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IVC Campinas Blog – Day 5

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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

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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 2

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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

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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!

Snuffelcursus Altviool voor Violisten

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In het kader van de Altviooldag in Dordrecht, organiseren wij op 6 juli 2024 een “Snuffelcursus Altviool voor Violisten“. Jong en oud mogen meedoen!
De snuffelcursus duurt een uur, en begint met een concert om alvast in de stemming te komen. Daarna gaan we met de groep aan de slag. We zorgen voor een heleboel instrumenten en kijken of we een stuk aan het einde van de cursus samen kunnen spelen.

Tijd en Locatie:
Tijd: zaterdag 6 juli van 1600-1800u (om 1600u begint het concert)
Locatie: Kunstkerk, Museumstraat 65, Dordrecht
(10 minuten lopen vanaf NS-station Dordrecht)

Wat moet je meenemen?
Je hoeft helmaal niets mee te nemen. De Dutch viola Society zorgt op die dag voor
een heleboel instrumenten en lessenaars.

Hoeveel kost het?
Deelname kost €10, inclusief het concert.

Hoe kun je je aanmelden? 
Geef je op via het aanmeldformulier hieronder.

PS. Download hier de FLYER en verspreid graag het nieuws onder je vioolvrienden!

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Viola Day Dordrecht 2024

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Following on from last year’s very successful Viola Day 2023, The Dordrecht Viola Day Working Group and the DVS are excited to welcome you to the 2nd edition of Viola Day Dordrecht on Saturday, July 6th 2024.

We are aiming to celebrate the viola together with a full-day programme, including:

  • Viola Ensemble led by Pieter van der Wulp, violist and conductor of the Orchest-Vereeniging Dordrecht.
    A four-part orchestra consisting entirely of VIOLAS!
    Players of all levels are welcome (amateurs, students, professionals).
    We will play Bizet’s l’Arlésienne Suite no.1, arranged for 7-part viola ensemble! sheet music will be sent in advance.
    We rehearse together and give a performance at the end of the session!
  • A la carte lunch at De Witt (optional, but recommended!)
  • Afternoon concert with contributions from young viola talents, and of course the performance of the Viola Ensemble
  • Mini lectures on viola topics by Emlyn Stam, Karin Dolman and Kristofer Skaug
  • Introductory Viola lessons for young violinists -> see separate announcement
  • Second-hand sheet music marketplace
  • A la carte dinner at De Witt (optional, but recommended!)
  • Evening concert (hosted by Zomerconcerten Dordrecht) featuring violists Marcin Murawski, Emlyn Stam and Karin Dolman, with Caecilia Boschman (piano)

Costs / Ticket types:
A) Viola Ensemble participation €40.00 (includes Afternoon concert and Lectures)
(DVS Friends participate for €30.00)
B) Evening concert €17.50 (€16.00 for Viola Ensemble participants)
C) Lunch (€12.50) and/or Dinner (€21.50) a la carte at De Witt
Note: If you’re only coming for the concerts, you can reserve tickets through the website of Zomerconcerten Dordrecht, for the Afternoon and Evening concert respectively.

Schedule:
10.30 Arrival / check-in
11.15 Viola Ensemble rehearsal led by Pieter van der Wulp
13.00 Lunch á la carte at De Witt
14.00 Viola Ensemble Rehearsal part 2
16.00 Concert with young talent soloists and Viola Ensemble
17.00 Lectures
17.45 Dinner á la carte at De Witt
19.30 Evening concert

Venue: Kunstkerk, Museumstraat 65, Dordrecht
(10 minutes’ walk from Dordrecht railway station)

Are you as excited as we are? Sign up through the registration form below!

PS. Download the FLYER and spread the good news among your viola friends!

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* You can register to become a Friend of the DVS HERE, for Viola Ensemble discount

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HVVS Workshop Historical Performance

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The Historical Viola and Violin Society (a subsection of the DVS) offers another very interesting free lecture/workshop!

This weekend, prof. Antoinette Lohmann will teach a course in historical performance to the Utrecht Conservatory (HKU) classical viola students who study with Annemarie Konijnenburg and Mikhail Zemtsov. The students will play on modern instruments with modern bows, but there will be a baroque viola and some bows available to try. The students will perform works by Telemann, Bach and Hoffmeister.

Active participation is in principle limited to the above mentioned students, but audience is more than welcome!

When: Saturday February 10th (2024), 09.45-16.15
Where: Fentener van Vlisssingenzaal, Utrechts Conservatorium, Mariaplaats 28 (yellow building),

 

Towards A Shining Light ’50 for 50‘

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Internationaal compositieproject: 50 premières in 1 concert!

Op 2 en 3 december 2023 vindt een uniek evenement plaats in de Kunstkerk in Dordrecht. Reserveren voor beide data kan op deze pagina.

Vijftig componisten uit alle werelddelen werden in het voorjaar van 2023 uitgenodigd om een zelfportret van één minuut te schrijven, voor de bezetting klarinet, altviool en piano. De muzikale stijlen lopen uiteen van traditioneel/modern klassiek tot jazz, fusion en experimentele muziek. De vijftig zelfportretten zullen gepresenteerd worden als doorlopende collage in een live concert. Elke minuut krijgt men een ander beeld te zien dat de componist bij zijn of haar compositie heeft gekozen.
De voorstellingen vinden plaats in de Verenigde Staten, Australië, en in Dordrecht. Ze worden gefilmd en zullen ook wereldwijd online toegankelijk zijn.

Paul Kopetz, componist en initiatiefnemer van Towards A Shining Light ’50 for 50′, kreeg het idee voor dit project tijdens een bezoek in 2022 aan het Museum of Humanity in Zaandam.Kijkend naar de verzamelde portretten van mensen van uiteenlopende etnische achtergronden en culturen bedacht hij dat het fascinerend zou zijn om hetzelfde te doen met muziek; om te ontdekken hoe het scheppen van muziek de mensheid reflecteert in onze moderne wereld. Weerspiegelt muziek overeenkomst of diversiteit?

Op de volgende website is uitgebreide informatie te vinden over Towards A Shining Light ’50 for 50′. En hier is een preview van het project: [link]

Het nederlandse Pelgrim Trio (Thea Rosmulder, Karin Dolman, Caecilia Boschman) is een van de drie trio’s die de uitdaging hebben aangenomen. Er wordt intensief gerepeteerd en overlegd met de componisten, alles om recht te doen aan iedere minuut. Vijftig componisten verbonden in vijftig minuten muziek…

Het resultaat kunt u bijwonen op 2 en 3 december in de Kunstkerk in Dordrecht!
Bestel kaartjes hier.

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

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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.

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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

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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!

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

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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.

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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

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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!

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