemith Sonata op. 25 no. 4, which is a very pushy sonata. Even in the lyric solos in the viola, the piano never stops pushing and pounding on the beat. You don’t get any chance to breathe. But the second movement gives some air to the player and public. I think this movement is one of the most touching movements in his oeuvre. With nearly no notes and use of the sordino. You only have to play what is written and no more. In the last movement Hindemith runs again. With some funny moments but with a pushy piano part. The passage on the C string is one of my favourite passages. This giant Njord is a sublime viola player who deserved the bravos received from the audience.

The second candidate of the afternoon is Yoonsun Jang from South Korea. She starts with Gourzi. Barefoot on stage, which makes sense with the first piece. Let’s see how this rooster sings. She has very clear left hand pizzicato’s. And also her timing of the bells is very clear, as if she is playing with a second player. I like again the use of the hotel mute! In solo viola pieces it is so good to use! The third movement is played more quietly, and gives the impression of two persons being on stage. Well done. I like the tempo, it feels timeless. Her “Smoke from the chimney” is more like the white smoke of a newly chosen pope. The second “yellow moon” sounds very beautiful, not messy but very bright. I like this performance of Gourzi very much.

To play Schubert’s Arpeggione in a competition is very dangerous. Every jury member will have a very strong opinion on the piece. It is a big task to listen with an open mind to the player. Same goes for an audience member. What are the rules to play such a piece on stage: first of all, you have to doubt every arrangement and make one your own. Second, you have to tell a story. And third, you have to communicate with the pianist. Very often the pianists play the piece as an automatic machine, so you have to wake them up and make it joyful for both players and share that with your audience. Only if you are capable of that, go ahead and play it in a competition.

The Hindemith Sonata 1939 is clearly written in a time when everyone was confused. The culture world couldn’t believe the hate that was spreading at the time. I think this disbelief is what this sonata is all about. Desperate, hopeful, joyful, sad, crying, laughter, every second of this sonata changes. It is a sonata that should be played more often and helps us be aware of the political choices we make.

Back to the competition. Yoonsun brings out this message well. Portraying all of the characters in the piece.

17.40 we go on with the last two competitors. First Brian Isaacs from New York, now studying with Tabea Zimmermann.

Brian starts off with a transcription of Grieg’s 3^rd violin sonata, which suits the viola very well. Grieg needed much more time writing this sonata than for the first two he wrote. The heroic opening of the first movement is in great contrast to the lyric second theme. Brian is a very virtuoso violist, plays incredibly in tune and has a great vibrato. And he lets us believe we are in the mountains looking over the fjords in Norway.

Clearly Grieg was a pianist. The second movement starts with a heavenly piano solo where you only think the viola will disturb it, but Brian joins in heavenly manner. The second theme is like a dance of fairies. The third movement looked like a whole sonata on its own, and so passionately played. Wow, how beautifully this young man plays!

Grażyna Bacewicz was one of the first recognized female composers from Poland with an international career. Born in 1909, trained as a violinist, she composed mainly for her beloved violin. We hear her fourth capriccio for violin solo but now on the viola, composed one year before she died, only 60 years old.

The capriccio (I suppose a fifth lower) is really in a Polish style. They were much more into avant-garde techniques than the rest of Europe at the time. The capriccio seems to be in more parts. The second part with a lot of flageolets and very demanding. How well in tune are all of the octaves. The third part is with a lot of double stops and arpeggios. The fourth part is more lyrical, ending with the most virtuosic passages imagined.

Brian wraps up with the sonata opus 25 no. 4 by Paul Hindemith. As well so perfect and with great taste! Like what I said, just play the second movement and didn’t do too much. The sonata was written earlier in 1922 after the Great War, when Hindemith decided to fully concentrate on the viola. Lucky we are that he did so. I nearly cry listening to the second movement. The chords of the last movement are really recognizable as tonal chords. With a lot of players you hear only a kind of percussion here. The passage on the c-string is played more at the frog, which sounds really crispy. After the long B, the tempo stays very slow which gives us a great ending! Bravo. He only lost about 20 bow hairs!

Brian should be careful that he keeps a few hairs on his bow for the final on Sunday. Because I think he is definitely a candidate for that!

The last candidate is Ionel Ungureanu. He starts off with the Beamish piece. Ungureanu is a great musician, and a composer himself. He has a great clear viola. But of course he still has to do it. All the notes, flageolets, ricochet, come out so easily.

Next piece on the program are the Fantasiestücke by Schumann. In this arrangement I miss a bit of the lower register of the viola. Ionel was also a competitor at the Hindemith competition last year, and I was already in favour of him then. He has grown even more, with this clear voice, and incredibly good intonation, playing so nice and clean and still with passion and grabbing you by the throat.

