The seven recital pieces in volume 3 of the 'Viola Recital Album? augment the repertoire in volumes 2 and 3 of the Sassmannshaus tutor 'Early Start on the Viola.? But other viola tutors will also benefit from these pieces, all of which are in first position.The editors have chosen a short series of delightful little pieces by such unknown composers as Septimus Winner ('The Last Rose of Summer?) or Martin Greenwald ('Arminta Waltz?).Each piece is accompanied by duo version in which the teacher or an advanced learner can play the second part. There is also a piano part that can be played by the teacher or parents.- New recital pieces for the proven viola tutor- Well-known traditionals- Every piece in first position- Second viola part for duo performance- Piano accompanimentAll the pieces in the four 'Viola Recital Albums? represent welcome additions to the already varied repertoire of Egon Sassmannhaus's viola tutor 'Early Start on the Viola?.Kurt Sassmannshaus is the editor of many string editions in the Bärenreiter catalogue. He continues in the tradition of 'Early Start on String Instruments? founded by his father, Egon Sassmannshaus. The new editions mentioned here were developed by Kurt Sassmannshaus in conjunction with his wife Melissa Lusk and his son Christoph Sassmannshaus. / Alto Et Piano (Ou 2 Altos)

Scott, Daniel (Arranger) - Hornby, Megan (Editor). Tired of the same old exam pieces? Need a little light relief? Then here's the answer to your problems. Play it Again is a lively collection of favourite tunes, both new and old, expertly arranged for easy viola with upbeat, but playable, piano accompaniments. All viola parts are written in first position so they are perfect for the absolute beginner, helping young players to gain confidence and learn basic technique in a fun and lively way. Both you and your teacher can really relax and have fun! The solo viola part is also included on a separate insert. / Niveau : 2 / Traditional, Popular, Children / Recueil / Alto et Piano

Par BACEWICZ GRAZYNA. Grazyna Bacewicz realised at a very early age that her main purpose in life was to compose music. Already during the 1920s, as a student of Lódz Conservatoire, as part of her lessons in harmony and counterpoint, she made attempts at composing, in which she tried to resolve nagging technical problems and impart an artistically satisfying form to them. She grew up in an atmosphere of anti-romantic tumult and the emerging neoclassical style. She assimilated the main attributes of that current in a natural way: the need to forge logical formal constructs based on new harmonic principles, not determined by the major–minor system, and also a freedom in the shaping of textures, a fixed element of which was the combining of homophony with more or less strict polyphonic forms. One example of such a strategy is the String Quartet from her student years, signed with the date 1929–1930, which the composer did not include in her official catalogue of works. In the first movement (Allegro moderato), one can distinguish two principal subjects, served in the form of the incomplete exposition of a fugue. The chromaticised first subject, with its strongly highlighted head motif, appears in the cello, with an answer coming four bars later in the first violin. After a short bridge, the first violin intones the second subject, of a different character (dolce), and the answer appears a bar later and an octave lower in the viola. Both subjects can be heard also in the closing coda, and the space between them is filled by counterpoints based largely on ostinato figures of various sorts – a technique that Bacewicz would hone to perfection in her later work. The middle fughetta (Molto adagio), with a subject stated just once, and in only three parts (cello, first violin, viola), acts as an intermezzo. The third movement (Allegro molto moderato) is a double fugue with strongly contrasting subjects. The first subject, in the form of a chromaticised melodic continuum, exposed by the cello, is initially shown with the traditional arrangement retained (answered by the viola and second violin at a fifth, and by the first violin an octave above). The second subject (energico) is a structure shaped by the opening repetition of a motif of perfect fifths, then octaves combined with staccato-tremolo figurations. As the work unfolds, the two subjects appear simultaneously in original and inverted form, coming together in the closing Cadenza in a uniform idea crowned by strong (fff) chords repeated towards the end. - Malgorzata Gasiorowska/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

