| Sonata ebraica | |
|---|---|
| Viola sonata by Graham Waterhouse | |
 The composer in 2011 | |
| Period | contemporary |
| Performed | 3 February 2013: Gasteig Munich |
| Movements | 3 |
The Viola Sonata by Graham Waterhouse, entitled Sonata ebraica (Hebrew Sonata), was written in 2012 and 2013, and premiered in Munich in 2013. It was recorded in 2015 by Hana Gubenko and Timon Altwegg who commissioned and premiered it.
Waterhouse composed the viola sonata in the winter 2012/13 on a commission of violist Hana Gubenko and her husband, pianist Timon Altwegg, who premiered it at the Gasteig in Munich on 3 February 2013, along with the piano quartets No. 1 and No. 2 by Mozart and Bei Nacht by Waterhouse. [1] [2] They played it several times, [3] and recorded it in 2015, along with other music for viola and piano by Aaron Yalom (1918–2002), Ernst Levy and his son Frank Ezra Lévy (born 1930). [4] [5] A reviewer titled "Die Bratsche in jüdischer Klage" [6] (The viola in Jewish lament) and noted the works' melancholy and intense warm sound, a broad range of tone colours, and virtuoso passages. [6]
The sonata was played also by the violist Konstantin Sellheim and his sister Katharina Sellheim, members of the Münchner Philharmoniker. They performed it in 2014 at the Gasteig, along with Zeichenstaub and chamber music by Mozart and Beethoven, [7] and at a composer portrait concert in Gilching in 2016, along with Epitaphium , among others. A review of the Süddeutsche Zeitung notes the work's "urgency and emotional tension" ("Eindringlichkeit und emotionale Spannung"). [8]
The work is in three movements: [9]
The first movement opens with a slow solemn introduction, with bell-like sounds reminiscent of a Jewish religious gathering. The motif is repeated throughout the composition. In the second movement, the viola plays recitative-like passages to chords in the piano. [9] Towards the end, the well-known Jewish song " Oyfn Pripetshik " is quoted in the piano. [5] [9] The third movement is based on a complex motif from an anthology of Jewish-American violin pieces of the early 20th century. [9]
The viola ( vee-OH-lə, Italian:[ˈvjɔːla,viˈɔːla]) is a string instrument that is usually bowed. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth higher) and the cello (which is tuned an octave lower). The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4.
The viola sonata is a sonata for viola, sometimes with other instruments, usually piano. The earliest viola sonatas are difficult to date for a number of reasons:
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, Three Pieces for Solo Cello and Variations for Cello Solo for his own instrument, and string quartets and compositions that juxtapose a quartet with a solo instrument, including Piccolo Quintet, Bassoon Quintet and the piano quintet Rhapsodie Macabre. He has set poetry for speaking voice and cello, such as Der Handschuh, and has written song cycles. His compositions reflect the individual capacity and character of players and instruments, from the piccolo to the contrabassoon.
"Oyfn Pripetshik" is a Yiddish song by M.M. Warshawsky (1848–1907). The song is about a rabbi teaching his young students the aleph-bet. By the end of the 19th century it was one of the most popular songs of the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, and as such it is a major musical memory of pre-Holocaust Europe. The song is still sung in Jewish kindergartens.
Piccolo Quintet is short for the Quintet op. 26 of Graham Waterhouse, composed in 1989 for piccolo and string quartet and published by Zimmermann in 2002 as Quintet for piccolo, 2 violins, viola and violoncello.
Jens Josef is a German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher.
Epitaphium is a composition for string trio by Graham Waterhouse. In 2007, after the death of his father William Waterhouse, he composed Epitaphium in Memoriam W.R.W. as a tribute to his memory.
Herbert Blendinger was an Austrian composer and viola player of German origin.
Chinese Whispers is a composition for string quartet in three movements by Graham Waterhouse. Premiered in 2010, it combines elements from the music of China with composition techniques of Western classical music. Similar to the children's game, phrases change as they pass from part to part. The work was awarded the "BCMS Composition Prize" of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society in 2011.
Rhapsodie Macabre is a composition for piano and string quartet in one movement by Graham Waterhouse, written in 2011 as a homage to Franz Liszt. It was first performed at a Liszt festival of the Gasteig, Munich, with the composer playing the cello part.
The String Sextet, Op. 1, is a string sextet in four movements by Graham Waterhouse. While the composer began the work as one movement in 1979, he completed it in four movements in 2013. The completed version was first performed at the Gasteig in Munich on 9 February 2014.
Bells of Beyond is a piano trio, composed in 2013 by Graham Waterhouse.
Timon Altwegg is a Swiss classical pianist who is known for playing chamber music in Europe and the Americas. Contemporary composers wrote music for him.
Katharina Sellheim is a German classical pianist, with a focus on chamber music and lied accompaniment. She has appeared in recitals internationally, collaborating with members of the Münchner Philharmoniker, and has been a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Hannover.
Konstantin Sellheim is a German classical violist, who has appeared internationally with a focus on chamber music. He is a violist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, and lecturer of viola at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Skylla and Charybdis is a 2014 composition for piano quartet by Graham Waterhouse, played in four movements without a break. The title refers to Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters from Greek mythology. In performances in German-speaking countries, it has also appeared in English surroundings as Between Scylla and Charybdis.
This article lists notable compositions within the viola repertoire. The list includes works in which the viola is a featured instrument. The list is ordered by composer surname.
Concentricities is a piano trio by Graham Waterhouse composed in 2019 for clarinet, cello and piano. It was premiered, with the composer as the cellist, at the Gasteig in Munich the same year. It was published by Schott Music.
Birkenlicht is a cello sonata by Graham Waterhouse, composed in 2023 in memory of the poet Hans Krieger. It was premiered in Munich that year.
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