Claves Record

Ettore Causa : More than just a viola

Who is afraid of the viola? Many composers must be, considering the large and numerous gaps that appear in its repertoire (particularly during the Romantic period). A grave error!The fault lies in part in the general ignorance about its many facets: expressive, sonorous, dramatic… It is only fair, then, that viola players should take revenge by appropriating beautiful works from the repertoire of other instruments such as the violin, cello or even the piano. Neapolitan virtuoso Ettore Causa, a student of three great masters of the instrument (Johannes Eskar, Michael Tree and Alberto Lysy), would like to propose a colorful musical voyage through some of the most beautiful arrangements of Romantic pieces for the viola (Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Granados, Fauré, Ysaÿe…) to lovers of beautiful music this fall. These pieces include arrangements made under his vigilance as well as by some of the greatest masters of the viola from the past 100 years such as Vadim Borissovsky, Johann Palaschko, Milton Katims, key contributors to the recent emancipation of the instrument. This “initial” voyage is sure to beguile even the greatest “skeptics” of the viola.