”The most important thing is that you have something to say.”

He hardly needs an introduction: Lawrence Power, British violist, educated at Guildhall and Juilliard. Having won the Primrose International Viola Competition in 1999, Power enjoys a prominent carreer as a soloist and chamber musician. His CD recordings are widely acclaimed, spanning particularly the 20^th century English viola repertoire in addition to the landmarks of Hindemith, Shostakovich and Bartok. He is International Professor of Viola at the Zurich Hochschule der Kunst.

This month, Lawrence is visiting Rotterdam for two performances with his pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips, and a viola masterclass sponsored by Codarts and the Dutch Viola Society. A perfect pretext for an interview, and we were fortunate to find Lawrence available for a telephone conversation on a rare quiet evening.

DVS: How did it all begin, was there music in your life from the very start?

Well, I’m not from a musical family, so I was very fortunate with my local school, where they had tests to see if children were musical. I was quite tall for my age, so I started straight on the viola when I was seven.

DVS: Did you ever want to become anything else than a viola player?

No, it was really something that I always wanted to do, it was very natural.

DVS: So, at such a young age, could you get an instrument with a decent sounding C-string?

I can’t really remember, it’s so long ago! But in a way, a viola can sound better in the beginning than a violin; some of the beginners’ violins can sound, you know, quite strange… so maybe that’s why I liked the viola. And when I was 12, I was very fortunate to get a good modern viola. So I was lucky to have a good working instrument early on, that makes a big difference.

DVS: Which teachers and performers inspired you in your development as a musician?

I had a great teacher from the age of 12 till 19, Mark Knight in London. He was a very practical teacher – a violinist actually, more than a viola player. And of course, being interested in viola, I listened to recordings of William Primrose and Lionel Tertis. And Yuri Bashmet, who was already a big superstar when I was young. And I listened to other musicians like Oistrakh, Heifetz, Milstein, all these wonderful historical recordings. So, lots of influences really.

DVS: Do you observe any rituals related to concert performances?

No, I really try to be relaxed about that. When you travel all over the planet, and you find you can’t keep to your rituals, it would be quite unnerving, if you’ve come to depend on it. When I’m at home, I can lock myself away and practice for 12 hours a day to prepare for a concert. But when I’m on the road, I might not get any decent practice for a whole week. That kind of flexibility is important for a musician, rather than routines. For me, anyway.

DVS: Not so many superstitions, then?

Not really, no <laugh>.

DVS: Given an opportunity to play just one unaccompanied viola solo piece, what would you play?

Difficult question… well, it wouldn’t be Bach; I don’t play Bach on the viola. I could play a Hindemith sonata… or the Ligety sonata, which is a great piece of music. Or the Berio Sequenza (for viola, numbered VI, ed.). Yes, I think that’s it: Ligety or Berio.

DVS: What’s wrong with playing the Bach cello suites on the viola?

Well, for one, he didn’t write them for the viola. And – I don’t know if I should be saying this here – but I actually play quite a bit of violin lately, I adore baroque music, but as a violist I don’t get in touch with that repertoire very much. In terms of playing Bach, I’d rather work on the violin sonatas and partitas. For baroque music, it’s wonderful to have the violin in my life, with access to composers like Biber, Schmelzer and Bach.

DVS: You do not find it difficult to switch between violin and viola?

No, to me the mechanics of violin and viola are much the same. Although I started out on the viola, I’m not a viola purist. It’s like a language. The viola is my mother tongue, I adore the viola, it’s what I do. But it’s possible to speak other languages, even if perhaps you have an accent. The words you say are more important than the accent.

William Primrose was one of my favourite viola players, but he was a violinist first, trained by Ysaÿe; Pinchas Zukerman was a violinist, even Lionel Tertis started out a violinist. It is important, even if you only play the viola, to have a solid technical grounding. Then you can play whatever you want. But the most important thing is that you have something to say.