Once more Hindemith’s “1939” Sonata. Ionel knows the piece very well, and brings all the characters out. All the arpeggios so perfect. I think in Ionel will be another finalist!

So many gifted viola players walking around… is this the case with the violin as well I wonder? I am looking forward to tomorrow’s session!

Note: The competition is Livestreamed on the ARD website, and also on YouTube, where you can go back and listen (if you missed it) and make up your own mind of the performances!

IVC Salaya Blog – Day 3

Posted on 16/06/2023 by DVS

The 48th International Viola Congress took place in Salaya, Thailand from June 6th – 10th, 2023. With a bit longer delay than usual, this daily blog report is delivered to you by Kristofer Skaug.

Day 3: Thursday, June 8th, 2023
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The third day of the IVC in Salaya started off with a lecture doubleheader. The first lecture by Paul Groh discussed the Telemann Fantasias and their adaptation to the viola. Next up was Hillary Herndon and her students from the University of Tennessee, presenting a first printed anthology of works from the ground-breaking AVS Under-represented Composers Database. The album is called “Mosaic” and draws from the works of black and latino composers. A number of these pieces were performed.
Unfortunately I missed both of these morning lectures, which my better (rise-and-shiney) half told me were indeed very interesting. She even took a picture for me:

The first recital I did attend today was that of Jorge Alves, with a programme titled “Beautiful songs by 20th century Portuguese Composers“, The works were by Joly Braga Santos, Armando José Fernandes and a sonatine by Luiz Costa. Especially this sonatine spoke to me, indeed beautiful (as advertised), without any overly modernistic pretentions. I admire Jorge for his persistent drive to bring us this music from his homeland, and my guess is that we stlll have much to look forward to from him.

Now the stage was set for special guest artist Krit Supabpanich in the MACM auditorium. Supabpanich is a “home grown” former student of the Mahidol Univ. College of Music and currently is a member of the Thailand Philharmonic. The program consisted predominantly of new (premiere) music by Thai composers, several of which were present at the concert. We’re all ears!

He starts off with a solo piece called “Student’s Parade” (by Cherng-Woei Tai), no doubt meant as a nod to his past at this school. It has a certain idiomatic and agreeable motion and harmony, which however soon was to be outshone by the ensuing viola/cello duet called “Perpetual Transience” (composed by Chanathip Chaisirinon) – which had a captivating effect on me.

After this came a bit of a letdown, Study nr.2 for solo viola (composed by Rattana Suparatanachatpan) leaned heavily on Extended Techniques but seemed more a showcase of how to produce weird sounds with your viola, rather than a truly artistic expression. The Lazzi for solo viola (by Jirapat Leetrakulnumchai) maneuvred us back to the conceptual world of the initial Parade piece, which I feel more at ease with.

Last but certainly not least, Tanaphan Polrob had been commissioned to write a Sonata for viola and Guzheng (a kind of Chinese cither that is used also in Thai traditional music). The sonata carries the title “Perpetuum mobile“, however I couldn’t quite match this title with the music – but the Guzheng player assured me that the requisite looping patterns were present, I guess I need some training to digest this quite complex and interesting new soundscape. What in particular appealed to me was the direct musicianship in the interplay and sound confluence of the viola and this guzheng. All in all, Supabpanich and his team of composers and co-performers (pictured below) deserve many kudos for launching this gutsy program of Thai contemporary music onto the world stage.

Although the next recital artist was already waiting in the wings, at this point I had to leave the MACM auditorium for a number of reasons:
1) realizing it was 14.00h and the College canteen closes around this time;
2) avoiding “cold fusing” my lower back to the auditorium seat
3) knowing there was no other possible break in sight until after the evening concert

When I returned from lunch, it was to hear Vinciane Béranger and her teammates Tiphaine Lucas (cello) and Joachim Besse (piano) in a charming programme inspired by Rebecca Clarke’s “Irish Melody” (new arr. for viola/cello). We might have known that the tune “Danny boy” (with an appreciative wave to our Congress Host) would turn up here, sooner or later, and it did :-). However, the actual programme was modified significantly compared to the printed one (where the pieces with piano were not even mentioned), I had planned to ask what was actually played (it was certainly not Bartók and Lutoslawski) – anyhow it was very enjoyable.

Time for this year’s congress contribution of the young Norwegian Viola Society, brought to us by mr. Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota. This charismatic Lithuanian-born violist has abandoned the financial security of his Oslo Philharmonic seat to enjoy the freedom of off-road viola playing. And he knows how to use this freedom, mixing folk songs, his own improvisations and compositions, and his quite steady vocal chords to create a very intriguing set.

