Roger Benedict
violist - conductor
"My Viola And I..."
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"I feel very privileged to be able to play on such a wonderful instrument. Really great violas are much rarer than great violins or cellos, partly due to the compromised proportions of the instrument as it has evolved (to be strictly in proportion with the violin and cello it should be a lot bigger, but that would make it unplayable while held under the chin!), but also due to the fact that during the "golden age" of instrument making in Italy (c. 1600 - 1800) the viola was still in a relatively early stage of its development. There was no standard size or shape (there still isn`t) and few virtuoso players around to stimulate luthiers to produce violas to match their violins (or stimulate composers to write for them!). Hence Stradivarius produced only a handful of violas - there are less than fifteen remaining - compared to hundreds of violins. Of course this means that viola players are happy to embrace the work of more modern makers and there are many really good contemporary makers producing excellent violas; but there are still alluring qualities in the old Italians that remain something of a mystery and seem difficult to reproduce. Carlo Antonio Testore was a Milanese maker who had a special affinity with the viola, and there are several great examples of his work in existence today. Mozart played on a Testore; it is a rather small viola and kept behind glass at the Mozart Geburtshaus in Salzburg, but it is intriguing to imagine this viola in Mozart`s hands in performances of one of his string quintets or the Sinfonia Concertante. The great Russian violist Yuri Bashmet also plays on a Testore. With an instrument of this quality, one develops a real partnership with it; I don`t play "on" the viola, I play "with" the viola. After all it has some 250 years of performing experience, and I only have about 25! It responds to what I do in infinitely subtle ways, and I have to respond to what it does, I have to "read" it and understand its changing moods (it is italian after all). It is however remarkably stable in different weather conditions and different countries, which is not always the case with these old instruments. I love its ability to really project even the quietest sounds in big concert halls and the enormous range of tone colours I can draw out of it. This viola has become part of my family and I am naturally very attached to it! In a way though I am onIy a temporary custodian, as it will hopefully be making music long after I have finished doing so! |