Press Photos

Download Full Biography | View Short Biography

Biography

PAUL NEUBAUER's exceptional musicality and effortless playing distinguish him as one of this generation's quintessential artists. Balancing a solo career with performances as an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Neubauer at age 21 was the youngest principal string player in the New York Philharmonic's history. He is the Orchestra and Chamber Music Director of the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Mr. Neubauer has recently released an all Schumann recital album with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott for Image Recordings and recorded works that were written for him: Wild Purple for solo viola by Joan Tower for Naxos; Viola Rhapsody a concerto by Henri Lazarof on Centaur Records; and Soul Garden for viola and chamber ensemble by Derek Bermel on CRI. His recording of the Walton Viola Concerto was recently re-released on Decca.

In 2005, he premiered Joan Tower's Purple Rhapsody, a viola concerto commissioned for him by seven orchestras and the Koussevitsky Foundation. During his six year tenure with the New York Philharmonic, Paul Neubauer appeared as soloist with that orchestra in over twenty performances. One particularly memorable performance was the New York premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki's Viola Concerto with Penderecki conducting. He has appeared with over 100 orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia including the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the San Francisco, National, St. Louis, Dallas, Indianapolis, Puerto Rico and Cincinnati Symphonies, the Bavarian State Radio Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, the Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn (with whom he performed the world premiere of the newly revised version of Bartók's Viola Concerto), the Kansas City Symphony (premiering Tobias Picker's Viola Concerto), the English Chamber Orchestra (performing the world premiere of Gordon Jacob's Viola Concerto no. 2), and the Knoxville Symphony (premiering David Ott's Viola Concerto).

In 1989, Mr. Neubauer made his Carnegie Hall Debut playing the first performance of Joel Philip Friedman's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with the National Orchestral Association. He has also appeared with the Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ensemble orchestral de Paris, Orquesta Filharmonica de Buenos Aires, Bournemouth Symphony, and the Taipei National Symphony. In Rome, he has performed with violinist Vladimir Spivakov and the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecelia. Other collaborations include performances with Andre Watts and Vladimir Feltsman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis at London's Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Hall’s; and with Pinchas Zukerman, James Galway, Vladimir Spivakov and Alicia de Larrocha at the Mostly Mozart Festival. He has also collaborated with the Emerson, Juilliard, Cleveland, Fine Arts, Orion, Borromeo, Miami, and Brentano quartets.

Mr. Neubauer's musical activities are consistently creative. In a pair of highly acclaimed New York premieres, Paul Neubauer performed Bartók's Viola Concerto (which he helped to revise along with Bartók's son, Peter and composer Nelson Dellamaggiore), and Max Bruch's Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola with clarinetist David Shifrin. He also gave the North American premiere of the Detlev Müller-Siemens Viola Concerto and Richard Suter's Three Nocturnes for Viola and Orchestra. He has been featured as a special guest artist of the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center in performances of Viola Alone, and on the popular radio show A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. He was very successful as the director of Voilà Viola, a viola festival held at Merkin Hall in New York, and has toured the United States with pianist Christopher O'Riley, violinist Pamela Frank, and cellist Carter Brey.

In addition to his innumerable orchestral, recital, and festival appearances, Paul Neubauer is accessible to a broad range of television and radio audiences through Live from Lincoln Center telecasts with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has been featured on CBS's Sunday Morning; in recital on PBS's Front Row Center and In Concert; on Argentinean, Brazilian, and Mexican television as soloist with orchestras; on National Public Radio's Performance Today and Morning Edition, on St. Paul Sunday Morning, as well as on international radio performances in Canada, England, Germany, Hungary, Norway, and Yugoslavia.

An active recording artist, Mr. Neubauer's recordings with Delos include works by Quincy Porter and David Diamond, and Loeffler's Two Rhapsodies. On New World Records he has recorded Bright Sheng's Three Chinese Love Songs; with RCA Red Seal, Beethoven's Serenades (with James Galway); with Argo, Aaron Jay Kernis's Still Movement with Hymn; and on Sony Classical, Hindemith's Octet for Winds and Strings. His extensive discography with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society includes works by Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, Wolpe, Kodaly, Dohnanyi, Dvorak, Wourinen, Schubert, Wolpe, Weber and Knussen as well as the complete Brandenburg Concerti.

