79e CONCOURS DE GENE ` VE
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION Programme note
I designed this program as an odyssey through human emotions. Through the voice of the viola, the audience is invited to travel through different worlds and styles and to discover (or rediscover!) the many facets of the instrument.
To begin with, you will hear Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne, a truly masterful work composed between 1718 and 1720 shortly after the death of the composer’s first wife. Occupying half of the Second Partita for violin, this masterpiece is a true journey that is both personal and universal. Starting from a simple cell whose bass line is repeated throughout the movement, Bach transports us through different variations against a backdrop of grief coexisting with the hope of resurrection linked to the Christian faith. For me, this work is truly transcendent, leaving both performers and listeners deeply moved.
Still in the spirit of mourning, you will hear Igor Stravinsky’s Elegy for Solo Viola, composed in 1944 in memory of the late founder of the Pro Arte Quartet, Alphonse Onnou. This time, it is a much more intimate and personal pain that the viola sings, with a distant voice veiled by the mute. It is a piece that invites inner introspection in a misty atmosphere, yet illuminated by a note of hope with the work’s conclusion in C major.
Georges Enesco’s Pièce de concert (1906) brings about a complete change of scene. The audience is invited to forget (momentarily!) all their worries and let themselves be carried away by the elegance and lyricism of this virtuoso work, originally composed as a competition piece for the Paris Conservatory. It is in an atmosphere tinged with grace, seduction, and refinement that the composer showcases the viola—an instrument that has so often been the victim of negative discourse—but which in this piece displays a rich palette combining warmth, brio, and intimacy. So let your imagination carry you away and follow the work’s natural and instinc-
tive thread!
To close this recital, it seemed impossible not to play a sonata by Paul Hindemith. Strange as it may seem, he is one of my favorite composers, and I would like to pay tribute to someone who contributed so much, both through his intense activity as a composer and as a violist, to promoting the viola as a solo instrument (and no longer just a fallback for failed violinists...). The 1939 Sonata for Viola and Piano is the last he dedicated to the instrument. It reflects many of the composer’s character traits, including his humor (particularly in the parody of the jazzy groove in the second movement), but also his fascination with machines and his brutalist aesthetic.
Sarah Strohm