Lionel Tertis
Encyclopedia
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
violist
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and one of the first viola players to find international fame.
Tertis was born in West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, and initially studied the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There he was encouraged by the Principal, Alexander Mackenzie, to take up the viola instead. Under the additional influence of Oskar Nedbal
Oskar Nedbal
Oskar Nedbal was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music.-Life:Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz...
, he did so and rapidly became one of the best known violists of his time, touring Europe and the USA as a soloist. As Professor of Viola at the RAM (from 1900), he encouraged his colleagues and students to compose for the instrument, thereby greatly expanding its repertoire. Composers such as Arnold Bax
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
, Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge was an English composer and violist.-Life:Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others...
, Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, Benjamin Dale
Benjamin Dale
Benjamin James Dale was an English composer and academic who had a long association with the Royal Academy of Music. Dale showed compositional talent from an early age and went on to write a small but notable corpus of works...
, York Bowen
York Bowen
Edwin York Bowen was an English composer and pianist. Bowen’s musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
wrote pieces for him. The Walton piece was his Viola Concerto
Viola Concerto (Walton)
The Viola Concerto by William Walton was written in 1929 for the violist Lionel Tertis at the suggestion of Sir Thomas Beecham. The concerto carries the dedication "To Christabel" ....
. However, Tertis did not give the world premiere of this Concerto as he found it difficult to comprehend at the time; that honour went to Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
.
In 1906, Tertis was temporarily in the famous Bohemian Quartet
Bohemian Quartet
The Bohemian Quartet were a Czech string quartet of international repute that was founded in 1891 and disbanded in 1934.- Origins :The Quartet was founded in Budapest by three pupils of Antonín Bennewitz and a pupil of Hanuš Wihan ; Bennewitz and Wihan were both teachers at the Prague Conservatory...
to replace the violist/composer Oskar Nedbal
Oskar Nedbal
Oskar Nedbal was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music.-Life:Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz...
.
He also owned a 1727 Montagnana
Domenico Montagnana
Domenico Montagnana was an Italian master luthier based in Venice, Italy. He is regarded as one of the world's finest violin and cello makers of his time....
from 1924 to 1937 From the Paris dealer, Maucutel & Deschamps in 1924, and took a chance in acquiring. According to his memoirs, it was "shown to me in an unplayable condition, without bridge, strings or fingerboard.... No case was available -- it was such a large instrument 17 1/8 inches -- so my wife came to the rescue by wrapping it in her waterproof coat, and that is how it was taken across the English Channel." Tertis preferred a large viola in order to get an especially rich tone from his instrument.
Knowing that some would find a 17+ inch instruments too difficult to play he with the assistance of Arthur Richardson created the Tertis model Viola, which provides many of the tonal advantages of the larger instrument in a manageable 16-3/4 inch size.
Along with William Murdoch (piano), Albert Sammons
Albert Sammons
Albert Edward Sammons CBE was an English violinist, composer and later violin teacher. Almost self-taught on the violin, he had a wide repertoire as both chamber musician and soloist, although his reputation rests mainly on his association with British composers, especially Elgar...
, and Lauri Kennedy
Lauri Kennedy
-Biography:Irvine Robert Laurie Kennedy was born in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney, to an English-born father and native-born mother. He studied with Herbert Walenn at the Royal College of Music, London, and Paul Brummer in Vienna. Dame Nellie Melba noticed him and encouraged him to undertake...
, Tertis formed the Chamber Music Players.
Tertis composed several original works and also arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
many pieces not originally for the viola, such as Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
's Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, by which time his music had gone out of fashion with the concert-going public...
. He was the author of a number of publications about string playing, the viola in particular, and his own life. They include Cinderella No More and My Viola and I.
Lionel Tertis died in Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
. The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition
Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition
The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition is an international music competition for viola players established in 1980 to honor the memory of the English viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis. This triennial event is held at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin, Isle of Man...
was established in 1980 to honor his memory.
In February 2007, the British violist Roger Chase
Roger Chase
Roger Chase is a British violist who currently teaches at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University....
(along with his accompanist, pianist Michiko Otaki) initiated "The Tertis Project," a series of concerts devoted to works composed for Tertis. Chase performs on the Montagnana viola that belonged to Tertis.
Original compositions
- Elizabethan Melody for viola and cello
- 15th Century Folk Song: 1452-Anonymous for viola, cello and piano
- Hier au soir for viola and piano
- Rêverie for viola and piano
- Sunset (Coucher du soleil) for viola (or violin or cello) and piano
- Three Sketches for viola and piano
-
- Serenade; revised as A Tune
- The Blackbirds (1952)
- The River
- A Tune for viola and piano (published 1954); 2nd version of Serenade
- Variations on a Passacaglia of Handel for 2 violas (1935); original work based on the Passacaglia by Johan HalvorsenJohan HalvorsenJohan Halvorsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist.-Biography:Born in Drammen, Norway he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life...
