Konkol will recite the Ritter Concertino on Wednesday 29 July 20h00 Endler Hall as part of the New Repertoire ConcertLatin music has been a force in popular music for many years. Its sound and rhythms are compelling and dramatic. By bringing this new sound to the classical tradition, it simply reflects the growing influence that Latin America has had on other cultures of the world. In more recent times this evocative music has inspired great artist-violists such as Kim Kashkashian and Barbara Westphal to devote substantial performing and recording projects to the exploration of this fascinating and diverse musical idiom.
My own musical relationship with and love of Brazilian culture started in the mid-1990’s when my string trio, Ensemble Capriccio, released a recording of the rarely performed String Trio of Heitor Villa-Lobos under the Titanic label. This recording opened many doors to South America, and I was invited to perform and teach at major festivals in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janiero, Londrina, and Sao Paulo. My group was offered a contract with Paulus Records (Sao Paulo) to re-release the Villa-Lobos String Trio under their label and also include other previously unrecorded gems of Camargo Guarnieri and and Amaral Vieira. This collaboration resulted in the fruitful recording Brazilian Landscapes.
During the past decade or so, South American classical music has become increasingly popular world-wide, and a new generation of Brazilian composers are being celebrated. I jumped at the chance to work with one of these new “stars” when Jeanné, Inc., a premier publisher of woodwind music, invited me to take part in the commission of a new work by João Guilherme Ripper. The universal appeal of Ripper’s music results primarily from his highly personal blend of stylized Brazilian folk elements with a music language of a more cosmopolitan scope. The requested composition was to be a trio (viola, clarinet, piano), and this combination seemed intriguing as their was already a successful track record of masterful works by Mozart, Bruch, Schumann, and Brahms to invite a modern companion piece to the repertory.
I was fortunate enough to be able to work closely with Mr. Ripper on the work when he visited Minneapolis in early 2007. I wanted to make sure that the viola part was entirely idiomatic for the instrument (Ripper’s major instrument being the guitar), and João was incredibly flexible and amenable to suggested changes in register/bowings/double-stops. In fact, João’s gentle and utterly charming personality made for an incredibly conducive learning laboratory and thus provided me with one of the most compelling, productive, and satisfying composer/performer experiences of my career. It was thrilling to premiere the Trio that summer at the 2007 Viola Congress held in Tempe, Arizona, along with distinguished colleagues of mine from the University of Minnesota.
In the midst of collaborating with João, he mentioned that he had previously attempted a viola concerto, but it was never published. After our positive experience with the trio, he offered to revisit the work and thoroughly revise it with me in mind. I was both honored and thrilled at the prospect - with the thought that if the work was finished in time, I could present it at the South African Viola Congress. My only stipulation was that the accompaniment be strings only, which I believed would allow for better balance in performance as well as future portability.
Regarding the timeline of the work, Mr. Ripper sent me a manuscript of the score/solo viola part in late February 2009. I spent most of March and April studying the work (thanks to a sabbatical) and offering my own suggestions. In May, publisher Jeanné, Inc. began inputting and formatting the concertino into Finale music notation software. After lots of proofing and several more revisions by the composer (I have to learn more notes!), we now have a great working edition of the concertino that I just sent off to South Africa (June 19). This music is literally “hot off the press”. The final edition - complete with score, string accompaniment parts and piano reduction, will be available from the publisher (http://www.jeanne/-inc.com) soon after the premiere performance in Stellenbosch.
Jeanné, Inc., the premiere online source for printed music, compact discs, instruments and accessories for woodwinds at http://www.jeanne-inc.com/, offers several titles of João Guilherme Ripper under their Brazilian Chamber Music Series editions including the Trio for Viola Clarinet, and Piano (2007). Other works edited by Mr. Konkol and published by Jeanné, Inc. include Max Bruch’s Eight Pieces, Op. 83 for Viola, Clarinet, and Piano, Robert Kahn’s Serenade in F minor, Op. 73 for Viola, Oboe and Piano, and Judith Zaimont’s ASTRAL … a mirror life on the astral plane … (2004) for solo viola.
Korey Konkol is Professor of Viola at the University of Minnesota and hosted the 2004 XXXII International Viola Congress. http://www.music.umn.edu/directory/facProfiles/KonkolKorey.php
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