Virtuosity and composer-performer collaboration in the viola works of Darius Milhaud and Paul Hindemith

<p>This thesis considers the position of Darius Milhaud’s Viola Concerto No. 1, op. 108 (1929–30), and Viola Concerto No. 2, op. 340 (1955), in the modern viola repertoire. Milhaud’s understanding of the viola as a solo virtuoso instrument is displayed particularly clearly in his two Concertos, which were specifically inspired by his relationships with two influential virtuoso violists of the twentieth century – Paul Hindemith and William Primrose. A further, related issue that is explored, is the direct and indirect impact of Paganini’s compositions on these two works. Milhaud’s virtuosic writing for the viola was strongly influenced by his friendships with these two musicians – Hindemith and Primrose – each of whom played a critical role in the emergence of a new breed of viola virtuosos during the course of the twentieth century. Milhaud’s friendship with the first of these men, Paul Hindemith, produced not one, but two important pieces of the virtuoso viola repertoire: Milhaud’s first Viola Concerto and Hindemith’s Konzertmusik. Aspects of the cross-­‐influence between composers and virtuoso performers are addressed here through a comparison of the technical and musical elements, as well as the structure of these two works. Another prominent violist of the twentieth century, William Primrose, who was nicknamed the ‘Paganini of the Viola’, commissioned Milhaud’s second Viola Concerto. Primrose’s desire for new concert repertoire for his instrument, together with his unequalled technical prowess, both impressed and inspired Milhaud, who wrote the Viola Concerto No. 2 with Primrose's technical virtuosity in mind. Strikingly, however, unlike the first Concerto, this work has been largely neglected for almost fifty years. Significantly, both Milhaud’s viola concertos display very strong technical similarities with Paganini’s music written for the violin. Yet the position of Paganini’s music in the viola repertoire, and the value and importance of his compositions for this instrument, traditionally ignites arguments amongst performers, critics and listeners alike. This is a complex issue, which raises various questions such as the physical suitability of Paganini’s compositions for the original qualities of the viola, with its larger fingerboard, slower responding strings and heavier and shorter bow. In the present thesis this problem is addressed through a comparison of the technical elements used by Paganini in his writing for the viola (as exemplified in his Sonata per la Grand Viola) with techniques from his 24 Caprices, Milhaud’s viola concertos, a selection of Primrose’s transcriptions of Paganini’s works and Hindemith’s own compositions for viola. By examining Milhaud’s Viola Concerto No. 2 in relation to the evolution of the composer’s writing for viola, from his encounters with Paganini’s compositions to his collaboration with Hindemith, and, finally, to his engagement with Primrose, this thesis attempts to demonstrate that this work should be reintroduced to the contemporary virtuoso viola repertoire.</p>

Virtuosity and composer-performer collaboration in the viola works of Darius Milhaud and Paul Hindemith

<p>This thesis considers the position of Darius Milhaud’s Viola Concerto No. 1, op. 108 (1929–30), and Viola Concerto No. 2, op. 340 (1955), in the modern viola repertoire. Milhaud’s understanding of the viola as a solo virtuoso instrument is displayed particularly clearly in his two Concertos, which were specifically inspired by his relationships with two influential virtuoso violists of the twentieth century – Paul Hindemith and William Primrose. A further, related issue that is explored, is the direct and indirect impact of Paganini’s compositions on these two works. Milhaud’s virtuosic writing for the viola was strongly influenced by his friendships with these two musicians – Hindemith and Primrose – each of whom played a critical role in the emergence of a new breed of viola virtuosos during the course of the twentieth century. Milhaud’s friendship with the first of these men, Paul Hindemith, produced not one, but two important pieces of the virtuoso viola repertoire: Milhaud’s first Viola Concerto and Hindemith’s Konzertmusik. Aspects of the cross-­‐influence between composers and virtuoso performers are addressed here through a comparison of the technical and musical elements, as well as the structure of these two works. Another prominent violist of the twentieth century, William Primrose, who was nicknamed the ‘Paganini of the Viola’, commissioned Milhaud’s second Viola Concerto. Primrose’s desire for new concert repertoire for his instrument, together with his unequalled technical prowess, both impressed and inspired Milhaud, who wrote the Viola Concerto No. 2 with Primrose's technical virtuosity in mind. Strikingly, however, unlike the first Concerto, this work has been largely neglected for almost fifty years. Significantly, both Milhaud’s viola concertos display very strong technical similarities with Paganini’s music written for the violin. Yet the position of Paganini’s music in the viola repertoire, and the value and importance of his compositions for this instrument, traditionally ignites arguments amongst performers, critics and listeners alike. This is a complex issue, which raises various questions such as the physical suitability of Paganini’s compositions for the original qualities of the viola, with its larger fingerboard, slower responding strings and heavier and shorter bow. In the present thesis this problem is addressed through a comparison of the technical elements used by Paganini in his writing for the viola (as exemplified in his Sonata per la Grand Viola) with techniques from his 24 Caprices, Milhaud’s viola concertos, a selection of Primrose’s transcriptions of Paganini’s works and Hindemith’s own compositions for viola. By examining Milhaud’s Viola Concerto No. 2 in relation to the evolution of the composer’s writing for viola, from his encounters with Paganini’s compositions to his collaboration with Hindemith, and, finally, to his engagement with Primrose, this thesis attempts to demonstrate that this work should be reintroduced to the contemporary virtuoso viola repertoire.</p>

