Virtuosity And Composer Performer Collaboration In The Viola Works Of Darius Milhaud And Paul Hindemith

This thesis considers the position of Darius Milhaud's Viola Concerto No. 1, op. 108 (1929-30), and Viola Concerto No. 2, op. 340 (1955), in the modern viola repertoire. Milhaud's understanding of the viola as a solo virtuoso instrument is displayed particularly clearly in his two Concertos, which were specifically inspired by his relationships with two influential virtuoso violists of the twentieth century - Paul Hindemith and William Primrose. A further, related issue that is explored, is the direct and indirect impact of Paganini's compositions on these two works. Milhaud's virtuosic writing for the viola was strongly influenced by his friendships with these two musicians - Hindemith and Primrose - each of whom played a critical role in the emergence of a new breed of viola virtuosos during the course of the twentieth century. Milhaud's friendship with the first of these men, Paul Hindemith, produced not one, but two important pieces of the virtuoso viola repertoire: Milhaud's first Viola Concerto and Hindemith's Konzertmusik. Aspects of the cross--influence between composers and virtuoso performers are addressed here through a comparison of the technical and musical elements, as well as the structure of these two works. Another prominent violist of the twentieth century, William Primrose, who was nicknamed the 'Paganini of the Viola', commissioned Milhaud's second Viola Concerto. Primrose's desire for new concert repertoire for his instrument, together with his unequalled technical prowess, both impressed and inspired Milhaud, who wrote the Viola Concerto No. 2 with Primrose's technical virtuosity in mind. Strikingly, however, unlike the first Concerto, this work has been largely neglected for almost fifty years. Significantly, both Milhaud's viola concertos display very strong technical similarities with Paganini's music written for the violin.