APPROVED: Susan Dubois, Major Professor Paul Leenhouts, Committee Member Elizabeth Chappell, Committee Member John Holt, Chair of the Division of Instrumental

Studies Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies

in the College of Music John W. Richmond, Dean of the College of

Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse

Graduate School

ORIGINAL VIOLA STUDY LITERATURE: ANALYZING THE

PEDAGOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF MARCO FRANK

Ashley D. Salinas, B.M, M.M.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2018

Salinas, Ashley D. Original Viola Study Literature: Analyzing the Pedagogical

Contributions of Marco Frank. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2018, 56 pp., 18

figures, bibliography, 44 titles.

Viola pedagogy has historically been closely intertwined with and highly dependent upon

violin repertoire. As the viola emerged as an instrument worthy of independent study, many still

rely on transcriptions of violin etudes. Fortunately, the efforts of performers, teachers, and

scholars have brought forth discoveries of original viola literature and thus shifted toward the

perception that viola should begin to embrace its individual pedagogy. Viennese composer and

violist Marco Frank contributed three volumes of Viola-Etuden and a method book, Praktische

Viola-Schule, which are suitable for the intermediate violist. This document explores and

analyzes the usefulness of an original viola series in comparison to the ‘tried and true’ violin

transcriptions.

Copyright 2018

by

Ashley D. Salinas

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express gratitude to several people who have made it possible for me to

reach this milestone. First, I would like to thank my committee, Dr. Susan Dubois, Professor

Paul Leenhouts, and Dr. Elizabeth Chappell, for their guidance and support during my years at

the University of North Texas. I would like to acknowledge Michaela Ullmann at the University

of Southern California for her assistance with the German translations.

A huge thanks to the friends and family who took time out of their schedule to read and

provide feedback for my topic proposal and final document – Allyson Royal, Amber Sander,

Mallary Silva-Grondin, Marylin Winkle, Daron Kirsch, Isaiah Chapman, Claire Workinger, Nick

Laham, and Megan Stapleton. I would like to thank my parents for their unending support and

encouragement. Most importantly, I am eternally grateful for my husband, Andrew Justice, who

has been by my side during every grueling step of this doctoral degree.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER 2: THE MODERN VIOLA STUDIO: TRADITIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT PEDAGOGY ................................................................................................ 4

Early Usage of the Viola ..................................................................................................... 4

Emergence of Viola Study Literature and Independent Study ............................................ 7

Challenges to Identifying Standard Repertoire ................................................................. 11

Current Perceptions of an Independent Viola Pedagogy ................................................... 16

CHAPTER 3: MARCO FRANK ................................................................................................... 18

Early Life and Influences .................................................................................................. 19

Notable Compositions and Reception Before Exile .......................................................... 20

Exile and Return ................................................................................................................ 25

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF PRAKTISCHE VIOLA-SCHULE AND VIOLA-ETUDEN .......... 30

Method: Organization and Content ................................................................................... 30

Etudes ................................................................................................................................ 34

Technical Pacing ............................................................................................................... 34

Form .................................................................................................................................. 35

Common Key Signatures .................................................................................................. 35

Tempo, Bowing, and Meter ............................................................................................... 37

Miscellaneous Techniques ................................................................................................. 43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 45

iv

A: REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF ORIGINAL STUDY LITERATURE FOR

VIOLA ............................................................................................................................... 46

B: MARCO FRANK’S EXPANDED WORKS LIST ...................................................... 49

BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 54

v

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Like many students of my generation, I began musical studies on violin and later

switched to viola, at the suggestion of my high school orchestra directors. Unlike those before

the twentieth century, today’s students transition from violin at an earlier age or begin directly on

the viola. My personal experience with the study of viola etudes prior to college was limited to

Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827) and Jacques-Féréol Mazas (1782-1849), which were

frequently selected as audition requirements for the Texas Music Educators Association’s All-

State and All-Region Orchestras. The opportunity to explore musical style was often

overshadowed by the urgency to compete for technical mastery and membership in a highly-

respected ensemble community. Outside of these auditions, I rarely worked through an entire

book of etudes due to the technical demands being beyond my skill level at the time. The few I

did study thoroughly were transcriptions of violin etudes by Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831),

Otakar Ševčík (1857-1934), and Heinrich Schradieck (1846-1918); as a young violist, I was

often left wondering about etudes specifically written for the viola and why violists continued to

rely on playing violin music.

During my undergraduate studies, I became concerned with fulfilling ‘standard’

repertoire expectations, which again brought me to violin transcriptions. As a teacher of

beginning and intermediate violists, I noticed a familiar level of disappointment when

introducing my own students to violin transcriptions. The common misconception that modern

violists have little original music for the instrument combined with the notion that new solo

repertoire would replace the need for study literature has resulted in a continued reliance upon

violin transcriptions. Fortunately, the tireless efforts of performing violists, teachers, and

1

scholars have shed more light on the viola’s status as an instrument worthy of independent

performance and study, as well as the growing number of works composed and published for the

instrument prior to the twentieth century.

While modern violists utilize the pedagogical works of Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni (1857-

1821), Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) and Campagnoli, these etudes are not suited for

students at a beginning or intermediate level, and were in fact conceived for the already-

proficient violinist seeking viola music.1 Other more recent viola etude composers such as Lilian

Fuchs (1901-1995) and Johannes Palaschko (1877-1932) are also too advanced for the

intermediate violist, due to use of non-standard keys, high positions, and challenging double-stop

passages. Another consequence of the modern approach for the current body of viola etudes is

the prioritization of technique over musical context. Recently discovered and published pre-

twentieth century study materials indicate the need for viola-specific study literature, in order to

maintain the level of skill required in chamber music and orchestral settings. Such works

provided suitable material to aid in preparation for the contemporary compositions of Georges

Bizet, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and others who expanded the

orchestral palette and hence made the viola an equal voice while exploiting its timbre.

