Things I Have Learned as a Violist in the Ballet Pit

I recently had a gig doing a ballet on viola. As I'm playing more concerts on the viola, there are things I've noticed and have had to adjust to, physically and mentally. Here's a list of a few of them!

1. It's possible to get more tired playing the viola, as it is larger and heavier than the violin. Luckily I haven't had this problem yet and the viola is still more comfortable for me, but I am aware that it is common for this to happen, and maybe once I'm doing more serious concerts with full-length symphonies I'll experience this too.

2. Opposite desk sides...this means that the "outside" is the "inside" and vice versa. So, one has to remember whether they're the one turning the pages, and who's playing top/bottom and generally get used to the opposite setup!

3. Different orchestral positions - while the first violins never move (that I have seen, anyway) from their position in the front at stage right, the violas often play on the outside stage left, and also often play between the second violins and the cellos, in the middle.

4. Violas do actually have the ability to make more sound than violins. This is why there are fewer violas in the section. It takes more effort to get a good sound out of a viola than a violin, and this extra effort translates to a louder sound. (Whether that sound projects as well is another story, however.)

5. Sometimes, the viola part may not make sense. Within itself, that is. Unlike the first violins who almost never have a line that doesn't musically make sense, the violas seem to often have combinations of notes that seem musically illogical, making the part harder to anticipate. In context the viola part (usually) makes perfect sense, so we violas have to get used to interpreting the music as more of a whole than the violins, who can get away with knowing it on a more superficial level and living in their own, self-absorbed world.

6. The violins sometimes sound pretty...interesting. As everyone knows, they're the ones with all the high stuff and when first reading/rehearsing these parts, it can sound rather...well, awful. More so than one can appreciate when playing as one of them! Luckily they also improve quickly, but hearing a first run-through brought me thoughts of "That's what we sound like!? Glad I'm not doing that anymore!"

7. Finally, even though it is the violins who have the melodies and show-offy stuff, the violas have more fun!

Music is Alive...with the Goldner String Quartet and Piers Lane

Last Monday evening, I went to see the Goldner String Quartet, an ensemble from Australia. They performed a commissioned piece by NZ composer Gareth Farr, the Elgar Piano Quintet and to start the programme, Schubert's very popular Death and the Maiden String Quartet No. 14.

Overall the Goldner Quartet (click to see their website and images!) struck me as a very talented group even compared to the last international quartet I saw, which was the Tokyo String Quartet - undoubtably a hard act to follow. The friend I was with remarked that after seeing the Tokyo String Quartet, the ensemble of other less-established groups seems lacking - just in that the perfection of the Tokyo quartet was so absolute and unattainable, not that the other groups are lacking anything in actuality.

I had actually never heard the Elgar Piano Quintet before, and hearing it on Monday was really great, and now I know what a great piece it is. In the genre of piano quintets it seems that it will inevitably be difficult to integrate the piano part into the already well-established string quartet group, and that it may often seem that the string quartet and piano are in opposition. Elgar makes use of this right from the start, with the strings sharing the same rhythmic accompanying part while the piano takes the melody. The strings often have a role together against the piano, but Elgar also knows how to integrate all of the instruments masterfully as well, though perhaps not in the same way as in some of the other piano quintets that I am more familiar with.

What really impressed me was their rendition of the old favorite, the Schubert. (Though the Gareth Farr piece was nice too, not intending to belittle that too much.) I had heard this piece a few times before, but never had it seemed so alive. The feeling of constant motion and flawless continuity was always there, and it was as if the music was a living, breathing being created by the four players together. These players rose beyond having a good dynamic within the group to being able to create one whole entity from their four parts (almost as if there was in fact no dynamic within the group), which was amazing. The second movement especially was palpably full of life, a little faster than I'd heard previously (in fact, all movements were a bit faster) but lacking none of the emotion. The other movements showcased the players' effortless articulation and there was never a moment where an important part was covered, and even the inner voices were always discernible and individual, while still being part of one whole. It didn't seem like they had to try to make sure the melody was heard, (for example, the first violin wasn't a separate entity in melody passages) but the melody was indeed heard at all times...along with the rest of the music. Which is what made it so great.

The rests in the music were alive too, not necessarily "full of electric energy" as is so often said of rests, but alive, and each containing varying different qualities of life, if that makes sense! Rests are a feature which musicians often find the most difficult. (Which is ironic, considering that we're not actually producing sound during rests.)

It had been awhile since I had been to a concert, and I'm glad the Goldner Quartet came along to refresh my musical awareness and renew my inspiration for chamber music.