A memorable part was the composition “Song of the Mountain People” by Vidar Kristensen, while Norwegian music, it is inspired by Taiwanese folk songs and brought to you by a Lithuanian violist at this congress in Thailand. “Music without borders” (this year’s congress theme), indeed! More singing in “Ingen vinner frem” and two own compositions by Povilas called “Dream” and “Best Wishes”. The congress audience was very appreciative of this performance.

Enter Jerzy Kosmala. This respected US-based Polish violist and teacher has passed the age where you just don’t ask anymore, but is still on his feet and performing. We vividly recall his performing Wranitzky’s double concerto with his own grandson at the congress in Poznan (2019). This time he brought us a hearty menu consisting of Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Bloch’s Suite Hebraïque and the entire César Franck Sonata.

Did I mention it was a rather busy congress program this afternoon/evening? Since 11am this morning there have been 7 straight recitals so far, it is now 5 pm, and we still have 4 performances to go.

The next one was truly a whopper: All of Hindemith’s (four) solo sonatas in one go, performed by the American violist Amadi Azikiwe. He had chosen the following playing order (by opus number): 25/1, 31/4, “1937” and 11/5.

The sonatas were all well played, but are not particularly suited for such a marathon (or should we say “Hindemithon”), in my view. The well known opening sonata 25/1 sounded as if one was saving energy for all the other sonatas to come. But each of these pieces deserve undivided and unreserved polishing devotion in order for the Hindemith spirit to pop out of the lamp. Also in the technically gruelling opening movement of 31/4, Saint Hindemith’s bald head did not emerge from behind the clouds. Peace and balance finally came in the 2nd movement.

But Azikiwe was only just getting warmed up, and halfway through the programme, he seemed to have found the groove. His convincing rendition of the “1937” sonata, infamous for its technical demands, drew spontaneous cheers from the audience. Really well done! (afterward, at the dinner table in Ristorante Rustico, he told me this is also his favourite of the four sonatas … we could tell.).

Now for the final 11/5 sonata however, I had a problem, which was all on my side. I love Hindemith just as much as the next violist (maybe even more!), but my ears and brain need a break. My grandpa used to say, “I can never get too much beer, but my arms grow tired”. So the bottom line is still that I prefer Hindemith’s solo sonatas in moderate digestible amounts.

A big tip of the hat to Azikiwe nonetheless for braving this monster challenge. And certainly he had a most appreciative and knowledgeable Viola audience, unlike any you’d find in the average recital hall.

Some lighter material awaited us in the programme “Musical Hors d’Oeuvres for viola and violin from around the world“, performed by IVS President Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot and Viola Congress regular “house violinist” Annette-Barbara Vogel. Departing from Jutta’s native Austria (Vienna), a Robert Fuchs op. 60 duo gave the upbeat to a “world tour” of duos taking us through France (Charles Koechlin), Russia (Arthur Lourié and Reinhold Glière – composers for which today surely Belarus and Ukraine, respectively, would claim credit), Canada (both Jutta’s and Annette-Barbara’s current residence) and finally England (Gordon Jacob).

A few notes – the Glière duos are of course originally for violin and cello. It was not clear whether Jutta was reading the bass clef or whether someone had touched up her part with a viola clef. Would be nice to know! Secondly, the duo “Three for Pi” by Canadian composer Paul Frehner was in fact commissioned for this congress. If there was a voiced effort to explain this title, I must have missed it (I admit I was a bit tired at this point), I am speculating now on mathematical / symbolic meanings or possible word plays. I’ll add the explanation here if/when I find it!

The next recital by Juliet White-Smith (titled “Origins: Pre-21st Century Viola Works from the African Diaspora“) brought a couple of surprises. There were two pleasant shorter violin/piano transcriptions, Night and Elfentanz by Florence Price (1887-1953). But the core elements of White-Smith’s recital were two original viola works by the Afro-American composer Ulysses Kay (1917-1995) :A single-movement Sonatina, followed by a four-part Sonata, the latter written under audible mentorship of Paul Hindemith himself. Thank you to mrs. White-Smith for her research that has resurfaced this music, which certainly should be able to hold its own in our repertoire.

This evening’s special “Featured Artist” concert was given by the TAIORO ensemble from New Zealand, featuring viola great and former IVC Congress Host Donald Maurice, together with “spoken work poet” Sharn Maree and pianist Sherry Grant. We heard poems interleaved and sometimes supported by viola/piano works by Alfred Hill, Douglas Lilburn and Sharn Maree herself. The poetry springs from the indigenous Māori culture and reflects on sometimes painful confrontations with social inequality and change.

This evening’s “afterparty” in Ristorante Rustico drew a lot of hungry and thirsty people after a very intensive congress day! At some point, “someone” from the Polish delegation started pouring drinks that definitely were not apple juice. A Good Time ™ was had by all.