In this document, I will clarify and contextualize the purpose of etudes and their stylistic

benefits for developing students, using as an example the lesser-known Viennese composer and

violist Marco Frank, whose contributions to viola study literature bridge gaps left by the current

standards. In chapter two, I will elaborate and clarify: 1.) traditions of viola pedagogy with

regard to purpose and use of literature; 2.) the establishment of the viola’s standard body of study

literature and reliance upon violin transcriptions; and 3.) current perceptions of an independent

1 Maurice Riley, History of the Viola, (Ann Arbor: Braun-Brumfield, 1980), 168-169 and 180-182.

2

viola pedagogy. Chapter three will summarize Frank’s biography, musical contributions, and

reception during the twentieth century. Chapter four will explore Frank’s viola method book and

supplementary etudes, Praktische Viola-Schule and Viola-Etuden (three volumes). The purpose

of my analysis is to determine the usefulness of an original viola etude series in comparison to

‘tried and true’ violin transcriptions. This document will culminate in a representative sample for

viola teachers seeking original study literature of lesser-known composers, as well as Frank’s

expanded works list.

3

CHAPTER 2

THE MODERN VIOLA STUDIO: TRADITIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT PEDAGOGY

Viola pedagogy has historically been closely intertwined with and highly dependent upon

violin repertoire. The twentieth century witnessed a renascence of the viola as a solo instrument;

due to contributions from master teachers, editors, and performers such as Lionel Tertis (1876-

1975) and William Primrose (1904-1982), composers produced new concerti and other solo

works to showcase the instrument’s distinctive qualities. Although the viola does not enjoy the

same breadth of scholarship and original repertoire as the violin (or even the cello), the twentieth

and twenty-first centuries have seen the viola make significant strides in achieving independence

from the general stereotype that it and the violin are mutually interchangeable, at least in terms

of pedagogical approach. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the point at which the viola

began independence from the violin and who or what can be credited for the viola’s rise to status

as an instrument worthy of independent study in modern music schools, as well as to benchmark

study literature used in traditional viola pedagogy.

Early Usage of the Viola

Long before the establishment of the first independent viola studio at a major

conservatory (Paris, 1894), the viola was considered an auxiliary instrument, often to be studied

in combination with instruments of similar size and range, such as the violin, viola da gamba, or

cello. An exclusive career as a violist was extremely rare before the middle of the twentieth

century, as it was common practice for anyone who wished to take up the viola to first be

4

proficient on the violin.2 Following the development of violin performance techniques from the

late seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, the Paris Conservatoire commissioned Pierre

Baillot (1771-1842), Pierre Rode (1774-1830) and Kreutzer to create the Méthode de violon

(1803), which served as one of the most important faculty-generated treatises to offer a

systematic course in technical and interpretative instruction, remaining unchallenged as the

standard French violin text until the mid-nineteenth century.3 Unfortunately, the viola lagged in

similar idiosyncratic pedagogical developments, due to the general assumption that a close

physical relation to its smaller soprano cousin required the same technique. Ulrich Drüner has

stated that prior to 1800, the development of independent viola study literature was unnecessary,

since studies for violin could be used for training both instruments.4 The progression and

emancipation of the viola from the violin’s shadow would be long delayed, due to three major

elements: experiments in viola construction, lack of published literature, and limited accessibility

to music education specifically dedicated to training violists.

Early treatises provide scant details for the viola and are generally limited to introducing

range, tuning, reading alto clef, and other pertinent theoretical information (e.g. solfège and

basso continuo realization). The prevailing use of viola within ensembles was as an extension of

the violin’s lower range, not as the timbral alternative composers would later seek.5 In 1752,

Johann Joachim Quantz described his expectations for viola players who “must not only have an

execution equal to that of the violinists, but must likewise understand something of harmony, so

2 “[A]ll the famous viola soloists (Stamitz, Rolla, Cavallini, and so on) did not play viola in an orchestra, but were violinists and concert-masters[.]” Ulrich Drüner, “The Viola Etude: A Survey of its History and its Problems,” Die Viola: Jahrbuch der Internationalen Viola-Gesellschaft 1981-1982 (Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1983), 55.

3 Robin Stowell, The Early Violin and Viola: A Practical Guide (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 22.

4 Drüner, 55.5 Paul Neubert, “The Development of Viola Instruction at the Paris Conservatoire During the Nineteenth Century and the Evolution of an Idiomatic Style of Writing for the Viola as Seen Through the Music of the Viola Concours, 1896–1918” (DMA diss., University of Kentucky, 2004), 10.

5

that if at times he must take the place of the bass player and play the high bass, as is usual in

concertos, he may know how to play with discretion.”6 Contrary to the common belief that

playing viola was the result of a failed career as a violinist, a successful violist should be both

physically proficient and musically aware of their intended role within a composition.

The social status of the violin dominated the other string family instruments, in terms of

the breadth of available solo repertoire. David Boyden has illustrated the instrument’s gleaming

reputation:

[T]he violin represents one of the greatest triumphs of instrument making. From its earliest development in Italy the violin was adopted in all kinds of music and by all strata of society, and has since been disseminated to many cultures across the globe. Composers, inspired by its potential, have written extensively for it as a solo instrument, accompanied and unaccompanied, and also in connection with the genres of orchestral and chamber music. Possibly no other instrument can boast a larger and musically more distinguished repertory[.]7

The violin’s dominance in popular instrumental genres of the eighteenth century thrust the viola

into subservient harmonic roles (accompanying solo concerti) or excluded it entirely (violin solo

and trio sonatas). However, as Peter Neubert has postulated, the lack of extant solo viola music

at the beginning of the nineteenth century suggested that composers were developing its timbral

ideal in opera, symphonic, and chamber music.8 The viola’s growing popularity in these genres,

followed by an increasing need for adequate players and influx of available instruments, created

an unprecedented demand for instructional material.

