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Viola Concerto (Gould)

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Morton Gould composed his Viola Concerto in 1943. The composition had to wait for nearly a decade for its premiere, in a 1952 studio recording with Milton Katims and the NBC Symphony.[1] It didn't receive its public premiere until 1983, when it was performed by Robert Glazer and the Louisville Orchestra led by Lawrence Leighton Smith.[2]

The concerto lasts approximately 30 minutes and consists of three movements chained without a break. It is a lyrical composition with a distinct American character ending in a hoedown dance:

  1. Moderately fast with rhapsodic vigor and drive —
  2. Slowly with lyrical dignity — Cadenza —
  3. Dance (fast, with lusty verve and gusto)

References

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  1. ^ Milton Katims obituary in The New York Times, 02/03/06
  2. ^ Composition profile by Joseph Stevenson in allmusic.com