Sonata Forum No. 3: A Century of American Viola Sonata – Basil Vendryes

Contents

Kay, U: Sonatine for Viola and Piano

Kay, U: Viola Sonata

Tcimpidis: Viola Sonata

Larsen, L: Viola Sonata

Ewazen: Viola Sonata

These five works – four sonatas and a sonatina – chronicle a century of American writing for the viola and are linked by a concern for directness of musical language. Each has a distinguishing characteristic, too, the Ulysses Kay pieces being written by a pioneering African-American, Libby Larsen’s by a successful female freelance composer, Eric Ewazen’s animated by a particularly American lyricism and energy, and that by David Tcimpidis commemorating the ‘9/11’ terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, which Tcimpidis heard unfolding.