JAVS Spring 2022

pure desperation. May we presume that you had at least picked up a viola once or twice? How did you manage the clef? The audition must not have had a sight-reading component.

DP : Interesting point on sound production. Are you speaking of tonal quality of the instrument or projection—or both? CC : Both and more. The violin sounds good if you just look at it. The viola needs attention on every aspect of it. There are five sound points – amount of bow hair, bow speed, bow pressure, bow placement between the bridge and the finger board, and in what part of the bow you are (i.e., tip, frog, etc.). You need to be in constant awareness of all of them at all times. The margin of error on the violin is absolutely humungous compared to the viola. If you drop one or two sound points along the way with the violin—you are still okay. Do that with a viola and you sound like a beginner. DP: We have several variables here which include one’s personal viola and bow, and the importance of thoroughly knowing their individual traits, but it would appear that strings are also an essential factor in decent tonal production. I won’t ask you which strings you use, but will ask if you experiment with different brands and how frequently you change them. CC: I used to use Dominant Strings straight across. I then went to Dominant on the bottom three and a Larsen A. Now I use Larsen straight across. Yes, there are other brands (one or two) that work on my viola, but Larsen work best for me – and not the new brands. I tried the new Larsen Virtuoso and they didn’t work at all with my instrument. Good old regular Larsen of the past years is best. DP: Still on the subject of tone quality: we also live with the fact that the seasons and varying humidity levels push and pull on our instruments, and that sound posts don’t always remain anchored in the sweet spot for any given viola. How frequently do you have your viola adjusted? Do you take it to a trusted luthier, or do you manage your own adjustments? CC: In the 26 years I have owned my viola, I changed the sound post once. I still have the same bridge and no one has worked on my instrument except to re-glue some open seams from time to time. You have to know your instrument – that’s it. I don’t adjust my instrument for weather, or tinker with it, I just learn how to adjust when I need to adjust.

Photo courtesy of Christian Colberg.

CC : I had tinkered with the viola my last year at Peabody, but it was not a serious thing at all. It was more of a curiosity and boredom that led me to it. When the audition happened, I didn’t read the clef, I had no idea how to produce a good sound and no idea how the viola excerpts really went. Most of my time at the audition was spent listening to the candidates in their practice rooms and making notes for when it was my chance to play. I had wrong rhythms and notes all over the place, but listening to people practice through the walls gave me the opportunity to fix things before I walked on stage. DP : You are a tall man—do you play a large instrument? Tell us about the purchase of the first viola. Were you looking for any specific qualities? CC : The viola I borrowed for the audition belonged to Earl Carlyss from the Juilliard Quartet. I asked him if I could borrow it and he agreed. I liked it, but it was a 16” viola so I wanted something a bit bigger. I called the maker of Earl’s viola and asked him to make me one. That’s it. Since I had no idea what to look for, I figured I would start there. To this day, that is still the viola I use. The most fun I had as a musician was figuring out how to play the viola while at the same time being in the BSO as a violist. I learned more about sound and sound production than I ever had up to that point. My viola was crafted by Marten Cornelissen and it is 16.5 inches long.

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

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