JAVS Spring 2022

Romances for Viola and Piano was a revelation; it is a work that deserves to be much more widely heard. Mr. Murrath’s very personal spoken remarks for each work also created an intimate and meaningful atmosphere amid still-uncertain times. Saturday’s mini-fest began with an inspiring and informative session on the SCVS annual ViolaFest model led by Gina Coletti and Mary Kelly, in tandem with a collegiate masterclass by Daphne Gerling. Other content programmed for Saturday included a session on developing a quartet career by jury chair Barry Shiffman, as well as Body Mapping workshop by Christina Ebersohl. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the Primrose Competition’s live final round, which featured the three finalists performing the Bartók and Walton Concerto accompanied by the Colburn School orchestra. The round opened with two dynamic interpretations of the Bartók concerto— Nicholas Swensen’s powerful and energized performance was followed by Samuel Rosenthal’s more intimate, personal approach, creating much animated discussion amongst the audience members during the intermission. Natalie Loughran’s elegant and sensitive performance of Walton was equally compelling after the break, and with three technically and musically impressive performances to compare, the audience was left wondering who might be announced as the winner once the jury panel and competition mathematician completed their work.

After a lunch break and a beautiful recital by the winners of the SCVS Youth Competition, the awards ceremony opened with recognition of the jury panelists and organizers and a brief explanation of the complex scoring and weighting of different rounds of the competition. The three finalists sat side-by-side in the front row, cheering enthusiastically for one another as the prizes were announced. Nicholas Swensen was awarded Third Prize and Samuel Rosenthal took Second Prize, while Natalie Loughran was named for First Prize as well as the Audience Prize winner. Semi-finalist Keoni Bolding won the AVS Transcriptions Prize for Tosca Paraphrase , his own transcription of Act II of Puccini’s Tosca . Natalie Loughran was awarded the BIPOC Prize for her own arrangement of the second movement of William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano . As the ceremony wrapped up, with many of the competition finalists and semi-finalists milling about in the hall, hugging—or fist-bumping—and congratulating each other, the consensus among many attendees was that the future of the viola is in very good hands indeed. The next Primrose International Viola Competition is slated for June 2024 in Los Angeles, California in collaboration with the Colburn School and will be accompanied by a full, biennial AVS Festival.

PIVC First Prize winner Natalie Loughran.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 38, No. 1, Spring 2022

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