6 Johann Joachim Quantz, On Playing the Flute, trans. Edward R. Reilly (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001), 237.

7 David D. Boyden, et al, “Violin," Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/ 9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000041161.

8 Neubert, 13.

6

Emergence of Viola Study Literature and Independent Study

The expansion of a middle class in the eighteenth century created an increased number of

chamber music societies, theaters, and symphonies, all of which needed adequate violists to fill

the role of ‘inner voice.’ Elizabeth Castledine has suggested that “[t]he very idea of etudes may

stem from the abundance of middle-class musicians in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth

centuries and the emergence of public concerts and music printing.”9 With a growing middle

class gaining access to musical instruments and performance opportunities, a greater demand for

suitable study literature followed. For violists, this was borne not out of solo performance, but

rather the increasing development of its importance for ensemble music. As composers explored

new musical forms and orchestrations into the nineteenth century, the viola flourished in the

genres of opera, symphonic, and chamber music. Neubert referred to the viola’s increasing

musical importance into the Romantic era:

Chamber music and especially orchestral music (both operatic and symphonic) significantly expanded the role of the viola so that the instrument began to enjoy a heretofore unknown importance in the articulation of a musical argument. The late string quartets of Beethoven come to mind as the ultimate expression of the string quartet ‘ideal’ as a musical conversation among four equals; the string quartets of Mendelssohn as well as the string chamber music of Schumann also offer significant opportunities for the viola to share the limelight with the violin and the cello.10

Increased demand for equity among string instruments, in combination with a surge of new

performance opportunities that required adequate violists, contributed to a growing market for

instructional material.

Maurice Riley has stated: “the publication of an instruction book for an instrument results

from a need, and the existence of a potential market for the sale of the book.”11 Each of the

9 Melissa Castledine, “Etudes and Viola Pedagogy” (DMA diss., University of Cincinnati, 1998), 5.10 Neubert, 13-14.11 Riley, 167.

7

composers who contributed to original viola study literature had motivations rooted in providing

players with suitable instruction repertoire that reflected contemporary style, in order to maintain

the proficiency required of professional musicians. The earliest published methods with mention

of the viola appeared in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (see Figure 2.1); Bruni,

Campagnoli, and Hoffmeister studies have remained standard for modern violists.

Figure 2.1: List of Early Viola Methods and Studies

Amid these cultural and musical developments, the establishment of the first independent

viola studio took place at the Paris Conservatoire in 1894. Neubert explained the environment

leading to this milestone:

[A]s a result of chamber music creating greater opportunities for violists, a slowly growing body of solo literature complementing the emerging tradition of viola performance in chamber and orchestral/operatic music, and the instrument’s presence becoming an important facet of musical life both in Paris and the Conservatoire, the

Composer Title Published

Michel Corrette Méthodes pour apprendre à jouer de la contre-basse à 3, à 4, et à 5 cordes, de la quinte ou alto et de la viole d’Orphée

1773

Michael Gebauer Méthode d’alto contenant les principes de musique avec les gammes accompagnées dans tous les tons suives de petites pièces en duo tirées des plus célèbres auteurs tels que Haydn, Mozart, Boccherini

c1800

Michel Woldemar Méthode d’alto contenant les premiers élémens de la musique c1800

François Cupis Méthode d’alto précédé d’un abrégé des principes de musique de différents airs nouveaux dont plusieurs avec variations et terminé par un long caprice ou étude

c1803

Franz Anton Hoffmeister Etudes pour Alto Viola c1801-1803

Bartolomeo Campagnoli 41 Caprices pour Alto Viola c1815

Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni Méthode pour l’alto viola contenant les principes de cet instrument suivis de 25 études

c1820

Jacques Martinn Nouvelle méthode d’alto contenant des gammes et exercises dans tous les tons, douze leçons en duos et trois sonates faciles

c1826-1830

8

viola granted inclusion in the curriculum as an instrument whose individual study was required for success as a professional musician.12

Upon the examination of Conservatoire archive materials and instructional records, Neubert

deduced that the viola studio’s inception followed the establishment of a course in chamber

music (i.e. a curricular need for competent violists).13 While the chamber music course supported

the need for individual viola study, most, if not all students, were violinists who chose to perform

chamber music on viola. This practice of doubling was made possible by a preference for smaller

violas, which required fewer technical adjustments when switching from violin; the consequence

of physical convenience was the loss of violistic timbre.14

Hector Berlioz, one of the most outspoken composer-critics to urge the establishment of

an independent viola studio in Paris, criticized the poor treatment of the instrument (and its

players) and stressed the reality that modern composers were no longer treating inner voices as

insignificant within the symphonic texture:

It is lamentable that there should be no special class in the viola, an instrument which, although related to the violin, demands individual study and constant practice if it is to be played properly. The ruinous old tradition by which the viola part is entrusted to second- or third-rate violinists - the usual reaction to a mediocre performer on the violin is: ‘He’ll make a good viola player’ - is obsolete where modern music is concerned. The leading composers at any rate do not write filling-in parts any more; they give every part an interest relative to the effect to be produced and refuse to regard some as inherently more important than others.15

Berlioz also criticized the long-standing tradition of violinists doubling on viola out of

obligation:

Violists were always selected from the weaker violinists. If a musician was unable to fill creditably the post of a violinist, he was relegated to the violas. Thus, violists eventually could play neither the violin nor the viola. I must admit that even in our time this

12 Neubert, 6.13 Ibid, 59.14 Ibid, 60.15 Hector Berlioz, The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz, trans. David Cairns (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), 434-

435.

