JAVS Fall 2008

11 TH P RIMROSE I NTERNATIONAL V IOLA C OMPETITION

by Dimitri Drobatschewsky

Under the auspices of the American Viola Society, the 11th Primrose International Viola Competition, a triennial event, took place on the premises of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, during the first week of June 2008. Occurring simultane ously with the 36th International Viola Congress, the event drew a large audience of musicians and music lovers, as well as seventy con testants from eighteen countries spread over four continents (North and South America, Asia, and Europe). The event was also streamed live online, a first for a viola competition, allowing many music lovers to follow the competi tion from afar. It offered prizes val ued at more than $30,000 in cash, including a viola by Carlo Testoni, the Italian master luthier, and gold mounted bows by Arcos Brasil. Based on the quality of the musical performances and the youthful enthusiasm of those who played in the various events (the contestants’ top age was twenty-nine years), the competition was a huge success, largely due to the astute managerial skills of its director, the renowned violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, who makes her home in the Phoenix area. William Primrose, whose name the competition bears, was born in Glasgow in 1904, and died in

2008 Primrose International Viola Competition Jury. Left to Right: Amir Shiff, Carol Rodland, Bruno Pasquier, Claudine Bigelow, Ensik Choi, Steven Tenenbom, Eugene Sarbu.

Utah, in 1982. He was one of the most famous violists of his—or any—time; he also was a distin guished pedagogue and promoter of his art. He has served as a role model to all viola players, notably through his numerous personal appearances on the world’s concert stages, and through his recordings. Despite the excitement and enthu siasm they generate, musical com petitions are not without contro versy. Many musicians feel that music is not a competitive art, and books on the subject, such as Joseph Horowitz’s The Ivory Trade , have suggested that candidates tend to perform to the judges, rather than express their own musical ideas. Thus, they say, the

winners may not always be the best musicians. There have even been some much-discussed “scan dals,” such as the 1980 Chopin Competition of Warsaw, in which pianist Martha Argerich abruptly left the jury because a candidate, the Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich, whom she declared “a genius,” did not win a prize. But competitions have far more success stories than criticisms, primarily because they ensure the winners renown and a lucrative career that they may otherwise not have. Besides, who will ever forget the First (1958) Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition, which was won by the American pianist Van Cliburn during the height of the Cold War, and earned him world-wide

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