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies 1–9; Gerald Barry: Beethoven Piano Concerto, Viola Concerto The Conquest of Ireland, The Eternal Recurrence (Signum Classics: 2020, 2020, 2021)

A review of Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies 1–3; Gerald Barry: Beethoven, Piano Concerto, Nicolas Hodges, Mark Stone, Britten Sinfonia conducted by Thomas Adès, Signum Classics (2020), (CD) SIGCD616. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies 4–6; Gerald Barry: Viola Concerto, The Conquest of Ireland, Lawrence Power, Joshua Bloom, Britten Sinfonia conducted by Thomas Adès, Signum Classics (2020), (CD) SIGCD639. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies 7–9; Gerald Barry: The Eternal Recurrence, Jennifer France, Christianne Stotjin, Ed Lyon, Matthew Rose, Britten Sinfonia conducted by Thomas Adès, Signum Classics (2021), (CD) SIGCD659.

Ghosts and Shadow Sounds

Chapter 9 begins studying Alfred Schnittke’s lengthy retreat from polystylism by looking at several of his key compositions from the 1980s, among them his Piano Sonata no. 2, Violin Concerto no. 4, String Trio, and Viola Concerto. In these works, polystylism began to fade as Schnittke emphasized the grotesque, artificial nature of his quotations. He also began speaking more about what he called “shadow sounds,” which soon took precedence in his aesthetic schema, largely replacing polystylism. Yet by the end of the 1980s, as polystylism dissipated, it remained a central category for critics and listeners. Schnittke himself became more unrooted; he emigrated from the USSR to Germany but continued to express a deep ambivalence about his true home.

London, Proms 2012 (2): Olga Neuwirth, Kaija Saariaho

Postmodernism in music may be hard to define – even harder than the same notoriously slippery term in literature – but Olga Neuwirth's viola concerto Remnants of songs … an Amphigory (2009) may be as good an exemplar as any. Given its UK première on 13 August by the talented British violist Lawrence Power, with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Susanna Mälkki, the concerto's Proms appearance marks the first time the festival has put on any of her pieces.

CONDITIONS OF IMMEDIACY: HOWARD SKEMPTON IN INTERVIEW

At 65, Howard Skempton is somewhere near the centre of British compositional life: a surprising development for an avowedly ‘experimental’ composer, whose output until his early forties consisted primarily of short pieces written for himself and a few associates. This annotated interview traces Skempton's career, from the early influences of Webern, Feldman and Britten, through the mentorship of Cornelius Cardew and friendship with Michael Parsons, to the influence of text-setting and of the commissioning process on his recent work. Skempton's preoccupation with ‘the sound’ looms large, but is seen to be balanced by an equal concern with questions of structure, and the interview explores issues of continuity both within individual pieces and across his oeuvre, from A Humming Song (1967) for piano to the string quartet Tendrils (2004), the orchestral song-cycle The Moon is Flashing (2007) and the 35-minute, single-movement viola concerto Only the Sound Remains (2009).