A Unique American Voice: Viola Music of Alvin Etler

Composer Alvin Etler (1913-1973) enjoyed a brief career as a professional oboist before turning to composition, winning consecutive Guggenheim Fellowships in 1940-41 and studying composition with the eminent violist-composer Paul Hindemith during 1942-44. As Etler’s compositional style developed, signature elements emerged: vibrant rhythmic energy, angular melodies, complex modernist harmonies, accented rhythms from American Jazz, and an affinity for the voice of the viola.

Etler’s chamber writing often includes a viola as the lone string instrument in a group of woodwinds, resulting in unique, compelling combinations of tone colors. This quirk of instrumentation features prominently in Etler’s early works, such as his Five Speeds Forward for flute, oboe, viola, and bassoon (1940) and Sonata for oboe, clarinet and viola (1945). Two duo works, the Duo for oboe and viola (1945) and Sonata for viola and harpsichord (1959), feature the viola more prominently – these are likely the result of Etler’s friendship with violist Louise Rood, his colleague at Smith College. Rood is well known by violists for publications of the Telemann Fantasias, Hummel Sonata, and pedagogical editions of early music for young violists. Etler dedicated the Sonata for viola and harpsichord to Rood, and her interest in Baroque style is reflected in its texture, imitation, and instrumentation.

This examination of Etler’s works for viola includes biographical and historical information, musical examples, recorded excerpts, and live performances of the Duo for oboe and viola and Sonata for viola and harpsichord, which is published by the American Viola Society. Both works are rarely performed and recordings are not readily available, so this presentation provides violists with a welcome introduction to an American composer they may not have encountered – one with a true appreciation of the viola’s unique voice – and two excellent viola works that deserve a more prominent place in the repertoire.