New Music Reviews:
Recent Viola Concertos
by Kenneth Martinson
Concierto Cubano for Viola and Orchestra
(1999/2000-01)
I. Defiantly
II. Toccata: Allegro Scherzando
III. Andante Sostenuto e molto rubato
Difficulty: Level 6
Duration: 22 minutes
Premieres: Roberto Diaz and Toby Appel
By José Raúl Bernardo (b. 1938)
Sample Score
Audio Example - Bernardo Movement I
This work was enjoyable to listen to from start to finish. It is saturated with Cuban flavor and Bernardo seems to be highly influenced by his native Cuban folk music with some American influences, especially that of Gershwin. It has a solid tonal center, starting and ending in the key of E-flat, but wandering through several other keys throughout the work. However, Bernardo seems to take pleasure in exploiting and leaning on those dissonant chords that eventually lead to the key he is in, and oftentimes he throws in “blue notes” like the major 7th and the 9th when he resolves to the tonic chord.
The three-movement form reminded me slightly of the unusual structure of the Walton Viola Concerto. In both pieces, the first movement is in a medium tempo and is very lyrical, the second movement is a short Scherzo-like movement with quick 16th notes, and the third movement returns to lyricism, sometimes quoting what was heard in the first movement. This is the end of the similarity however, as Bernardo’s musical material is completely different from that of Walton.
From the performer’s standpoint, this piece will be a pleasure to learn as it all lies well within the hand and Bernardo seems to have an excellent grasp on what is playable for the viola. The work is full of double-stop writing with some triple and quadruple-stopping especially near the end of the last movement. Some of the double-stopping in the Toccata with the quick jumps during the sixteenth notes will certainly take some extra time to prepare on the violist’s part.
This work has an interesting history to it in how it came to being. Originally, it was titled Silent Wing: A Poem for Viola and Orchestra. This version was commissioned by the Binghamton Philharmonic for its Millennium season, and was premiered on November 3, 1999, with John Covelli conducting and Roberto Diaz as the viola soloist. Because of the success of this work, Bernardo decided to expand it into a full 3-movement concerto which was then premiered in that form by the Utica Symphony Orchestra with Charles Schneider conducting and Toby Appel as the viola soloist in 2001.
Bernardo was born in Cuba and he came to USA as a refugee in 1960, where he began by working at a tomato plantation in Florida. He later moved to New York City and eventually received his Ph.D from Columbia University, where he also taught. The epitome of a “Renaissance Man,” he is not only a composer/pianist, but he is also a published author having written works of fiction such as The Secret of the Bulls (1996) published by Simon & Schuster, Silent Wing (1998) (honored by the Los Angeles Times Book review as “One of the Best Novels of the Year”) and The Wise Women of Havana (2001) published by HarperCollins.
This work is available through:
Pepacton Arts Music
P.O. Box 700
Downsville, NY 3755-0700
e-mail: pepactonarts@earthlink.net
Viola Concerto (1996)
I. Maestoso
II. Variations on B-A-S-H-M-E-T;
III. Allegro Molto
Difficulty: Level 6
Duration: 20 minutes
Dedication: Yuri Bashmet
By Steven R. Gerber (b. 1948)
Sample Score
Audio Example - Gerber Movement I
This incredibly exciting work was full of intensity that made me sit at the edge of my chair as I was listening to it for the first time. This energy in a viola concerto is only matched in my mind by the intense moments of the 2nd movement of Schnittke Viola Concerto (which was, interestingly, also written for Bashmet). This work is also tonally-based, but in a very fresh manner and no key signature is ever used. The first movement starts with pervasive drones in the orchestra where the soloist explores the intensity of several different intervals against it; later in this movement, he begins to use penetrating minor seconds, inversions thereof, and dissonant note clusters in which the upward harmonic motion combined with the speeding of the tempo really makes for gratifying result. This movement has an interesting cadenza about two-thirds of the way through that expertly summarizes all of the previously heard material in a virtuoso manner.
The double-stops in this movement are all playable, but at times a little bit uncomfortable as some stretching beyond the octave is required within the hand, and this work will certainly challenge the violist as far as hearing these dissonances. I am sure this will be even more difficult in a full performance, and being able to hear your fingers tap the fingerboard for the notes might not be a viable option to have with all of the orchestra “white noise.”
The mastery of Gerber’s compositional technique is best seen in the 2nd movement where he writes variations on a set of notes that spell out B-A-S-H-M-E-T, with the “M” being “mi” (or “E”) and the “T” being “ti” (or B) [see sample score]. The resulting melody is quite convincing and seems to fit Gerber’s compositional language very well. The fast 32nd note writing in the solo part set against the theme in the winds is intriguing, as is the following section that uses tremolo harmonics against the theme in the upper strings. The ending of this movement is reminiscent of the opening trumpet fanfare of the Mahler Symphony No. 5 and some of the brass writing in the opening of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, but an exact quote is never heard. This ironically adds to the intensity of this work too, and Gerber leaves you hanging wanting to hear it as a full quote, but we only get a “quasi-partial reminiscent chunk” of it.
The last movement is a challenging rhythmical piece, alternating between 5/8, 7/8, 9/8 and 6/8 time signatures. This movement sounded almost as challenging for the orchestra to count as it was for the soloist to execute. I loved the part in the middle where the instrumentation was reduced to viola soloist and 2 percussion players (alternating between timpani, glockenspiel, tamborine, and triangle). This texture is always welcome, reminding me of sections of the Hindemith Kammermusik No. 4 for Violin and Chamber Orchestra that use solo violin and timpani, as well as subsequent works by other composers.
Steven Gerber has an extensive catalogue of works including numerous concertos, 2 Symphonies, 5 String Quartets, and some chamber works with viola including the Duo for viola and piano, a solo viola piece Elegy on the name of Dmitri Shostakovitch, and a viola-cello duo titled Passacaglia and Fugue. The Viola Concerto is recorded on the Chandos Label CD 9831 with Lars Anders Tomter and the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra.
This work is currently available at:
American Composers Edition/American Composers Alliance
73 Spring St., Room 505
New York, NY 10012
(212)362-8900
e-mail: info@composers.com
web: www.stevengerber.com
Key to the Difficulty level chart:
1 Very Easy
2 Somewhat Easy
3 Intermediate
4 Somewhat Difficult
5 Difficult
6 Very Difficult
Please send all viola scores for review consideration to:
Kenneth Martinson, Viola Professor
University of Florida
School of Music, 300B AUD
P.O. Box 117900
Gainesville, FL 32611-7900
