JAVS Fall 2023

The Third Movement In the third movement, the dynamics match the piano score, and the octave placements now match the clarinet part. Care was given to the placement of hairpins once again, while phrasings are maintained, but with practical bowings for the viola. Suggested fingerings are shown, with alternate choices in parentheses. M.42 shows optional notes extracted from the original clarinet version and the third variation and coda are shown complete for practice.

Footnotes: 1 Lionel Tertis, My Viola and I , (England: Crescendo Pub. Co., 1975), 17-18. 2 Robin Stowell, The Early Violin and Viola: A Practical Guide , (England: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 165. 3 This has been changed in my edition. 4 An explanation of editing choices for the viola version of Brahms Sonata, Op. 120 No. 2, edited by Lawrence Wheeler. References are the N. Simrock first edition (1895) and G. Henle Verlag edition of the Johannes Brahms New Edition of All Works – Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke (2010). 5 Some editions show “Allegro appassionato” in the Second movement, which may be interpreted as a faster tempo.

– Special thanks to David Bynog for facilitating access to Johannes Brahms Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke.

Lawrence Wheeler was a professor at the Moores School of Music for 44 years. He has served as principal viola of the Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony and Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and guest principal of the Dallas Symphony and Houston Symphony. In 2005, he presented the 2nd US performance of the Theofanidis Viola Concerto with the composer conducting. He gave the 2nd US performance of the Viola Sonata by Boris Pigovat with pianist Tali Morgulis in 2015. Wheeler has given viola recitals in New York, London, and Mexico City and has performed at International Viola Congresses in Stuttgart, Houston, Iceland and Los Angeles. He performed on a recording nominated for a Grammy Award. Wheeler’s articles have appeared in The Strad Magazine, Strings Magazine, Slipped Disc, and JAVS. His edition of the Mazas Viola Etudes is published by Carl Fischer. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Wheeler studied viola with Leonard Mogill, Francis Tursi, Bruno Giuranna, Walter Trampler and William Lincer. His viola students include David Wallace, Juliet White-Smith, Peter Guroff, Jessica Bodner, and Leah Swann Hollingsworth. For the complete edition of the sonata with research go to WheelerViola.com.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 39, No. 2, Fall 2023

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