JAVS Fall 2008

piano that the performers grouped together to form a kind of suite. Compositionally, the piano pieces were superior, and Ms. Artymiw played them with equal parts bom bast and finesse. After intermission, the pair played Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata, op. 147. Ms. Kashkashian approached this work from a con temporary point of view, which is understandable since it was written only thirty-three years ago. The most effective technique was exten sive use of nonvibrato—a tech nique vastly underemployed by string players—which helped impart a barren quality to the sound. The pair also de-empha sized the familiar quotations so that even the Beethoven “Moonlight Sonata” sections were scarcely rec ognizable. In all it was a thorough ly enjoyable interpretation. led by Ken Martinson; the first reading of several multiple-viola works, culminating in a recital on Sunday. At 9:00 a.m. Matthew Jones found a packed house await ing him for his presentation on applying Alexander Technique and yoga/meditation to viola playing. Matthew began by discussing how his own physical problems became so severe that he could barely prac tice for ten minutes without pain. He learned various techniques— including the Alexander Technique and yoga—to conquer the prob lems. He has since been teaching the methods for several years. He demonstrated with an audience member on proper posture when playing, and the entire audience participated in several yoga pos Thursday’s activities began at 8:00 a.m. with a viola ensemble play-in

Kim Kashkashian.

ticipants—middle and high school violists who participated in various clinics throughout the day. The performance featured several enjoyable works for multiple vio las, notably two pieces commis sioned specifically for the occasion: Fanfare, by Kyle Malkin; and La Cunita , by Henry Flurry. The 8:00 p.m. signature event was a recital by Kim Kashkashian with Lydia Artymiw on piano. Kashkashian performed several songs, including works by Ginastera and Buchardo, tran scribed for viola and piano. These works were delightful and ideally suited for the viola. From the stage, Ms. Kashkashian read the texts of the songs in English translations, which assisted in an understanding of the music. The first half con cluded with several short works by György Kurtág. These comprised a mixture of works for solo viola alternated with works for solo

opera The Memory Game . Peter Rosato gave an inspired perform ance of the now-standard Viola Sonata by George Rochberg. Hong-Mei Xiao rounded things off nicely with dynamic perform ances of the fourth movement of Hindemith’s Viola Sonata, op. 11, no. 5 and Frederick Jacobi’s Fantasy for Viola and Piano. Inclusion of the Jacobi was nice owing to his regional connection to the Southwest, though the Fantasy dates from a later period in his life. Ms. Xiao performed both pieces from memory, an increasing rarity these days, which was a nice touch. The early evening events were devoted to BRATS (Bratsche Resources And Teaching in the Schools) events, including a master class at 4:30 p.m. with Christine Rutledge and a BRATS perform ance at 7:00 p.m. These events capped a full day for BRATS par

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