Well, my time at the XXXIVth Int’l Viola Congress has come to an end. It was a wonderful couple days for me in the middle of the schedule of the Congress. I played the world premiere of Dorothy Chang‘s Streams for solo viola Friday morning at around 10:00 a.m. I think I represented the piece well, and it got a good response from the audience (which was very respectable considering that the recital began at around 9:30 in the morning).
I didn’t honestly spend much time at congress events, as I arrived shortly before my run-through time on Thursday afternoon, then did some further work on spots in my room, and then took to the Metro to see some of the sights of Montreal before I returned back for the evening. Last night, however, I did catch the first half of the Gala Concerto Concert, which featured Lars Anders Tomter in the viola adaptation of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, and Roberto Diaz in the world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s new Concerto for Viola, Strings and Percussion. The accompanying ensemble was the venerable I Musici de Montreal chamber orchestra under the direction of Yuri Turovsky. They provided wonderfully deft and transparent support for both works. I must say that I had not heard the Mozart arrangement before, and it just doesn’t work for me, no matter how beautifully played, which Tomter most certainly did. Perhaps on repeated hearings, but I’m just not sure about it. The Sierra piece, however, is a new gem of the viola repertoire. It has shades of Penderecki throughout, and it’s a darker piece than I was expecting, though the final movement does incorporate some trademark Latin rhythms. Sierra has payed close attention to the style and tenor of Roberto Diaz’s playing, and really designed the piece artfully around his dark and intense playing. I think that the program will be broacast on CBC Radio Two at some point – check on the web for listings. Not to be missed!