JAVS Spring 2013

“rejected by Berlioz” with an asterisk in the viola part, 27 the Carpenter and Ashkenazy recording seems to endorse the version by saying their interpretation “features a more virtuoso soloist part originally writ ten for Paganini’s execution of this movement.” 28 While Carpenter and Ashkenazy have thoughtfully paired this version of Berlioz’s work with Paganini’s own viola “concerto,” or showpiece— Sonata per la Gran Viola —the Paganini “episode” does not quite suit the rest of the symphony. Kawabata identifies several elements Berlioz uses in order to negate the concerto genre and any virtuosic expectations, which include the viola’s “lack of flashy passagework,” Berlioz’s choice of viola, placement of the violist, as well as the disappearance of Harold in the final movement. 29 While Carpenter’s performance is a welcome addition to the list of distinguished record ings of Harold , the passage sounds out of place in the context of the entire work and seems to under mine Berlioz’s final intentions for an unvirtuosic , non -concerto for the viola. Another reason not to play this Paganini version in a full performance of the work is the unchanging nature of Berlioz’s Harold. The simple eight-bar melodic figure that represents Harold at the first entrance of the solo viola returns throughout all the movements of the symphony. Berlioz explains in his Memoirs that, unlike the idée fixe of Symphonie fan tastique , which keeps “obtruding like an obsessive idea” and adapts to the various scenes, the cyclical Harold theme is never altered. 30 The solo viola is to be involved “like an actual person, retaining the same character throughout.” 31 Harold’s isolation and melancholy personality never change; only the set tings change with the different scenes of Italy. Playing the flashy Paganini version instead of the simple Harold theme in octaves would be going against the composer’s wishes to depict the simplici ty and unchanging nature of his Romantic wanderer. Perhaps a compromise would be to play this excerpt as an encore after a performance of the definitive Berlioz version, or as an example in a lecture recital about the genesis of the symphony.

Conclusion

While there are many performance practice issues associated with Harold in Italy , the most relevant issues to assist a violist’s performance of the solo part include the placement of the soloist, whether an orchestra’s principal violist or a guest artist plays the solo part, the importance of embodying the style and character of Harold, and the knowledge of the different versions available, including the Liszt tran scription and the Macdonald piano reduction, which contains the Paganini version. Many other issues are associated with the work that would offer yet more historic perspective in performance; however, these elements primarily concern the orchestra. Therefore, further research would be necessary in exploring per formance practice issues, including the use of period instruments, which would affect the orchestral color of the scenes of Italy; instrumental variants, such as the use of cornets and ophicleide; and an investiga tion of the various manuscript sources and early edi tions, with their potentially revealing information about tempo and metronome markings, which may change the way the work is performed. The association of Paganini with Harold in Italy seems to have overshadowed the literary program, the work’s unusual generic character, and the viola’s personifica tion of the outsider. This connection should not influence style or other issues of performance practice. Instead, Berlioz’s literary reference should enable the performer to explore creative staging and placement of the soloist. The unusual genre of Harold in Italy provokes many of these issues, which should be han dled just as uniquely in order to realize Berlioz’s ingenious negation of the concerto genre. The clarifi cation of some of these performance practice issues by consulting historic evidence will hopefully encourage both violists and music directors to program Harold in Italy more often for live performances.

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