JAVS Spring 2020

Figure 1. The planned program for Férir’s performance of Forsyth’s Chant Celtique (left), and a partial scan of the insert announcing the program change (right). Courtesy of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives.

The main theory as to why the concerto has faded from history is that Tertis slighted it. Tertis published a repertoire list with a section on British viola music, but he did not include Forsyth’s concerto. Because Tertis would have been playing in the orchestra at the time of the premiere and would have been personally familiar with the work, this slight seems intentional. This wouldn’t be the only time that Tertis snubbed a piece. William Walton in 1927 wrote his viola concerto with the hope that Tertis would premiere it, but Tertis famously turned it down. Tertis later reversed his views, when he wrote “with shame and contrition I admit that when the composer offered me the first performance, I declined it . . . . It took me time to realize what a tower of strength in the literature of the viola is this concerto.” 33 There is no such statement about the Forsyth concerto, so either Tertis forgot about it, or he deliberately left it out. 34 Because of his position as the grandfather of solo viola playing, Tertis carried a great deal of influence, so many violists might not look beyond his repertoire list for music he may have missed.

Two prominent repertoire lists include this concerto. The first is the American String Teachers Association Syllabus where it is listed as level four out of six. 35 This would place it for serious players, near the end of high school or the beginning of college, alongside pieces such as Weber’s Andante e Rondo Ongarese , or Hindemith’s Trauermusik . It also appears on the Royal Conservatory’s list, listed as an option for the ARCT examination (their top level, approximately lining-up with the end of secondary school) alongside Bartók, Der Schwanendreher, Walton, and a few others. 36 While perhaps an advanced student piece, the concerto should still be considered an important piece. It requires similar technical demands on the player as the top three concertos. Like Walton, it teaches long lines and breadth of sound; like Bartók, it requires thought-out character changes and quick switches between them; and like Der Schwanendreher it teaches the necessity of hand relaxation, especially because it opens with octaves! Also,

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2020