Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (; born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2023, Widmann was the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of ...

's Viola Concerto was composed in 2015 and premiered on 28 October 2015 with soloist

Antoine Tamestit Antoine Tamestit (born 1979) is a French violist. He premiered several contemporary compositions, including Jörg Widmann's Viola Concerto (2015). Tamestit plays the Stradivarius viola ''Gustav Mahler''. Life and career Tamestit was born in Par ...

and the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

under the direction of

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...

Philharmonie de Paris The Philharmonie de Paris () () is a complex of concert halls in Paris, France. The buildings also house exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms. The main buildings are all located in the Parc de la Villette at the northeastern edge of Paris in the ...

. The concerto attracted attention, because of its theatralic aspects.

History

The original commission of the

viola concerto A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Throughout music history, especially during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, viola was viewed mo ...

by Tamestit dates back to the year 2008. The concerto, dedicated to Tamestit and realized in 2015, was finally commissioned by Orchestre de Paris,

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The orchestra broadcasts concerts on th ...

and

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundf ...

. In a performance of Hector Berlioz's Harold in Italy in May 2015 Tamestit was wandering through the orchestra while playing the viola solo part. Widmann took up the idea. Widmann and Tamestit worked close together during the creation process of the concerto. The unusual piece is tailored to Tamestit's technical and theatrical skills.

Structure

The viola concerto of operatic approach has a duration of about half an hour and is in a single movement. At the beginning, the violist discovers his instrument through tapping and

pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...

. The concerto becomes later more traditional with using the bow. Starting near the harps and ending in the traditional position nearby the conductor, the viola soloist takes seven positions on the stage and becomes a partner or opponent to bongos, bass flute, two harps, double basses, tuba and percussion. At one point of the concerto, after an extremely difficult run, the soloist screams. After an ''Aria'', the solo viola plays a

glissando In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...

and the viola's C string is tuned down fading into silence.

Playing techniques

* tapping the chinrest * fingerboard tapping * pizzicato (glissando, chord) * bow * tuning the instrument * spazzolato (brushing the strings) * singing together while playing * tuning down

Instrumentation

Source: * ''Woodwinds'': 4 flutes (all doubling piccolo, 3rd doubling alto flute, 4th doubling bass flute), 4 clarinets in A (1st doubling in B, 3rd doubling bass clarinet, 4th doubling contrabass clarinet), 4 bassoon (4th doubling double bassoon) * ''Brass'': 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba * ''Percussion'': timpani, percussion (3 players) * ''Strings'': 4 violins, 3 violas, 3 violoncellos, 8 double basses (5th–8th: 5-stringed) * 2 harps, celesta, piano (also with scotch glass) The instrumentation is light but bass-oriented.

Performances

The world premiere was on 28 October 2015 in

, followed by performances in Stockholm and Munich. , the concerto was performed some 20 times.

Reception

Music critic Andrew Clements of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described the viola concerto as a "substantial piece" with "outstanding virtuosity". Mark S. Jordan (''Seen and Heard International'') wrote about a "theatrical ''tour de force''". Inge Kjemtrup (''Strings magazine''): "extraordinary". Tamestit's biography at ''

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

'' states, that Widmann's Viola Concerto is "among the most important works Tamestit has premiered" Angela Kratschmer wrote in the ''Journal of the American Viola Society'': "travel narrative for the twenty-first century" and "postmodern viola-as-actor". Michael Klier from ''

Bachtrack ''Bachtrack'' is a London-based international online music magazine which publishes listings of classical music, opera, ballet and dance, as well as reviews of these genres, interviews and general feature articles. History Bachtrack Ltd was r ...

'' wrote: "This viola concerto has added something truly new to current concert practice." ("") ''Le Figaro'': "The work is made to measure for Tamestit, his style of playing, his tone, his personality."

Recordings

* Viola Concerto, Duos, Hunting Quartet,

Signum Quartet The Signum Quartet is a string quartet based in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1994, it has been playing in the current formation since 2016. Concert and festival appearances The Signum Quartet has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Cité d ...

, Daniel Harding,

(

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

2018) (Editor’s Choice des BBC Music Magazine, 2019 Premier Award at the BBC Music Magazine Awards)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Concertos by Jörg Widmann 21st-century classical music 2015 compositions Widmann Music commissioned by the Orchestre de Paris Music commissioned by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Music commissioned by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Music dedicated to ensembles or performers