Among Paul Neubauer's numerous awards are First Prize in the Mae M. Whitaker International Competition, the D'Angelo International Competition, and the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, at age 17. He has been the recipient of a Solo Recitalist's Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a special prize from the Naumburg Foundation, which awarded him an Alice Tully Hall recital debut. Moreover, the Epstein Young Artists Program has sponsored him and in 1989 became the first violist chosen to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Born in Los Angeles and currently residing in New York City, Mr. Neubauer studied with Alan de Veritch, Paul Doktor, and William Primrose. He holds a Master's Degree from The Juilliard School where he is now a member of the faculty. He also teaches at Mannes College.
# # #

{ back to top }

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Download Short Biography

Short Biography

PAUL NEUBAUER's exceptional musicality and effortless playing distinguish him as one of this generation's quintessential artists.  Balancing a solo career with performances as an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Neubauer at age 21 was the youngest principal string player in the New York Philharmonic's history.  He is the Orchestra and Chamber Music Director of the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

In 2005, he premiered Joan Tower's Purple Rhapsody, a viola concerto commissioned for him by seven orchestras and the Koussevitsky Foundation.  Mr. Neubauer has recently released an all Schumann recital album with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott for Image Recordings and recorded works that were written for him: Wild Purple for solo viola by Joan Tower for Naxos; Viola Rhapsody a concerto by Henri Lazarof on Centaur Records; and Soul Garden for viola and chamber ensemble by Derek Bermel on CRI. His recording of the Walton Viola Concerto was recently re-released on Decca. He has appeared with over 100 orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia including the New York, Los Angeles, Helsinki and Royal Liverpool Philharmonics, National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco and Bournemouth Symphonies, Santa Cecilia and English Chamber and Beethovenhalle Orchestras.  He gave the world premiere of the revised Bartók Viola Concerto as well as Concertos by Penderecki, Picker, Jacob, Lazarof, Suter, Müller-Siemens, Ott and Friedman.  He has performed at the festivals of Verbier, Ravinia, Stavanger, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, and Marlboro.  Mr. Neubauer was an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the first prizewinner of the Whitaker, D'Angelo and Lionel Tertis International Competitions.  He has been heard on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and has been featured in Strad, Strings and People magazine.  He is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Mannes College.

# # #

{ back to top }

View Short Pieces with Orchestra

Orchestral Repertoire

BACH, J.C.
Concerto in c minor
Concerto for Piano and Viola

BACH, J.S. Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1051

BARTOK *Concerto, Op. Posth. (Revised Version)

BENJAMIN, A.
Elegy, Waltz and Toccata (1945)
Romantic Fantasy for Violin and Viola (1935)

BERLIOZ Harold in Italy, Op. 16

BLOCH
Suite (1919)
Suite Hebraique (1953)
Concertino for Flute and Viola (1951)

BRAHMS/BERIO Sonata in f minor, Op. 120, No. 1 (orchestrated by Luciano Berio)

BRUCH
Romance, Op. 85
Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Op. 88

DALE, B. Romance (1913)

DAVID, G. Concerto (1951) [in gypsy style]

FRANCAIX Rhapsodie (1946) [no strings in Orchestra]

FRIEDMAN, J.P. * Concerto (1989)

GLAZUNOV
Concerto in E-flat Major (originally for saxophone)
Elegie, Op. 44

HANDEL Concerto in b minor

HAYDN Divertimento (orchestrated by Ingolf Dahl)

HINDEMITH
Der Schwanendreher (1935)
Trauermusik (1936)

HOFFMEISTER Concerto in D Major

HUMMEL Fantasie

JACOB, G. * Concerto No. 2 (1980)

KANCHELI, G. Styx for Viola, Chorus and Orchestra (1999)