Born in South Africa, but now an Irish citizen, Kevin Volans' musical idiom has been shaped by an unusually diverse range of experiences, including studies with Stockhausen in Cologne, field trips to South Africa to study traditional music, his own involvement with the New Simplicity movement, his collection of contemporary art and African textiles, friendships with composers like Morton Feldman and Gerald Barry, as well as a love of virtuoso piano music which he performs, broadcasts and records. While having an easily recognised, unique voice, Volans' music resists compartmentalisation. He is as comfortable working in conventional genres as embarking on innovative collaborations with artists of other disciplines.String Quartet #1 (White Man Sleeps) was written for the Kronos Quartet and was first performed by them in July 1986, London.The title 'White Man Sleeps' comes from a moment in nyanga Panpipe music where the performers leave off playing their loud pipes for a few cycles and dance only to the sound of their ankle rattles, to let the white landowner sleep - for a minute or two.'In composing this piece I drew from the following sources: the first movement owes something to the style of Basotho concertina music - the second and fourth movements are drawn from traditional Nyungwe music played by Makina Chirenje and his Nyanga panpipe group at Nsava, Tete, Mozambique, recorded and transcribed by Andrew Tracey (to be found in an article entitled 'The nyanga Panpipe dance' in African Music, Vol.5, #1 (1971) - the third movement derives from the San bow music (recorded by Tony Traill of the University of Witwatersrand) and from Basotho lesiba music, transcribed by myself - in the fifth movement I added my own invented folklore. My approach to the original music was anything but purist - it is played in Western tuning, filtered, slowed down by a few 'time-octaves?, cast into non-African metres (like the 13-beat pattern of the first dance) and redistributed between the players in several ways. I also used interlocking techniques where they were absent in the original models and vice versa' - Kevin VolansDuration 24 minutes. Parts available: CH61205. / Quatuor A Cordes (Conducteur)

This anonymous sextet arrangement of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto was highly popular in Vienna during the composer's lifetime.We know this from at least two sets of handwritten parts which were then in circulation.No piano part has been handed down- indeed, the original sets of parts probably omitted the piano.The soloist presumably studied his part from the first edition of the solo part, published with the original performance material in 1808. (The full score did not appear until 1861).The sextet version deftly integrates the original wind parts into the string texture.The arrangement stands in the tradition of piano reductions with chamber music accompaniment, of the sort which were also made for Mozart's piano concertos K. 413 to 415 and later for the Chopin concertos.This Urtext edition, edited by the renowned Beethoven scholar Jonathan Del Mar, presents this arrangement for the first time in print. The musical text is supplemented by an informative Introduction and a Critical Commentary.- First ever publication of this arrangement- Includes a separate solo part as was customary in Beethoven's day- Provides new possibilities for soloists to perform this work / Quatuor A Cordes Et Piano

At last the excitement of traditional folk fiddling can be experienced by your entire string orchestra! Written by two renowned educators, this fun and motivating collection of 16 cross-cultural fiddle tunes is presented in a unique format that makes it perfect for players of any level or age. Each tune includes a solo version, followed by a 3-part 'arrangement' for group performance. Chord symbols, for improvisation of additional instruments (guitar, mandolin, etc.) are also included. / Alto

Brahms had already announced his ?retirement' from composition when in the spring of 1894 he played chamber music with the cellist Robert Hausmann and the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. This encounter apparently renewed his enthusiasm for Mühlfeld's much admired playing and inspired him to write two clarinet sonatas in the summer of the same year. Brahms conceived an alternate version of the works for viola from the beginning and already before the publication of these two versions he intended to do another one for violin, a version which was to require changes and was to result in an independent edition. While the clarinet and viola versions have developed a rich performance tradition, the violin version is almost unknown. Yet for the violin version the composer revised the original clarinet part much more extensively than he did for the viola version and also rewrote the piano part to achieve a thoroughly convincing violin and piano idiom. This Bärenreiter edition aims to bring the neglected violin sonatas op. 120 back into players' hands.An important part of this edition is the extensive preface. Firstly it informs about the sonatas' origins, their compositional process, pre-publication performances, their publication history as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is the unique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors start from the premise that already a few decades after Brahms' death, a widening gulf developed between the composer's expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. On the basis of manifold sources which include memoirs by pupils and chamber music partners, treatises and essays, early instructive editions and historical recordings, the editors deal with key issues in understanding Brahms' notation. By a section-by-section analysis of rhythm and timing, dynamics and accentuation, dots and strokes, slurring and non legato, piano pedalling and overholding, piano arpeggiation and dislocation, string instrument fingering, string instrument harmonics and vibrato, the editors provide an indispensable assistance for a historically informed interpretation of the works.At the same time, the edition offers an exciting and often surprising insight into musical interpretation of the German Romantic Era in general.- A pioneering Urtext edition- With an unmarked Urtext part- With a second part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of contemporaries of Brahms- With an extensive Performance Practice Commentary- For further information on Romantic performance practice we recommend the text booklet: 'Performance Practices in Johannes Brahms' Chamber Music?, BA 9600 / Violon Et Piano