JAVS Spring 2014

chant was founded in 1784 during the monarchy of King Louis XVI and focused on training singers and actors. Eight years later, a second music school, the Institut national de musique, was founded for the training of instrumental musicians. In 1795 the two institutions were combined to form the Conservatoire de musique, with the first students of the new conser vatory beginning their studies in the fall of 1796. By 1800 the conservatory staffed some of the best known composers and musicians in Europe, including François-Joseph Gossec, Luigi Cherubini, Jean-François Le Sueur, Rodolphe Kreutzer, and Pierre Rode. While the Conservatoire de musique was founded in 1795, it was not until nearly a century later that a separate class was established for the viola. By that time, the idea that the viola should be taught as an independent instrument was not a new one. In 1848 Berlioz wrote that “it is unfortunate that there is no special class for viola. Despite its relationship with the violin, for the instrument to be played well, it needs its own study and constant practice. It is a sad, old and ridiculous prejudice that has so far entrusted the execution of alto parts to third violinists.” 2 From the founding of the conservatory until 1885, music studios were established for the violin, violoncello, and double bass—but not for the viola. In 1870 a committee was created to reorganize the school. During that time, the idea for a viola studio was rec ommended by the composer François-Auguste Gevaert. The committee at first decided to have four classes of violin and viola, whereby viola would be taught along with violin in the same studio. A spe cial prize for viola would be awarded at the end of each year to the student who showed the greatest achievement on the instrument. The committee then decided to have an independent viola class sep arate from the violin class. The decision to form a separate viola studio caused a major controversy within the Parisian musical com munity and press. The critic Arthur Pougin wrote against it, stating: A member of the committee earnestly demanded the creation of a viola class. Why do this? And I repeat: why? What would a viola class be for? For

those members of the committee who do not know, we must declare that the mechanism of the viola differs absolutely nothing from the mecha nism of the violin, the three things that differenti ate the two instruments are the following: 1. the viola is slightly larger than the violin, and the spacing requirements are slightly larger for the fingers. But the violinist who has never touched a viola would realize this fact after a few hours of practice and would play just as well as on the vio lin, 2. as a result of the slightly larger size of the instrument, the bow should bite the strings with more power and strength, so the full extent of the sound is given—see the same comment above, and 3. while violin music is written in the treble clef, viola music is written on the third line C key. This, we see, does not affect the mechanism of the instrument, and it is nothing to our young violinists, who are able to fluently perform trans positions. So what good is, I repeat, a viola class? 3 It is with sincere sorrow that we note the absence of a studio for the beautiful viola at our Paris Conservatory. Whatever the reasons for this gap, we cannot approve. The viola has a hand stamp; a special type and special studies are needed to make a violist. A good violinist can play the viola easily, but would it be good enough to draw out of the instrument the effect in which it is capable? 4 Despite the decision by the committee, a viola stu dio was not established as planned in 1870, for rea sons unknown. Eight years later, an announcement was made that a viola studio had been established at the conserva toire, to be taught by Joseph-Marie Mas. 5 Mas was the violist of the famed Armingaud Quartet, found ed by Edouard Lalo, which promoted the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Mendelssohn. He was also violist of the Maurin Quartet, as well as the principal violist of the Italian Theatre Orchestra. A well-known and prominent Not everyone agreed with Pougin. Louis-Antoine Vidal, a music historian and critic, wrote:

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