KHANDOSHKIN Concerto

LAZAROF, H. *Viola Rhapsody (1996)

MARAIS Five Old French Dances

MARTINU Rhapsodie (1952)

MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364

OTT, D. *Concerto (1988)

PAGANINI Sonata per la Gran Viola

PENDERECKI, K. ** Concerto (1983)

PICKER, T. * Concerto (1994)

ROZSA, M. Concerto, Op. 37 (1979)

SCHNITTKE, A. Concerto (1985)

SCHUBERT “Arpeggione” Concerto, D. 821

SUTER, R. ** 3 Nocturnes (1968/69)

TELEMANN
Concerto in G Major
Concerto for 2 Violas

TOWER, J. * Purple Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra (2005)

VAUGHN WILLIAMS Flos Campi for Viola, Chorus and Orchestra

WALTON Concerto

WEBER Andante and Rondo ungarese, J. 158

WIENIAWSKI Legend, Op. 17 (originally for Violin)

{ back to top }

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Short Pieces with Orchestra

ANONYMOUS The Canary (gypsy piece)

ARENSKY Serenade

BOULANGER numerous short salon pieces

BRUCH Kol Nidrei

CASALS Song of the Birds

COUPERIN Pieces en Concert

DRDLA Souvenir

DVORAK Humoresque

ELGAR Salut D'Amour

FAURE Elegy

GODARD Berceuse from Jocelyn (also with Voice)

HERBERT Kiss Me Again

KREISLER
Aubade Provencale
Chanson Louis XIII & Pavane
La Gitana
La Precieuse
Liebesleid
Miniature Viennese March
Polichinelle Serenade
Rondino on a Theme of Beethoven
Scherzo
Schon Rosmarin
Syncopation
The Old Refrain
Toy Soldiers' March

KREISLER (arrangements)
Songs my Mother Taught Me (Dvorak)
Midnight Bells (Heuberger)
Dancing Doll (Poldini)

LISZT Romance Oubliee

MASSANET Elegy (also with Voice)

MOSZKOWSKI Guittarre

RACHMANINOFF
Andante (from Cello Sonata)
In the Silence of Night (with Voice)
O Cease Thy Singing Maiden Fair (with Voice)

RUBINSTEIN Melody in F

SCHUMANN Abendlied

TCHAIKOVSKY
Nocturne, Op. 19, No. 4
None but the Lonely Heart (also with Voice)

WOLF Italian Serenade

* World Premiere given by Mr. Neubauer
** New York Premiere given by Mr. Neubauer

{ back to top }

Sample Programs

1849
R. Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 (1849)
R. Schumann Three Romances, Op. 94 (1849)
R. Schumann Märchenbilder, Op. 113 (1851)
- Intermission -
R. Schumann Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102 (1849)
R. Schumann
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (1849)

GREAT PIANISTS
J. N. Hummel Sonata, Op. 5, No. 3
A. Rubinstein Sonata in f minor, Op. 49
- Intermission -
F. Liszt Romance Oubliee
R. R. Bennett After Ariadne
F. Mendelssohn Sonata in D Major, Op. 58 (originally for Cello)

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
D. Shostakovich Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 (originally for Cello)
D. Shostakovich Seven Preludes, Op. 34 (originally for Piano)
- Intermission -
D. Shostakovich Sonata, Op.147 (75)

LIONEL TERTIS - works arranged, written by, or dedicated to the great English violist
L. v. Beethoven Variations on a Theme of Mozart, Op. 66
B. Dale Romanc, Op. 2
A. Bax Sonata
- Intermission -
B. Galuppi Aria Amorosa
F. Mendelssohn Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 1
J. Brahms
Wir Wandelten, Op. 96, No. 2
Minnelied, Op. 71, No. 5
W. Wolstenholme
Canzona
Allegretto
L. Tertis
The Blackbirds
Sunset