9

prejudice against the viola has not disappeared completely. Even in our best orchestras we still find viola players who are no more proficient on that instrument than the violin. But the harm caused by tolerating them is being recognized more and more; and little by little the viola will be entrusted only to skilled hands[.]16

Opponents of a dedicated viola studio argued that an independent viola curriculum strictly for the

purpose of training orchestral players was an inefficient use of limited pedagogical resources,

since viola could be taught almost identically to the already-established violin.17 Chamber music

at the Conservatoire, on the other hand, required a much higher level of musicianship for the

violist than orchestral literature.

While the practice of doubling continued throughout the nineteenth century, few

musicians attempted to make a career solely on the viola until well into the twentieth century.

According to Neubert, those who did play viola in Parisian orchestras also supplemented their

income with private instruction, which ultimately supported the inclusion of viola as an

instrument of study at the Conservatoire.

[E]fforts at a viola-specific instruction were greatly aided by the publication of the aforementioned etude collections and method books in the early part of the nineteenth century. Such publications represent the earliest evidence of viola instruction, but it would take some time for these pedagogical activities - in tandem with the increasing visibility of viola performers - to bring about change in attitude that would eventually make it possible for the Conservatoire to ‘legitimize’ viola instruction by offering a separate curriculum for the viola.18

Théophile Laforge (1863-1918) served as the first professor of the newly-established viola studio

at the Conservatoire from 1894 until his death.

Although Neubert reported no official records indicating Laforge’s specific pedagogical

methods, the viola classes were most likely modeled after the ‘master class’ structure found in

other established studios at the Conservatoire: “It is not known whether Laforge used etudes or

16 Berlioz, Treatise on Instrumentation, trans. Theodore Front (New York: Dover, 1991), 60.17 Neubert, 53.18 Ibid, 20.

10

other technical exercises in this format, but there is a record of the pieces that the viola students

performed during each examen [i.e. performance juries] that provides some insight into his

teaching approach.”19 During Laforge’s tenure, the viola began its pedagogical emancipation

from the violin, at least in terms of repertoire presented in the examens. By 1898, the number of

original viola works outnumbered violin transcriptions20 and by 1911 no transcriptions were

performed during viola juries.21 Laforge may have been a violinist by training, but his support

for original viola solo literature helped to advance the cause as an instrument equal to the violin

and cello into the twentieth century. The Conservatoire was likely not the first institution to take

this ‘leap of faith,’ but its sizable reputation made this a defining moment for viola instruction

and served as a model for other institutions into the next century.

Challenges to Identifying Standard Repertoire

The twentieth century brought forth new generations of violists who either switched from

violin at an early age or began directly on viola; this expanded interest in viola-specific study

initiated a surge in exploring the instrument’s long-neglected history with the establishment of

the International Viola Society (formerly Viola-Forschungsgesellschaft) in 1968 and the

American Viola Society in 1971. Detailed viola research supported by these organizations covers

several aspects of the instrument’s identity, including historical relevance and performance

practice, solo repertoire development through transcriptions and new compositions, notable

teachers and performers, and pedagogy; all important contributions for the emancipation of the

viola.

19 Neubert, 77.20 Transcriptions performed on the early viola juries include repertoire standards of Baillot, Kreutzer, Rode,

Beethoven, Mozart, Bruch, J.S. Bach, and Tartini. Ibid, 82. 21 Ibid, 81-83.

11

Identifying a single definitive list of ‘standard’ etudes for the modern viola is difficult,

due to the multitude of various teaching styles and experiences contributing to the emergence of

viola-specific pedagogy following 1900. Riley posited that the lack of widely known original

viola study literature was due to poor circulation of existing texts and the violin-centric traditions

of teaching viola:

In the 19th [sic] century the Études by Bruni, Martinn, Campagnoli, and Hoffmeister were not well known or generally available, and as a result they had limited use. In Europe, England, and the United States, most of the viola teaching was done by violinists who used transposed versions of the violin studies of Kayser, Mazas, Kreutzer, and Fiorillo for their students. There were two factors which led to this situation: first, most violinists were unfamiliar with the collections that had been written specifically for the viola; and second, there was a widely-believed, mistaken idea which held that the viola was played exactly like the violin - hence the classical violin études were considered adequate as basic study material for the viola. Violinists, who had not analyzed special fingering or bowing problems as related to the viola, used identical teaching procedures for the two instruments. Furthermore, they felt more comfortable using études and techniques with which they were familiar. Fortunately this was not a universal practice.22

Today, many institutions continue to utilize a standard body of Classical- and Romantic-era

violin etude transcriptions, in order for players to gain technical facility around the viola and to

meet virtuosic expectations similar to its soprano cousin.

In David Dalton’s Playing the Viola, Primrose asserted that the viola has often been

regarded as an instrument without a tradition.23 It is generally understood that teachers formed

their philosophies and repertoire choices based on their own experiences as a student and, as a

result, these master teachers trained subsequent generations of violists from the same body of

literature familiar to them. Although works performed on the Conservatoire’s examens

incorporated an increasing amount of original viola repertoire, Laforge’s pedagogical approach

22 Riley, 183.23 David Dalton, Playing the Viola: Conversations with William Primrose, (Oxford: Oxford, 1988), 1.

12

remained deeply rooted in violin technique.24 One could assume, based on Laforge’s own two-

page article on the viola in the Encylopédie de la musique et dictionnaire du Conservatoire

(published posthumously in 1927), that he continued to rely heavily upon violin instructional

material: “This instrument should be played by violinists, as it is always necessary to begin

playing the violin before taking up the viola. Nevertheless, one can begin on the viola, but the

labor will be more difficult and the musician in question will posses a poor level of virtuosity.”25

While there is no recorded information regarding Laforge’s use of specific etudes in his

curriculum (whether standard violin transcriptions or original viola studies), viola study under

him likely remained within the violin-centric traditions of previous centuries.

