JAVS Fall 2002

VOL. 18 No.2 & 3

78

jOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SoCIETY

Although the existing manuscript parts are just the solo viola, violin I, violin II, and basso, it is obvi ous from the solo part that a tutti viola part was included, but just merged into the solo part. In prepar ing my edition, I have thus added such a tutti viola part taken from the solo part. I have also created a small cadenza at the appropriate place in the first movement. The concerto is not a particularly demanding one but it does encompass the viola's full range with some effective and challenging string crossings, double stops and chordal writing. This piece bridges the gap between a solo work for the concert violist and a rewarding student concerto. The edition comes in two versions-the full score with parts, and a piano reduction, made by the composer Richard Lane. The concerto was given its American premiere at a concert of the New York Viola Society on May 13th, 2002, at The Barge in Brooklyn, New York. The soloist was sixteen-year-old Crista Kende, one of the NYVS's scholarship winners and a pupil of Eugene Becker of the New York Philharmonic.

Example 1. Title page of the original manuscript

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Example 2. The first movement, the longest and most interesting, starts with a lively melody played by the violins:

Allegro moderato

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