American Viola Concertos - Piston - Druckman - Harberg - Harbison - Adler- - Wolpert

The central figure on Albany’s disc of viola concertos is Walter Piston, who taught both Samuel Adler and John Harbison. Of course, there is often a wide stylistic divide between teacher and student (Horatio Parker and Charles Ives come immediately to mind), but these concertos seem to share a spiritual affinity. Indeed, one finds a similar combination of elegiac lyricism and rhythmic energy in all three works.
Piston’s Concerto (1957) opens pensively, quickly builds to an aching climax (beginning around 4'00") with the first movement ending almost abruptly on a note of resignation. The central Adagio con fantasia is the work’s emotional core, beginning in abject loneliness (sparely scored with wistful harmonies) but finds, in the final pages, a sweeter lyricism that prepares the listener perfectly for the playful syncopations of the exuberant finale.
Harbison’s Concerto (1989) is if anything even darker in mood, though it’s more luminously scored. The first movement has an improvisatory air (note, for example, the spontaneous-sounding chirping of woodwinds that accompany the viola’s opening solo) that stands in stark contrast with the obsessive character of the brief scherzo-like movement that follows. The composer writes that the concerto ‘moves from inwardness to ebullience and from an ambiguous and shifting harmonic language to tonality’ – a dramatic structure similar to Piston’s.
Of the three concertos, Adler’s will likely be the most immediately appealing, its contrapuntal intricacies offset by some strikingly tuneful melodies. It’s also a vividly coloured piece, with a fine balance of light and shade. The Concerto was composed for Randolph Kelly, principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, who premièred the work in 2000. I only wish that it would have been possible to have the PSO for this recording. The Latvian National Orchestra plays well under Alexandrs Vilumanis – particularly in the Harbison, which is given a suitably intense performance – but there are a few small but distracting lapses in ensemble in the Adler, and the recording quality is a bit hazy. Nevertheless, these are all significant and richly rewarding works, and the disc is strongly recommended.(Grammophone Review)



Jennifer Higdon
Viola Concerto
Oboe Concerto
All Things Majestic
Raúl Díaz viola
James Button oboe
Nashville Symphony
Giancarlo Guerrero
Naxos 2016



The orchestra is an enormous canvas to which Jennifer Higdon applies subtle and bold colours. Her ability to use instruments in a spectrum of sonic and expressive capacities is vividly apparent in the three works on this new disc featuring the Nashville Symphony under music director Giancarlo Guerrero.
The most recent piece is the Viola Concerto (2014), three movements of deftly gauged, cheeky and often haunting material that gives the soloist numerous opportunities to soar and engage in vibrant conversation with other instruments and sections. Keeping an orchestra in balance with the viola is no mean trick but there’s never a moment when Higdon allows the large forces to conceal the protagonist. The work was written for Roberto Díaz, former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra and current director of the Curtis Institute of Music, who is as mellifluous and charismatic a soloist as could be imagined.
Higdon’s Oboe Concerto (2005) is in one extended movement that emphasises the oboe’s knack for spinning long, lyrical phrases and scampering with ease. It is a piece of shimmering beauty, which James Button, the Nashville Symphony’s principal oboe, plays with elegant mastery.
The Grand Tetons are the inspiration behind All Things Majestic (2011), whose four movements paint portraits of thrilling landscapes. Higdon uses the full resources of the orchestra to convey the splendour of mountains, motion of bodies of water and wonders of other natural phenomena. Guerrero guides his ensemble through a performance in which both details and arching statements are set forth to resplendent effect.(Grammophone Review)






Morton Gould Viola Concerto
Walter Piston Viola Concerto
Paul Hindemith Concert Music for Viola and large Orchestra
Raphael Hillyer - Robert Glazer - Paul Doktor viola
The Louisville Orchestra
Jorge Mester - Robert Whitney - Lawrence Leighton Smith
Soundmark 2011












Amanda Harberg Viola Concerto
Elegy
Max Wolpert Viola Concerto
Brett Deubner viola
Southern Arizona SO
Linus Lerner
Naxos 2017
You can ead a review here




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