CHAPTER 1- The historical role model Lionel Tertis 

There have been many champions of the viola over the past one hundred years. One of these was British violist Lionel Tertis (1876-1975). We can be grateful for the contribution he made to the repertoire and the status of the instrument. As the viola emerged into a solo instrument in its own right, the opportunities for the violist to explore the roles of a performer/composer collaborator also grew.

In this chapter, I place the spotlight on Tertis- my historical role-model and a current day role model, Brett Dean. After describing their  musical backgrounds, I identify the roles and responsibilities of both of these violists and composers with regards to performer, composer collaborations.

By being able to identify these I will then use these as guides for my own practical artistic based research. 

 1.     Lionel Tertis

Most of this information is drawn from his autobiography, ‘My Viola and I’.⁸  (My copy on the right). 

Lionel Tertis calls upon violists to: 

“strive to enlarge the library of solo viola music, by fair means or foul. Cajole your composer friends to write for it, raid the repertory of the violin, cello or any other instrument, and arrange and transcribe works from the literature suitable for your Viola.” ⁹  

This quote indicates how he viewed the roles and responsibilities of the violist, it also highlights how limited the viola repertoire was at that time. 

1.1.         Music Background

Tertis was born in the County of Durham, in the United Kingdom on the 29th of December 1876 and died on February 22nd 1975. He was the son of the Jewish minister, Alexander Tertis who was well known for his singing at the synagogue. 

Originally a pianist and violinist, he pursued his music education at Trinity College in London and went on to learn from Professor Bolland in Leipzig. He then furthered his studies at The Royal Academy, in London.

While studying at The Royal Academy in London, Tertis (aged nineteen) was approached by a fellow student, Percy Hilder Miles to take up the viola as there "...was not one viola student at the academy"¹⁰  and he wanted to start a string quartet. 

Tertis recounts in his autobiography: -

"So casual was my discovery of my mission in life, of that beautiful, soon-to-be-beloved viola, to which I was to devote the rest of my days."¹¹

He then comments on the general view of the poor status of the viola,

“When I first began to play the viola as a solo instrument, prejudice and storms of abuse were my lot. The consensus of opinion then was that the viola had no right to be heard in solos, indeed the consideration of its place in the string family was of the scantiest. It was not only a despised instrument, but its cause was far from helped by the down-and-out violinists who usually played it. The executants in those days were violinists too inferior to gain a position in orchestras as such. A wretchedly low standard of viola-playing was in fact accepted simply and soley because there was no alternative'.¹²

 By aged twenty-four, Tertis became the Academy of Music’s first viola professor. He was also then performing as a soloist on the viola.¹³

 1.2    Tertis- Collaboration with living composers

 Tertis considers Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante to have been the only great master works for viola solo and orchestra at the time.¹⁴

He therefore set out to have young British composers write for solo viola. He commissioned Benjamin Dale (1885-1943), York Bowen (1884-1961), Sir Arnold Bax and (1883-1953) Arthur Bliss (1891-1975). The aforementioned were students around the same time at as Tertis at the Royal Academy of Music in the early 1900’s. They all wrote works for viola and piano, and viola and orchestra.¹⁵

 Composers such as, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), Gustav Holst (1874-1934), William Walton (1902-1983), Edward Elgar (1857-1934) and Frederick Delius (1862-1934) either composed works for Tertis or allowed him to rearrange their existing works to be played on the viola.¹⁶

Composers Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), both promised to write solo viola works for Tertis, however they passed away before being able to follow through. He refers to these as losses that would have “raised still further the status of the viola". ¹⁷

Tertis was also an arranger and transcriber himself for example his transcription of the Elgar Cello Concerto. In addition to his transcriptions and arrangements he also composed some works of his own. For example his salon inspired work, Sunset.¹⁸

Sir Arnold Bax (1893-1953)

Bax was a prolific composer of chamber music and wrote a number of works for Tertis. 

 Tertis refers to Bax’s Viola Sonata as “one of the finest works Bax ever wrote”.¹⁹

Bax also wrote a Concerto (soon renamed Phantasy) in 1920. In 1921 he began working on the Sonata for Viola and Piano. The first movement is dated 9 December 1921 and all three movements were completed a month later. It was first performed by Tertis and Bax at the Aeolian Hall on 17 November 1922, and was almost immediately regarded by most commentators as one of Bax's most important works, an assessment that has lasted to today.²⁰

In 1924, after a tour to America, Tertis performed Bax’s sonata with the composer himself at the piano. This was an intimate concert as Tertis had insisted that no free tickets be given to anyone. As a result there were only sixty people in the audience. 

Tertis addressed the audience by saying he was

 “ sorry to see so many empty seats, but whilst my agent had told me he could fill the hall by giving away free tickets, I preferred to follow American practice and played to those who thought the artist worthy of his hire.^”21

Bax's Sonata is a work I have spent time studying over the past year and I performed it at my Master 1 Recital in 2021 with pianist Gerard Boeters. I have included a short video of parts  of that recital on this page, to give a brief overview of the work.  I highly recommend this sonata to any violist.  To highlight why this is a significant work in my opinion, I will describe some of its qualities that show the viola gaining a more soloistic role as an instrument. Demands are placed on the performer both technically and musically. 