Although institutions may continue to use violinists for viola instruction out of economic

restriction (under the assumption that the techniques are mutually interchangeable), viola

teaching in the twentieth century has been increasingly recognized as a separate entity. Riley

clarified that the practice of teaching both instruments “does not preclude a fine violin teacher

from giving adequate instruction to a violist, provided the teacher is aware of the special

problems that are inherent to playing the viola,”26 and Franz Zeyringer went so far as to say that

all violinists should read alto clef while acknowledging the economic benefits of doubling.27 As

more original viola literature (both study and solo) becomes available to teachers and students,

utilizing this growing body of valuable material, as a more idiomatic alternative to violin

transcriptions, would be advantageous for violinists teaching viola.

The viola’s growing popularity as a solo instrument, in combination with advancements

24 Neubert, 7.25 Ibid, 77.26 Riley, 185-186.27 Franz Zeyringer, “Organization of the Elementary Viola Instruction” Die Viola: Jahrbuch der Internationalen

Viola-Gesellschaft 1983-1984, (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1986), 125.

13

in music printing, led to an influx of study literature. In 1980, Drüner provided insight regarding

the amount of viola study material produced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

to meet the demands of composers who sought to expand beyond traditional orchestral textures:

“[A]lmost 500 genuine viola studies were written between 1870 and 1900. […] Around 1920, the

evident number of genuine viola etudes increased to about one thousand. […] After World War I

all of them were no more in use.”28 Subsequently, this sudden drop in available viola study

literature further circulated the common belief that composers simply did not write music for the

instrument. Drüner deciphered this perpetuated myth: the practice of publishing required a

collection of studies to undergo abridgment, which was “much too troublesome for common

teaching purposes.”29 In other words, it was more lucrative for publishers to continue adapting

popular violin literature because violists (until the mid-twentieth century) studied with teachers

who primarily considered themselves violinists.

Furthermore, the increased amount of published solo repertoire (i.e. sonatas and concerti)

available to violists replaced the need for technical studies;30 the idea of ‘technique through

repertoire’ is also supported by the widely recognized Suzuki Method.31 Suzuki remains a violin-

centric method of instruction (as many instructors teach both instruments interchangeably) and

uses an identical sequence of repertoire for all string instruments up through Volume 4; Georg

Philipp Telemann’s Concerto in G Major (TWV 51: G9) and Concerto for Two Violas (TWV

28 Drüner, 56-57.29 Ibid, 57.30 Ibid.31 “Suzuki has eliminated the use of etudes in his graded course and uses scales and arpeggios sparingly. New

techniques are introduced in the pieces themselves or with short exercises provided in the books. Teachers are expected to make up dozens of mini-drills in the easy volumes and supplement the later volumes with standard scales, technical studies and etudes. […] Many traditional systems consist of page after page of rather dry technical exercises which use the whole-note, half-note, quarter-note approach, requiring the student to master the control of the full bow at the very start while also counting and learning to read music. These exercises have little or no musical interest and the method books do not contain as many pieces.” Barbara Barber, “A Comparison of Traditional and Suzuki Training” American String Teacher 41, no. 4 (Autumn 1991): 77.

14

52: G3) serve as the first major repertoire originally composed for the viola to appear in the

series. The current collection of Suzuki repertoire available for the viola contains many

transcriptions of familiar violin and viola da gamba works. As more viola works emerge from the

previous centuries, the student violist can benefit from studying original repertoire rather than

transcriptions, in order to build a stronger identity independent of the violin.

Serving as the most comprehensive single catalogue of viola music, Zeyringer’s Literatur

für Viola32 proves there is in fact a wealth of original compositions for the instrument. Recent

decades have provided not only newly-composed study material, but also discoveries of earlier

works that have yet to be widely utilized by violists seeking original literature. Drüner has

argued for the study of lesser-known Classical and Romantic composers rather than new

publications, to serve as an important opportunity for players to understand musical style and

context: “[T]o achieve the ‘Classic’ string technique, which had its final development in the 19th

[sic] century, the literature of the same period is most suitable. Therefore, as a new and different

way of teaching viola, I would recommend to turn back to the older genuine viola etude.”33 He

acknowledged several composers who contributed original viola study literature and hence

deserve circulation within modern studios:

The most important composers who have published viola studies since [World War I] were Vadim Borissovsky, Marie Thérèse Chailley, Robert Dolejsi, Watson Forbes, Marko [sic] Frank, Lilian Fuchs, Colette Lequien, Arnold Matz, Johannes Palaschko, Léon Pascal, William Primrose, Franz Schmittner and Alfred Uhl. Many of these etudes, […] would deserve to be better known in the viola classes of our conservatories and musical departments of other educational institutions: in many cases they make players familiar with the musical idiom of our century and with new aspects of string pedagogy in a valuable way.34

32 Also available online through the Primrose International Viola Archive (PIVA), https://sites.lib.byu.edu/piva/research/zeyringer-literatur-fur-viola/.

33 Drüner, 57.34 Ibid.

15

Since the publication of Drüner’s article, several composers have received newfound circulation

among violists worldwide and, in some cases (Fuchs and Palaschko), have been added to the

canon of required study literature for advanced players.

Current Perceptions of an Independent Viola Pedagogy

Historical performance practice traditions of doubling on viola as an auxiliary instrument

have been well documented and, due to acoustical and size proportions that plagued the pre-

Tertis viola, many instruments used by violinist-violists were small in size to facilitate physical

ease between instruments. Additionally, the pedagogical traditions set by the first master viola

teachers were rooted in their own first musical studies on violin. On the other hand, the enlarged

dimensions of the modern viola have enabled its once-muted voice to participate more equally

with the violin and cello. These differences in instrument size make an incredible impact on the

modern player’s physical approach, thus rendering violin transcriptions less effective than in the

late nineteenth century. Several major viola teachers have published articles on various physical

aspects directly related to the modern viola, and as more students choose the viola first, these

resources continue to build upon the foundation that the viola can and should be taught

independently from the violin.