DVS: In Rotterdam you will be contributing to a dance performance, based on the Shostakovich viola sonata. How did that come about?

I was asked if I would stay on in Rotterdam (after the recital of Oct. 20^th, ed.) to do this ballet performance based on the Shostakovich sonata. It is a wonderful piece of music, but also a very dark piece, very challenging for the audience. It is just about the last piece he wrote before he died, he never heard it performed. The opportunity to work with dancers on such a piece can be very interesting, and I’m very curious how they have choreographed it, it might give an added dimension. After the Shostakovich we will also be playing some recital repertoire, without dancers.

DVS: You seem to have a certain affinity with the British composers surrounding Lionel Tertis; your York Bowen recordings in particular seem to carry a personal conviction. How would you introduce Bowen to an un-initiated audience?

I would introduce Bowen to the audience as a very important English composer of real skill, who wrote many great works for the viola.

I was very fortunate to be asked to record the Bowen viola concerto on Hyperion. And that went down very well with the public, so I had this idea to record all of Bowen’s viola music, which he wrote for Tertis. Bowen was a superstar in his day, he premiered works at the Proms every year.  And then after the wars, his music went out of fashion. He was overshadowed by composers like Elgar, Britten, and Vaughan Williams.

For a young violist today it would be crazy to ignore Bowen’s pieces, because they show the viola in a very heroic and virtuosic light. And as a viola player you need those pieces in your repertoire, otherwise your concert programmes can become very one-dimensional, with elegiac music. In Holland of course you’ve also got some wonderful viola composers to choose from, like Röntgen.

DVS: How much of Bowen’s appeal can be attributed to the enormous viola passion of Lionel Tertis, shining through?

Oh, a lot. Tertis was one of the first viola players ever to travel around the world, as a soloist. Not only Bowen, but just about all English composers wrote for him: Walton, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Bliss, Bax … so in a way, like Rostropovich was a big figure for the cello, Tertis was massively important for the viola repertoire of the early 20^th century.

DVS: The contemporary viola repertoire is growing at an astonishing rate, left and right you see viola festivals, viola ensembles, viola societies popping up. Why is this, what is the particular appeal of the viola in our time? 

Musically speaking, composers in the 20^th century have reacted to the viola, because they see its possibilities as an expressive instrument. Of course Mozart, Schubert, Dvorak – they all played the viola, because as a composer of chamber music, you need to understand that middle voice. The viola turns the keys for a chamber ensemble. Hindemith led the way for future composers to write viola concertos. And also, for a composer considering to write a violin concerto, you feel the weight of a massive tradition on your shoulders, so a viola concerto perhaps feels liberating.

Regarding the Viola Societies, I think it’s great that people feel strongly about that, but I think the musical attraction of the viola has more to do with the versatility, the variations in size, shape and sounds that it can produce.

DVS: So then, analogous to composers’ preference for viola over violin concerto, might one explain the increase in repertoire for viola ensembles (at the expense of string quartets)?

Well, as long as it’s a good piece of music, the particular instrumentation is of secondary importance: Four flutes, violas, whatever. Of course Bowen wrote a viola quartet, and there’s a wonderful viola duo by George Benjamin: “Viola, viola”, a very powerful piece, which I’ve played many times. Hopefully, people will write lots of new interesting works for the viola.

DVS: Any prospects for the near future that you are particularly excited about?

Luckily I have lots of fun things to look forward to every month, travelling around and playing with nice people! But the main thing I’m really looking forward to now is the premiere in January of a new viola concerto by James MacMillan, in London. Working with contemporary composers is a big part of what I do and something I really enjoy.

© 2013 Dutch Viola Society / edited by Kristofer G. Skaug

“I want to do this for the rest of my life.”