SALON PROGRAM
I. Khandoshkin Variations on a Russian Folksong "I lost what I loved"
H. Vieuxtemps Elegie
F. Schubert “Arpeggione” Sonata, D. 821
- Intermission -
G. Boulanger
Juanita (Mi ha capito)
Afrika
American Vision
F. Kreisler
Liebesleid
Midnight Bells (Kreisler/Heuberger)
Syncopation
G. Boulanger
Die Lustige Puppe
Tokay
Anonymous The Canary

THE WORLD'S GREATEST VIOLA MUSIC...
P. Hindemith Sonata for Unaccompanied Viola, Op. 25, No. 1
J. Brahms Sonata in Eb Major, Op. 120, No. 2
- Intermission -
F. Schubert “Arpeggione” Sonata, D. 821
A. Benjamin Four Jamaican Pieces

SINCE 1975...
K. Penderecki Cadenza for Viola Solo (84)
H. Lazarof Five Poems for Viola and Piano (03)
J. Tower Wild Purple for Viola Solo (98)
- Intermission -
T. Takemitsu A Bird came down the Walk for Viola accompanied by Piano (95)
D. Shostakovich Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.147 (75)

Mr. Neubauer can also offer programs for Voice, Viola and Piano.

{ back to top }

Acclaim

"The string-playing world was heavily represented in the audience, and no wonder. His aristocratic posture offers the eye a complement to the virtues the ear perceives. Mr. Neubauer’s seamless control of the bow, his intonation, his rich and varied tonal palette, mark him as a member of the elite."

— New York Times

"A bigger more beautiful viola tone or a better command of the instrument's technical and interpretive possibilities seems inconceivable."

— Daily News (New York)

"He plays his instrument with the kind of poise and maturity that place him at the top of the upper crust of musicians. Neubauer balances unflinching control, fluid bowing and sure-fire intonation with extraordinary depth of vision."

— Los Angeles Times

"Mr. Neubauer is a consummate violist, and one thing he can do is vary the width of his sound, to meet whatever the musical need is. He is a champion of a much-maligned instrument and he is one of the best string players around."

— New York Sun

"...the great violist Paul Neubauer"

— The Oregonian

"If there has been a better violist since William Primrose was in his prime more than a half-century ago, this listener does not know of him or her."

— The Baltimore Sun

"I doubt that any viola player alive today gives a more penetrating and insightful reading of the "Arpeggione" than Paul Neubauer. He's thoroughly alive and reactive to every nuance and dynamic inflection. But he's also happy to let the music breathe naturally, particularly in the final movement, which can all too quickly degenerate into a shallow display of fast finger-and bow-work, without saying much, if anything, worthwhile about the music itself. Neubauer finds the right ebb and flow in shaping Schubert's lines, and I find his to be a totally persuasive approach. Recommended; many (and not just viola buffs) should find much to enjoy in Paul Neubauer’s adroit "Arpeggione."

— Fanfare

"Even more welcome is the fourth disc, which brings together the (Walton) Viola Concerto…The viola soloist, Paul Neubauer, with his clean, firmly focused tone, keeps the music flowing in the hauntingly lyrical first movement. He is brilliant and incisive in the central Scherzo, and again in the finale he keeps the music flowing, relaxing seductively for the haunting epilogue, and using the widest possible dynamic range."

— The Guardian

"It's hard to imagine the solo viola part in Harold in Italy – better played than it was by Paul Neubauer. With a tone of depth as well as satin finish, he presided masterfully over ruffles and flourishes as well as lyric effusions."

— The Dallas Morning News

"Next came the viola transcription of Schumann's Five Pieces in Folk Style, in such a ravishing account by Paul Neubauer that you were left never wanting to hear them performed on cello again."

— Townsville Bulletin (Australia)

"…the most admired chamber violist in this hemisphere."

— Los Angeles Times

"His exquisite playing and his obvious love for the Bartók Viola Concerto, the work he helped revise, made an unstoppable combination. Neubauer's huge tone, warm yet animated, easily hit the back wall of the Eastman Theatre. You hung onto the energy of every note. He centered the work, musically and literally. The range of emotion in Neubauer's playing compares with the expressiveness of a great singer. The plaintive melodies are especially soulful, the spirited gypsy rhythms are particularly fiery. Neubauer's performance rated the bravos, which prompted a rare solo encore. But he didn't pick from the classical repertoire. His inspiration was the evening news. He played a true original: An Improvisation on the Washington Budget Battle. The hilarious, mocking little piece opened innocently enough with the melody from The Moldau. But then it gruffly imitated the haggling politicians, and dived sweetly into Hail to the Chief. What a treat!"

— Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester)

"The program's highlight was the (Bartók) Viola Concerto, superbly played by Paul Neubauer...the work is a towering masterpiece, hauntingly beautiful, movingly expressive, encompassing every human emotion. The solo part exploits every resource of the instrument, making formidable demands on the violist. Neubauer was more than equal to its technical challenges, playing with consummate ease, an unfailingly beautiful, warm, mellow tone, and responding to every changing mood with inward expressiveness, authority and conviction. He received a standing ovation."

— Epulse

"Brilliance of another sort illumined the first half, which featured Neubauer's CSO debut as well as the local premiere of the newly constructed version of the (Bartók) Viola Concerto. The result gives greater prominence to the viola and seems more grounded in the Hungarian folk idiom. Neubauer made his viola sing in all its ranges and timbres. The pure, distilled beauty of the slow movement produced a hush in the hall, while the dark plangence of the lower strings showcased the instrument's distinctive contralto. Neubauer displayed his arresting virtuosity by racing easily up and down the fingerboard, demonstrating that the viola can hold its own with its more popular cousins, the violin and cello."

— The Cincinnati Post

"Paul Neubauer, the great American violist."

— Daily Transcript (San Diego)

"Neubauer, the violist, is one of those performers who could galvanize an audience just by playing a C Major scale."

— Newsday (New York)

"For a modern reading that comes nearer than any to the original approach sanctioned by the composer (Walton), my own choice is Paul Neubauer with Andrew Litton and the Bournemouth orchestra…"

— Gramophone

"When you hear a violist as superb as Neubauer, you have to regret that more composers did not write for the instrument."

— Chicago Tribune

"Neubauer probed the dark nostalgia of Robert Schumann’s "Marchenbilder" for Viola and Piano with acute sensitivity, then teased two wonderful Fritz Kreisler pieces into radiant bloom. More wonderful still were pieces by Georges Boulanger that pushed the Kreisler tradition of elegant salon miniatures into the stratosphere. How composition this outrageously sly can be so vivid, touching and hilarious is Neubauer’s secret: He owns this music, and to hear it from him is to inhabit a unique playground of delights."

— The Washington Post

"The Bartok Viola Concerto was a particular revelation, primarily because its soloist, Paul Neubauer turned in a performance of almost magical grace and artistry. Neubauer offered the 1995 edition that he himself had a hand in creating, and it would be hard to imagine a more compelling, thoughtful or nuanced interpretation of it. With his laserlike intonation and buttery sound, Neubauer single-handedly raises the viola bar a full notch."

— The Hartford Courant

"Neubauer is without question one of today's foremost violists. After intermission, he came onstage in Abravanel Hall to give a powerful performance of Berlioz’s "Harold in Italy." Neubauer possesses a beautiful tone; his playing is musical and expressive and filled with some of the most compelling lyricism of any concert artist today. He also has tremendous technical acumen. Nothing is impossible for him; he can dazzle his audience with his virtuosity and thrill them with his soft-edged melodicism. Together with Kogan, Neubauer gave one of the most dramatic and at the same time subtle and nuanced performances of the Berlioz imaginable."

— Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

"Neubauer is a pleasure to watch as well as to hear. His physical motion when performing is both economical and elegant and that elegance is also expressed in his tone – colorful without a trace of throatiness – and his phrasing. His playing was highly atmospheric and evocative."

— The Strad

"…the presentation of this version had a special meaning because of the splendid interpretation of Neubauer. With a robust sound, lots of nuances and impeccable intonation the American Violist, a true virtuoso in every sense of the word, went through the many difficult parts of the work with ease and musicality."