In 2014, Sophie Parker published her dissertation on current perceptions of viola

pedagogy, where she identified existing scholarship and presented the findings of a researcher-

designed survey. 35 Parker asked participants a series of survey questions regarding their

background with viola and pedagogical opinions based on their experiences as students and

teachers. A sample of survey questions includes:

35 Sophie Parker, “A Survey of Viola Teachers’ Perceptions of Viola Pedagogy” (DMA diss., University of Houston, 2014).

16

• How did they choose to play the viola?• Do they believe there are techniques unique to the viola?• Do they believe there are pedagogical techniques unique to the viola?• Do they believe there is a core viola repertoire and/or a standard set of etudes for viola?• Do they believe there were important twentieth century viola pedagogues?36

Her analysis of the survey results illustrated shifting perceptions of the viola’s independent

pedagogy: many performers and teachers still believe that viola teaching should remain closely

related (if not identical) to that of the violin, while others believe there is (or should be) a

separate viola pedagogy.37 Parker’s response data suggests an interesting crossroads for the

future of string teaching: with the expansion of viola-specific pedagogical techniques and

availability of performance repertoire throughout the twentieth century, should we not begin to

embrace the emancipation of the viola from the violin’s long-practiced influence and seize the

opportunity to utilize all literature written specifically for the viola?

36 Parker, 29, 160-162.37 Ibid, 131.

17

CHAPTER 3

MARCO FRANK

In the years leading up to the World Wars, growing interest in operatic, symphonic, and

chamber music genres provided viola players with more performance opportunities that required

technical skill equal to the violin. Drüner reported in his research regarding the viola etude that

by 1920, the evident number of genuine viola studies reached approximately one thousand;

however, after World War I none were in use.38 Unfortunately, the resulting effects of World

War II significantly limited the circulation of printed music, in addition to historical censorship

of details regarding Jewish composers until the last few decades. Drüner included Marco Frank

among composers who deserve to be known in modern viola studios because such composers

make violists familiar with new aspects of string pedagogy in a valuable way.39 Frank’s intimate

understanding of the viola served to provide players with study literature idiomatic to the

instrument and thus more beneficial than violin transcriptions.

Frank, who was among Jewish professionals affected by World War II, served as one

composer who contributed to the genres of opera, chamber, and symphonic music and then faded

into obscurity after his death. A cursory biographical search for Frank returned limited results;

fortunately, two online resources - the Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon (Institut für kunst- und

musikhistorische Forschungen der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften) 40 and

Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit (University of Hamburg)41 - provided

several additional avenues for research. This chapter contains further biographical information in

38 Drüner, 57.39 Ibid.40 Uwe Harten, “Frank, Marco,” Österreichisches Musiklexikon Online, last updated May 6, 2001,

http://www.musiklexikon.ac.at/ml/musik_F/Frank_Marco.xml. 41 Mitarbeit von Nicole Ristow, et. al, “Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit-Marco Frank,”

last updated November 7, 2013, https://www.lexm.uni-hamburg.de/object/lexm_lexmperson_00003446.

18

English (albeit non-comprehensive) for others seeking to learn more about this somewhat

unknown composer.42

Early Life and Influences

Born in Vienna as Markus Fränkl Ratzes43 on April 24, 1881, Frank was the oldest of ten

children. In 1891, the family moved to Naples where he studied at the Conservatory of Saint

Peter Majella from 1893-1897; his mentors were Eusebio Dworzak44 (1850-1905) for violin,

Enrico Bossi (1861-1925) for piano and music theory, and Paolo Sarrao (1830-1907) for

counterpoint.45 Following the completion of Frank’s formal studies at the Conservatory in 1897,

a partial performance of his first chamber opera Die drei Musketiere attracted the attention of

Jules Massenet, who subsequently invited the young composer to study with him in Paris. This

association led to Frank meeting Claude Debussy and studied instrumentation as well as

dramatic composition with him over the course of three summers. These early influences would

serve Frank’s compositional style in his aim to fuse formal and expressive elements of German

and Italian music.46

42 For quotes presented in their original language in footnotes, the in-text English translations are mine. 43 Alternate spellings include Marko, Markus, Marcus, Fränk, Fränkl, Fraenkl; name change in 1917 to Marco Frank

confirmed by Alexander Zemlinsky and Horst Weber, Briefwechsel mit Arnold Schönberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg und Franz Schreker (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1995), 362.

44 Biographical information about Dworzak is limited, however according to Carlo Schmidl’s Dizionario Universale dei Musicisti, he was a pupil of Ferdinand David in Leipzig and Jean-Delphin Alard in Paris and was recognized for his book, Il violino, ossia analisi del suo meccanismo (1884). Carlo Schmidl, “Eusebio Dworzak,” Dizionario Universale dei Musicisti (Milan: Sonzogno, 1938), 479.

45 Fritz Racek, “Frank, Marco,” Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, ed. Friedrich Blume (Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1949), 704.

46 “Sein künstlerisches Ziel ist die Verschmelzung deutscher und romanischer Form- und Ausdruckselemente, was ja durch seinen musikalischen Bildungsgang und den Aufenthalt im Süden erklärt erscheint.” “Orchesterkonzert,” Radio Wien 11 (December 8, 1933), 2.

19

As a violinist, Frank established a string quartet in Florence in 1900 and spent three years

touring his personal compositions throughout Europe, England, and the Middle East.47 Frank

also performed as concertmaster in several Italian theater orchestras before returning to Vienna

in 1904, where he would serve as violist48 for the Vienna Volksoper until 1934.49

Notable Compositions and Reception Before Exile

Following the conclusion of World War I, Frank shifted his focus from performance to

composition.50 According to multiple biographical dictionary entries, Frank is most commonly

known for three operas: Eroica (1919), Das Bildnis der Madonna (1925), and Die fremde Frau

(1937). Additionally, his instrumental works composed in the 1920s and 1930s were heard

frequently in various concert halls, regional music festivals, and radio broadcasts throughout

Europe. Although Die drei Musketiere was Frank’s first attempt at composing a staged work,

Eroica was Frank’s first fully produced opera to garner public attention.

