A Rediscovered Voice: Oppel Viola Solo Suite from the WWII

This lecture-recital introduces a remarkable rediscovery in the viola repertoire: the Suite for Solo Viola (1940) by German composer Reinhard Oppel (1878–1941). Written in the final year of his professorship in music theory at the Leipzig Conservatory—just one year before his death—the work reflects Oppel’s deep engagement with the music of J.S. Bach, a subject on which he published extensively.

Following Oppel’s death, his wife concealed his manuscripts in a trunk buried underground, safeguarding them from the Nazi regime, the devastation of WWII, and later Soviet and East German authorities. In 1990, Oppel’s youngest son, Kurt, returned to Germany to recover the collection, now housed at the University of North Texas. Among these treasures was the handwritten manuscript of the Suite for Solo Viola.

The Suite comprises four movements—Adagio, Fuga, Grave, and Andante (Theme and Variations)—offering a rare example of unaccompanied viola writing from the WWII era. This presentation will examine the work’s compositional design through a Schenkerian lens, revealing its structural coherence, contrapuntal sophistication, and expressive depth. Live demonstrations on the viola will bring these analytical insights to life, highlighting how the work’s architecture shapes its performance.

Given the scarcity of substantial solo viola works before 1940, and the fact that much music composed during the war did not survive, Oppel’s Suite represents both a significant historical recovery and a high-quality artistic contribution to the mid-20th-century repertoire. Sharing this work not only restores an overlooked voice but also enriches the expressive possibilities available to today’s violists.

The presentation will conclude with a complete performance of the Suite for Solo Viola, followed by an audience Q&A.