JAVS Fall 1997

86

In recent years Walter began retiring from active musical life. He left the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society (and was replaced by Paul Neubauer, a new viola star). He stopped teaching at institutions about a year and a half ago. The last time I saw him was some time last spring as my wife and I were walk ing on Riverside Drive in Manhattan-there was Walter looking very trim and happy while loading some furniture on top of his car. He and his wife had sold their house in upstate New York and talked glowingly of their new home in Nova Scotia. Already in his 80's, he looked terrific, with his usual energy and always amiable temperament. My wife and I later remarked to each other how great Walter looked. We thought of the time he told us at dinner one evening that right after his return to New York after the Second World War, when things were diffi cult, he had seriously considered pursuing an acting career instead of music. He was a remarkably handsome man and might have made it as an actor. I thought how glad I was that he never followed that bent and stuck to music. He was a great violist, an inspiring teacher and a lovely human being who will be missed by many. Fortunately, he enjoyed teaching, and so his legacy will continue in the many fine violists who were touched by his musicality, his humanity, and his love for the viola.

and so we had much to talk about. I had started amassing viola d' amore music, both in print and on microfilm, and was only too happy to share these works with him, some of which he began performing in public. Walter became involved with the New School Concerts in the 1960s. This was a fine series of chamber concerts that featured string quartets, Handel Concerti Grossi, Viennese waltzes, and so forth. Led by Alexander Schneider of Budapest String Quartet fame, these concerts included some of the finest musicians working in New York at the time, among whom were violinists Felix Galimir and Isidore Cohen. Leaving after my lessons, I would cross paths with some of these artists as they arrived at the Trampler home for rehearsals. Another "regular" was Luciano Berio, the well-known avant-garde Italian composer, who wrote so much good and dif ficult viola music for Walter. Berio was a close friend of the Tramplers and stayed with them in their Eastside loft when in New York. The name Walter Trampler was becoming synonymous with the best viola playing in New York and it was no surprise that he was invited to be a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he played until just a few years ago. During his years with the Lincoln Center players, he played not only the standard chamber music works, but some avant-garde works for viola and viola d' amore, such as Larry Austin's "Walter"-one of Lincoln Center's first commissions. Written in 1970, the composer titled it "Walter: a Film Composition and Theater Piece for Walter Trampler." A multimedia piece for viola and viola d' amore, "Walter" involves two per formers playing, moving around on stage in various dramatic activities, and an elaborate set. (Karen Phillips joined Walter in this per formance.)

-Myron Rosenblum Sunnyside, New York

$u~an $tboenfelb, passed away on 27 June 1997 after a long struggle with cancer. She taught viola at Texas Tech Univer sity for nineteen years and had been a mem ber of the AVS. Susan was principal violist of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.