The Pièces de Concours is a rare collection of three viola and piano volumes containing the Romantic viola repertoire. At the Paris Conservatoire, all instrumentalists must perform a contemporary piece, known as the 'pièce de concours,' to demonstrate their mastery of technical, virtuosic, and lyrical skills. Unfortunately, many of these exam pieces have been forgotten, and only two of them, George Enescu's Konzertstück and Hans Sitt's Concerto in G-Dur, have become standard repertoire for the viola. To make these works more accessible, this edition has added modern fingerings and bowing indications.
Die Sammlung enthält u. a. Werke von Béla Bartók, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Frederick Delius, Elena Kats-Chernin, Sergej Rachmaninow und Dmitrij Schostakowitsch.
Viola solo
Kats-Chernin - Tranquil Interlude on an Open D String
Kolb - Cavatina (from Cavatina)
Viola and Piano
Bartok - Viola Concerto (First Movement)
Benjamin - Le Tombeau de Ravel
Britten - Lachrymae op.48
Copland - Billy and His Sweetheart (Billy the Kid)
Copland - Zion's Walls (Old American Songs Set 2)
Delius - Sonata No.3 (Third Movement)
Rachmaninoff - Vocalise op.34 no.14
Ramsier - Road to Hamelin (Seventh and Eight Movements)
The Pieces de Concours for Viola and Piano, a three-volume edition, is a valuable collection in the rare Viola repertoire of the Romantic era. Even today, the Conservatoire de Paris requires all instrumentalists to perform a contemporary piece, the 'piece de Concours', during their final examination. These pieces, which date back to 1896, were designed to highlight the technical, virtuosic and lyrical skills of the new 'masters'. Although many of these pieces have been forgotten, George Enescu's Konzertstuck (1908) and Hans Sitt's Concerto in G-Dur (1899) have become part of the standard viola repertoire. The present edition has modern fingerings and bowing indications added to the pieces to make them more accessible and facilitate sight-reading.