— The Nation (Buenos Aires)

"Paul Neubauer is the Sir Yehudi Menuhin of the viola. Think of the purity, simplicity and frail beauty of Menuhin’s violin playing and transpose to an alto without any loss of clarity, purity and refinement. You will then have an idea of the sound Neubauer can draw from his viola."

— The Greenville News

"Neubauer’s viola tone is warm and seductive, veiled and restrained, highly compelling and uncommonly eloquent. He made an interesting piece into a great one. Mr. Neubauer returned thanks with a "Goulash" which he evidently cooked up himself: a short, elegant Fantasie alla ungarese."

— Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany)

"…a master musician. A true violist, Mr. Neubauer exults in his instrument's dark, rich, sumptuous tone. He combines an unerring sense of pitch with affecting lyrical warmth; he even proved himself unafraid of a little honest sentiment, a rarity among perfectionists."

— New York Times

"Neubauer is one of America's finest concert artists. His intonation was flawless, and the deep, rich tone he drew from his instrument was the purest imaginable. Neubauer met its every demand with easy grace and elegance, and achieved an extraordinary ethereal serenity with the evenness of his bowing."

— The Atlanta Journal

"The afternoon was a revelation…he is acclaimed everywhere as a string player without peer among his generation of soloists. He probed to the heart of each work he played with unerring musical perception."

— The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

"Surely the best violist I have ever heard…virtuoso playing caused no difficulty for Neubauer whose faultless intonation, lack of technical problems and artistic playing place him among the foremost artists of the world."

— Dnevnik (Ljubljana)

"Here were scoops and slides, an amazing array of tone colors, and pyrotechnics tossed off with mischievous humor. The extraordinary thing was that it all seemed absolutely right, natural, and in good taste. Neubauer’s tone is invariably beautiful, at the service of mood and expression, his bowing smooth, his phrasing elegant."

— Strings

"Neubauer is one of the finest violists alive. His intonation and technical claims are faultless, and his bow arm seems to be seamless. He is able to inflect the usually timid viola with a warmth and expressiveness that command the hall. Neubauer played superbly."

— The San Juan Star (Puerto Rico)

{ back to top }

Articles
"Review: Schumann-Romance" Strings
"Review: Schumann-Romance" The Buffalo News
"Review: Schumann-Romance" The Juilliard Journal

Press

Review: Soloists, premiere cap energetic night

PROMUSICA (performances Nov. 8 and 9 2008)
Barbara Zuck
for The Columbus Dispatch

The ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus continues its 30th anniversary season this weekend with a pair of performances at its home, the Southern Theatre. Not only are there two notable guest artists, the performance includes a world premiere and the reprise of a powerful work it commissioned a few years ago. Perhaps ProMusica audiences no longer cringe at the sight of an unrecognized work because the type of new music Russell and the orchestra tend to play is not only palatable to classically attuned ears but often interesting as well.

Mozart’s Flute Concerto in D Major is always a welcome gift as it was once again with soloist Carol Wincenc last night. Wincenc's interpretation was clean and understated, perhaps a little too much so. The soloist lavished most of her energy on the cadenzas. Overall, however, the rendition proved enjoyable as it so convincingly underscored the happy mood of this music.

The long viola solo at the beginning of Joan Tower’s Purple Rhapsody announces from the outset that this oft-neglected string instrument is going to get a hearing. And the composer gives the soloist plenty to do, with long climbing gestures throughout the first movement and a starring role thereafter. Paul Neubauer's playing made the sometimes erratic viola even in tone and quality throughout the ranges. The piece and the soloist inspired the question – why not more viola concertos?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Review: Schumann-Romance. Paul Neubauer, viola; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano.

(Image Recordings IRC0501)

Laurence Vittes
Strings, August/September 2006

From Paul Neubauer’s almost painfully beautiful entrance in the first of the Op. 94 Romances to the quiet sighs of the last of the four charming Fairy Tale Pieces, Op. 113, this is an exceptional release in every way. Perhaps most significantly, it represents illuminating Schumann first and outstanding chamber-music playing second.