Conducted by Karl Auderieth, the premiere occurred at the Volksoper on March 21, 1919

and met with mixed reviews. Frank’s second opera Das Bildnis der Madonna, although

ultimately considered a success, faced challenges in the Vienna Staatsoper before its eventual

premiere in 1925. Directed and conducted by Frank himself, its success expanded his presence

within the Viennese music scene throughout the 1920s. Between the late 1920s and early 1930s,

Frank composed three more staged works but none were widely performed.51 In 1936, he began

47 Racek, 704; “Orchesterkonzert” Radio Wien 11, 2; Werner Röder and Herbert A. Strauss, “Frank, Marco,” in Biographisches Handbuch Der Deutschsprachigen Emigration Nach 1933-1945 (Munich: Saur, 1980), 318.

48 It is interesting to note that some sources refer to Frank as “Geiger,” however the literal translation may indicate an upper-string player or fiddler (not necessarily defining which specific instrument). To that end, it is possible Frank may have continued the tradition of doubling while performing with the Vienna Volksoper orchestra.

49 Racek, 704.50 Ibid.51 Der selige Octave (musical comedy, 1933), Bagno (musical drama, 1935/6), and Mardis Gras (ballet, 1934).

20

collaboration with librettist Friedrich Schreyvogel on Die fremde Frau, an adaptation of

Alexandre Bisson’s La Femme X (1909). After the April 17, 1937 premiere in Vienna (conducted

by Josef Krips), Die fremde Frau was immediately taken up by theaters in Graz, Trieste,

Warsaw, and Riga;52 unfortunately, political developments across Europe in 1939 thwarted

scheduled performances in Paris.

Although Frank was known as a composer of opera, his instrumental compositions

received frequent performances throughout the 1920s and 1930s by the Vienna Symphony

Orchestra (Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester),53 Vienna Radio Orchestra (Funkorchester der Wiener

Symphoniker), Viennese Women's Orchestra (Wiener Frauensinfonieorchester), Vienna

Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammerorchester), and various chamber music ensembles including

the Silving and Weißgärber string quartets. Works appearing on multiple concert programs

include symphonic arrangements of movements from Eroica and Das Bildnis der Madonna,

Russian Rhapsody (original 1929 version for violin and piano, arranged for orchestra in 1949),

Piano Concerto in E minor (1930), Suite im alten Stil (1931), Lustspiel Overture, Libysche Suite

(1934), and Romanische Suite (1936). Listed in Radio Wien’s weekly programming were several

chamber works, including the Piano Quartet no. 1 in A minor (1925), various character pieces

for string quartet (between 1929-1931), Galant Serenade for violin and piano (1937), and a Viola

Sonata (1936). Frank’s works were programmed alongside Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bizet,

as well as contemporaries Strauss, Max Reger, Joseph Marx.54

52 Racek, 704.53 In 1933, the Wiener Sinfonie‐Orchester assumed its current name, Wiener Symphoniker. Leon Botstein,

“Vienna,” Oxford Music Online, accessed July 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/ grove/music/29326.

54 Currently, the most extensive repertoire listing (published and unpublished) for Frank appears in the 1949 Musik in Die Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG); in an attempt to provide more thorough information regarding Frank’s works, Appendix B will consist of details collected from all sources used in this document.

21

Among the biographical dictionary entries on Frank, some provided a brief description of

his compositional style and a short summary of his more widely performed compositions

(several list his Praktische Viola-Schule and/or Viola Etuden). In Hugo Riemann’s Musik-

Lexikon (1959), Frank’s dramatic and symphonic works were described as having “become well-

known through their effective design and brilliant instrumentation.”55 Ferdinand Lettmayer

recounted Frank’s compositional style as possessing a full understanding of form and

instrumental continuity, while maintaining a secure sense of balance within the symphonic

medium. Furthermore, Lettmayer stated: “Frank has succeeded as an opera composer […] but

also as an instrumental composer […] and creator of vocal works […] which are distinguished

by the full mastery of the orchestra, sonorous instrumentation, and melodic momentum.”56 A

variety of contemporary musical reviews document a positive reception with audiences, even if

twentieth-century critics like Heinrich Kralik, Karl Alwin, and Georg Maliniak believed the

praise was unwarranted and undeserved. Frank’s compositional style was more akin to the late

Romantic rather than forward-looking contemporary composers (i.e. Second Viennese School),

especially his instrumental works such as the Piano Concerto and String Quartet.

According to Radio Wien, his compositional aim was to “express himself in the most

condensed form possible” through the consolidation of formal structure and dramatic affect;

“Frank does not want to pose any problems to the listeners, since in our time it is not always

55 “Seine dramatischen und symphonischen Werke sind durch effektvolle Gestaltung und glänzende Instrumentation bekannt geworden…” Hugo Riemann, Musik-Lexikon (Mainz: Schott’s Söhne, 1959), 544.

56 “Er weiß aber auch die formale und instrumentale Glätte dieser Kunst, deren sicheren Sinn für Ausgewogenheit und inneres Gleichgewicht er besitzt, mit Persönlichem zu erfüllen. Frank hat als Opernkomponist ("Bildnis der Madonna", Wien 1925, und ,,Die fremde Frau", Wien 1937) Erfolge erzielt, ist aber auch als Instrumentalkomponist (Klavierkonzert, Violinkonzert, Kammermusik, Symphonien) und Schöpfer von Vokalwerken (Stabat Mater, Lieder) hervorgetreten, die sich durch volle Beherrschung des Apparats, klangsatte Instrumentation und melodischen Schwung auszeichnen.” Ferdinand Lettmayer, Wien um die Mitte des XX. Jahrhunderts: ein Querschnitt durch Landschaft, Geschichte, soziale und technische Einrichtungen, wirtschaftliche und politische Stellung und durch der kulturelle Leben (Vienna: Verlag für Jugend und Volk, 1958), 857.

