45th International Viola Congress 2018

Venue: De Doelen, Jurriaanse Zaal

Programme:
Benjamin Britten: Elegy, for solo viola
Yuval Gotlibovich: Sonata for Viola and Piano Left Hand
Frank Bridge: Lament, for 2 violas
- intermission - 
Benjamin Britten: Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, op.10
Atar Arad: Concerto for viola and strings, “Ceci n’est pas un Bach” (world premiere)
Atar Arad: Caprice no. 9, “Benjamin”, for solo viola
Benjamin Britten: Lachrymae, Reflections on a song of Dowland, op. 48a

Artists:
Nobuko Imai, viola
Atar Arad, viola
Timothy Ridout, viola
Yuval Gotlibovich, viola
Noriko Yabe, piano
Utrecht Conservatory Strings, conducted by Mikhail Zemtsov

Description:
This evening, we celebrate the 105th birthday of Benjamin Britten, and in a wider sense, we celebrate the violist-composer, as in fact all composers on tonight's programme are (or were) also viola players.
Another theme of this programme is "master and apprentice": Britten had a close tie to Frank Bridge, with whom he studied composition. Bridge composed the viola duet Lament in 1912, and premiered it himself together with the great viola pioneer Lionel Tertis.
Kaleidoscopic echoes of all these relationships are provided by this evening's soloists. The renowned violist Nobuko Imai first plays Britten's Elegy for solo viola, and later she performs Bridge's Lament together with her own former pupil Timothy Ridout, who won the prestigious Tertis competition at age 20. In a parallel master-apprentice/violist-composer storyline, Yuval Gotlibovich, who was a student of viola virtuoso and composer Atar Arad, plays his own Sonata for Viola and Piano Left Hand.
After the intermission, the Utrecht Conservatory Strings contribute with the Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, Brittens's personal homage to his teacher. The concerto Ceci n’est pas un Bach was written by Atar Arad especially for the 2018 International Viola Congress, and will be premiered by the composer himself. Arad also performs his own solo caprice no.9 Benjamin, the title of which obviously refers to the celebrated 105-year-old composer. Timothy Ridout concludes the evening with the classic Lachrymae by Britten, based on songs by John Dowland.