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17-521: The 17th Primrose International Viola Competition was held June 17–22, 2024 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. International music competitions for instruments such as violin and piano had been held for decades. However, there was a void in the music world to recognize the viola as a major solo instrument. Because of a lack of substantial viola solo literature, the instrument's potential

34-737: A series of concerts devoted to works composed for Tertis. A CD, The Tertis Tradition , was issued in 2009. In 2015, English Heritage unveiled a blue plaque at his Wimbledon, London home. Many fine English violists were students of Tertis, including Harry Berly , Rebecca Clarke , Eric Coates , Winifred Copperwheat , Paul Cropper , Harry Danks , C. Sidney Errington, Watson Forbes , Max Gilbert, Hope Hambourg , Raymond Jeremy , James Lockyer , Frederick Riddle , Ian Ritchie, Philip Sainton , Beryl Scawen Blunt, Bernard Shore , Gilbert Shufflebotham , Jacqueline Townshend , Maurice Ward and Lena Wood . For viola and piano unless otherwise noted Lionel Tertis made recordings in ensembles: and as

51-707: A soloist: Roger Chase Roger Chase (born in London in 1953) is a British violist who currently teaches at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Roger Chase was born in London and studied under Bernard Shore (with occasional lessons from Lionel Tertis ) during his studies at the Royal College of Music from 1964 to 1974. He received his ARCM degree [associate honors diploma] in 1974, one year prior to Tertis's death. He

68-611: 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. Tertis sold the 1717 Montagnana to his pupil Bernard Shore in 1937, who in turn passed it on to his pupil Roger Chase . Along with William Murdoch (piano), Albert Sammons , and Lauri Kennedy , Tertis formed

85-557: Is the current owner of the 1717 Montagnana viola, which is the instrument that Tertis used during the height of his performing career, originally acquired in Paris when it was in pieces. This 17 1/8" instrument was the inspiration for his developing, after his retirement, the Tertis model viola. His hope was to create an instrument more manageable by those with smaller hands, yet with the same deep sonority of his Montagnana. The 1717 Montagnana

102-823: The Berlin Philharmonic . He served as the principal violist of the London Sinfonietta for 10 years , performed and recorded with the Nash Ensemble for over 20 years , the period instrument ensemble Hausmusik of London for 12 years , as well as recording and touring with the Esterhazy Baryton Trio (which has performed the Haydn oeuvre for baryton ) and numerous other ensembles. Chase has recorded for EMI , CRD, Hyperion , Cala, Virgin , and Floating Earth Records. He has taught at

119-621: The Chamber Music Players . He also encouraged and coached Sidney Griller as he worked to found the Griller Quartet in 1928, and influenced the Griller's enthusiasm for the first Viennese School. In 1937, 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

136-765: The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition , the now defunct Maurice Vieux International Viola Competition and, most recently, the Tokyo International Viola Competition . The Primrose International Viola Competition has been held regularly since 1986, often in conjunction with biennial meetings of the North American Viola Congress. The competition currently makes its home in Los Angeles, California at

153-530: The Colburn School. Eligible participants are 29 years and younger of any nationality. The competition involves three rounds during a week-long festival in which entrants perform a required work as well as several choices from a viola repertoire list that includes solo works, sonatas, concertos and transcriptions by Primrose. A compulsory work to be performed by all competitors has been selected for some competitions. Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis , CBE (29 December 1876 – 22 February 1975)

170-580: 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,

187-790: 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 Walenn Quartet . Composers such as Arnold Bax , Frank Bridge , Gustav Holst , Benjamin Dale , York Bowen , Ralph Vaughan Williams , Arthur Bliss , Arnold Trowell and William Walton wrote pieces for him. The Walton piece

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204-427: The concerto. 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

221-457: The viola in particular, and his own life. They include Cinderella No More and My Viola and I . Lionel Tertis died on 22 February 1975 in Wimbledon, London . He was 98 years old. The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition was established in 1980 to honour his memory. In February 2007 Roger Chase, along with his accompanist, pianist Michiko Otaki , initiated "The Tertis Project,"

238-662: Was acquired by Bernard Shore during Tertis's retirement in 1937 and upon Bernard Shore's death, was passed down to Chase. Chase made his debut performance in 1979 with the English Chamber Orchestra. Since then, he has played as a soloist or chamber musician in major cities in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, and all of Western Europe. He has played as guest principal violist with every major British orchestra and many others in Europe and North America, including

255-655: Was an English violist . He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher. Tertis was born in West Hartlepool , the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants. He first studied violin in Leipzig, Germany 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

272-658: 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 . His pupil Bernard Shore took on the second performance at the Proms in August 1930. Tertis first performed the work a month later at the International Society for Contemporary Music festival in Liège. Over the next three years he gave five more performances of

289-419: Was not realized until the appearance of Lionel Tertis , considered the "father of viola playing". William Primrose continued in Tertis' footsteps of excellence in viola performance, catapulting the instrument on to the international stage. The Primrose International Viola Competition was created in 1979 as the first competition solely for the instrument. In subsequent years other major viola competitions arose:

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