JAVS Spring 2017

experience of being in the presence of the musicians are significant elements of the style. 29

Movement III: “The Rock Movement” Yusupov refers to the third movement as “the Rock movement,” 27 and it is written in a single style. Also, in this movement, the soloist switches instruments, taking up the electric viola. The instrumentation of this movement is basically rock ensemble and orchestra. Rock, as a style or genre, has many different elements, but according to Susan Fast, the Rock ensemble is guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, and singer: The lead guitar player is of central importance: the electric guitar has been the defining instrument in rock music. It became the instrument of choice because of the possibility of creating loud, distorted, sustained sound, as well as a wide range of different timbres, and fast, virtuosic solos. 28

In other words, the live performance is one of the most challenging elements within rock music, because the live performance should demonstrate improvisational skill, for example, on an electric instrument in front of the audience. In the third movement, the main cadenza appears in the middle, and it is not written by the composer; the soloist should improvise on the electric viola in the style in which the movement is written. Yusupov affirms that the cadenza should be played by the soloist, but that the electric guitarist and percussionist may perform a short cadenza as well, and then the movement concludes with the final viola solo cadenza.

Figure 4: Viola Tango Rock Concerto: formal analysis of Movement III

Fast further highlights the importance of live performance:

Another important element within rock music is authenticity. Fast affirms that: The notion of rock authenticity claims that

As Walser argued with respect to metal, fans want to see and hear the musicians reproduce the music on records live and this obtains to other styles of rock music as well; the live demonstration of technical facility and the

music should express an unmediated interiority; artists should perform their own songs, have artistic control over their output, and shun the commercial side of the music industry […]. 30

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring 2017