JAVS Fall 2000

66

VOL. 16 No.3

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY

of Lillian Fuch's very violistic Sonata Pastorale was of such clarity and musicality as to con vince the listener once again that it had been written for her. Igor Fedotov 5 plays with great warmth and feeling, much in the manner of Michael Kugel, and in keeping with his Russian Azerbaijani ancestry and teaching. He and soprano Diane Kesling 6 presented pieces for viola, soprano and piano by Frank Bridge, Johannes Brahms, and Cecil Forsythe. This beautiful and varied program also featured the Hindemith Trio for Saxophone, with saxo phonist Leo Saguiguit, and pianist Gary Hammond, and the Honneger Viola Sonata. Congress delegates were very complimentary of Fedotov and his colleagues for their excel lent musicianship; they in turn entered fully into the full schedule of activities. Hammond had yeoman's duty throughout the congress, serving as pianist also to Jouko Mansnerus and featured artist Lars Anders Tomter. Jouko Mansnerus, perhaps Finland's best known violist, presented a recital demanding both technical skill and prodigious memory. Jukka Linkola's Dark Dance (1990), although tonal, was predictable in its diabolical quality, featuring the darker strings and muted sonori ties. Eduard Tubin's Sonata for Viola and Piano was very violistic in concept, demanding a good vibrato and octave capability from the artist. These were off-set by the very atonal Hindemith Solo Sonata (1937), followed by Carl Reinecke's Three Fantasy Pieces, Op. 43, in a nice bit of programming. Mansnerus played a Romance by Sibelius as encore. Henrik Frendin's "Elektro-Acoustic Viola Music" program was engaging, an excellent example of how to construct a program of electronic/acoustic viola music and make it both interesting and instructive. Jorgen Dafgard's For the Sleeping for viola and tape was mostly tonal, mostly romantic, and of moderate difficulty. Kent Olofsson's Alina fea tured improvisation. It was percussive and uti lized special effects such as smears, pizzicato behind the bridge, slap pizzicato and tapping the wood. It was also aleatoric, with no two performances ever the same. Frendin consid ered the next piece, Gerard Grisey's Prologue (1976), a landmark composition. It is based on the overtone series with the viola sound fil

tered through a computer, and causes the artist to be accompanied by overtones of his own creation. It was necessary to tune the C-string to B-natural since the composition featured overtones based on this pitch. Though the piece required seventeen minutes to unfold, the various hues and shadings of sonorities in continuous evolution were intriguing. IVS Past President Gunter Ojstersek 7 joined flautist Kazuyoshi Hashimoto and vio linist Hissako Hashimoto in an afternoon concert of serenades. Ojstersek, performer at many congresses in Europe and North America who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, said that this would be his final appearance in a performing role at interna tional congresses. He 'exited the stage' in style, with strong phrasing and exchanges between the instruments, excellent ensemble consider ing limited rehearsal time, and beautifully controlled staccato work. Norwegian violist Lars Anders Tomter was the obvious choice for featured guest artist at a Scandinavian congress, having likewise been tapped by Roger Myers for a similar role in 1997 with Congress XXV in Austin. Tomter's very impressive all-Nordic program included two violin-viola duos by Johan Halvorsen (Sarabande and Passacaglia) per formed with violinist Per Enoksson, Elegie and Capriccio by Johan Kvandahl, Capriccio by Bjarne Brustad, and Eduard Grieg's Sonata for Cello, very effectively transcribed for viola. By any measurement-ensemble, musician ship, technical artistry-Tomter's program was thrilling and easily reminiscent of past viola legends. Nor was his performance stint in Linkoping finished with the congress Tomter was guest soloist the following evening in a performance of Frank Martin's Ballade for Viola and Wind Ensemble at the Linkoping Domkyrkan (Cathedral) with the Ostgota Blasar Symfoniker, my first opportu nity to hear this intriguing work. The ornate setting in a church dating from 1230 AD, acoustics with a four-second sound decay, a very well-rehearsed ensemble and an artist vio list supported by winds, percussion, and harp in one of the most unique works ever written for viola-all of these synthesized into an unforgettable evening, the stuff of legend.