JAVS Summer 2014

From left to right: Martin Beaver and Paul Coletti (photo courtesy of Dwight Pounds) Saturday, June 14 Saturday morning’s 8:30 a.m. session was devoted to string quartets. James MacKay, Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Loyola University in New Orleans, presented a paper on the melodic use of the viola in Haydn’s late string quartets. Using multiple musical examples from the Op. 64, 74, 76, and 103 quartets, MacKay illustrated how Haydn gradually redistributed more melodic material among the instruments of the string quartet over the course of his compositional career. Dr. Sarah Ellis, Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Oklahoma, then looked at Shostakovich’s first eight string quartets, suggesting that in each one the viola serves as the force of rupture and alienation. Examples from the third and seventh quartets were particularly illuminating examples of this theory. I only had a chance to hear the end of the 9:00 a.m. recital: Chris Rutledge performed Harald Genzmer’s Sonata for Solo Viola. Afterward, Rutledge recognized Matthew Browne as the winner of the Third Biennial Maurice Gardner Composition Competition, and violist Jarita Ng performed the winning work, Exit, Pursued by a Bear . The Gardner Competition is shaping up to be a force in identifying and presenting the best of contemporary viola music, and this year’s winner was no exception. Clocking in at just four minutes, Exit is a swift, breathless, virtuosic showstopper that would be an ideal closer for any recital. Not an easy piece by any means, Ng handled the challenges effortlessly in this riveting performance.

V OLUME 30 S UMMER 2014 O NLINE I SSUE

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