JAVS Spring 2007

THE TERTIS l.:EG~G~

by Thomas Tatton

musician, ord1estral player, record ing pioneer and artist, arranger, composer, designer of instruments, teacher at every level, and head cheerleader for the viola. He was a man of considerable longevity (29 December 1876- 22 February 1975) who possessed an enormous personality. Through various stories and anecdotes, White describes Terns' enormous personality on the one hand as kind, thoughtful, gen erous, humorous, supportive and attentive; yet he did not hold those back that show him also to be at times combative, obstinate, fiery, self-absorbed, and demanding. Terris did not create his vast legacy in a vacuum. Bernard Shore (17 March 1896- 2 April 1985) described Tercis on stage" ...as a rugged oak tree... " (p.74). Permit me to take this analogy a bit deeper. Think of Terris as the taproot and the center trunk of our "rugged oak tree..." He set himself deep into English soil that was rich in European musical history and nourished by the powerful nutrients of the English Renaissance. William Primrose (23 August 1904 -1 May 1982) and Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 - 28 December 1963) were arguably the other main roots pro viding balance, breadth and strength to our "rugged oak tree." From the great expanse of its limbs to the very top of irs glorious arch every twig and budding leaf owes the quality of its existence and suste nance to the life and work of Lionel Terris. OLUMJ;, 2.?

Ifwe are to keep our tree healthy and growing we violists should rec ognize, value and celebrate our roots - our past. Tht Firrt Great Virtuoso oftht Viola: Lionel Terris is a "must read" for every serious student of our magical instrument. By adding this book to cl1e standard violists' library- including My Viola and I by Lionel Terris, Playing tht Viola: Conversations with William Primrose by David Dalton, Walk On the North Side by William Primrose, and The History of the Viola in two volumes by Maurice Riley- we have a more com plete picture ofour heritage. Violists would value (him for those searching for a project!) a coUective, annotated concordance cross-referencing d1e published activities, anecdotes, and srories of all insrrumenralists and con ductors, plus composers and their viola compositions, centered around the Life and work ofLiond Terris. Included in our book are thirty three pages of some fifty-two price less photos, wonderfully annotated footnotes and remarkable appen dices. This is not an armchair read by any means nor is it designed for the non-string playing musician. (My wife, who normally enjoys a good biography, would not go far here - it is altogether too tightly knit.) On the other hand, if a seri ous violist does nor read this work and have it close at hand for refer ence then he/she chances to become a Cinderella without a coach to attend tl1e ball.

THE FIRST GREATVIRI1JOSO OF THEVIOLA: LIONEL TER TIS. John White. Boydell Press, 2006 - 668 Mount Hope Ave. Rochester, NY 14620..2731. $47.95 Professor ofViola at the Royal Academy ofMusic John White has been dose to the Terris f.unily since rus youth, when he srudied with Terris student Watson Forbes. He has since made himself the preeminent scholar of English violists and viola music, and therefore is the only per son who could weave so tightly all the mulri-colored threads and then illuminate this enormous tapestry we so humbly and inadequately describe as the Life and work ofLionel Terris. White brings rogether prodigious resources including articles, reviews, and letters to the editor !Tom every conceivably concerned newspaper, magazine and journal; books and articles, as well as speeches, testimoni als, interviews, srories, and anecdotes from Terris and about Terris !Tom famous (e.g., William Primrose, Fritz Kreisler, Pablo Casals, Eugene Ysaye and Anur Rubinstein) and nor-so Famous contemporaries; program notices and notes, information from record sleeves, diary entries and pri vate conversations. Tills remarkable story contains a seemingly infinite number of threads to the musical world for a span ofalmost a century. Terns was involved in some way in every aspect of the viola world of his day: he was a soloist, chamber

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