Tuesday, Nov. 20th 2018 at 20:15h, De Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal

Programme:
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet
Brett Dean: Epitaphs for String Quintet
Anton Bruckner: String Quintet in F major

Artists:
DoelenKwartet (Frank de Groot, Maartje Kraan, Karin Dolman, Hans Woudenberg)
Jutta Puchhammer, viola
Lisa Eggen, viola

Description:
For the IVC2018 Opening Night Concert, the renowned DoelenKwartet (string quartet in residence at De Doelen concert halls) is joined by violists Lisa Eggen and Jutta Puchhammer (Vice president of the International Viola Society) for an evening dedicated to viola quintets.

In his Epitaphs for string quintet, Brett Dean saw ‘the chance to explore the extended sonorities and textural possibilities of the “string-quartet-plus-one” formation. The work was especially informed by the very particular colouristic changes that arise by doubling the viola section, with the pair of violas frequently operating as a counterpart to the string quartet’s regular pair of violins.’

The DoelenKwartet with added guest violists put Dean’s work in an historical perspective with Bruckner’s expansive F-major quintet and the magnificent Phantasy Quintet by Vaughan Williams.

This concert is organized with the kind cooperation of our IVC2018 Partner,  Kamermuziekvereeniging Rotterdam.

Wednesday, Nov. 21st 2018 at 20:30h, Laurenskerk Rotterdam

Pre-Programme: 20:00h, Cadenzas and Songs for Viola and Carillon by Leo Samama

Programme: 
Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite, op.40
William Alwyn: Pastoral fantasia for viola and strings
Giacomo Puccini: Requiem for choir, viola and organ
Franz Schubert: Gesang der Geister über den Wassern D714
Hayo Boerema: Messe solennelle for choir, vocal soloists, viola, organ and percussion (world premiere in new version)

Artists:
Lawrence Power, viola
Hayo Boerema, organ
Laurenscantorij (choir) conducted by Wiecher Mandemaker
Codarts Chamber Orchestra conducted by Igor Gruppman
with percussion and vocal soloists

Description:
Wiecher Mandemaker and the Laurenscantorij are joined by numerous guest musicians to commemorate a joyful occasion: Fifty years ago, the post-war restoration works of the Laurenskerk (St. Lawrence Cathedral) were completed. Being also an integral part of the IVC2018 concert series, the special guest soloist this evening is Lawrence Power.

For more than 50 years, the ambitious Laurenscantorij performs choral repertoire of all musical styles. Conducted by Wiecher Mandemaker, this choir works closely together with the church organist and composer Hayo Boerema. The new version of Boerema’s Messe solennelle, in which he added a solo viola voice to the ensemble, is premiered on this occasion (the original version was premiered in June 2017). The programme furthermore offers music by Grieg, Alwyn, Puccini and Schubert.

This concert is organized by our IVC2018 Partner, De Doelen Rotterdam.

Thursday, Nov. 22nd 2018 at 20:15h, De Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal

Programme:
Benjamin Britten: Elegy, for solo viola
Yuval Gotlibovich: Sonata for Viola and Piano Left Hand
Frank Bridge: Lament, for 2 violas
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Benjamin Britten: Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, op.10
Atar Arad: Concerto for viola and strings, “Ceci n’est pas un Bach” (world premiere)
Atar Arad: Caprice no. 9, “Benjamin”, for solo viola
Benjamin Britten: Lachrymae, Reflections on a song of Dowland, op. 48a

Artists:
Nobuko Imai, viola
Atar Arad, viola
Timothy Ridout, viola
Yuval Gotlibovich, viola
Utrecht Conservatory Strings (UCS), conducted by Mikhail Zemtsov
Noriko Yabe, piano

Britten

Description:
This evening, we celebrate the 105th birthday of Benjamin Britten, and in a wider sense, we celebrate the violist-composer, as in fact all composers on tonight’s programme are (or were) also viola players.

Another theme of this programme is “master and apprentice“: Britten had a close tie to Frank Bridge, with whom he studied composition. Bridge composed the viola duet Lament in 1912, and premiered it himself together with the great viola pioneer Lionel Tertis.

Bridge

Kaleidoscopic echoes of all these relationships are provided by this evening’s soloists. The renowned violist Nobuko Imai first plays Britten’s Elegy for solo viola, and later she performs Bridge’s Lament together with her own former pupil Timothy Ridout, who won the prestigious Tertis competition at age 20. In a parallel master-apprentice/violist-composer storyline, Yuval Gotlibovich, who was a student of viola virtuoso and composer Atar Arad, plays his own Sonata for Viola and Piano Left Hand.

After the intermission, the Utrecht Conservatory Strings contribute with the Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, Brittens’s personal homage to his teacher. The concerto Ceci n’est pas un Bach was written by Atar Arad especially for the 2018 International Viola Congress, and will be premiered by the composer himself. Arad also performs his own solo caprice no.9 Benjamin, the title of which obviously refers to the celebrated 105-year-old composer. Timothy Ridout concludes the evening with the classic Lachrymae by Britten, based on songs by John Dowland.

This concert is organized in cooperation with our IVC2018 Partner, the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht (Hogeschool van de Kunsten Utrecht).

Friday, Nov. 23rd 2018 at 20:15h, De Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal

Pre-Programme: 19:15h Rotterdam Youth Symphony Orchestra with Young Soloists

Programme:
Tigran Mansurian: Three Medieval Taghs
György Kurtág: Selections from Signs, Games and Messages
Linda Bouchard: Pourtinade
Soghomon Komitas: Armenian Song Cycle
Luciano Berio: Naturale for viola, percussion and recorded voice

Artists:
Kim Kashkashian, viola
Robyn Schulkowsky, percussion

Description:
Music for the combination of viola and percussion is rarely heard. In this programme, the renowned Armenian-American violist Kim Kashkashian is joined by percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky, with whom she has an ongoing collaboration for many years.

The programme contains clear references to Kashkashian’s roots. The Three Medieval Taghs (a ‘tagh’ is a lament) were written for Kashkashian by the Armenian composer Mansurian, and the Armenian folk songs collected by Komitas emerge in a new appearance with this instrumentation. The folk songs are also a central element of Naturale, albeit in the unique musical world of Luciano Berio.

Just like Kurtág’s playful Signs, Games and Messages for viola solo, Linda Bouchard’s Pourtinade poses extreme challenges for the creativity of the artists: this work consists of 9 musical elements, the order of which can be decided by the performers. The instrumentalists have more than interpretive freedom; they are given control over the dramatic flow of the piece. The message changes according to the juxtaposition of the abstract imagery.

Saturday, Nov. 24th 2018 at 20:15h, De Doelen Grote Zaal

Pre-Programme: 19:15h Young Talent Orchestra with Young Soloists

Programme:
Herbert Howells: Elegy for viola, string quartet and string orchestra
William Walton: Viola concerto
Robert Schumann: Symphony no.4

Artists:
Lawrence Power, viola
DoelenKwartet (Frank de Groot, Maartje Kraan, Karin Dolman, Hans Woudenberg)
Bochumer Symphoniker, conducted by David Marlow

Description:
The closing concert of the International Viola Congress 2018 includes two masterpieces from the viola repertoire. In his Elegy, Herbert Howells makes the most of the sonorous timbre of the viola to create a melancholic atmosphere. A brilliant contrast is given by the sunny Walton concerto, with which the composer firmly established his name on the English music scene.

After the intermission, the Bochumer Symphoniker perform the 4th symphony of Schumann, inspired by the composer’s wife Clara.

This concert is organized by our IVC2018 Partner, De Doelen Rotterdam.