... - ~.~ AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY American Chapter of the INTERNATIONALE VIOLA FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFr November NKtNSLETTEFt 21 19t5l A MESSAGE -.FftOK OUR- NEW- PRESIDENT-_.-_-- A Tribute to Myron ftoaenblulD I want to thank the members of the American Viola Society for trle honor you have beatowed on me in the recent electiona. I am indeed grateful, but alac awed by the responsibility of being the prei1dent of the American Viola Society. It wll1~be very difficult to fill the ahoes of Myron Roaenblum, the founder of our Society. Durin! hi. tenure as prealdemt, the society member­ ah1p has grown to over 38' memberlil. For many yearl, Myron was the preslden.t, secretary, treasurer, and edltorof the Newsletter of our organization. In addition, his home was stored with booka, music, and recordinga w·hich were ma.de available to members of the Society at reduced ratel. Mra. Pto8enblum ahould a1ao receive due credit for a811atanoe and interest in this project, which did not include any monetary profit. The New.letter, which Myron hal ed1ted, hag been a. source of information 1n all ares.& perralnin~ to the viola. ",:tTe all regret that this will be the la&t Newiletter written by Myron. He will continue, however, to contribute articles and act a8 .n advlaer for future issues. The recently ratified iy-La.wl of the American Viola Society provide that the immediate Past-Prealdent will contluue to serve aa an officer. Thil 1. indeed fortunate for the new president. I aha.II rely on Myren for advice and aaalatance during the next two yeara, whenever new problema confront the Society. A new alate of officer; 18 expected to atate ita objective. for the coming term of office. Th18 iubject will be covered more completely in the next laRue of the Newaletter, after the new Board of Directors has been aelected, 8.nd after it fiai been possible to !et their recommends.tiona. An immediate goal for the Society ahould be to attain a larger membership. Everyone in the·· Society 18 ur!ed to bring 1n new membera. The alma of the American Viola Society can be attained ·to ahlgher desree if we have the support of more viollats. I know that all members of the Society join me in saying, "Our thank. to you, Myron, for a job well done.·' Maurice W. Riley AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY, INC.: Dr, Maurice Riley, Prea1dent, 512 Roosevelt Blvd., Ypal1&ntl, MI 49197; Dr. DW1~ht Pounds, Vice-President, 1713 Karen st., Eow11n! Green, KY 42101; Harold Klatz, Secretary, 1124 Maple Ave., Evanaton, IL 61212; Dr. Ann. Woodward , Treasurer, 209 W. University Drive, Chapel'Hill, NO 27514. Editor of the Amerioan Cha.pter Newaletter: Myron Ro&enblum. The Amer108.n Viola society is the American ChQPter of the Internationale Viola Forschungspe&Jellachaft (I"TIFG), A-582v) Sslzbur!, Hochachule "Mozarteum," Austria. -2- The ,9th International Viola Congress June 11 - 14, 1981 The Unlver'81ty of Toronto, Canads- Toronto, one of the major cltlea in Canada, played hOit to the 9th Inter­ national Viola Congre81i1 •. Under the lJuperb admlnlstr8tlon of A. Baird Knecrltel. and the Unive reity of I' oronto, thi8 congre Ii Ii proved to be a aupe rlor one on all eounta. Baird, an ea.rly member of the society and the head of the Canad1an chapter ov~rcame al'l obstaclea with seeming eaaa, 1ncludlD! that of managing thecongreaa 'at 'the game time hill wife gave birth to their third child. The Uriiveraity of Toronto offered fine dormitories, a lovely a,ampUI. with pleasant walks and well-kept lawn. and excellent mUQ1c facilities. The ma­ jority of events took placeln the lrlalter Hall of the ~dward JohnaonBullding of the Faculty of Nuala, with the larger concerta (with orchestra) in the Macmillan Theatre. The tenor of the c'ongre is . was set on Tb.uraday, June 11th in the late after­ noon when we all assembled for a reception on a bright, .un-lit day. Almost 4Qi vlo11eta, teachers, aolclata, student., and viola enthus1aata from canada, America, Australia, Germany, Auatrla, aua.i_, Italy, and other countrle. gathered and mixed in great friendship and common cauae. The Great Hall of Hart Houae on the university campus WRi the setting for a dinner and concert, preceded by welcome speecnes by Baird Knechtel and Simon Streatfield. The Iaraell-born-Candian violist. ~lvka Golanl-Erdeaz performed Handel'. Sonata in G minor, Bernd Aloia Zimmerman's Sonata for Viola Alone, Schumann'g Mirchenb11der, David Jae~er '8 Fool' & ParB.dlse for amplified viola. and two jercusllonlstl, and "'tTeber'g Andinte 8nd HUn!8,r1an !tondo. Owing to the very poor acoust1oa in the hall, it was difficult to really haa.r rv:s. Gola.ni-Krdeaz as Qhe really pl&.ya. David Jaeger' a piece seemed a fascinating one and thll writer yearned to hear it in a more fla.tterlng