comentarios deBen Clark
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Having heard all of Glass' suite, Glassworks; I enjoyed listening to the opening piece so much that I decided to buy the music. My main instrument is viola, and I am relatively self-taught at piano. However, if you can grasp the polyrhythm in the piece (straight quavers in the left hand against quaver triplets in the right hand), then the rest is quite simple.
I was suprised at only seeing 2 pages of music considering the piece is around 7 minutes long - but such is the genius of Philip Glass. It is only made up of a few sections that are repeated (with a da capo x2), but the mesmerising pianistic texture combined with the way in which the tension builds makes this very enjoyable to play. I would certainly disagree with anyone that classes Glass' work as monotonous. Repetitive yes - but that is the beauty of this piece.
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin & Viola is without question my favourite composition by my favourite composer. I have been playing viola for 2 years, and am currently working on my grade 7. It is excellent to be able to play a piece by Mozart that treats the viola as a solo instrument, considering he did not write any viola concertos.
It is made up of 3 movements. The Allegro Maestoso is full of scalic runs, arpeggios and imitations that are typical of Mozart's mastery. The Andante is a sublime work that is filled with pathos. It is here that the rich, sonorous tone of the viola can really be appreciated alongside the soprano of the violin. The Presto is a final duel between violin and viola that culminates in a fanfare-like arpeggio reaching the top of both instrument's ranges.
Although it has taken me a fair time to be able to play through all three movements, I would definitely recommend this piece to players of all abilities - as it is sure to improve technique, and there are countless phrases that stand alone in their excellence.
The foreword to this great piece mentions that Anton Stamitz was less well-known than his older brother Carl. This seems unjustified when you hear/play the piece. It is the first viola concerto that I have attempted (I am working on my grade 7 currently), and extremely satisfying to play.
I would recommend it to violists at grade 6 and above, as it uses a wide range on the instrument (up to a high D), and makes use of many high scale runs and semiquaver arpeggios. The second movement is an option for violists taking their grade 6 associated board exam. It is relatively short movement in the dominant key (D Major) that has a beautiful sound when played with appropriate emotion. I have not yet attempted the rondo, but it has a clear melody in 2/4 that returns to round off the concerto. Overall, I would recommend this as a brilliant example of a rare thing - a Classical period concerto for viola. It's a shame Mozart never wrote one, but this is certainly close.