JAVS Summer 1998

54

morning "Coffee Concert" by a trio of flute (Richard Chester), viola Qames Durrant), and guitar (Phillip Thorn). They played together and in different combination, mostly Scottish works. Flute, viola, and guitar make an agree able ensemble, emphasizing the quieter side of things. The concert was followed by a lecture given by Tully Potter, who relied heav ily on his collection of vintage recordings to illustrate the importance ofWilliam Primrose in twentieth-century viola history. Mr. Potter should be a requisite for any viola gathering, as his knowledge of the instrument, its litera ture and players is encyclopedic. An enter taining speaker and professional journalist, he generously supplied articles on Primrose and Forbes for the Congress program. The first afternoon ses

Congress, was John White, prominent English violist and pedagogue, who studied with Watson Forbes, another prominent Scottish violist. Forbes, who was also honored at this Congress, died in 1997 and so Forbes memorabilia was included in the display as well. A large space was dedicated to a display by luthiers or dealers, who provided many in struments and bows for sale. The only radical display was from a Scottish concern named Starfish Electric Bowed Instruments. These are skeletal instruments, which have the essential parts of traditional stringed instru ments, except the resonating mechanism. The tones are produced electronically. The num ber of strings is not set; they feature violins

with four, five, or six strings. They come in a variety of col ors. The instruments are named after sea creatures: "Stingray Violins," "Octopus Bass Vio lin," "Stingray Viola," "Dol phin Cello," and "Orca Basses." The company is located in Fort William, Scotland, which is near Loch Ness. The question as to whether the names were inspired by The Monster was not taken seriously. The Congress sessions themselves featured a rich mix of recitals, lectures, a few master

sion consisted of hard-core twentieth-century viola music presented by violist Garth Knox and pianist Peter Evans. Composers included Henze, Ligeti, James Dillon, and Takemitsu. Knox is a specialist in this sort of thing, having spent considerable time with the Arditti Quartet and before that, Pierre Boulez. This was followed by a somewhat wan dering panel discussion by Scottish composers on the subject "Writing for the Viola."

classes, and more formal or elaborate evening presentations labeled "Concerts." There was, as might be expected, an emphasis on Scottish composers and performers, although there were performers from Belgium, China, En gland, Ireland, and Japan, among other coun tries; however most had a pretty firm connec tion with the UK, either through training or birth. A handsome and amazingly accurate program booklet provided easy guidance to the events and information about the participants. Information about the Congress was made available through a simple but thorough website and e-mail address, which answered crucial questions in a timely manner. To sum up, this Congress was model of good organi zation, from the attendee's standpoint. The first event of the Congress was a

Participants were Thomas Wilson, Sally Beamish, James Dillon, Sebastian Forbes (son ofWatson Forbes), and Edward McGuire. All except Wilson were composers whose works were performed at the Congress. Paul Silverthorne, principal violist of the London Symphony Orchestra, gave a recital that was a Congress highpoint. Sophia Rah man, his brilliant accompanist, plays with the piano lid fully open, and thereby achieves im mediacy, clarity, a wide dynamic and texture range, yet balance was never a problem for her or her partner. Her work is clean, accu rate, and musical-she is a real treat. Silver thorne is a large man who plays a 17-inch Brothers Amati viola, part of the collection of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he teaches. The sound is glorious, and