Long, melodic phrases encapsulate the dark timbre of the viola. Romantic lyricism is evident in the first and third movement with contrasting, driving rhythms in the second movement. The use of the C string, the exploitation of the upper register of the viola and its faster, virtuosic passages and double stops point to a meaningful collaboration between composer and performer. This work cannot be performed convincingly without a high level of musicianship and technical prowess on the instrument. 

The work is dedicated to Tertis. Even the reference at the top of the score I used for performance says “The thanks of the composer are due to Mr Lionel Tertis for his kindness in editing the viola part of this work”. And then signed AB.

Score: Murdoch, Murdoch & Co, (1923. Plate M.M. & Co. 355.)²²

(This is an annotated score from my own practice) 

Recording- Michelle Pritchard, viola and Gerard Boeters, piano. Master 1 Recital, May 2021. 

Art of Sound Department, Royal Conservatoire, The Hague.

Score: Murdoch, Murdoch & Co. (1923. Plate M.M. & Co. 355.)

 _{Bax, Arnold. Sonata for Viola and Piano. 1922. London: Murdoch and Murdoch, 1923. Print} 

 Arthur Bliss (1891-1975):

In 1933 the British pianist Solomon (Cutner) (1902-1988) and Tertis premiered the Sonata written for Viola and piano by Bliss. This sonata was also written for Tertis. 

Tertis describes his collaborative relationship with Solomon as follows:

“Our rehearsals over the years included hours of striving to grasp the fullness of the composers intentions, and we practised interminably to try to achieve perfect balance of tone. I shall live in enjoyment of those rehearsals to the end of my days. Solomon’s control of the keyboard was absolute. He never made a show of his wonderful technique, so extraordinarily consistent in its accuracy. No matter who the composer was he captured his idiom and portrayed it with the deepest sincerity”.²³

From this quote we can gain insight into the way both Tertis and Solomon approached compositions. It was a priority for both to discover the intentions of the composer. What these intentions mean are debated by musicians and musicologists alike even today. Emlyn Stam, in his Leiden University dissertation, In Search of a Lost Language: Performing in Early Reorded Style in Viola and String Quartet Repertoires set out to examine through early recordings what they reveal about the performance practices of one hundred years ago to today. Part of this research was of Tertis’ own recording of Sunset. He comments that Tertis ignores his own markings in these recordings. Stam, through very detailed and systematic analysis of early recordings, demonstrates “radically differentiated performance of canonic work, were the norm a century ago”.  He goes on to argue that performers have a ‘pick and choose’ attitude to elements in the score such as  portamento, and tempo flexibility dependant on how much they wish to conform to the standard performance practices of the day^24. 

 When Tertis was 65 he was questioned by violist Frederick Riddle (1912-1995), , who had been recording in a neighbouring studio who asked him a question about Bliss’s sonata: 

“How the devil did you get up to that last bar in the third movement?”²⁵ 

Tertis’ replied:

“The Lord only knows” and 

“of  course Bliss wrote a simplified “Ossia” for those last bars of difficult passage work.”

He then goes on to explain that he would wear a fur coat when practicing high passages and that when it came time to perform, difficult passages felt much easier.²⁶

Bliss had thus been made aware by Tertis of the challenging writing in the upper register and had written an alternative as a response. He likely recognised that not all performers would have the same facility as Tertis.

York Bowen (1881-1964) was a pianist, violist and horn player. He composed a Suite for Viola and Piano with 3 movements.The 2^nd and 3^rd movements were arranged for viola and orchestra by the composer as requested by Tertis. He also composed a Viola concerto, Viola sonata and a Quartet for four violas quartet, which Tertis persuaded him to write. Bowen was one of the first young composers to write works for Tertis  Bowen and Tertis gave lecture recitals together. There was one that took place in Berlin between 1919-1921 with Bowen at the piano. Tertis had performed many times with Bowen, referring to him as a “prolific composer and a very efficient pianist.”²⁷

Violist Amanda Wilton, described York Bowen’s Three Viola and Piano masterworks for Lionel Tertis as follows: “In addition to several short pieces and the Viola Concerto (1908), Bowen wrote three masterworks to perform with Tertis: Sonata No. 1 in C Minor (1905), Sonata No. 2 in F Major (1906), and Phantasy for Viola and Piano (1918)”²⁸. 

She concludes that there are many possible reasons for the neglect of Bowen’s works in our time. Bowen’s work was specifically written for the composer and Tertis himself and was not necessarily meant for publication. She also speculates that at the time the music community (critics, audiences and program directors) favoured musicians and music from abroad. Another contributing factor, as with many of the pieces that Tertis commissioned was that Bowen wrote in what was increasingly viewed as an outdated Romantic style.  

This argument does not have much strength when we recognise the legacy of British composers such as Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams to name a few. 

During my studies at the Royal Conservatoire, I noticed that Bowen’s music has become a regular part of performances in our viola group lessons. I often heard the Sonata no. 1 and Phantasy for viola and piano. I addition the work for four violas was performed in 2020 by members of the viola class. 