The young British violist Rosalind Ventris is quickly emerging as one of the most promising artists of her generation. At 17, she was the youngest competitor at the 2006 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, where she won the prize for the most promising British entrant, and the EUCO prize. She made her London concerto debut the following year, performing Hindemith’s Viola Concerto “Der Schwanendreher”. Rosalind is currently based in London, giving concerts throughout the UK, and abroad. This month she visits The Netherlands with recitals in the Concertgebouw and in Den Hoorn (Texel), with works by Hindemith, Roxburgh and Bowen.

DVS: How did you get started on the viola?

I started learning the violin, and then took up the viola as well aged eight. I played both till I went up to Cambridge University to read Music and at that point only wanted to practise the viola! At the very beginning I played a violin strung as a viola, and then a small viola by the Scottish maker Thomas Hardie. After that I played a wonderful viola by Andreas Hudelmayer which is very light. Having taken up the viola at quite a young age, I was very lucky to have access to good instruments which didn’t cause me any serious physical strain.

DVS: What made you decide to become a professional violist?

When I started playing I knew I wanted to be a musician, and I went to a specialist music school- the Purcell School of Music- when I was ten. I have always loved the sound of the viola and its repertoire. That said – I went to many music courses when I was a teenager and I remember having a moment when I was playing the slow movement of Beethoven Op.59 No.2 on a course and thinking, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’

DVS: Your favourite musical advice?

Wow, there have been so many! One of my favourites: ‘Practise with your brain, perform with your heart.’ David Takeno.

DVS: Most memorable viola moment?

Playing my first solo recital at the Wigmore Hall last October, it really is a magical hall.

DVS: How do you experience the difference between performing solo repertoire (Concertos, solo recitals) versus chamber music? Do you have a preference?

I don’t have a preference; I just love playing the viola! I’m amused that some people still don’t think of it as a solo instrument though. It’s sometimes said that the repertoire is ‘limited’, but there is great music written for the viola (and, of course, excellent arrangements). It’s just a matter of discovering this music, if you have the curiosity and want to.

You learn so much from playing with other people, both through things you talk about, and just playing together. When everyone gets along it’s really very fun too! I’ve learnt so much from rehearsing with Lara Dodds-Eden and my flute, viola, harp trio, Trio Anima. As a soloist with orchestra life is a little lonelier, but you’re still collaborating with a group which has its own sound which is very exciting. You have to have definite ideas about any music you play, but you have to be especially clear when playing a concerto. Playing a recital completely on your own is something has its own unique demands – for obvious reasons!

DVS: We almost forgot to ask about your viola…!

I’m very fortunate to be playing a wonderful brothers Amati viola, made in 1619, which has been leant to me for this tour. It has an absolutely gorgeous mellow chocolatey viola sound!

DVS: Musicians and composers from Great Britain spearheaded the renaissance of the viola in the late 19^th / early 20^th century, with great names such as Lionel Tertis, Frank Bridge, York Bowen, Rebecca Clarke, Britten, Vaughan Williams and many others. How is this heritage visible in British music institutions today, particularly for violists?

There’s a lot of British viola music played by composers like the ones you mention today, but it’s a shame that this repertoire is not more widely known within the UK. In my experience, it seems that even the Rebecca Clarke Sonata, which I’ve performed many times, is not really known by the general public. I think that all of the music colleges here have recently had a viola festival of some description and from what I’ve seen or heard of a good deal of early twentieth century repertoire is played at such events. We also have the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Festival on the Isle of Man, which is one of the few international competitions exclusively for the violists.

DVS: How are classical musicians affected by the economic crisis in the UK?

I find recent comments from the government slightly worrying regarding things to come. I completely agree with what John Gilhooly said at the RPS music awards: ‘Making money never has, and never should be, the driving force for great art.’

DVS: What are your personal near term goals and prospects?

My goal is always to try and play with all the depth and sincerity I can. I’m playing in Aldeburgh at the end of next month, and very excited to be part of the celebrations of Britten’s centenary this year. I’m really looking forward to be taking part in the IMS Prussia Cove Tour later in the year too.

© Dutch Viola Society / edited by Kristofer G. Skaug