- Variations on a Four Bar Theme of Handel for viola and cello
Transcriptions, arrangements and adaptations
For viola and piano unless otherwise noted| Original composer | Title | Anton Arensky Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine... (1861–1906) | Berceuse |
|---|---|---|
| Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity... (1685–1750) |
Air on the C-String | original from Orchestral Suite No.3 |
| Aria "Come Sweet Death" | from Cantata 191 | |
| Adagio from Toccata in C Major | published 1935; original for organ | |
| Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of... (1770–1827) |
Menuet | published 1912; original for orchestra; from 12 Menuette, WoO 7 |
| Theme and Variations (on Mozart's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen"), Op.66 (1796) | original for cello and piano | |
| Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene... (1833–1897) |
Minnelied, Op.71 No.5 (1877) | original for voice and piano |
| Wir wandelten for violin or viola and piano, Op.96 No.2 (1884) | original for voice and piano | |
| Willy Burmester Willy Burmester Willy Burmester was a German violinist.Burmester was born in Hamburg and was a pupil of Joseph Joachim, with whom he studied for many years in Berlin... (1869–1933) |
Französisches Lied aus dem 18. Jahrhundert (French Air from the 18th Century) (1909) | original for violin and piano |
| Eric Coates Eric Coates Eric Coates was an English composer of light music and a viola player.-Life:Eric was born in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire to William Harrison Coates , a surgeon, and his wife, Mary Jane Gwynne, hailing from Usk in Monmouthshire... (1886–1957) |
First Meeting: Souvenir | |
| Frederick Delius Frederick Delius Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce... (1862–1934) |
Caprice and Elegy for viola and orchestra (1930) | original for cello and orchestra |
| Double Concerto for violin, viola and orchestra (1915–1916) | original for violin, cello and orchestra | |
| Serenade from the drama Hassan (1920–1923) | ||
| Sonata No.2 (1922–1923) | original for violin and piano; 1929 transcription | |
| Sonata No.3 (1930) | original for violin and piano; 1932 transcription | |
| Ernő Dohnányi Erno Dohnányi Ernő Dohnányi was a Hungarian conductor, composer, and pianist. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions.... (1877–1960) |
Sonata in C minor, Op.21 (1912) | original for violin and piano |
| Edward Elgar Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos... (1857–1934) |
Concerto in E minor for viola and orchestra, Op.85 (1918–1919) | original for cello and orchestra |
| Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers... (1845–1924) |
Après un rêve | original for voice and piano |
| Élégie for viola and orchestra, Op.24 | original for cello and orchestra | |
| Baldassare Galuppi | Aria Amorosa | |
| Edvard Grieg Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in... (1843–1907) |
Ich liebe Dich (I Love But Thee!), Op.5 No.3 (1864–1865) | original from Hjertets Melodier, 4 songs for voice and piano |
| George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music... (1685–1759) |
Arietta | published 1910; transcription (violin and piano) by Hamilton Harty Hamilton Harty Sir Hamilton Harty was an Irish and British composer, conductor, pianist and organist. In his capacity as a conductor, he was particularly noted as an interpreter of the music of Berlioz and he was much respected as a piano accompanist of exceptional prowess... of "Si che lieta goderò" from Rodrigo Rodrigo (opera) Rodrigo is an opera in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel. Its original title was Vincer se stesso è la maggior vittoria . The opera is based on the historical figure of Rodrigo, the last Visigothic king of Hispania... ; viola part by Tertis |
| Sarabande | transcription of "Sorge nel petto" from Rinaldo Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's... |
|
| Sonata in F major (Adagio and Allegro) | original for violin with basso continuo | |
| Joseph Haydn Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms... (1732–1809) |
Capriccio | published 1912; transcription (violin and piano) by Willy Burmester Willy Burmester Willy Burmester was a German violinist.Burmester was born in Hamburg and was a pupil of Joseph Joachim, with whom he studied for many years in Berlin... from String Quartet No. 49, Op. 64 No. 2; viola part by Tertis |
| Menuet | published 1912; original for orchestra; transcription (violin and piano) by Willy Burmester Willy Burmester Willy Burmester was a German violinist.Burmester was born in Hamburg and was a pupil of Joseph Joachim, with whom he studied for many years in Berlin... from Symphony No. 96 Symphony No. 96 (Haydn) The Symphony No. 96 in D major, Hoboken I/96, was completed by Joseph Haydn in 1791 as part of the set of symphonies composed on his first trip to London. It was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 11 March 1791. Although it is the fourth of the so-called twelve London... ; viola part by Tertis |
