JAVS Spring 2006

Concerto per IaViola (2005) Allegro /\ri a su due Corcle Capriccio Rapsoclia al ia Bulgara

Cadenza per Viola sola (1984), except in reverse.) The first move ment of the concerto, Allegro, is saturated with triplets in a down ward chromatic movement, creat ing a texture that reminded me slightly oC the Hindemith Karnmermusik No. 5 th ird move ment (M~iss i g Schnell). T also heard a difficult double stop pas sage nca r rhc end whi ch reminded me of the double-stop cadenza in the final movement, Variantc cines Militiirmarsches, of the Kammcrmusik No. 5, and some runs simi lar in contour to those in rhe Walton Viola Concerto second movement. T hese interesting, yer distant homages to famous viola works being mixed in with the rhythmic and lyr ical element from /\rad's ethn ic music of his early years (which he describes as being an amalgam of sounds from Central and Eastern Europe, the Ncar and Midd le East, and rhe Maghreb and the Balkans) make lor a highly individual and original concertO for the viola. The first movement maintains a qu ick upli ft ing pace throughout unri l rhe end where the energy dissipates, which thus hel ps to effectively set up the somberness of the opening of the second movement, Aria su due corde. Arad composed the movemen t in an unusuai /\BAB form , in which the' '/\" secti on is Lento and on rhc g-st ring, while rhe "B" section is Vivo and on the a-s tring. Of course there arc several pieces where the composer writes for the string instrument on one string, bur never have 1 seen a composer pick two stri ngs chosen rhis way.

The vivo section is in a quick changing eighth note meter (a Ia Copland/Bernstein), while the Lento section is in a slow quarter note pulse, mostly of 3/4 and 4/4. The third movement, Capri ccio, begins with a slow 12-ba r intro duction with exoti c sounding, qui ck melismatic rhythms slurred into very slow notes. This mood is broken by a moto perpetuo that opens with a "viola sawing" simi lar to the opening of the second movement of the Schnittke Viola Concerto . Arad departs from this using rhe material from one of his caprices (titled Bel a), which ends with an exact quote from the end ing measures of the Bartok Viola Conccrro. T he fourth movement, Rapsod ia alia Bulgara, is my favorite of all . There is a comedi c element with the textu re and counterpoint hea rd in the opening, remi nding Bulgarian themes Arad used in the Solo Viola Sonata. T his move ment has a mixrure of high energy and reflective moments, and end ing is very curious as it seems to come om of nowhere; a fast three measure "burton" to the final cadence comes right after a somber moment. Thi s exciting ending is certain ly welcomed and will certain ly bring audience to thcir feet after hearing such a vir ruosic adventure. me of orchestral works by Stravinsky. In the mix arc

Difficul ty: Level 6 Durarion: 34 minutes Dedication: Uriel Segal

By Atar Arad (b. 1945)

Hav ing been in communication with Arad about his Solo Viola Sonara thar T reviewed in a previ ous issue, Aracl made me aware that during his sabbati cal in the spring of 2005 he would be com posing his first viola concerto. 1 eagerly awa ired this piece, and was highly gratified to hear and exam ine it. Arad premiered the concerto with the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Chamber Orchest ra rhis past fill!, and has since perfo rmed it with the Rrussels Chamber Orchestra. I enjoyed listening to this wo rk even more than the Solo Viola Sonara, wh ich r consider also to be a work of gen ius. It is very inspiring to see a composer begin to Aolll·ish afte r such an extensive performing and teaching career; it brings to mind Bruckner, who wrote his Symphony No. I at age 4 1. Arad drew inspiration for this work from two earlier pieces he wrore: hi s Six Caprices for Viola (2005) for the first three move ments of the concerto, and his Solo Viola Sonata (1992) for the b sr. (This reminds rne of the rela tionshi p between Penderecki's Viola Concerto (1983) and his

T his work is available from the composer directly at:

e-mail: aarad@indiana.edu

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