Bartók's Viola Concerto
Bartók's Viola Concerto

Author: Donald Maurice

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0195156900

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Tells the intriguing story of Bela Bartok's viola concerto, a work left unfinished at his death in 1945. Drawing on interviews and documents that reveal previously unavailable information, it discusses the commission, the reconstruction by Tibor Serly, events leading up to the premiere, its reception over the second half of the twentieth century, the revisions, and future possibilities.

Playing the Viola
Playing the Viola

Author: David Dalton

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 1989-11-30

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0191039217

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`In all areas of human endeavour, time and again an individual appears who, due to a multitude of personal attributes, elevates his or her field to a hitherto unknown height. Such an individual was William Primrose. His name and the viola are synonymous.' Janos Starker This unique book is the result of a series of conversations with Primrose in the last years before his death in 1982. David Dalton describes how he came to the great artist armed with every question he could think of pertaining to performing on and teaching the viola. The lively dialogue contains a wealth of illuminating advice for the student on the technicalities of playing the viola. It is, however, far more than a technical guide. The two violists discuss the unique position of their instrument - `an instrument without tradition' is Primrose's bald description. They cover the topic of repertoire with fascinating insights into the performance of the great concertos by Bartók and Walton, with which Primrose was so closely associated. Still more invaluable advice emerges from the discussion of Primrose's own experience, on the art of performance, on demeanour on stage, on competitions, on recordings, and on preparing for a career. The book is a tribute to one of the greatest artists of this century.

The Physics of the Violin
The Physics of the Violin

Author: Lothar Cremer

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 1984-11-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0262527073

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This major work covers almost all that has been learned about the acoustics of stringed instruments from Helmholtz's 19th-century theoretical elaborations to recent electroacoustic and holographic measurements. Many of the results presented here were uncovered by the author himself (and by his associates and students) over a 20-year period of research on the physics of instruments in the violin family. Lothar Cremer is one of the world's most respected authorities on architectural acoustics and, not incidentally, an avid avocational violinist and violist. The book—which was published in German in 1981—first of all meets the rigorous technical standards of specialists in musical acoustics. But it also serves the needs and interests of two broader groups: makers and players of stringed instruments are expressly addressed, since the implications of the mathematical formulations are fully outlined and explained; and acousticians in general will find that the work represents a textbook illustration of the application of fundamental principles and up-to-date techniques to a specific problem. The first—and longest—of the book's three parts investigates the oscillatory responses of bowed (and plucked) strings. The natural nonlinearities that derive from considerations of string torsion and bending stiffness are deftly handled and concisely modeled. The second part deals with the body of the instrument. Special attention is given to the bridge, which transmits the oscillations of the strings to the wooden body and its air cavity. In this case, linear modeling proves serviceable for the most part—a simplification that would not be possible with lute—like instruments such as the guitar. The radiation of sound from the body into the listener's space, which is treated as an extension of the instrument itself, is the subject of the book's final part.