Viola Concerto No.1 (Ichmouratov)
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The Viola Concerto No. 1, Op. 7, was composed by
Airat Ichmouratov Airat Rafailovich Ichmouratov (, Tatar language, Tatar Cyrillic: Айрат Рафаил улы Ишмурат,) born 28 June 1973, is a Volga Tatar born Russians, Russian / Canadians, Canadian composer, conducting, conductor and klezmer clarin ...
in 2004. It was commissioned and premiered by Elvira Misbakhova, a Canadian violist, today the principal viola of
Orchestre Métropolitain The Orchestre Métropolitain (, OM) is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside th ...
, who was in 2004 a student at
University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
and was looking for new romantic viola concerto for her
Doctoral program A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''Licentiate (degree), licentia docendi' ...
recital. Concerto was premiered at Claude Champagne Concert Hall in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada on 24 February 2005 by students of University of Montreal under the baton of composer Airat Ichmouratov.


Analysis

The Concerto comprises 3
movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
. A typical performance lasts somewhat around 37 minutes. Viola Concerto No. 1 is Ichmouratov's first composition for the orchestra, as stated by Arthur Kaptainis, who also mentions that Elvira Misbakhova wanted a concerto that combined lyrical impulses and virtuoso challenges. The composer, who was described as a "leader in contemporary neo-romantic music worldwide", "Russian musical voice of Quebec", and as a true "sponge of 20th-century music", acknowledges that his music is influenced by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov and other great Russian composers. The result is typical of Ichmouratov's work –
neo-romantic The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...
concerto for viola with melodic and rich in harmonies content inspired by Russian folk elements.


Instrumentation

The Viola Concerto No. 1 is scored for the following orchestra (percussion, performed by 3 players): * 2
flutes The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
* 2 oboes * 2
clarinets The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodwin ...
in B * 2 bassoons * 4
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...
in F * 2 trumpets in B * 3 trombones:
tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
,
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
* Tuba *
Timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
*
Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
*
Cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s *
Snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
*
Bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
*
Suspended cymbal Classical suspended cymbal A suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. Common abbreviations used are "sus. cym.," or "sus. cymb." (with or without the period). Most drum ki ...
* Tam tam *
Tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
*
Glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
*
Xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
* Wood blocks * Harp *
Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...


Recording

*
Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, Elvira Misbakhova viola, Airat Ichmouratov conductor


Critical reception

The recording of the Viola Concerto No. 1 gained average-to-positive reviews. Michael Church of
BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...
wrote: "its slow movement is gorgeous". Gregor Tassie of MusicWeb International wrote: "entry by the viola in a bewitchingly beautiful theme". Frédéric Cardin of Panm360 wrote: "...rich in cushioned harmonies and orchestral moiré".


References


External links

* *
Complete recording of the Viola Concerto No. 1, Op.7
Elvira Misbakhova, viola; London Symphony Orchestra; Airat Ichmouratov conductor – Release Date: 16 June 2023 {{Portal bar, Classical Music, Canada Compositions by Airat Ichmouratov 2004 compositions Music with dedications Ichmouratov 21st-century classical music Compositions in G minor