|
| John Ireland John Ireland (composer) John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth... (1879–1962) |
The Holy Boy | published 1918 |
| Sonata in G minor (1923) | original for cello and piano; 1941 transcription | |
| Sonata No.2 in A minor (1915–1917) | original for violin and piano; 1918 transcription | |
| Fritz Kreisler Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately... (1875–1962) |
La Chasse, Caprice in the Style of Cartier | original for violin and piano |
| Franz Liszt Franz Liszt Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age... (1811–1886) |
Liebestraum No.3 in A major, S.541 (c.1850) | published 1954; original for piano |
| Étienne Méhul Étienne Méhul Etienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution." He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic".-Life:... (1763–1817) |
Gavotte | published 1912 |
| Felix Mendelssohn Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text... (1809–1847) |
Duetto | original for piano: Song without Words, Op.38 No.6 (1836) |
| Fleecy Cloud | original for piano: Song without Words, Op.53 No.2 (1838) | |
| Gondola Song | original for piano: Song without Words, Op.19 No.6 (1830) | |
| On Wings of Song, Op.34 No.2 (1835) | original for voice and piano: Auf Flügeln des Gesanges | |
| Spring Song | original for piano: Song without Words, Op.62 No.6 (1842) | |
| Sweet Remembrance | original for piano: Song without Words, Op.19 No.1 (1831) | |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music... (1756–1791) |
Menuet | |
| Sonata [No.22] in A major, K.305: Allegro molto; Tema con variazione | original for violin and piano | |
| Gabriel Pierné Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer, conductor, and organist.-Biography:Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863. His family moved to Paris to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue... (1863–1937) |
Sérénade, Op.7 | original for piano |
| Anton Rubinstein Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos... (1829–1894) |
Melody in F, Op.3 No.1 (1852) | original for piano |
| Camille Saint-Saëns Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony... (1835–1921) |
Melody for viola or violin or cello and piano (1959) | |
| Franz Schubert Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music... (1797–1828) |
Ave Maria, Op.52 No.6 (D.839) (1825) | original for voice and piano |
| Du bist die Ruh, Op.59 No.3 (D.776) | original for voice and piano | |
| Nacht und Träume, Op.43 No.2 (D.827) | original for voice and piano | |
| Robert Schumann Robert Schumann Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era.... (1810–1856) |
Abendlied (Evening Song) in D major, Op.85 No.12 (1849) | original for piano 4-hands |
| Romance, Op.28 No.2 | original for piano | |
| Schlummerlied (Slumber Song) in E major, Op.124 No.16 | original for piano | |
| Cyril Scott Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott was an English composer, writer, and poet.-Biography:Scott was born in Oxton, England to a shipper and scholar of Greek and Hebrew, and Mary Scott , an amateur pianist. He showed a talent for music from an early age and was sent to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany to... (1879–1970) |
Cherry Ripe | |
| Alexander Scriabin Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,... (1872–1915) |
Étude, Op.42 No.4 | original for piano |
| Karol Szymanowski Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'... (1882–1937) |
Pieśń Roksany (Chant de Roxane) | from the opera Król Roger |
| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"... (1840–1893) |
Chanson triste, Op.40 No.2 | original for piano |
| June (Barcarolle), Op.37b No.6 (1875–1876) | original for piano | |
| None But the Lonely Heart (also entitled A Pleading), Op.6 No.6 (1869) | original for voice and piano | |
| Francis Thomé Francis Thomé Francis Thomé , was a French pianist and composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Laurent Duprato and Ambroise Thomas. After leaving the Conservatoire he became well known as a composer of salon pieces and was in demand as a pianist and teacher... (1850–1909) |
Sous la feuillée, Op.29 | original for piano |
| traditional | Londonderry Air "Farewell to Cucullain" for viola or violin and piano | |
| Old Irish Air for viola or violin and piano | ||
| William Wolstenholme (1865–1931) | Allegretto in E major, Op.17 No.2 | published 1900; original for organ |
| Canzona in B major, Op.12 No.1 | original for organ | |
| Die Antwort (The Answer), Op.13 No.2 | original for organ | |
| Die Frage (The Question), Op.13 No.1 | original for organ | |
| Romanza, Op.17 No.1 | published 1900; original for organ |
External links
Other reading
- John White, Lionel Tertis: The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006)
- Tully Potter, "Chase Fulfilled", The Strad, August 1988.