JAVS Spring 2014

the Polish folk soul into the concert hall. Anna Śliwa’s recital displayed four works from the six teenth to the eighteenth centuries, each on a differ ent instrument: the fidel, lira da braccio, viola d’amore, and Baroque viola. There were two particu larly interesting aspects of the performance: First, pizzicato on the fidel while the instrument was held vertically and away from the player, and Second, the use of bass strings on the lira da braccio, which were not connected to the bridge. Accompanied skillfully by Andrzej Zawiska on harpsichord, the perform ance attracted considerable intellectual interest, even though it was purely a performance event instead of a research-related one.

field recordings. A truly international endeavor, the lecture segment illustrated the various connections: Primrose and Bartók, the Hungarian and Slovakian sources, and the role of congresses in the meeting of the American and New Zealand violists, leading to their eventual collaboration. The presentation includ ed rare pictures of peasants taken by Bartók himself.

From left to right: Claudine Bigelow and Donald Maurice at the conclusion of their Bartók duos session

Orquidea Guandique presented a lecture on the Viola Concerto of Costa Rican composer Benjamin Gutiérrez and performed segments of the work. She indicated how the composition of a work could have various indispensable external connections, specifi cally in this instance the development of the orches tra scene in Costa Rica, which in turn was linked to governmental economic policies. In addition to these international presentations, there was research from the host country, with the opening lecture by Dorota Stanisławska providing a useful survey of Polish works for viola. She noted

Anna Śliwa performs on the fidel

II. Research

Research at the 41st congress allowed for some truly international connections. Claudine Bigelow and Donald Maurice launched Voices from the Past: Béla Bartók’s 44 Duos , with a presentation that unpacked their recent CD recording project into three parts: live performances of selections, a display of lyrics on the overhead screen, and playback of the composer’s

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