Two Violas: Regeneration Peter Mallinson, Matthias Wiesner & Lynn Arnold

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Minor, BWV 1029:
• 1 Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Minor, BWV 1029 (Arr. for 2 Viola and Piano by Iain Farrington): I. Vivace 04:52
• 2 Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Minor, BWV 1029 (Arr. for 2 Viola and Piano by Iain Farrington): II. Adagio 04:28
• 3 Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Minor, BWV 1029 (Arr. for 2 Viola and Piano by Iain Farrington): III. Allegro 03:25
• Sally Beamish (b. 1956): Prelude and Canon:
• 4 Beamish: Prelude and Canon (Version for 2 Violas): Prelude and Canon 05:47
• Orlando Gibbons (1583 - 1625): From 6 Fantasias for Two Trebles:
• 5 Gibbons: From 6 Fantasias for Two Trebles (Rearranged by Stephen Kiser): I. Fantasia in F Major 03:33
• 6 Gibbons: From 6 Fantasias for Two Trebles (Rearranged by Stephen Kiser): II. Fantasia in B-Flat Major 02:38
• Detlev Glanert (b. 1960): The Pleiades:
• 7 Glanert: The Pleiades: I. Celaeno 01:36
• 8 Glanert: The Pleiades: II. Asterope 01:22
• 9 Glanert: The Pleiades: III. Alkyone 01:56
• 10 Glanert: The Pleiades: IV. Elektra 02:45
• 11 Glanert: The Pleiades: V. Maia 01:47
• 12 Glanert: The Pleiades: VI. Merope 01:37
• 13 Glanert: The Pleiades: VII. Taygete 01:34
• Raymon Yu: Three Shidaiqu Transcriptions:
• 14 Yu: Three Shidaiqu Transcriptions: I. Tonkin Jasmine 03:29
• 15 Yu: Three Shidaiqu Transcriptions: II. Man In My Dream 04:18
• 16 Yu: Three Shidaiqu Transcriptions: III. Night Shanghai 02:52
• York Bowen (1884 - 1961): Duo in G Major:
• 17 Bowen: Duo in G Major: I. Andante 01:39
• 18 Bowen: Duo in G Major: II. Presto 01:03
• Alexander Wunderer (1877 - 1955): Duett in G Major:
• 19 Wunderer: Duett in G Major: I. Allegretto espressivo 05:01
• 20 Wunderer: Duett in G Major: II. Presto 03:19
• 21 Wunderer: Duett in G Major: III. Allegretto 04:10
• Peter Letanka: Gershwinian Nostalgia:
• 22 Letanka: Gershwinian Nostalgia 08:42
• Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 2, Op. 1b:
• 23 Elgar: The Wand of Youth, Suite No. 2, Op. 1b: VI. The Wild Bears (Arr. for 2 Violas and Piano by Dan Jenkins): The Wild Bears 02:15
• Total Runtime 01:14:08

Info for Two Violas: Regeneration

"Regeneration" is re-creation, contemporary work inspired by the past, lost or neglected work given fresh life for the present. Two Violas: Regeneration, which features many premiere recordings, explores repertoire which, in different ways, embodies this creative approach.??Detlev Glanert’s The Pleiades evokes myths surrounding the star cluster of the same name. Sally Beamish’s Prelude and Canon draws on centuries-old Scottish soundscapes, whereas Raymond Yiu and Peter Letanka, in Three Shidaiqu Transcriptions and Gershwinian Nostalgia respectively, have chosen influences from their own past to highlight and develop. Iain Farrington follows J.S. Bach’s lead, re-imagining the Sonata in G minor (BWV 1029) with an alternative scoring, whereas the works of Alexander Wunderer and York Bowen, the first long overlooked and the second newly rediscovered, see the light of today after decades in the shadows. ??These works, like the Gibbons Two Fantasias and the arrangement by Dan Jenkins of Edward Elgar’s The Wild Bears, all look back to the past from the perspective of a different time, place or sensitivity. But through their composition (or adaptation) for two violas, they also enrich a tradition of writing for this ensemble which dates back more than three hundred years, and which is no less vital as a means of expression today. The past is always with us.?

Peter Mallinson, viola
Matthias Wiesner, viola
Lynn Arnold, piano

Peter Mallinson and Matthias Wiesner
are members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and have been giving concerts together as a Viola Duo since 2013. Not simply exploring the music for two unaccompanied violas, they also perform repertoire for two violas and piano, two violas and cello, and other combinations where the two-viola sound is to the fore.

Realising that information about the repertoire for viola duos is difficult to follow up, they have currently recorded (and written detailed liner notes for) three CDs on the Meridian Records label: Music for Two Violas and A Tale of Two Violas explore the history of the repertoire with a focus on music that the two first great pioneers of the instrument – England’s Lionel Tertis and Russia’s Vadim Borisovsky – either influenced, inspired, or wrote themselves. Their latest CD project, Two Violas Now, which was released earlier this year, explores where the two-viola tradition is today.

Not content with leaving the repertoire as it stands, Peter and Matthias work closely with many composers and arrangers. One such collaboration with Simon Rowland-Jones led to the completion of Frank Bridge’s duo, Caprice: a work written and performed by Bridge and Tertis in 1912 but then lost except for some sketches. Peter and Matthias ‘re-premiered’ it in 2018.

Despite being a medium which has inspired composers for over three hundred years, the repertoire for two violas is still relatively underexplored and consequently unappreciated. Not for much longer!

Peter Mallinson
balances a busy life of modern and period viola performance. As well as being a member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, he plays with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as part of the Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience for young players, and Southbank Sinfonia. He has also performed with the Hanover Band, Music for Awhile, Southern Sinfonia, and the Orlando Consort.

He gave the UK première performance of Sally Beamish’s That Recent Earth for unaccompanied viola in 2006 and the world première of Robin Holloway’s Suite en Saga for solo viola in 2008, a work he later performed at the Ravenna Music Festival in its original incidental music form. He has also played in world premières of works by Amber Priestley, Diana Burrell, Claudia Molitor and Jeremy Thurlow, and performed with the Dmitri Ensemble and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge in première recordings (released on the Albion label) of works by Vaughan Williams, under the baton of Sir David Willcocks.

As well as solo and orchestral playing, Peter is much in demand as a chamber musician. He enjoys experimenting with all styles of music, and has recently recorded the soundtrack for several short films and worked with soul and jazz singer Jennifer Moore for her debut album, due to be released later this year. His various chamber ensembles have a busy schedule of recitals and performances at weddings, receptions, and other private functions around Europe and the UK.

Before studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Martin Outram and Jane Rogers, where he was ranked in second place (Highly Commended) in the Theodore Holland Viola Prize, Peter read music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he was a Choral Scholar and holder of a University Instrumental Award. Before this, he was Head Chorister of New College Choir, Oxford. With his various orchestras and ensembles Peter has toured as far afield as Hong Kong and China, and played under the direction of musicians including Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Jane Glover, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Trevor Pinnock.

When Peter is not playing the viola he enjoys teaching: he gives private tuition on viola, violin, piano, singing, and theory, across a whole range of styles from classical to jazz, and has taught at schools including Durston House Boys’ School and Harvington Girls’ School in Ealing. He sings with choirs in London and Cambridge, and occasionally plays the organ for church services.

This album contains no booklet.