Category: Viola Music

When two gifted Curtis Institute  graduates take to the stage and combine their talents, you know you’re in for a  memorable musical treat.  Teng Li, the Principal violist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Meng-Chieh Liu, an international concert pianist, gave a rare performance last Thursday at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.  It was the first time I experienced the viola  as a musical instrument in its own right.

As a child, I was familiar with the name “viola” and knew it was a stringed instrument but had never had the opportunity to hear it played as a solo instrument in the way I did last Thursday. “The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is slightly larger than a violin in size and has a lower and deeper sound than a violin. Since the 18th century it has been the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.” (Wikipedia) Teng Li performed standing throughout the concert and holding the viola as a violinist would hold a violin. The viola she was playing on was a 1703 Amati viola. She did one viola solo:  “The Moon Reflected in Er-Quan.”  It is considered a classic in Chinese music.

Walter Hall is an intimate, small auditorium, in the Faculty of Music Building and has wonderful acoustics.  It is one of Toronto’s best for solo performances and chamber music.  The audience for this concert consisted of students, faculty, and the general public, whose applause was loud and bold after each well-chosen composition. I learned that Teng Li is also on the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto which explains all the “cat calls” at the end of the Concert – a well-loved teacher.

Meng-Chieh Liu has a busy schedule  for the 2015-16 season  and has performed and is slated to perform with the China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Taipei) and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (Taichung).  Liu was born in Taiwan and was accepted at the Curtis Institute at the age of 13.  Teng Li was accepted at the Curtis Institute at the age of 16. Whether it’s coincidence or fate that brought these two together, it doesn’t really matter. These super-talented musicians filled the air at Walter Hall with what they had sculpted into that musical performance.

The program included works by Jongen, Ullmann, Hua, and Hindemith who were composers I was unfamiliar with.  However, the program notes gave the necessary background information about the composers and their work. This project was the brainchild of Teng Li who  was inspired by Paul Hindemith’s Viola Sonata (1939).  She decided to research this period in history.  “In this project, I wanted to showcase the works of different composers at that point in history to express how human beings from all walks of life can be affected during such horrific times.”  I would say that both Teng Li on viola and Meng-Chieh Liu on piano, did a splendid job of showcasing their own artistry and skill as well as this difficult period of history.  Attending the Concert has been a wonderful learning experience for me both about the viola and about how the upheavals during this time affected people’s emotions and their music.

I left the Edward Johnson Building feeling the energies that Teng Li and Meng-Chieh Liu expressed in the four movements of the Sonata for Viola and Piano by Hindemith – animation, anger, passion, and power.  Their body movements and expressions matched what they were feeling and it was delightful to get caught up in these powerful energies as an audience member.  I look forward to other performances and hope this opportunity comes around again.

I was fortunate to find a YouTube video clip from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Chinese New Year Concert 2015.  You can see Teng Li playing the viola here.  Enjoy!