Description

LIONEL TERTIS (WEST HARTLEPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM, 29 DECEMBER, 1876 – WIMBLEDON, LONDON, 22 FEBRUARY, 1975)

 

 

 

 

Lionel Tertis was an English violist and one of the first viola players to find international fame. He was also a noted teacher. Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants. (It has often been noted that his birth and that of the cellist Pablo Casals occurred on the very same day.) He initially studied the violin in Leipzig and at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London. There he was encouraged by the Principal, Alexander Mackenzie, to take up the viola instead. Under the additional influence of Oskar Nedbal, he did so and rapidly became one of the best known violists of his time, touring Europe and the US as a soloist. As Professor of Viola at the RAM (from 1900), he encouraged his colleagues and students to compose for the instrument, thereby greatly expanding its repertoire. In 1906, Tertis was temporarily in the famous Bohemian Quartet to replace the violist/composer Oskar Nedbal and later he took the viola position in the Gerald Walenn Quartet. Composers such as Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Gustav Holst, Benjamin Dale, York Bowen, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and William Walton wrote pieces for him. The Walton piece was his Viola Concerto; however, Tertis did not give the world premiere as he found it difficult to comprehend at the time; that honour went to Paul Hindemith. He owned a 1717 Montagnana from 1920 to 1937 which he found during one of his concert tours to Paris in 1920, and took a chance in acquiring. According to his memoirs, it was “shown to me in an unplayable condition, without bridge, strings or fingerboard….No case was available – it was such a large instrument 17 1/8 inches – so my wife came to the rescue by wrapping it in her waterproof coat, and that is how it was taken across the English Channel.” Tertis preferred a large viola to get an especially rich tone from his instrument. Knowing that some would find a 17-1/8-inch instrument too large he created his own Tertis model, which provides many of the tonal advantages of the larger instrument in a manageable 16-3/4-inch size. Along with William Murdoch (piano), Albert Sammons, and Lauri Kennedy, Tertis formed the Chamber Music Players. In 1936, while at the height of his powers, he announced his retirement from the concert platform to concentrate on teaching. He appeared as soloist only one more time, at a special concert in 1949 to an invited audience at the RAM to help raise money for his fund to encourage the composition of music for the viola. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1950 New Year’s Honours. Tertis composed several original works and also arranged many pieces not originally for the viola, such as Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto. He was the author of a number of publications about string playing, the viola in particular, and his own life. They include Cinderella No More and My Viola and I. Lionel Tertis died in Wimbledon, London.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. BACH Chaconne 25 November 1924; Columbia 67071-D/72-D (AX 755/58)
2. BACH (arr. Tertis) Come, Sweet Death 1925; Columbia D 1502 (A 1468)
3. PORPORA Aria 1925; Columbia D 1502 (A 1471)
4. KORNGOLD Hornpipe from ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ recording date unknown; unpublished (T1709 4a)
5. DOHNANYI Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 21 25 November 1925; Columbia L1731/32 (WAX 1160/63) I Allegretto appassionato
6. II Allegro, ma con tenerezza
7. III Vivace assai
8. TRAD. (arr. Tertis) Old Irish Air December 1925; Columbia L1761 (WAX 1198)
9. TERTIS Hier au soir December 1925; Columbia L1761 (WAX 1199)
10. TARTINI (arr. Kreisler) Fugue in D 21 May 1926; Columbia L1995 (WAX 1524)
11. SCHUBERT (arr. Tertis) Nacht und Träume 21 May 1926; Columbia D 1562 (WA 3285)
12. SCHUBERT Andante from Sonatina No.3 20 November 1926; Columbia L1981 (WAX 2190)
13. SCHUBERT Allegro moderato from Sonatina N0.3 20 November 1926; Columbia L 1981 (WAX 2189)
14. SULZER Sarabande [Air on the G-String] 21 May 1926; Columbia D 1554 (WA 3286)
15. DVORAK (arr. Kreisler) Slavonic Dance No.1 in G minor 21 May 1926; Columbia L 2004 (WAX 1523)
16. ARENSKY (arr. Tertis) Berceuse 20 November 1926; Columbia L1995 (WAX 2191)
17. KREISLER La Gitana 21 May 1926; Columbia D 1554 (WA 3283)
18. FAURE (arr. Tertis) Après Un Rêve 21 May 1926; Columbia D 1562 (WA 3284)
19. GUIRAUD Melodrame 20 November 1926; Columbia L 2004 (WAX 2192)
20. WOLSTENHOLME Canzona 20 November 1926; Columbia D 1569 (WA 4489)
21. SCOTT Cherry Ripe 20 November 1926; Columbia D 1569 (WA 4490)