Lynn Rudolph (viola) & José Dias (piano)

A competitor of the violin for repertoire, the viola has a deep and lush voice that has had composers attracted to its unique qualities, producing wonderfully personal and engaging repertoire in its own right. Violist Lynn Rudolph and pianist José Dias have compiled a stunning program of rarely heard works for viola and piano.

For more than seven decades, Nadia Boulanger was a composition and music theory teacher for the “who’s who” of classical music in the first half of the twentieth century, influencing many notable composers, instrumentalists and conductors. Multi-talented, Boulanger was the first woman to conduct several world famous orchestras including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Although she did not deem herself a worthy composer, she was nonetheless a finalist for the coveted Prix de Rome in composition. Her Trois Pièces on this program is a riveting example and a testament of the genius that attracted the likes of Gershwin, Copland and Quincy Jones.

Following in the tradition of composer-soloists such as Paganini and Sarasate, Rebecca Clarke featured the viola in the majority of her works that she would write for herself or for the all-female ensembles in which she was a member. Clarke was not only a fine composer, but also a fine violist and one of the first professional female orchestra musicians. Her Viola Sonata is one of her greatest works and one that has placed her tied for first place together with Ernest Bloch at the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge competition of 1919. Also on this program is Bach’s Prelude and Allegro, as well as Amar(tan)go by South Africa’s own Hendrik Hofmeyr.

The concert will be broadcast on Sunday 15 November at 4pm and will be available online until Sunday 22 November.

Programme:

J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750) Prelude and Allegro from Suite V in c minor

Nadia Boulanger (1887 – 1979) Trois Pieces

I. Modéré

II. Sans vitesse et á l’aise

III. Vite et nerveusemente rythmé

Rebecca Clarke (1886 – 1979) Viola Sonata

I.  Impetuoso – ma non troppo Allegro
II. Vivace
III. Adagio

Hendrik Hofmeyr (b. 1957) *SA

Amar(tan)go

Artist biographies:

Lynn Rudolph graduated with BMus from Stellenbosch University in 2017 and is a prize-winner of several competitions winning the Mabel Quick prize for the best instrumentalist, runner up at the national UNISA competition for top achievers and also received the “Hennie Joubert Vriendekring” cash prize. Lynn has attended the Xenia International Chamber Music Course in Italy, Torino and in the same year was the recipient of the SICMF International Scholarship which enabled her to attend masterclasses in New York from lecturers from Manhattan School of Music, Eastman school of music and Bard College, among others. In 2018, Lynn attended a string course in Italy, Bologna and an International Viola Course in Iznik, Turkey. In 2019 Lynn was the winner of the Mabel Quick Overseas Bursary Competition Lynn Rudolph is currently an MMus student at Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth.

Portuguese-born José Dias is a regular presence in all major concert halls and Arts Festivals in South Africa. In recent seasons, international performances have taken him to Portugal, Mozambique, Israel, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, including extensive tours of the Netherlands and Germany, with repeated appearances in such historic halls as the Berliner Philharmonie, Münchner Philharmonie, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, among many others.

José is in high demand as soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist and coach, and has also been the musical director of Cape Town Opera’s internationally acclaimed touring productions African Angels and African Passion, as well as Biblioteek Productions’ operatic productions such as Poskantoor, La Voix Humaine and The Recycled Magic Flute. Recently he also wrote new music and took the musical direction of Piekniek by Mpande, a modern day reimagining of the seminal Afrikaans protest cabaret Piekniek by Dingaan as well as the 2019 Fleur du Cap Awards Ceremony, at the Artscape Opera House. These productions and his involvement therein, have made him the recipient of several awards, from festivals such as Woordfees, KKNK, Aardklop, as well as Fiësta and Fleur du Cap Awards.

He was co-creator and curator of the RISE concert series in collaboration with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra – a platform for the display of young SA classical talent – and is also an avid supporter of contemporary music, having premiered several works by composers such as Hendrik Hofmeyr, Alexander Johnson and Conrad Asman. Many of these (some written especially for him) have been recorded and are available on CD.