JAVS Spring 2001

31

2ooo DAVID DALTON VIoLA REsEARCH CoMPETITION

The first annual David Dalton Viola Research Competition has been completed, with two winning entries selected through a screenedjudging by apanel offive AVS scholars. Charletta Taylor's first place entry appears below, followed by Christina Placilla's second-place entry, found on page 39.

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by Char/etta Taylor

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William Walton's Viola Concerto is essential to the movement that propelled the viola into the realm of solo playing. Although the concerto was initially completed in 1929, Walton revis ited the work in 1961, re-orchestrating the score and revising the solo part. Although the solo part remains recognizably the same in each of the versions, there are significant changes in dynamics, tempos, articulation, phrasing, and notes. Similarly, there are two published piano arrangements of the Concerto, one from 1930 and the other from 1964. These two arrange ments also differ in many ways from one another and from the orchestral scores from which they were taken. To better understand this piece, it is important to know the revisions Walton made in the Concerto, why these changes were made, and how such changes are reflected in each of the piano arrangements. Walton started work on the Viola Concerto while in Amalfi, Italy in November 1928. Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor of the British Broadcasting Company Orchestra, proposed that Walton write a concerto for the great English violist Lionel Tertis. Walton returned to London with the completed concerto in the spring of 1929 and sent a manuscript to Tertis. Much to Walton's surprise, Tertis returned the manuscript. Tertis' rejection left Walton with a completed concerto but no soloist, as there were few virtuoso violists Walton could turn to for a perform ance. Walton briefly considered converting the piece into a violin concerto, but abandoned the plans at the suggestion that Paul Hindemith play the concerto. Tertis claims that he was the one to suggest Hindemith. 1 However, Walton claims that Edward Clark at the BBC sent the con certo to Hindemith, who eagerly agreed to play the first performance. 2 The Viola Concerto's first performance was scheduled for London's Henry Wood Promenade Concert on October 3, 1929, in Queen's Hall. Walton conducted the concerto himself, with Hindemith as the soloist. Although he admired Hindemith's technique, Walton felt that "his playing was brusque; he was a rough, no-nonsense player. He just stood up and played." 3 There were only a few rehearsals and these were tediously spent fixing orchestra parts that were miss ing bars and splattered with incorrect notes. Despite it all, the performance went well and the Viola Concerto was well received. Lionel Tertis went to the premiere of the Viola Concerto and "was completely won over". 4 Tertis had his first chance to perform the piece at the International Festival of Contemporary Music at Liege in 1930 with Walton conducting again. William Primrose performed the Concerto for the first time in 1935 with the Royal Philharmonic Society under Beecham. With the performances by three of the most prominent violists, Hindemith, Tertis, and Primrose, Walton's Viola Concerto was firmly established as an essential part of the solo viola repertoire. William Walton revised the Viola Concerto in 1961. This version was premiered on January 18, 1962, with John Coulling as viola soloist, along with the London Philharmonic Orchestra,

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