concert hall. Solo recital. were ~1ven major Candlan, AmericaR, Italian, and KUlilan artiste. In addition to Ma. G91anl-Erdelz'a recital on Thuraday night, we heard steven nann, Fecdo.r Druabyn1n, Raphae] Hillyer, Jerzy Koamala, ltobert Verebei, Ulrioh VOR ~roch.m, and Bernard Zaalav in recital. of unulual variety. steven Dann, assi2ted by Bruce Vogt, pianist, and Gerald Corey, heckelphone player, performed H1ndemltb.'a Sonata, 0'."25, no. 4 and Iiach's Sons.ta. in D M·a·jor, both for viols. and piano, and Hindemlth t s rarely-performed Trio, OPe 47 for viola, heckelphone, and piano. This young, talented Canadian artlat waa impressive, &me~lne: ~reat verve and musicality 11l' hi; perform8.ocea. ·~~re underatand that Mr. Dann head.' for the Amsterdam Concertgebeouw' Orehe'a-t ra" .a their new prlnc1palvlo11st. Hobert Vereb•• , aali.teo. by William Aids ,layed • concert fe8_tur1n~C•.nadla:n music for the viola. Hi. program conalated of Le aIle Mann' 8 'lmpre aa1 on18tle-Hlnde ml t h1an Sonata j And.re Prevost' a tenle Imp~o,1.atlon No.3 for viola alone and Milton ~arnea' Ballade, also for vfola _loiier-and jian Coulthard t. Sona.ta 1!hapaody (1962' for viola and piano. Mr. Verebea 11 one of the veteran viola Jilolo1ata and teacher. 1nCanada and, greatly lmpresisd those of ua hearing him for the first time. Ulrich von Wroohem from Mila. gave a moat intriguing recital of mu&lc for unaccompanied viola which conalsted of G.mlnlani t a Ada!10 e Fuga, ien Zion Orged'a Monologue, M. Peps'a Sonata (eomm18a1oned for the 9th Viola Congrea8 and dedicated to Baird Knechtel), lIerlo' i S.~uenza, and liach' 8 Chaconne. The appearanee of the !rea.t Jiuaa1aa violist' J Feodor Drushynln (his first in North America to the best knowledge of this' writer) eauaed much excitement. Mr,. Druahyn1n, a Profealor at the Ivloacow Cona·!rvatory, hea.d of tha1r viola department linee 1976, and a member of The Beethoven C'uartet ~ ahowed h1maelf to be a ~rest arti8t in Sach'. G Major aonata, schumann's Adagio and Allegro, hie own Sonata for uDaccempan1ed viola, and Shoatakov1ch'. Sonata, which the -3- compoaer dedioated to Mr. Druahynln. The performer's wide variety of dynamics, ahad1ng, contraat of ~ulet and vibrant playing, and wonderful bow arm were most convincing 1n his own lonata--a tour·;:de ·force, v1rtuoao piece. His Schumann was filled with much poetic playln~. Mr~ Drushynln treated hi. audi­ ence to the Brahms Lullaby as an encore. Althou!h the emphallatoday 1s on original works for viola, Raphael Hillyer and Jerzy Koamala made stron~ cases for performing tranQcrlpt1ona. In the hands of superior artiste, transcrlptlona work. Raphael Hillyer performed two of his own transcrlptlons--Leonard Bernstein's Sonata for viola and piano (originally for clarinet 8.nd piano) and liartok' a sonata for unacoompanied viola (after the unacoompanied violin sonata), and the Franck Sonata in A Major transcribed by V1eland/H111yer. Onoe again, Mr. Hillyer impressed as one of the major viola aololata around today. Jerzy Koamala's recital waa devoted entirely to Follah mualc for viola in his own transcriptlona. Chopin's Sonata in G Minor, OPe 65 (after the cello and piano sonata) , szymanowak1'a Sonata in D Minor, OPe 9 (tranacrlbed from the violin an~ plano sonata) ,and "!toxana's song" helped reinforce the validity of performing tranacrlpt1ona. iernard zaalav, aasisted by hie wire Naomi on piano, played the final concert of the congress. The Zasla.vs' Interpretat·1ona ·or· Elliot· Carter,I.• Pastorale, Brahma' Sonata in F Minor, Ml1haud'l Sonata No.2, and Francesco Trev8.ni t & Sonata No.1 in E Flat were beautifully played. It was a delight to hear Mr. Zaslav perform on hla small, but large-sounding J.B. Guada~nlnl instrument. Chamber music for viola was represented by three ooncerts. The Kennenaon Trio from Canada, Carolyn Kennenaon, viola, Claude Kennenaon, cello, and Janet Scott Hoty, piano played ·Eugene Zador'liI Duo Fantaay, ioccherlnl t I Sonata in· C Minor, and Violet Arober'a Sonata for viola, ~ello, and piano, written in 1976. The styrian Chamber Tr1o--Franz Zeyrln!er, viola, Josef PottIer, B,nd In!ebor! Ertel, piano prelented three works for this intriguing combination. Fetitlonen by Paul Walter Furat, Jan Zdenek Bartoa' Trio (world premiere), ilid ;eet6oven'a, Op. 11 Trio were very well played 'by all three art1ata. Mua1c for Multiple Viola••· directed by Thomas Tatton, offered music by ieethoveD, iowen, Anton Wranltaky, Paul Piak, and Gordon Jacob. These en­ ae"mble piece for three to eight violas were played by Mr. Tatton, Eleanor Tatton, Baird Knec~tel, John iarnum, Susan L1pchak, and other member. of Canadian orcheatraa. This music 11 always fun to hear. Master Claases were given by two of the 20th century's greatest performera and teachera--W1111am Primrose and Lillian Fuchl.