Episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Human Viola | 20230409 | Violist Ruth Gibson explores her instrument's unique voice across three programmes full of intriguing musical choices. The viola may have less solo repertoire than its string siblings, the violin and the cello, and its awkward mid-range sound might be harder for listeners to hear, but Ruth believes it's undoubtedly the unsung hero of orchestras and chamber ensembles. This butt of musical jokes has a long history of being overlooked, and Ruth will be encouraging it into the limelight at last. In this first episode, she unpicks the viola's human qualities, admiring how composers write for it in ways that highlight the different sides of its personality. Her choices include one of the first viola concertos, film music that makes the most of voices in the middle of the texture, an improvisation featuring a viola d'amore, and an extremely demanding duet for two violas. There's also a piece by Morton Feldman where the viola's voice adds pathos to a tragic story, and a set of variations by Paganini arranged for viola that brings out the instrument's agility and playfulness. A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3 Ruth Gibson explores the viola's unique voice and repertoire that has been written for it. Violist Ruth Gibson explores how composers write for the the unsung hero of the orchestra. |
| The Rebel Viola | 20230423 | Violist Ruth Gibson explores her instrument's unique voice across three programmes full of intriguing musical choices. The viola may have less solo repertoire than its string siblings, the violin and the cello, and its awkward mid-range sound might be harder for listeners to hear, but Ruth believes it's undoubtedly the unsung hero of orchestras and chamber ensembles. This butt of musical jokes has a long history of being overlooked, and Ruth will be encouraging it into the limelight at last. Ruth believes that the viola is the rebel of the orchestra and in this third and final episode her musical choices have a revolutionary and subversive flavour. Ruth explores Mozart's most forward-thinking viola writing, a sonata by Hindemith that encourages the viola to sound wild, and a piece by Berio where the viola's role is to provoke and antagonise. She admires the defiantly unique sounds and playing styles of violists including Kim Kashkashian, William Primrose and Tabea Zimmermann. She also shares music from Bach to Ligeti where the viola's rebelliousness both defies expectations and breaks with tradition. Plus, St退phane Grappelli, the so-called grandfather of jazz violinists, displays his prowess on the violin's slightly larger cousin - A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3 Ruth Gibson explores the viola's unique voice and the repertoire written for it. Violist Ruth Gibson explores how composers write for the the unsung hero of the orchestra. |
| The Vocal Viola | 20230416 | Violist Ruth Gibson explores her instrument's unique voice across three programmes full of intriguing musical choices. The viola may have less solo repertoire than its string siblings, the violin and the cello, and its awkward mid-range sound might be harder for listeners to hear, but Ruth believes it's undoubtedly the unsung hero of orchestras and chamber ensembles. This butt of musical jokes has a long history of being overlooked, and Ruth will be encouraging it into the limelight at last. In this second episode, Ruth discovers the vocal qualities of her perfectly imperfect instrument. Her musical choices include a piece where the viola imitates the sounds of speech, a concerto that requires a violist who knows how to act, and a fantasia where the viola emulates birdsong in a way that's both furious and fragile. Ruth introduces us to a Hindemith sonata where the viola part is simultaneously introverted and extroverted and a string quartet by Smetana where the viola's voice represents a sense of foreboding. A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3 Ruth Gibson explores the viola's unique voice and repertoire that has been written for it. Violist Ruth Gibson explores how composers write for the the unsung hero of the orchestra. |