New Classical Tracks: Lost Gem

"You see a violist and a conductor crossing the street. Which one do you hit first? The conductor -- business before pleasure!" That's one of Eliesha Nelson's favorite viola jokes.

As a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra, she's heard her share of them. After years of studying and playing violin, Eliesha Nelson switched to the viola, and discovered it matched her shy personality.

She won a position with the Florida Philharmonic after completing her master's in viola performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music and she's been a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra since 2000. She was never interested in making a solo recording until her friend and colleague, John McLaughlin Williams suggested she give it a shot.

The result is this recording, which features the complete viola works by American composer Quincy Porter.

Quincy Porter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and a lifelong violist himself. After graduating from Yale, he went to Europe where he studied violin with Andre Caplet and composition with Vincent d'Indy.

Porter eventually accepted teaching positions at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Vassar College. In 1942, he became Director of the New England Conservatory. From 1958 until his death in 1966 at age 69, Porter served as chair of the board of directors of the American Music Center which he founded with Howard Hanson and Aaron Copland.

Despite his busy life as an academic, Porter managed to find time to compose symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and vocal music.

The first three movements of Porter's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra flow seamlessly without interruption. The French horn opens the Adagio of the first movement with a motive that becomes a common thread throughout the work. We hear it return near the end of the first movement after a contrasting section with the English horn. The viola consistently has long, singing lines throughout the work, even in the second movement when the tempo quickens, and the textures become more complex.

Quincy Porter referred to the third movement of this concerto as a dirge. The viola weaves its way through a meandering melody. Eliesha Nelson exposes the full range of her instrument in the extended cadenza in this movement.

There's more of a musical dialogue between the orchestra and the soloist in the jazzy final movement. Quincy Porter complements the rich sonority of the viola by using percussion instruments and the full wind and brass section. This concerto ends with a bang, as Eliesha Nelson shows off the higher register of her instrument by soaring to a high G sharp.

For her first recording, Eliesha Nelson chose to highlight the viola works of Quincy Porter because she was intrigued by the composer's inquisitive nature. Porter took the time to fully explore the capabilities of the viola and he did of the same thing with other instruments. In fact, on this recording we get to hear the "Duo for Viola and harp or harpsichord," with the two pairings back-to-back.

Eliesha Nelson's smooth, lyrical line matches the delicate textures of the harp, giving the piece a dreamier, more relaxed feel. Switch to the harpsichord, and the piece becomes more percussive, almost choppy, especially when the tempo changes.

"For me, there is nothing more musically satisfying than to read a piece I've never heard before and fall in love with it," explains Eliesha Nelson. That was the starting point for this recording of the complete viola works by Quincy Porter. While many of these pieces may be for hard-core viola lovers, the Concerto for Viola is a lost gem. After hearing it a few times, you'll fall in love with it just as Eliesha Nelson did.

Eliesha Nelson -- Quincy Porter: Complete Viola Works (Dorian 90911)

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