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Musical Giants of the 20th

Century: Violists

by Janet Horvath | October 23rd, 2016

Lionel Tertis

Sadly the viola has been unjustly maligned. The

following five consummate violists have put the viola
on the map as a solo instrument, and without them we
wouldn’t have the outstanding world-renown players
we hear today.

Lionel Tertis (1876–1975) one of the first viola players

to achieve worldwide recognition, became an
indefatigable advocate for, “the love and tyrant” of his
life. At the time, Harold in Italy by Hector Berlioz was
one of few viola solo works that was well known. Even
Mozart’s gorgeous Sinfonia Concertante for solo violin,
viola, and orchestra was not programed frequently.
That changed with Tertis, whose expression, resonant
sound and finesse established the viola as a versatile
solo instrument.

His first music lessons were on the piano. By the time

he was twelve, his love for the violin surpassed the
piano but he had to earn a living, pay for lessons and
purchase a violin. He found odd jobs as a pianist
whenever he needed money. At last he was able to
enter Trinity College of Music and then the Royal
Academy in London. Determined to prove that the
viola could sound wondrous in the high registers he
performed the Mendelssohn and Wieniawski violin
concertos (transcribed for viola) during his school
years. Later he even wrote a transcription of the Elgar
Cello Concerto for viola approved by Elgar.

He was appointed professor of viola at the Royal

Academy of Music in 1900. Tertis soon became a
member of two famous string quartets, and was in
demand as a performer with the eminent musicians of
the day—conductors Adrian Boult, Thomas Beecham,
violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and
cellist Pablo Casals. Tertis “fell in love” with Fritz
Kreisler’s playing with whom he performed Mozart’s
Sinfonia Concertante.

Spurring composers to write solo works for the viola,

Tertis is responsible for important compositions by
Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Vaughan Williams, Gustav
Holst, and William Walton.

Interestingly enough, in 1929, Tertis declined to

perform the premier of the Walton Viola Concerto,
although it was written for him. The composer Paul
Hindemith, an excellent violist, did the premiere.
(Hindemith wrote several exceptional works for the
viola.)

Tertis wrote his autobiography My Viola and I towards

the end of a long and illustrious career.

Lionel Tertis plays Brahms F minor Sonata Movt I

William Primrose

William Primrose was born in Glasgow in 1904. He

began music lessons on the violin and made his debut
at the age of 10. Primrose studied in London with the
great Belgian violinist and teacher, Eugene Ysaye and
although Primrose was becoming a prominent
violinist, Ysaye suggested he switch to the viola.
Primrose was hooked. During his long career he
became known for his pure, sweet tone, and
astounding technique— the kind of clarity and
dexterity that audiences were accustomed to on the
violin.

Primrose excelled in every arena—as a soloist,

chamber musician, orchestral player and professor. He
commissioned many viola works, those of Hindemith,
Britten, Milhaud, Walton, and gave the premier of the
Bartók Viola Concerto. Primrose was the soloist in the
first recording of Berlioz Harold in Italy in 1944.

To prove that the viola could be dazzling technically, he

performed the Paganini Caprices on viola. Violin soloist
Mischa Elman was stunned. “It must be easier on
viola!” he said. Primrose transcribed several virtuoso
works for the viola. One of them was from Paganini’s
Concerto No. 2. La Campanella.

In the early 1930’s Primrose toured with the London

String Quartet and performed as soloist. Arturo
Toscanini recruited him in 1937 to head the viola
section for the NBC Symphony. During his years in the
orchestra, he formed the Primrose Quartet and made
several memorable recordings with Heifetz, Piatigorsky
and Rubinstein.

His teaching took him all over the world— to the Curtis
Institute of Music in Philadelphia, the Aspen Music
Festival, the University of California in Los Angeles,
Indiana University, the Tokyo University of Fine Arts
and Music in Japan, where he lived for several years,
and lastly at Brigham Young University.

Primrose is the author of several volumes on viola

technique and a delightful memoir Walk on the North
Side. He has le! us a remarkable discography and for
his contributions to the recording industry he was
awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Primrose plays Paganini Caprice #24

Horoszowski and Trampler

Walter Trampler, born in Munich in 1915, was also

impressive in solo playing, chamber music and
teaching, and he made a huge impact on viola playing
throughout his decades long career. A stylish and
elegant European, he dedicated himself to both the
standard repertoire and to contemporary music. He
recorded extensively and his distinctively sonorous
sound and polished interpretations can be heard
today.

Trampler began his studies on the violin with his father.

By the age of eighteen he was appointed the principal
violist with the German State Radio Orchestra in Berlin.
There he was able to rub shoulders with notable
conductors including Richard Strauss.

Vehemently opposed to Fascism, Trampler immigrated

to the United States in 1939 as the political climate
turned towards Nazism. He quickly won a position with
the Boston Symphony under the direction of the
eminent maestro Serge Koussevitzky.

Trampler joined the New Music Quartet, the Yale

Quartet and later was a founder of the Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center. Trampler was also the
Juilliard and Budapest Quartet’s preferred guest artist.
His recordings of the Mozart and Brahms String
Quintets with the Budapest Quartet are among the
greatest interpretations.

Several important composers of the twentieth century

wrote works for him including Hans Werner Henze and
Luciano Berio. His recording of Chemins II on RCA is
memorable. It is an exceptionally arduous work with
constant tremolo in the bow arm—the rapid back and
forth movement, which results in a shimmering e"ect,
and a very tired player!

Trampler continued his appearances as soloist while

also teaching at many of the most prestigious music
schools including Juilliard, Boston University, Yale
School of Music, Peabody Conservatory and the New
England Conservatory.

In 1977 Trampler gave the first performance of the

Sonata for Viola and Piano, op. 147 by Dmitiri
Shostakovich. It was still an unfamiliar work even
among violists at that time. Trampler became an
eloquent proponent, o!en entering into discussions
about the intentions of the composer. It is said that
Trampler’s interpretation convinced even Primrose.
Another recording worth noting is of the two Brahms
Sonatas with Mieczyslaw Horszowski. What a sound!

He died in 1997 in Nova Scotia at the age of 82.

Trampler plays BRAHMS, J.: String Quintets Nos. 1

and 2 (for 2 violas) with the Juilliard String Quartet

Nobuko Imai

Japanese violist Nobuko Imai studied at the Toho

School of Music, Yale University and the Juilliard
School and became an award winner at both the
Munich and Geneva International competitions. She
initially established herself as a member of the well-
regarded Vermeer String Quartet. Now she travels
widely performing as a soloist and teaching at
prominent music conservatories such as the Academy
of Music in Detmold, the Conservatoire Supérieur de
Musique de Genève and the Conservatory in
Amsterdam.

The rigorous training Imai received as a young child

heavily influences her teaching today. Based on the
strict technical approach of Russian violinist Leopold
Auer, Imai was immersed by the age of ten, in 1953,
practicing at least one hour a day of scales, endless
repetitions of double note exercises, and the most
demanding etudes. It was not until she was accepted
into the Toho School and switched to viola at age 15,
that she was encouraged to focus on the variety of rich,
deep tone colors and sounds available to her. She
began to flourish. Still, Imai believes that her technical
ease is due to the solid foundation, which she acquired
on the violin.

Her comprehensive discography of more than 40

albums includes works written for her such as A String
around Autumn by Japanese experimental composer
Toru Takemitsu, and premiers of pieces by George
Benjamin and Duncan McTier. Extraordinary as it may
seem, Imai’s album of 20th century works for viola and
piano has become a bestseller in Japan.

But Imai is also dedicated to early music performance

practice. She reinstated the use of the Baroque bow in
an attempt to reproduce sounds as the composers of
the day intended. Her 2004 release of the Bach Cello
Suites is widely praised and they are beautifully
played, as if written for the viola.

Despite her busy performance schedule as a soloist

and chamber musician, Imai continues to devote
herself to propagating a comprehensive approach to
viola playing and music. She founded the East West
Baroque Academy where young musicians study
authentic approaches to early music. She is an Artistic
Adviser of the Casals Hall’s annual “Viola Space”
project and the Casals Hall Ensemble, and she also
established the Tokyo International Viola Competition.

Nobuko Imai cautions that brilliant playing is not the

ultimate goal. Whatever you do, she says, make the
viola sound like a human voice.

Nobuko Imai plays BACH, J.S.: Courante from Suite

No 2 in D minor

Prelude to the Suite No 3 in C major

Kim Kashkashian

Armenian-American violist Kim Kashkashian, born in

1952, yearned to play the clarinet as a child but the
family had ready access to a cousin’s violin. She
borrowed a viola while attending the Interlochen Arts
Academy and never looked back.

Kashkashian studied at the Philadelphia Musical

Academy with Karen Tuttle, and followed in the
footsteps of Walter Trampler with whom she studied at
the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She
developed her trademark glorious sound—lustrous,
pure, passionate and with boundless ease at the
instrument. Kashkashian became a dedicated teacher
herself, taking on important positions at the Mannes
College of Music in New York, Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, the Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik, and the New England
Conservatory in Boston.

A frequent chamber music performer and co-organizer

of the Marlboro Music Festival festival with violinist
Felix Galimir, Kashkashian was acutely aware of the
viola’s limited repertoire. She set out to prove that
there was a place in the spotlight for the sadly
neglected instrument. Like so many other artists,
Kashkashian decided to try her luck as a soloist by way
of the competition circuit in Europe, mainly for the
performance opportunities, which for a solo violist
were few in the U.S. Her awards led to as many recital
and concerto appearances as she could fit in, (while at
the same time be a good mother to her daughter),
a"iliations with concert venues, International music
festivals in Europe and to a relationship with
Germany’s ECM Records, which continues to this day
a!er more than three decades of recording unique
repertoire.

Kashkashian became a proponent and advocate for

the music of our time. An impressive number of
composers have written works for her including Arvo
Pärt, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Sofiya Gubaidulina.
One of her highly regarded records features an all-
Hungarian program with the Netherlands Radio
Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Peter
Eötvös, of Bartók’s Concerto, Kurtág’s Movement for
Viola and Orchestra, and Eötvös’ Replica, which was
written for her. Her album Kurtág and Ligeti: Music for
Viola won a Grammy in 2012.

A truly unique voice on the viola, she continues to be in

demand at chamber music festivals in performances
with illustrious colleagues, and is a tireless advocate
for her instrument and for music. But that’s not all. She
is the founder of Music for Food an organization that
believes in the power of music to e"ect change.
Musicians use their talents to serve their communities
and to try to alleviate hunger in their local
neighborhoods. Over 250,000 meals have been
provided to date.

Kim Kashkashian plays Britten / Lachrymae Op. 48a

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COMMENTS

Dunia Erchova
June 4, 2017 at 5:03 am

Yuri Bashmet?Vadim Borisovsky ?Tabea

Zimmermann?

Reply

CK Lau
November 2, 2016 at 9:04 am

What about Yuri Bashmet

Reply

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