JAVS Summer 2026

• Authorship and incorporation of external material: The composer’s name is identified before each etude. While most of the material was written by Bezrukov or Oznobishchev, approximately one-third of the collection consists of works by other Soviet composers or nineteenth-century European pedagogues. This suggests a degree of openness toward established pedagogical traditions rather than an insistence on exclusively original material. External etudes included in the collection are drawn from figures such as Hans Sitt, Friedrich Hermann, Heinrich Keyser, and even Bartolomeo Campagnoli, alongside Soviet pedagogues including Konstantin Mostras, Anatoli Komarovsky, and Alexey Yan’shchinov. renewal at the professional level—many of the etudes also serve specific repertoire-based purposes. Etudes nos. 1 and 159, for example, provide effective preparation for textural challenges in the music of J. S. Bach, including melodic lines accompanied by chords or polyphonic string crossings. Etude no. 43 may assist with melodic shifts across large intervals, as encountered in Brahms’s Sonatas , op. 120, or Schumann’s Märchenbilder , op. 113. For performers interested in Soviet viola repertoire, Etude no. 74 by Mostras may prove useful in preparing the oriental sonorities found in socialist-realist works, while Etude no. 109 explores melody accompanied by left-hand Conclusion and Useful Applications Aside from the substantial technical skills developed through the study of these two books—whether at a young age, during college or graduate study, or even as a technical

pizzicato in a manner comparable to Khachaturian’s Solo Sonata and related repertoire. Likewise, Etude no. 114 shares characteristics with the musical landscape of Soviet viola sonatas and may assist in preparation for works by Weinberg, Mirzazade, or Firsova’s Suite , op. 2. As noted earlier, the scales and etudes may also contribute to the preparation of chamber and orchestral repertoire. Etude no. 4, for instance, can serve as an efficient warm-up before studying symphonic or stage works by Tchaikovsky. Bezrukov presents two versions of the same etude: first in D-flat major and first position, and then in C-sharp major, requiring half-position. Although the fingerings remain identical, the ear is directed differently through the altered pitch-class framework. This approach promotes left-hand flexibility and facilitates rapid adaptation to new patterns. Etude no. 19 by Oznobishchev, accompanied by the instruction to “pay special attention to the evenness and density of [the] sound,” may assist in shaping melodic lines characteristic of Prokofiev, while Etude no. 89 by Bezrukov may support preparation for scherzo or finale movements in symphonies by Prokofiev or Shostakovich. Finally, the brief Etude no. 105 for two violas by Mostras resembles, both visually and sonically, an excerpt from a Shostakovich quartet and may help develop active listening, responsiveness, anticipation, and other essential chamber-music skills in young violists. The table in Figure 9 presents the opening measures of the etudes discussed in this section.

Figure 8. G. Bezrukov and K. Oznobishchev, Viola Technique Fundamentals (2nd edition, 1988), p.4. Glossary of markings. From top to bottom: a) whole bow; b) upper half; c) lower half; d) middle of the bow; e) at the tip; f) at the frog; g) put [LH] finger on two strings; h) keep the [LH] finger on the string; i) bow distribution [“Z-bow”, or other bow distribution manipulations].

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue

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