JAVS Fall 2011

he says, “Working with PIVA really opened my eyes to the world of little known or unknown works. It also made me realize how important it is for libraries to have databases and archives that contain rare music. I think having PIVA is vital to the viola world. Frequently, I am asked about the PIVA and know sev eral colleagues who interlibrary loan materials from the PIVA.”

writing The History of the Viola . Maurice Riley had no fear. he wrote letters to everyone, asking for help with his project. People contacted him from far and wide, asking for help with dissertations, critiquing his writing—it became obvious to me that the viola really was his life! he sacrificed so much to bring about all the research and writing he accomplished in his life, and that is the ultimate example to me.” Tally thinks that Riley had it right when he said, “you do not need to be working on a college degree, or writing a book to become profitably involved with viola research. The more you know about the viola and its music, the more enjoyment and satisfaction you will derive as a performer or as a listener.” Andrew Snow , a student employee in PIVA from 2007–2010, worked almost exclusively with sound recordings, “sifting out as many recordings as possible that were specific to the viola or of special signifi cance.” Recordings identified as PIVA materials were set aside and archived in two collections: one for LPs and another for 78 rpm recordings. Presently a doc toral student at the Eastman School of Music, Andrew values his experience with PIVA very much, believing that “the amount of history there and the value it has, which transcends more than pedagogy and technical study, have helped me to want to include learning, development, and preservation of such history in what I do.” Andrew feels that expo sure to the archive has made him a better musician because of the inspiration that can be drawn from the histories of other artists stored in the archive. Andrew says, “Those artists had human experiences and being in touch with that adds a depth to my understanding of their art … learning something of the life experience of another will inevitably affect how you view yours.” Blake Allen was a student employee in PIVA from 2008 through 2010, assigned to work with the ulrich Drüner Collection (which Claudine Bigelow present ed on at the 2008 Viola Congress). This involved organizing hundreds of rare viola scores and getting them prepared for cataloging. Currently, Blake is a master’s degree candidate in viola performance at the College-Conservatory of Music at the university of Cincinnati. Of his experience as an archive employee,

From left to right: Blake Allen with violist Burt Fisch

Noelle Rader has been a PIVA student employee since 2009. Working with archival materials, she is very familiar with the lives and work of Paul Doktor, Myron Rosenblum, Maurice Gardner, Tibor Serly, Franz Zeyringer, and ulrich Drüner. Of the latter col lection, she says, “The Drüner Collection is truly magnificent and a great resource for the viola world. As Byu works hard at getting the collection cata loged, professionals and students will find, like I did, many exciting things in the collection for research.” Noelle also received an ORCA grant to transpose and transcribe “the wonderful book Technique is Memory written by William Primrose. I was able to present my research on this book at the international viola con gress held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2010, and Dr. Bigelow and I are getting closer to our publishing goals on this project.”

J OuRNAL OF ThE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETy 54