Benjamin Dale (1885-1943) Alongside Bowen, Dale was according to Wilton “the first to make contributions to the new solo literature.”²⁹ The first performance of his Romance and Finale for viola and orchestra was conducted by Arthur Nikisch (1855-1922). Tertis was disappointed and felt that Nikisch had not taken the time to study the score.³⁰ As a result of hearing the Romance and Finale performed Tertis, Ravel was inspired to write a work for solo viola that never came into fruition Dale also composed a Sextet for six violas at the request of Tertis.   

Tertis- the discerning collaborator?

Tertis was very particular about the contemporary compositions and composers he chose to promote. For example his encounter with Walton’s concerto has become notorious.Tertis writes in his autobiography:

 “[W]ith shame and contrition I admit that when the composer offered me the first performance I declined it. I was unwell at the time; but what is also true is that I had not learnt to appreciate Walton’s style. The innovations in his musical language, which now seem so logical and so truly in the main-stream of music, then struck me as far-fetched.”³¹

 It had been conductor Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) who had suggested Walton write this concerto for Tertis. Fortunately violist and composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) was able to premiere the Concerto and Riddle subsequently became the first to record the Concerto.

Tertis was also not interested in performing works by his colleague Hindemith. When offered the chance by The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to perform a concerto by Hindemith he turned it down. Tertis remarks:

"I perused the score and found that most of it was crammed with fiendishly difficult passage – work – a technique that was particularly his own and which he himself played marvellously. It was not music to me, and I reluctantly had to refuse the offer."³²

It is evident from these examples that Tertis had rather conservative taste. In my opinion, if he had kept a more open mind he may have generated further repertoire from many more leading composers, that would have better stood the test of time. It is indeed a shame that compsers such as Ravel were never got around to composing specifically for the viola as a solo instrument.

Tertis - Responsibilities as a violist

Tertis took his responsibilities very seriously towards the viola. His article- Beauty of Tone in String Playing³³ - was praised by violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) and reveals a wealth of knowledge and experience on the topic. 

Tertis discusses³⁴ the importance of having a good quality instrument, correctly adjusted, to enable beauty of tone. He touches on good intonation and the quality of vibrato as something that changes depending on the style of the music one is playing.

Tertis talks about continuous vibrato. This however, is not thought of as tasteful by many performers today. It is recognised by many violists that vibrato adds to the colour of the sound. 

Tasteful portamento is recommended and this is also a sign of the times he was in. This is less recommended nowadays, although Tertis does write one should use the device “with utmost discretion”.³⁵ 

The right hand is described as producing equality of tone with the bow as well as smoothness, evenness and continuity of sound. Articulation and dynamic changes are to be practised, as well as concealing the changes in the bow. 

One of  the musicians who inspired Tertis most was the violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962). Tertis recounts that when he heard him for the first time, it was “like falling in love. His glowing tone, his vibrato, unique and inexpressibly beautiful, his phrasing which in everything he played was so wonderful and so particularly his own, his extraordinarily fine bowing and left hand technique.”³⁶

Tertis writes, 

“The string instrument is capable of unlimited shades of expression. Study them.”³⁷

He completes this chapter with  “The gratification of interpretive art lies in the fulfilment of its immense responsibilities.”³⁸

For contemporaneous composers Tertis suggests that they “could spare a little of the creative talent for the ex- Cinderella? They would earn the eternal gratitude of Viola players present in future, providing of course the work was written for the Viola and not against it! I mean by that, do let us have a tune in it occasionally especially on the C string which after all is the characteristic quality of the Viola.”³⁹

Tertis was also an arranger and transcriber. One of his better known transcriptions is of the Elgar Cello Concerto. In addition to his transcriptions and arrangements he also composed some works of his own. For example his salon inspired work , Sunset. ⁴⁰

One of the important other roles he took on in his later years, when he was no longer able to perform, was collaborating with luthier Arthur Richardson to design a model viola that could be more practical for the violist in so far as the size and improvement in tone. The Tertis model viola was also an important development for viola players.⁴¹His design resulted in a larger sound, from a smaller instrument, which puts less physical strain on the performer themselves. As violists we can be grateful that there are instruments available to us that are able to project, without having to play on large and cumbersome instruments. 

The commissions that  resulted from Tertis’s collaborations may not have become part of the standard repertoire today, however what is evident to me through reading about his life and career, is that he fulfilled many roles in his musical life with earnest zest.

It is due to the inspiration of  figures such as Tertis, and modern day violists such as Brett Dean, (who I will discuss in the next part of my chapter) that I have chosen to contribute to expanding the viola repertoire in my capacity as a performer by collaborating with composers to expand our viola repertoire. 

As individuals we all have different tastes with regard to music. Times change, we become swayed by the styles and sounds of our time. I am a violist who feels connected to the emotions induced by Romantic music, especially when performing works such as those by Bax. 

Finally, in the words of Wilton, Tertis

“was steadfast in his attitude about modern music, and how Tertis was careful about endorsing only music that met his ideals for beauty of sound with the presence of tonality.’⁴²

He was in my mind a violist with conviction and passion for his life work. Next>