Pearl de la Motte with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony

WHEN: Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Chenery Auditorium, Kalamazoo
What You’ll Experience:
A hidden gem of the solo viola repertoire by a 20th-century English composer.
An orchestral marvel evocative of the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of London.
Pearl de la Motte, violist and Bronze Medalist at the 2024 Stulberg Competition.
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote the London Symphony just before the start of World War I. Unwillingly, the work became entangled in the discourse of the war when two casualties were claimed: Vaughan Williams’ close friend George Butterworth and the original manuscript of the piece itself. While the score was reconstructed from the instrumental parts, George Butterworth’s memory lives on through this piece as Vaughan Williams dedicated the published work to Butterworth.
Cecil Forsyth, a lesser known English composer, was better known as a musicologist and violist. Having lived during the same time period as Vaughan Williams, it is known that Forsyth advised Vaughan Williams during his orchestration of the London Symphony.
While the Forsyth Viola Concerto is among the lesser known solo viola works of today, during its premiere in 1903, it was considered a smash hit. This kind of buzz for solo viola repertoire was very uncommon for the time period, as the historical giants of viola performance Lionel Tertis and William Primrose had yet to popularize the viola as a solo instrument.
PROGRAM
Pearl de la Motte, viola
Andrew Koehler, conductor
Concerto for Viola in G minor (62′) Pearl de la Motte, viola 2024 Stulberg Bronze Medalist |
Cecil Forsyth 1870-1941 |
A London Symphony (45′) |
Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872-1958 |
This concert is presented in partnership with: