JAVS Fall 2016

Magdalena Bach was consistent in mis-copying these slurs. Instead of the note at which J.S. began them, she would messily scribble them in the general vicinity of the correct notes, often misplacing them by at least one note or more. She would also shorten longer slurs, or sometimes leave them out entirely. Rutledge explained that Magdalena Bach was a gifted and respected singer, but probably didn’t understand the importance of articulation markings for string players. Throughout the session, Rutledge would demonstrate with her baroque viola the bowings she deduced as a result of her research. Though not in order, she performed the entirety Bach’s G Major Suite, and it was stunning. While her bowings weren’t shockingly different than those to which I am accustomed, there were a couple of spots that were novel and worked extremely well, such that Rutledge shaped gorgeous and refined phrases. I’m looking forward to her forthcoming edition of the Suites! Dr. Melissa Gerber Knecht presented intriguing insights into musical learning, while Professor Nancy Buck introduced nineteenth century solo viola repertoire by Georg Abraham Schneider and Justus Weinreich, filling in the gaps between Bach and Reger. Cleveland Orchestra violist Lembi Veskimets introduced her audience to an arresting viola sonata by Estonian composer Eduard Tubin, while Metropolitan Opera violist Milan Milisavljević explored Aram Khachaturian’s Sonata-Song for Viola Solo . Both orchestral players demonstrated key elements of their respective works before performing utterly engaging performances of the sonatas. In addition, Karen Tuttle Coordination Technique all-stars Jeffrey Irvine, Dr. Susan Dubois, Sheila Browne, and Kim Kashkashian joined forces for an engaging discussion of “Tut’s” teaching Saturday morning. The panel explained that music happens between the notes, to which Kashkashian recounted a revelation she had as a child: “I can play each note by itself. It’s connecting them that’s hard.” JAVS Associate Editor David Bynog presented on the tireless efforts of David Dalton and Dwight Pounds in cataloging the life of William Primrose, and the incredible holdings at the Primrose International

Tuttle panel: (left to right) Jeffrey Irvine, Sheila Browne, Kim Kashkashian, and Susan Dubois (photo credit: Julie Edwards).

Left to right: Carol Rodland, Katrin Meidell, and Kim Kashkashian (photo credit: Katrin Meidell).

Viola Archive, housed at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I learned that his teacher, Eugène Ysaÿe, encouraged Primrose to switch to viola from violin, and in a video Bynog showed, Primrose said, “I’m rather glad I stuck with the viola.” Dalton and his wife, Donna, were present at the session, and recounted warm memories. One interesting story they shared was about the bronze casts of Primrose’s hands that exist in the Archive. Donna Dalton told the audience that those present at the time of Primrose’s death had decided they were not going to make a death mask, and so just before he died,

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 32, No. 2, Fall 2016

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