Enigma: Works for Solo Viola

Chronique

Most things there are to say about this CD, I tried to reveal as best as I could through music. However, I must warn the listener; here one will scarsely find lyrical melodies and heartwarming beauty with which music is so often associated. Instead, there will be tales of war, perplexed wanderings through obscured labyrinths, intense cries of despair, sour tears of sorrow, maybe at places an ironic grinn.

In this collection of works, these very diverse pieces are bound by an atmospherical legacy that is codified by each composer in his own very individual language. The pieces included in this programme are written in an overwhelmingly sincere manner. Some pieces consist of such thick vital layers, that to start to decipher them is to set oneself a task for life. The more one digs into each piece the more the details seem to multiply and the more one has left to investigate.

Unlike other stringed instruments the viola repertoire hasn’t been as thoroughly explored, and a big part is thus left quite “intact”. Many wonderful violists arose since the beginning of the 20th century, starting the quest and stimulating composers to write for viola. As we are in this searching phase a tradition in the repertoire hasn’t quite been established yet. This gives our generation the luxurious liberty to read and explore practically freshly new music from different centuries.

I am extremely thankful, proud and honoured to be able to present my first contribution to this quest; my first step into the course of a lifelong exploration of the enigma of the musical language.

Dana Zemtsov