Bridge’s early works those written before the first World War were more late Romantic in style warmly expansive than his mature works. The Lament for Two Violas was written for himself and Lionel Tertis to perform at Wigmore Hall in March 1912. There were originally two pieces Caprice and Lament of which the first has been lost. Paul Hindmarsh has edited this sheet music from sketches and drafts.It is a deeply felt work interweaving the near-human Voices of the Violas into a work that is more thoughtful than grief-stricken yet no less effective for that.British composer Frank Bridge was active in the early decades of the 20th century and was a highly respectedconductor violist and teacher his sole composition student having been Benjamin Britten. Britten honoured his former teacher in his work Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge based on a theme from one of Bridge’s pieces for String quartet.

Par BERIO LUCIANO. This set of arrangements of Luciano Berio’s “Duetti”, originally for two violins, represents a fascinating expansion of the limited repertoire for two violas. Berio originally conceived these duets as a collection of occasional pieces, each dedicated to someone who was close to him, rather like Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations, but they eventually developed into a full compositional project with pedagogical overtones. As such, there is a wide variation in technical demands, from pieces playable by beginners up to a duet that foreshadows the skills required for Berio’s “Sequenza” for the viola. Taken as a whole, over some years of study, the “Duetti” can gently lead players into the mysteries of contemporary music; however, the composer also envisaged them in a concert performance of the complete cycle with at least 24 players of differing abilities taking turns to play. In this guise, it might be an intriguing idea to mix them with the original version for two violins (UE17757), although it must be understood that the two versions are not mutually compatible to be played as violin/viola duets./ Répertoire / 2 Altos