Lionel Tertis - Biography

Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist and one of the first viola players to find international fame.

Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, and initially studied the violin in Leipzig and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. There he was encouraged by the Principal, Alexander Mackenzie, to take up the viola instead. Under the additional influence of Oskar Nedbal, he did so and rapidly became one of the best known violists of his time, touring Europe and the USA as a soloist. As Professor of Viola at the RAM (from 1900), he encouraged his colleagues and students to compose for the instrument, thereby greatly expanding its repertoire. Composers such as Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Gustav Holst, Benjamin Dale, York Bowen and William Walton wrote pieces for him. The Walton piece was his Viola Concerto. However, Tertis did not give the world premiere of this Concerto as he found it difficult to comprehend at the time; that honour went to Paul Hindemith.

In 1906, Tertis was temporarily in the famous Bohemian Quartet to replace the violist/composer Oskar Nedbal.

He also owned a 1727 Montagnana from 1924 to 1937 From the Paris dealer, Maucutel & Deschamps in 1924, and took a chance in acquiring. According to his memoirs, it was "shown to me in an unplayable condition, without bridge, strings or fingerboard.... No case was available -- it was such a large instrument 17 1/8 inches -- so my wife came to the rescue by wrapping it in her waterproof coat, and that is how it was taken across the English Channel." Tertis preferred a large viola in order to get an especially rich tone from his instrument. Knowing that some would find a 17+ inch instruments too difficult to play he with the assistance of Arthur Richardson created the Tertis model Viola, which provides many of the tonal advantages of the larger instrument in a manageable 16-3/4 inch size.

Along with William Murdoch (piano), Albert Sammons, and Lauri Kennedy, Tertis formed the Chamber Music Players.

Tertis composed several original works and also arranged many pieces not originally for the viola, such as Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto. He was the author of a number of publications about string playing, the viola in particular, and his own life. They include Cinderella No More and My Viola and I.

Lionel Tertis died in Wimbledon, London. The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition was established in 1980 to honor his memory.

In February 2007, the British violist Roger Chase (along with his accompanist, pianist Michiko Otaki) initiated "The Tertis Project," a series of concerts devoted to works composed for Tertis. Chase performs on the Montagnana viola that belonged to Tertis.

Works

Original compositions

• Elizabethan Melody for viola and cello
• 15th Century Folk Song: 1452-Anonymous for viola, cello and piano
• Hier au soir for viola and piano
• Rêverie for viola and piano
• Sunset (Coucher du soleil) for viola (or violin or cello) and piano
• Three Sketches for viola and piano

1. Serenade; revised as A Tune
2. The Blackbirds (1952)
3. The River

• A Tune for viola and piano (published 1954); 2nd version of Serenade
• Variations on a Passacaglia of Handel for 2 violas (1935); original work based on the Passacaglia by Johan Halvorsen
• Variations on a Four Bar Theme of Handel for viola and cello

Transcriptions, arrangements and adaptations

For viola and piano unless otherwise noted

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External links

• Erin Arts Centre: Lionel Tertis photo gallery
• Harold B. Lee Library: Tertis discography

Other reading

• John White, Lionel Tertis: The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006)
• Tully Potter, "Chase Fulfilled", The Strad, August 1988.