JAVS Fall 2002

22

VOL. 18 No. 2 & 3

jOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY

Commenting on creativity in prose as compelling as his music, he wrote: The ability to create has always been a process of won der to me. It has its moment of agony along with ecstasy. I've sometimes spent a whole day on a small phrase, or even a single chord, and sometimes things are "in the groove" and just spill out as if a valve had been turned on. And above all, to work with these young wonder "kiddies" quartet groups for whom notes are just like chocolate eclairs that can be gobbled down with the greatest of ease, yet possess a musicality that's way beyond their years. They call me by my first name, listen intently to what I say and write, yet find a way to put their own stamp on my stuff. Simply amazing! And they keep me young and on my toes. I use many 20th-century techniques, but they are all within a "tonal center," something that I feel is still necessary despite what all the latter-day prophets that rule the music scene today dictate. Rarely would he outline a composition and put it aside for a later day. An exception concerned his Concertino for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, originally sketched for Congress XXV in Austin in 1995. It has been an accepted practice not to repeat a living composer's works at consecutive viola con gresses, and because Mr. Gardner did get perfor mances in 1993 and 1995 at the Evanston and Bloomington congresses respectively, the Con certina was not scheduled. Disappointed, he put the work aside and turned to other projects. My personal inquiries over the next two years resulted in the same answer-"! haven't touched it." Considering that he was in his late eighties at the time, my concern was that the Concertino would be incomplete should something happen to him. One day I called and said, "Maurice, I am going to be the gadfly that gives you no peace until you finish the Concertino. I will phone you in the middle of the night and be playing scales when you answer. To start, I will send you weeds, hire a Mariachi band to play all night in your condo, and spray-paint your front door Kelly green." This was teasing, of course, but he took the hint and resumed work on it. A few months later he Bew to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, where Michael Palumbo premiered the completed work with the New American Symphony Orchestra. Gardner took his revenge for my goading by dedicating the Concertino to me ... never have I been so honored. The viola music of this amazing and wonder ful man will constitute an extremely important portion of his legacy and, I predict, will entice

violists for generations to come. Simply to know Maurice Gardner was an honor, to be his friend was a blessing, and to hear his music was to be enriched. 18 Viola Compositions by Maurice Gardner Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra Premiered by Jerzy Kosmala, viola soloist, with the USAF Symphony, Congress VII, Provo, Utah, 1979 Tricinium, for Viola Solo Premiered by Robert Slaughter in 1978 or 1979 at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana Performed by Karen Ritscher at Congress XIX, Ithaca, New York, 1991 Performed by Peter Slowik at Congress XXX, Seattle, Washington, 2002 Phantasmagoria, for Viola Solo Premiered by Robert Slaughter in November 1981, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana Suite for Violin and Viola Performed by Charmian Gadd, violin, and Yizhak Schotten, viola, at Congress XI, Houston, Texas, 1983 Quadricinium, for Viola, Percussion, and Dancers (optional) Premiered by Michael Palumbo at Weber State University (then "College"), Ogden, Utah, 1986 Concerto for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra Premiered by Endre Granat, violin, and Donald Mcinnes, viola, with the USAF Symphony at Congress XV, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1987 Five Bagatelles for Two Violas and Chamber Orchestra or Keyboard Premiered by David Dalton and Clyn Barrus at Brigham Young University at Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah; also performed by Dalton and Barrus with piano at Congress XX, Vienna, Austria, 1992 Concerto for Viola and Orchestra Premiered by Lawrence Newman, viola (Movement I) Rozanna Weinberger, viola (Movement II) Jerzy Kosmala, viola (Movement III), with the USAF Symphony at Congress XXI, Evanston, Illinois, 1993 Micrologus: Trio for Viola, Cello and Piano Performed by Yizhak Schotten, viola, Susan Moses, cello, and Kathrine Collier, piano, at Congress XXIII, Bloomington, Indiana, 1995