Repertoire Update

As some of you may know, I’m learning a large arsenal of solo viola music for hopeful album release early next year. I wanted to let you all know what I’m learning so that the amount of raised eyebrows is diminished when that album does eventually emerge. I’ll even give a little insight as to why I like the pieces.

Miecyzslaw Weinberg: Sonatas for Solo Viola

These sonatas are on par with the Hindemith solo sonatas (which I have a recording of 31/4 on my youtube channel). They are each increasingly challenging technique wise with loads of double stops. The form of each movement is very clear cut which is quite rare for 20th century as most of it is based on the ambiguity of themes. Analyzing each of the four sonatas has been enlightening and they each have their own harmonic language despite the fact that they where written in the later years of Weinberg’s tumultuous career. My favorite movement’s are the 4th movement of the first sonata which is a theme and variations which depicts a military march and the 1st movement of the fourth sonata which is beautifully written in the key of F sharp major. It is very song like in it’s construction, ironically so given that the whole idea of Soviet music was to promote the revolution and the greatness of the party. It is as if Weinberg is finally able to tell what has happened throughout his life and perhaps this is why it’s the only part that has a true key signature.

Fyodor Druzhinin: Sonata for Solo Viola

This piece is incredibly hard. It is a shame that not many know of it and even fewer perform it. Druzhinin himself was an acclaimed violist and teacher and many composers including Weinberg (for whom the 1st sonata is dedicated to) and Shostakovich dedicated works to him. This sonata’s harmonic language is all about contrast which is a key characteristic of many Soviet/Russian composers. The first movement is quite stark which a large major 7th leap which resolves up a tritone which forms a broken Viennese Trichord (a perfect fourth and a tritone stacked). Anyways, we move one to a scherzo and trio movement which ends with a double stop natural harmonic which blew my mind when I first heard it. My favorite movement is the 3rd, a elegaic which just oozes of pain and the acceptance of death. Lastly the final movement is a culmination of each of the movements in some capacity. It truly gives the performer the showmanship that so many pre-20th century pieces lack and it does it in a meaningful way unlike some others out there (Paganini I’m looking at you). Lastly, the ending gives us the big finale ending that is justified and is satisfying after hearing such a roller coaster of music.