JAVS Fall 2011

N EW M USIC R EVIEWS

by Daniel Sweaney

of those issues. Garth Knox has also produced short videos (available for viewing on his website) of his work Viola Spaces, Eight Concert Studies for Viola , which deals exclusively with extended techniques. Van der Werff covers every possible topic related to viola basics: posture, hand and arm position, bowing, left-hand patterns, vibrato, shifting, rhythmic exercises, and scale routines. This takes us back to fundamentals and the importance of good technique. The DVD is filmed with the author’s back to a mirror so one can view each exercise from two different angles. There are a number of blank pages and manuscript paper for taking notes. My only suggestion for this book would be to print it in a spiral bound version so that it can easily lie flat on a music stand. I truly applaud Ivo-Jan van der Werff for making this DVD and book of extremely useful exercises available. It is a wonderful addition to any violist’s library and practice routine. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working through it and learn ing from the author’s wisdom. A definite must have!!

A Notebook for Viola Players by Ivo-Jan van der Werff

Copyright Ivo-Jan van der Werff 2011

Ivo-Jan van der Werff has been Professor of Viola at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice university, since 2007. he was a member of the Medici Quartet for twenty-eight years and spent ten years on the faculty of the Royal College of Music in London teaching viola and chamber music. he has made over forty record ings including viola works by Arnold Bax and Max Reger. he now has his own summer festival for violists in New york. Professor van der Werff was a student of Bruno Giuranna, whom he credits with some of the exercises in this book. A Notebook for Viola Players gives a broad overview of viola technique and aims to fill in the gap between technique materials written specifically for the viola and those transcribed from the violin. It falls between a pedagogical book of written explanations and a tech nique book with little written prose made up primarily of exercises. Van der Werff is very quick to note that the book is presented as a good basis for daily practice but can be varied and supplemented with other mate rials. There are numerous pictures of hand and arm positions with accompanying explanations, which reminds me of henry Barrett’s book, The Viola , also a very innovative and original book for its time. This book is a significant and notable addition to our literature for viola technique, and it is innovative for including a DVD of the author performing the exer cises. So many times I have read excellent articles and books by great pedagogues, but I am not always sure I understand the description of what they are asking the reader to do, or I can see several different interpreta tions. This is no fault of theirs, but simply the nature of trying to articulate in a clear and concise manner something that is so complex; this DVD solves many

This work is available by contacting the author: iv3@rice.edu

Dayenu Variations for Two Violas (1989) by Max Raimi

Max Raimi has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1984. his works have been performed at Chicago’s Orchestra hall, the Library of Congress, Paris Opera, and the Kennedy Center. he was a student of Lillian Fuchs. The composer writes: “This work was written for a Passover Seder more than twenty years ago. ‘Dayenu’ roughly means, ‘It would have been enough for us!’ It is a recounting of all the strokes of good fortune the Jewish people are favored with by God in the story of Exodus. After each gift from God, the chorus rings out ‘Dayenu!’ Needless to say, it is a rather selective recounting of the Jewish experience.”

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