12 hours ago
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- New York Times
A Musician on a Mission to Make Us Pay Attention to the Viola
Hector Berlioz's 'Harold in Italy' is full of wandering. In his memoirs he wrote that, through this symphony with viola obbligato, based on the mood of Lord Byron's poem 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' and inspired by the composer's unfruitful time in Italy, he sought to make the viola 'a kind of melancholy dreamer.'
The violist Lawrence Power has spent his whole career playing 'Harold in Italy.' But, he said in an interview, he has always been 'completely uncomfortable and just confused by the whole piece.' It's essentially a symphony, but completely different from a conventional one, with a viola solo part that drifts in and out of the action. Berlioz 'obviously had something in mind to have the viola separate from the orchestra,' Power said, guessing that the composer 'had something theatrical in mind.'
In a dramatized performance of 'Harold in Italy' with Aurora Orchestra at the Southbank Center in London late last month, Power leaned into that wandering, theatrical spirit, something that has also become a hallmark of his recent work. After whistling the piece's idée fixe, or recurring theme, while strolling from a raised platform amid the ensemble, Power recited searching sections of Berlioz's memoirs and wandered through the auditorium, playing sections of the obbligato part with a distant, slightly aloof expression.
This is just another idiosyncratic project by Power, somebody who has championed the viola for the past 25 years, with a particular focus on new work. He's not alone: Viola soloists often have to become champions for their instrument, which has been underappreciated throughout its history.
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