Violinist James Buswell greets student Roma Taitwood in a 2017 masterclass. CMW Resident Musician Jesse Holstein shares a remembrance.

On September 28th, my long-time teacher and mentor violinist James Buswell passed away at the age of 74. My first ever lesson with him was in the summer of 1993 at the Musicorda Music Festival at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, and my last was just this past spring on Zoom.

What always astounded me about Mr. Buswell was that he was such a complete artist and teacher. He was one of the great violinists of the 20th and 21st century, but what was rare about a violinist of his caliber is that he could diagnose any technical issue in one’s playing clearly and comprehensively and then vividly demonstrate possible solutions, no matter the student’s level. His musicianship was holistic and deep, and his musical choices and suggestions were always informed by an incredibly refined knowledge of style, language, color, literature, and historical context, among other considerations. Even his fingerings (what finger to use on a particular note) and bowings (what direction and articulation to use with the bow) were always crafted and curated to maximize the music’s meaning and impact.

Beyond this, he was always supportive and cared deeply for his students, and would always go the extra mile to offer advice or encouragement. Just last year, I was asked to give an online masterclass on a piece I had never performed or studied, the Poéme by Ernest Chausson. I reached out to him to see if he could share with me his edition of the piece. This alone would have been helpful and generous, but in addition to getting the pdf of his part, he called me that night and we proceeded to go over the piece together and he offered insights and suggestions for well over an hour.

We were lucky to have Mr. Buswell visit Community MusicWorks, once in April of 2016 and again in January of 2017 to offer masterclasses to our students, the latter visit accompanied by his wife, cellist Carol Ou, who offered a cello masterclass. What stuck with me from those events was the passion, the encouragement, and the simply ingenious teaching he and Carol offered our young musicians.

Mr. Buswell and his wife, cellist Carol Ou, treated each student as if they were colleagues, but just at a different point of their journey with music.

I can only hope that I can pass along as much knowledge as Mr. Buswell gave to me…onto his ‘grand students,’ my students at CMW.

–Jesse Holstein, violinist and CMW Senior Resident Musician 

Welcome to Season 25!

Our Sonata Series premiere shines a spotlight on a frequently maligned instrument: the viola. Often the subject of derision, jokes about the viola abound. Not cool. With this piece, guest pianist (and husband of a violist) Ivan Tan gives the instrument some well-deserved love.

“Its career has been an interesting and singularly checkered one: originally the oldest and most important of the string family, its prestige gradually diminished until it became a mere drudge, necessary for the balance of part-writing, but hardly considered worthy of much notice in itself…

…The tone of the viola is apt to become slightly monotonous in an entire recital, as it has not as large or brilliant a range of tone-color as the violin or the cello…”

– Rebecca Clarke, “Viola”, Cobbett’s Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music (1929)

“Oops.”

– Jake Pietroniro and Lisa Sailer (2021)

Though often playing a purely supportive function in ensemble textures, the viola can also be a powerful soloistic force in its own right; the ability of skilled violists to navigate seamlessly between these disparate roles makes them particularly attractive chamber music partners. Especially since the turn of the 20th century, and inspired by pioneering virtuoso performers like Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, composers have written works that showcase the viola’s distinctively dusky timbre.

In fact, George Rochberg’s Viola Sonata was commissioned by the American Viola Society in honor of Primrose’s 75th birthday in 1979. Fascinated with the interplay between performers inherent in the duo sonata format, Rochberg had begun working on his own violin sonata in 1942, but abandoned the project after he was drafted into the army. The sonata’s pre-war origins are especially apparent in the first movement, whose harmonic content is influenced by Rochberg’s interest in the music of Béla Bartók. The heart of the piece, however, is the bluesy second movement: Rochberg has written that its “dirgelike, singing character” was what convinced him that the sonata would sound “natural” on the viola. Eventually, Rochberg’s wife Gene convinced him to add a third movement, though Rochberg resisted the traditional “stormy finale” in favor of a short epilogue that contains fleeting reminiscences of themes from the first movement.

Unlike Rochberg (whose main instrument was the piano), Rebecca Clarke was a virtuoso violist, and her 1919 Viola Sonata has become a repertory staple. Throughout the sonata, Clarke uses her intimate knowledge of the viola to show off its technical capabilities and timbral palette: the striking cadenza that opens the first movement and the shimmering harmonics in the quicksilver second movement belie Clarke’s description of the instrument as “awkward and difficult,” while more lyrical themes in all three movements explore the viola’s melodic potential. As with Rochberg, Clarke inserts themes from the first movement into a formally looser, almost improvisatory last movement, though here the thematic recall works in favor of a large-scale dramatic ending.

The viola’s importance extends behind the scenes of this concert, performed at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson, NH, where many CMW faculty and students go every year to participate in its Summer Chamber Music Workshop. Mike Kelley, the violist of the Apple Hill String Quartet, recorded and produced the concert, and both Jake and Lisa have studied viola with Lenny Matczynski, Apple Hill’s director. In preparing for this performance, we’ve enjoyed celebrating the longstanding association between Apple Hill and CMW, and prominently featuring a well-deserving but underappreciated instrument!

— Ivan Tan, pianist

Watch the premiere of Sonata Series Event #1, featuring MusicWorks Collective violists Jake Pietroniro and Lisa Sailer, joined by guest pianist Ivan Tan, for two remarkable duo pieces that showcase the rich and soulful sonorities of the viola.

Spotlight on the viola!

This season the Sonata Series returns online and presents varied programs with less-often heard works along with several mainstays of the repertoire, and features illuminating conversations with the performers.

Sonata Series Event #1 features MusicWorks Collective violists Jake Pietroniro and Lisa Sailer, viola, joined by guest artist Ivan Tan on piano for two remarkable duo pieces that showcase the rich and soulful sonorities of the viola.

Join us on YouTube on October 14 at 7 pm EST for Sonata Series Event #1, where the rich and soulful sonorities of the viola are showcased in two remarkable pieces.

Twentieth-century American composer George Rochberg wrote serial music for much of his career, but took a sharp turn in style after a tragic life event left him feeling that atonal writing didn’t contain enough expressive range for his grief. His Viola Sonata demonstrates a departure that is romantic in nature with its bold expressiveness, that at times hints of his earlier style. Also featured  is the majestic Viola Sonata by Rebecca Clarke, written in 1919 shortly after the composer emigrated to the United States from Britain. From its riveting opening notes, the piece draws the listener into a singular sound world and dramatic arc.

Thursday, October 14 at 7 pm EST
CMW’s YouTube Channel