DOI: 10.36871/hon.202204024
Authors
Wang Zhaoyin
Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts, Moscow, 121165, Russian Federation
Abstract
Modern viola performing is at its peak, as evidenced by the serious array of solo and chamber ensemble works for this instrument, as well as a developed performing school represented by such outstanding musicians as Lionel Tertis, William Primrose, Vadim Borisovsky, Yuri Bashmet and many others. However, less than a century ago, the situation was not so rosy: the viola (along with the double bass), as an independent musical instrument, was struggling to make its way, being in the shadow of its mighty relatives — the violin and the cello. It was only after the Second World War that the viola began to gain ground on the world music stage, which was facilitated by both the creation of an independent artistic repertoire and the formation of a specially created educational and methodological base. Marco Frank, an Austrian composer and viola player, contributed greatly to this process. The purpose of the article is to attempt to reconstruct his compositional heritage, including repertoire collections of viola playing. The novelty of the research lies in the introduction of information about the now almost forgotten musician into musicology. Objectives of the study: reconstruction of Frank's biography; review of his musical-stage, symphonic, chamber-instrumental and vocal compositions; research of educational and methodological works on teaching viola playing.
Keywords
Marco Frank, viola, composer's heritage, textbooks