Although only one of the works was composed specifically for viola, Neubauer shows that almost every movement benefits from the adaptation, and not only because of the viola’s innate sense of melancholy. In fact, it is the moments of greatest energy and bustle, like the frenetic opening of the Allegro, Op. 102, and the upward sweep of the last movements of the Five Pieces and Fantasy Pieces, that gain most from the agility of Neubauer’s instrument. There the lines are sleek and urgent and, thanks to Anne-Marie McDermott’s passion and deeply eloquent virtuosity, Schumann’s lyrical power shines through in every bar.

Complementing Neubauer’s elegant artistry, McDermott transcends mere sympathetic accompaniment to create a true and inspiring musical and artistic relationship.

Recorded at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, the sound is quite perfect, with a sense of space that allows the viola and piano to blend and separate as appropriate. Laurie Shulman’s exceptionally well-written liner notes, which are insightful and informative without being ponderous, add substantially to the music’s enjoyment.

{ back to top }

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Review: Schumann-Romance. Paul Neubauer, viola; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano.

(Image Recordings IRC0501)

Mary Kunz Goldman
The Buffalo News, April 10, 2006

These small-scale chamber masterpieces weren't written specifically for viola and piano. The Romances, Op. 94, were written for oboe, and for the Fantasiestuecke, Op. 74, Schumann had clarinet in mind. But the composer himself wasn't averse to swapping instruments around, and the mellifluous, soulful, low tones of the viola more than do justice to the music's intimate character. Neubauer, who recently played a concerto by Joan Tower with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, is a performer of great strength and sensitivity, and he and pianist McDermott bring an unhurried beauty to these ethereal pieces, Schumann through and through.

{ back to top }

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Review: Schumann-Romance. Paul Neubauer, viola; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano.

(Image Recordings IRC0501)

Brian Wise
The Juilliard Journal, Vol. XXI No. 7, April 2006

Type "viola player" into Google and three out of the first five hits you get are viola jokes, even though soloists of the caliber of Paul Neubauer make this well-worn genre of musical comedy, well, a bit tired. Neubauer was just 21 when the New York Philharmonic hired him, making him the youngest principal string player in the orchestra's history. Today he performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is a busy soloist. The Juilliard faculty member and alumnus (B.M. '82, M.M. '83) has often explored the outer reaches of repertoire for his instrument, championing viola arrangements of works like the Brahms Clarinet Trio or a J. S. Bach viola da gamba sonata, for instance.

In this collection, he teams up with the like-minded pianist Anne-Marie McDermott to perform viola arrangements of Robert Schumann's miniatures for horn, oboe, and cello. As the disc's liner notes explain, classical music has a long tradition of works appropriated from one instrument's literature for another. Many of these arrangements bring out new qualities in the music. The Romances, Op. 94, originally conceived for oboe and piano, sound like they were tailored for the viola as Neubauer brings a dark lyricism to Schumann's rich and expressive melodies. From the same year (1849), the Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70, was originally for the newly developed valve horn. What it misses in the horn-like brashness of the original it gains in dusky-toned refinement.

Neubauer and McDermott show the greatest emotional range in Schumann's Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 ("Five Pieces in the Popular Style"), miniatures composed for a cellist in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra. Its playful outer movements suggest the character of German pub songs and Neubauer delivers some lusty accents in the rollicking "Mit Humor" movement. Finally, in the Märchenbilder, Op. 113 ("Fairytale Pictures"), written for viola and piano, Neubauer is back on home turf, bringing wit and grace to one of Schumann's few solo pieces written originally for viola.

Brian Wise is a producer at WNYC radio and writes about music for The New York Times, Time Out New York, Opera News, and other publications.

{ back to top }

Discography

Schumann - Romance Works for viola and piano Paul Neubauer, viola Anne-Marie McDermott, piano (IRC0501)

Romances, Op. 94 Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 (Five Pieces in the Popular Spirit) Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (Fantasy Spirit) Adagio und Allegro, Op. 70 Märchenbilder, Op. 113 (Fairy Tale pieces)