JAVS Spring 2014

who had the most influence. Sauzay had studied at the conservatory with Pierre Baillot, who is often considered the last acclaimed bastion of the French violin school. A colleague of both Pierre Rode and Rodolphe Kreutzer, Baillot had a profound effect on the technical development of violin playing in a time when virtuosity was prized above all else. He was also an advocate of chamber music and had his own string quartet. It was in this group that Sauzay played second violin, later switching to viola. After being appointed Professor of Viola, Laforge stopped playing the violin and focused primarily on playing and teaching the viola, as well as developing ideas on viola pedagogy. Laforge believed that all stu dents should study the violin before studying the viola, as it would help with virtuosity on the instru ment. He also believed, similar to the ideas of Lionel Tertis, that the viola needed a determined size. During this period, many viola students were either playing on large Italian violas (up to 18 inches in length) or on violins restrung with viola strings. Laforge felt that a viola of 15 3/4 inches was the appropriate size. A good sound on a viola this size, according to Laforge, was very easy to obtain and would not cause injury or physical stress to the performer. During his career at the conservatory, Laforge ini tiated several works for viola from composers of the time, almost all of whom were French. Several pieces were commissioned by Laforge for the con cours at the conservatory. The concours is a type of final exam, and students who receive a premiere prix at a concours are considered to have graduated from the conservatory. To earn a premiere prix , a violist would need to demonstrate his abilities by performing a morceau de concours , or a work com posed to show off the capabilities of both the instrument and the player. 9 Laforge commissioned many pieces between the years 1896 and 1918 for the concours . Many other pieces were composed during Laforge’s tenure at the conservatory, including Paul Rougnon’s Grand Étude de Concert pour Alto et Piano and Suite de Concert pour Alto et Piano , Léon Firket’s Romance pour Alto et Piano, and Louis Vierne’s Deux Pièces pour Alto et Piano , op. 5.

Théophile Édouard Laforge, year unknown

violist in Paris, Mas would have been a natural choice to head the first viola studio. However, this viola class also never materialized. It was not until May 1893 that a new committee was established, finally creating a viola class. As Mas was then seven ty-three and considered to be at the end of his career, it was decided that a young, up-and-coming violist would become the professor. His name was Théophile Édouard Laforge. Born in Paris on March 6, 1863, Laforge began his violin studies at a young age and was admitted to the conservatory at the age of fourteen to study with Jules Garcin. 6 After obtaining medals in both music theory and violin, he began his advanced studies with Eugène Sauzay. 7 In 1883 he was appointed as a violinist in the Opéra de Paris. Upon graduating from the conservatory three years later, Laforge became the principal violist of the Opéra Orchestre, as well as the viola soloist with the Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire. 8 Laforge’s teachers were not strangers to the viola, and it may have been their knowledge of the instrument that influenced Laforge to study it in the first place. His first teacher, Garcin, had composed music for viola; however, it may be his second teacher, Sauzay,

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