PHILIP HEYMAN, viola and STEVE WOOD, piano

Concert in Bangor Cathedral on the 14th of October 2009

These artists gave a fantastic recital. They are both employeed by the WNO

in Cardiff, Philip Heyman principal viola player and Steve Wood as

repetiteur.

Their interpretations were musically exciting and convincing both having

no technical problems. It was a joy hearing their performance. The

audience was enthralled.

Philip Heyman writes:

So I find myself in Llandudno library with about twenty minutes of computer time left...so I thought of you!! It was so nice to meet you these last two days...it's precisely the kind of thing that makes these societies worthwhile; long may it last! So here is an attempt at my concert review...feel free to edit or make alteration suggestions. Philip
Last Wednesday 14th October I gave a lunchtime viola recital at Bangor Cathedral with a WNO colleague of mine, Steve Wood, on the piano. I must confess I did not know Bangor even had a Cathedral so it was an interesting experience just to discover this venue! We were made most welcome, both by the Cathedral 'staff' and the very respectable audience that made the effort to support the concert, proceeds from which went to the 'Friends of Bangor Cathedral' funds. The programme comprised a sonata by Henry Eccles, the Brahms F minor viola sonata and the Rebecca Clarke sonata. I am not going to comment on the viola playing...that is for others to judge...but from a personal perspective I was very happy with how it went. Yes, it was fairly cold - that's what Cathedrals do!- so the fingers did not always behave, but for me the whole point of a live preformance is an element of spontaneity that a record simply cannot do...and with Steve's sensitive following I felt I was able to do this. So I achieved what I set out to do, hopefully the audience enjoyed it (they seemed to!).
As regards the programme; I say 'a sonata by Henry Eccles' but for us violists it is probably THE sonata by Henry Eccles. It appears to exist in versions for violin, 'cello, bass and viola...but I get the impression the viola version was the original...do feel free to correct me on this if you know otherwise - I would still think it is a fabulous piece! I remember once in my former life as a member of English National Opera a young violin extra loudly practising his flashy concerti before the rehearsal. My principal viola turned to the section and without a word started to play the opening of the Eccles. What that said to meis 'it's great if you can play flashy stuff, but what really matters is to be able to play a simple tune and make complete sense of it'. That's what he did (Mike Cookson) and that's what I strive to do; in a nutshell 'play it how you would sing it'. So although the Eccles is on the surface 'simple', to make it sound simple is not so simple!
And so it is with Brahms...if you play exactly what is written I suspect it would be quite boring! Learn the notes and then ask yourself 'OK, now what did he mean?' Everyone's answer to this will be quite different, but that is what makes art such fun. It seems to be generally accepted nowaday that Brahms had the viola equally in mind as the clarinet when he wrote these two very late works; he was inspired by a very talented clarinetist, Richard Muhlfeld, but he had a lifelong friendship with Joachim and it was for him that he produced the viola version...I don't try to sound like a viola player trying to sound like a clarinetist, that would not be as good as just going to hear a clarinetist! It is a sublime piece, especially the second movement IMHO. And it's quite fun watching the pianist sweat away in the finale...but don't tell Steve I said that!
And then there is the Rebecca Clarke sonata. Her music is becoming better and better known, and I believe someone has orchestrated this sonata recently (anyone have a pet orchestra who would like to do this?...I would certainly be up for it). She was that rare thing, nearly a century ago, a successful woman viola player - she must have been pretty good to compete in a male 'stronghold' profession. Once married she virtually stopped composing...a huge loss to us, but I think it was because she was happy - so I try not to hold it against her too much!
The first movement is probably the best structured and stands well on its' own in a shorter concert. The second movement presents a real challenge to ballance with a constantly muted viola, but my guess is the she muted it so we could play the harmonics louder, making them speak better whilst maintaining the atmosphere. And I simply adore the slow melody at the opening of the third movement...I find it truly sublime, even if later on the movement meanders a little. So there we are, a viola recital.
On Monday 26th October at 1.00pm I will be in Brecon Cathedral with my dear friend and colleague Ross Cohen playing duos...pretending to be a violin for some of them...I can talk about that later if you are interested. Ross does huge amounts of arranging so we will be offering a very varied programme. It would be lovely to meet any of you after should you be able to come. Best wishes and 'long live the Welsh Viola Society!' Philip heyman, principal viola, Welsh National Opera. Running out of time so no time to proof read this!

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Sunday 15 August 2010 VIOLA DAY at the Tabernacle in Machynlleth

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