Twisting for Solos, the Violist Is a Quartetʼs Odd Player Out
This article is reposted from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/arts/music/string-quartet-viola.html
There’s not much to look at when a string quartet is playing. Other than the movements that draw sound from the instruments, the scene is relatively static.
But train your eyes on the violist, and sooner or later you may well witness what seems like a secret struggle. The player’s body language becomes a spiral of contradictions, like someone keeping up dinner-table conversation while scanning the room for the waiter. Chances are that in this awkward yet riveting moment, you witnessed a viola solo, a phenomenon that is rare in chamber music, often fleeting and even physically taxing.
“It’s a funny and weird thing,” the violist Nadia Sirota said in an interview. “Right at the moment when you are most stressed, you also have to torque your body in the most uncomfortable position in order to be heard.”
Read the full NY Times article here.
A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 1, 2018, on Page C5 of the New York edition with the headline: The Violist Is a Quartetʼs Odd Player Out
More Articles
Q&A: Taking up the cello in later life
The senior years in life are often associated retiring, slowing down or playing golf. But Mavis Himes had a different idea: She took up the cello. It was a long-held dream, one that she needed to act on. Six years later, she is still going strong, despite setbacks like a bicycle accident and an arduous recovery.Read More ↗
Support ACMP through holiday shopping!
It's almost the holiday season and you can support ACMP by holiday shopping at our store! We have 2 new original cartoon mugs, holiday cards, cute cocktail napkins and a book by Lucy Miller-Murray.Read More ↗
Music for Two Violins: Personal Reflections on a Forgotten Genre
For the past seven years ACMP coach Gabriel Schaff has had the pleasure of discovering a corner of the chamber music repertoire that he now considers to be undervalued and under-explored: music for two violins. Read about the gems of this repertoire, from the Baroque era through the twentieth century.Read More ↗
A Space for Everyone
Ohio-based ACMP cellist Melanie Bernhardt had a workshop experience that prompted her to contemplate one of the most difficult questions we face as we age or simply develop health problems that affect our playing: When should one put down one’s instrument? Should friends discourage friends from playing when their physical capabilities are compromised?Read More ↗
Sixty years after its founding, the Houston Civic Symphony is going strong
Houston, Texas has a long-standing arts tradition, including the region's oldest community orchestra, The Houston Civic Symphony. The group was founded in 1964, and sixty years later it's still going strong!Read More ↗
Winter in Vermont: Decoda launches its first-ever adult amateur retreat
The Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, Decoda, is launching its first-ever adult amateur chamber music retreat at the historic Marlboro Music Festival campus, Potash Hill in January 2025. Read Stephanie Griffin's interview with Decoda clarinetist and workshop organizer Alicia Lee.Read More ↗
ACMP Listening Club: Demystifying Charles Ives with violinist Gregory Fulkerson on Sunday, December 8 at 2pm ET
Join violinist and Ives scholar Gregory Fulkerson on Sunday, December 8 at 2pm Eastern for an in-depth discussion of Charles Ives' life, background and music, with a special focus on his String Quartet no. 1 (1896- 1902), in celebration of the groundbreaking composer's 150th birthday!Read More ↗
ACMP Listening Club: Brahms Piano Quintet in f minor, Op. 34
Get ready to dive into Brahm's Piano Quintet in f minor, Op. 34 with Peter Fender on Sunday, November 10 at 2pm on Zoom. Learn more about the background of this masterwork and get pro tips on interpretation and performance practice.Read More ↗
Join ACMP at the CMA National Conference in Houston, February 13-16, 2025
Join ACMP for an action-packed chamber music vacation in Houston, Texas this February at the CMA National Conference. We're making history! For the first time in ACMP's long-standing relationship with CMA we are collaborating with them on their annual conference as a Partner Organization. We've made sure there are many fabulous activities of interest to all of you who play chamber music for pleasure.Read More ↗
ACMP Film Club: “Through the Darkness”
Celebrating Schoenberg at 150: Watch Hilan Warshaw's documentary film and meet him at ACMP Film Club on Sunday, October 6 at 2pm ET on Zoom.Read More ↗
The Daraja Music Initiative: 15 years of Music and Conservation in Tanzania
Since 2017, ACMP member clarinetist and nonprofit leader Alexys Bush has traveled to Tanzania, Africa where she teaches general music and clarinet for the Daraja Music Initiative (DMI), for whom she serves as Assistant Director. DMI bridges music education and the conservation of Tanzania's national tree - the African Blackwood, also known as ebony - used to make clarinets, oboes, piccolos, and some string fingerboards. It's not too late to get involved in DMI's 15th anniversary season as a volunteer!Read More ↗
Playing for Good: The Mystic String Quartet and Big Lux
The Mystic Quartet joins forces with hip-hop violinist Big Lux in a unique and highly creative concert program, "Harmony Not Hate," on as a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center at 4pm on October 19 at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church in Mystic, Connecticut. Read about the thinking behind the program, their discovery of new works through the Kronos Quartet "Fifty for the Future" online library, and their adventures working with a renowned hip-hop artist - and support their cause!Read More ↗
How to convert a Merton Music 2-up Booklet to a Single-Page PDF
Struggling to convert those pesky booklet-style Merton Music pdfs in IMSLP to a single-page pdf that you can easily print or read on your iPad? ACMP member Tom Frenkel has figured it out! Read his handy guide.Read More ↗
Win 2 tickets to Peoples’ Symphony Chamber Concerts!
Read More ↗
ECUADOR, MEXICO AND SPAIN: WINE & FRIENDSHIP
Music can bridge cultural divides and connect people from all over the world. Read Catalina Paredes' story about the "Just Play" concert in Quito on July 27, 2024.Read More ↗
New Listening Club Video: Peter Fender on Schubert’s Octet
Out now! Watch the video recording from our recent Listening Club event with British conductor, composer, and educator Peter Fender on Franz Schubert’s delightful Octet in F major, D. 803.Read More ↗
CAMMAC receives the 2024 Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Corinne Bergeron presented ACMP's annual Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award to CAMMAC (Canadian Amateur Musicians - Musiciens Amateurs du Canada) in Harrington, Québec. CAMMAC is the first international recipient of this award since it was launched in 2016.Read More ↗
ACMP supports the Afghan National Institute of Music
ACMP gave a grant to the Afghan National Institute of Music (ANIM) in Braga, Portugal, in support of its unique and varied chamber music program. Read ACMP's interview with ANIM's founder and director, Dr. Ahmad SarmastRead More ↗
Play-In Season in British Columbia, Part II: Vancouver
Vancouver NAOC councilor Christina Wolf hosted the official ACMP Vancouver Worldwide Play-In event on May 20, 2024 at Arts Umbrella on Granville Island. Twenty string players and two pianists were in attendance, from Vancouver and its outlying suburbs, Vancouver Island, Bellingham, Washington and The Bronx, NY.Read More ↗
Play-In Season in British Columbia, Part I: Nanaimo
This Play-In season, Stephanie and her partner Hilliard Greene attended ACMP Play-Ins in British Columbia, Canada, starting with a visit with Jane Stein Wilson in Nanaimo.Read More ↗
Load More
All Articles By