JAVS Fall 2005

the process by which he determined the viola alra's ideal specifications. In the Iauer book, Ritter includes his correspondence with Wagner and a complete repertoire Iisr for the instru menr. Some pieces, li ke Liszt's Romance Oubfiee ~md Ritter's Konzerifimtrtsies, were original compositions for viola alra; most, however, were arrangements of pre existing music, such as Moz.:'lrt's oboe concertos and rhe Andante CantabiLe from Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata. 12 T he viola alra's growing fame was also due in parr to Ritter's pupils, some or whom became advocates of the instrument. By 1889, fi ve of these sruclents played viola alras at the Bayreuth Festival. Among those pupi ls was Michael Balling, who made a case for the viola alta in England. ln October and November of 1896, Balling played three recitals in Q ueen's Hall in the hopes of garnering sup port for his teacher's inven tion. Some of the reviews echoed rhe favo rable com ments from the viola alta's German proponents; a review in rhe Globe declared, "The upper regis ter, in particul ar, seems capable or producing that peculiarly penetrating and almost nasal tone wh ich has hitherto been entirely asso ciated with the cello, and has indeed constituted one

of irs principal charms." The Standard marveled, "So distinct are the advan tages in many points pos sessed by the viola alta, that ir is somewhar surprising that the instrument, which had gained the approval of Wagner, Liszt, and Rubinstein , and was used in the orches tra at the first Bayreuth Fesriva.l , should not have come inro general use in this country." Not all reviews were favorab le, however. A cri tic from the Manchester Guardian expressed a dissenting view, saying of d1e new instru ment, "It is merely obsolete and useless, that is all ."" The viola alta received irs staunchest cri ticism, how ever, from violists them selves. Wagner, with his generally low op inion of orchestral violists, anti ci pated resistance to the large violas, wa rning Riner in their corres pon dence, "We shall have to be prepared ro meet with grea t opposition in this, as unfortunately in the majority of our orchestras the viola players do nor constitute rhe flower of bow- insrrumenralisrs! A courageous beginning wi ll however draw fo llowers, and finally conductors and directors will have ro encourage rhe good exam ple."14 In a lecture given in l=ebruary 1897 to rhe London branch of rhe Inco rporated Society of

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