Quincy Porter Complete Viola Works

Oh, so you’ve never heard of Quincy Porter. He was a super awesome American composer and was featured as a Salon97 Composer of the Week over the summer. Check it out!

So now that we’re all caught up, let’s get to the recording. This fantastic album presents Porter’s rarely-heard complete viola works. Eliesha Nelson is a fantastic violist who is joined by violinist, pianist, conductor extraordinaire John McLaughlin Williams. Each piece on the album is a joy to listen to and is wonderfully executed. It’s always a treat to hear such talented musicians perform, and all the better when they’re performing amazing works that have been heard by so few.

Also! This album has received nominations in four categories for the upcoming 2011 GRAMMY Awards. The artists are surely deserving of each one of these awards. We’ll have our fingers crossed!

Could we say a lot more about this amazing record? Yes. Lots. But please, just go listen. It’s incredible! Get a sneak peek with the videos below.

Musical style: romantic, impressionistic, melodic

When to listen: On a sunny weekend afternoon after a leisurely stroll in the park

Salon97 two word review: beautifully lush

Here’s a music video from the album! Blues Lointains for Viola and Piano:

And a Q&A with Eliesha and John:

photo courtesy of www.brightcecilia.net

Few people have heard of Quincy Porter or his fabulous compositions. His undeniable underdogness makes him our Composer of the Week.

b. February 7, 1897 in New Haven, Connecticut

d. November 12, 1966 in Bethany, Connecticut

Quincy Porter, who’s compositional style bridged Impressionism with chromaticism to create his own idiom, composed a catalog of music including two symphonies, a cycle of nine string quartets, and numerous other orchestral and chamber works. Among these are the seven pieces he wrote with the violist in mind—the largest of them being a concerto with orchestral accompaniment. Though he wrote for ensembles both large and small, Quincy Porter’s most sought-after and rewarded musical contributions were the pieces he wrote for chamber ensembles. He was awarded the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal for his “eminent service to chamber music” and the Pulitzer Prize, which he won for his Concerto concertante for two pianos and orchestra. Porter also earned an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Rochester.

As was typical of many of his contemporaries and predecessors, Porter did a great deal of teaching in addition to his composing.  He held a professorship at Vassar College and in 1938, left the position to take on the role of dean of faculty at the New England Conservatory in Boston. In 1942, Porter assumed the role of conservatory director. Porter returned to Yale as a professor of music in 1946, which also defined the time he spent writing the viola concerto. In 1958 he became master of Pierson College, one of Yale’s twelve residential colleges, in addition to teaching at Yale. Porter retired from teaching in 1965.

Where to start:

-listen to Eliesha Nelson’s album of Quincy Porter’s complete viola works.

-download Quincy Porter’s string quartets

Here’s Blues Lontains in the form of a music video by Eliesha Nelson and John McLaughlin Williams: