{"id":74,"date":"2006-09-06T23:08:09","date_gmt":"2006-09-07T07:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=74"},"modified":"2013-02-07T17:49:40","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T01:49:40","slug":"the-william-primrose-legacy-contd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2006\/09\/06\/the-william-primrose-legacy-contd\/","title":{"rendered":"the william primrose legacy (cont’d)"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re into hearing state-of-the-art viola playing, look no further than the newly-released second solo album of William Primrose transcriptions played by Roberto Diaz<\/a> and pianist Robert Koenig<\/a>. Diaz’s first CD was a collection of works by Henri Vieuxtemps, also with pianist Robert Koenig. The Vieuxtemps CD was performed on his Camilli viola of 1739<\/a>, which was a great instrument (purchased shortly after he was appointed to the principal viola chair of the Philadelphia Orchestra).<\/p>\n

The Primrose CD has the added advantage of a new acquisition: the ex-Primrose<\/em> Brothers Amati viola of 1595<\/a> which was owned by and performed on by William Primrose<\/a> early on in his career, and upon which many of these works might have first been performed!<\/p>\n

His [William Primrose’s] father owned several fine instruments, including a c.1600 Brothers Amati viola which was kept locked in a cupboard. This must have been part of its attraction. Willie, as the family called him, described his naughty moments thus: ‘As a youngster, when he [father] wasn’t around, I found a way to open the latch on the cupboard where the Amati was kept and played it with considerable satisfaction. I preferred its sound to the sound of the violin. <\/strong><\/em>[1] <\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This instrument has a remarkable sound, all the more considering its small size of around 15.5 inches. I had the opportunity to play and listen to each of these instruments in Verizon Hall and was consistently amazed at the projection and power of the C-string on the Amati. You get what you pay for!<\/p>\n

Diaz served as the Principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra<\/a> for 10 years, succeeding his teacher at the Curtis Institute<\/a>, Joseph dePasquale<\/a>, who was a pupil of William Primrose. Diaz’s father, Manuel<\/a>, was his first teacher, and he himself studied with Primrose at Indiana University, so the Primrose pedagogical bloodline runs deep through the Diaz family. After leaving the orchestra in the spring of 2006, Diaz succeeded Gary Graffman as the President of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

I’ve only done the most preliminary listening to this new CD (available at Amazon.com, the Naxos site<\/a>, and the iTunes music store, among others), but it is exemplary in almost every conceivable fashion. The artistry is first-rate, with beautifully spun phrases, and the virtuosity is breathtaking. Add to this the wonderfully clear sonics of the Naxos recording, and the able accompaniment of ace pianist Robert Koenig, and you’ve got a great disc for anyone who’s interested in hearing what the viola at its fullest potential can do. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I was a student of Roberto Diaz at the University of Maryland and the Peabody Conservatory of Music from 1991-1995.<\/em>
\n\"Music<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"William<\/a>
\n[1] Claudine Bigelow “No time for snobbery” The Strad, August, 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re into hearing state-of-the-art viola playing, look no further than the newly-released second solo album of William Primrose transcriptions played by Roberto Diaz and pianist Robert Koenig. Diaz’s first CD was a collection of works by Henri Vieuxtemps, also with pianist Robert Koenig. The Vieuxtemps CD was performed on his Camilli viola of 1739, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[55,53,93,3660,3659],"class_list":["post-74","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-orchestra","tag-piano","tag-soloists","tag-viola","tag-violin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-1c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":203,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/02\/10\/spring-recital-planned\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":0},"title":"spring recital planned","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"My first major, formal recital in Portland (it only took 11 years!!) will take place on Saturday, April 7th at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Music Center (3350 SE Francis St, Portland, 97202). I'm delighted to be able to invite some of my incredibly talented colleagues to join with me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":657,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/01\/11\/carrie-dennis-plays-paganini-and-schumann\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":1},"title":"carrie dennis plays paganini and schumann","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Carrie Dennis, the phenomenal violist who has (by the anything but grizzled age of 30!) already been Assistant principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic, and was just named as Principal violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has a couple videos up on youtube. See\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/05iUOXkzvM8\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4755,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/06\/08\/bartoks-viola-concerto-a-tale-of-too-many-options\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":2},"title":"bart\u00f3k’s viola concerto – a tale of too many options","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Bart\u00f3k's Viola Concerto remained unfinished at the time of his death in New York City in September of 1945, with its dedicatee William Primrose awaiting a call to meet the composer that would never come.\u00a0 The story of the completion of the concerto is well-known, with Bart\u00f3k's former composition student\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/bartok.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19044,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/07\/oh-no-a-viola-recital\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":3},"title":"oh, no! a viola recital!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This Thursday (July 9th) at 3pm Pacific Time, I'll be playing a short recital of pieces for solo viola (OK, one of them is for four violas) on AllClassical.org's Thursdays @ Three program. All the pieces were recorded in my home practice space, including the Zoom interview with program producer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/thursdays-%40-three-promo.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/thursdays-%40-three-promo.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/thursdays-%40-three-promo.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/thursdays-%40-three-promo.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/thursdays-%40-three-promo.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7204,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/06\/new-routines\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":4},"title":"new routines","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As 2012 begins, I decided that, rather than make a few resolutions that I wouldn't honor, I would do some new work on the viola. Here's what I've been thinking about over the last few days. Intonation is always a constant worry for string players, especially as one ages and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "etudes & studies"","block_context":{"text":"etudes & studies","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/etudes-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\u00a9 2012 Charles Noble","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/IMG_8372sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12574,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/03\/overdrive\/","url_meta":{"origin":74,"position":5},"title":"overdrive","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Our spring break is coming to an end - 10 days of rehearsal-free bliss - and now comes the push to the end. Lots going on both within the orchestra and without. April is a pretty big month. First, we get started with a double bill jazz concert with Dave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/awXWj2mD5Gk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}