22

possible to concentrate on works of very large forms.”57 Favorable reviews appeared in France,

where Frank was considered to unite the spirit and qualities of Puccini and Charpentier.58 Paul

Bechert of The Musical Times (New York) reported on Frank’s public appeal: “With him, opera

is a thing to proffer to the more or less primitive demands of the general public; thrilling stage

situations, effective dramatic events accompanied by a music which is none too difficult, and apt

to captivate the listener at first hearing.”59 Bechert acknowledged Frank’s prominence as a

member of the Volksoper orchestra (which enabled his understanding of orchestral

manipulation) and compared his tonal language to other well-known operatic composers:

Innate memory, with its store of long orchestral functions and similarities of dramatic situation, may account for the frequent appearance in his opera of melodies and themes which are more or less akin to Wagner, Strauss, Puccini, and even Korngold. On the other hand, Frank’s association with the mechanism of opera has taught him a very deft treatment of the orchestra, notwithstanding an occasional tendency to cover the voices of the singers.60

Conversely, Frank’s use of late-Romantic aesthetics and traditional form throughout his

works was considered a weakness by prominent music critics of the early twentieth century.

Alwin expressed his opinion that Frank’s Das Bildnis der Madonna lacked originality and that

Bagno was “gifted, melodic, but not original.”61 Maliniak described the latter as “smooth

nonsense.”62 Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky accused Frank of submitting to kitsch in

57 “Sein Bestreben ist, sich in möglichst gedrängter Form auszusprechen und seine Werke sowohl in formaler Hinsicht als auch im Stimmungsgehalt einheitlich zu gestauten. Frank will den Hörern keine Probleme stellen, da gerade in unserer Zeit nicht immer die Möglichkeit besteht, die Konzentration für Werke von sehr großen Formen aufzubringen.” “Marco Frank,” in Radio Wien 14 (December 29, 1933), 2.

58 “Éloges unanimes de la critique pour l'intéressant livret ainsi que pour le maestro Frank qui réunit en lui les qualités et les particularités de verve de Puccini et de Charpentier.” Auguste Fechner, “Lettre de Vienne,” in La Rampe 11, no. 409 (May 3, 1925), 12.

59 Paul Bechert, “‘The Image of the Madonna’ at the Staatsoper,” in Musical Times 66, no. 987 (May 1, 1925), 459.60 Ibid.61 “Es ist Phantasie in der Musik, nur fehlt ihr die Originalität.” “…begabt, melodisch, aber nicht originell,” Susanne

Rode-Breymann, Die Wiener Staatsoper in den Zwischenkriegsjahren: ihr Beitrag zum zeitgenössischen Musiktheater (Tutzing: Schneider, 1994), 352-353.

62 “Glatter Unsinn,” Ibid, 353.

23

order to maintain audience appeal. In a 1925 letter to director Clemens Krauss of the Staatsoper,

Zemlinsky quibbles:

[Y]ou can blame me for being too trivial but I have to start with a terrible lament about Life! Summer! Money! Soon everything will be over without my having had a recovery at all. But when I get more horrible news about the opera programme, such as Queen of Sheeba, and the Bildnis der Madonna by Marcer Frickel [sic], then I am in complete despair.63 This must be a bad joke? I do know Mr. Frickel (second violinist of the Wiener Volksoper), a dilettante, who creates the worst possible kitsch…But believe me, if you want to produce something new, then you must do such things as can give the theatre new values and a new attitude. Besides, one is forced to produce kitsch in any case.64

Another notable Viennese music critic, Kralik, lambasted the premiere of Das Bildnis der

Madonna, arguing that Frank’s opera was not worthy of performance at the Staatsoper:

The Staatsoper has rid itself of an old obligation and premiered Marco Frank’s two-act opera “Das Bildnis der Madonna.” The text of Lothar Ring is a cliché imitation of the recent Renaissance operas (“Mona Lisa,” “Violanta”); The music nibbles from Puccini, d'Albert, and all the masters of the effective public opera, but spoils the stomach thoroughly. […] nobody could seriously believe in his creative vocation, and his somewhat thoughtlessly adopted "Portrait of the Madonna" is a lingering embarrassment to our already very saturated opera institute.65

As Austrian cultural and political developments between 1913 and 1934 continued to

deeply divide the traditional historicist and modern styles of composition, Frank seemed to have

been somewhat in the middle. On one hand, the Viennese public appeared to enjoy his

conservative style while modernists like Zemlinsky felt he lacked originality, because the use of

late-Romantic aesthetics was falling out of fashion with modern, forward-looking artists.

63 Zemlinsky incorrectly referred to Frank by the wrong name and instrument, although, it may be possible Frank played both violin and viola in the Volksoper. Michael Frith, Zemlinsky Studies (London: Middlesex University Press, 2007), 23, 30.

64 Ibid, 23. 65 “Die Staatsoper hat sich einer alten Verpflichtung entledigt und Marco Franks zweiaktige Oper ‘Das Bildnis der

Madonna’ uraufgeführt. Der Text von Lothar Ring ist ein klischeehafter Abklatsch der jüngst verflossenen Renaissanceopern (‘Mona Lisa’, ‘Violanta’); die Musik nascht von Puccini, d' Albert, und überhaupt von allen Meistern der effektvollen Publikumsoper; verdirbt sich aber dabei gründlich den Magen. […] an seine schöpferische Berufung konnte wohl niemand ernstlich glauben und sein etwas unüberlegt angenommenes ‘Bildnis der Madonna’ bedeutete eine langwierige Verlegenheit für unser ohnehin sehr schwerfälliges Operninstitut.” Heinrich Kralik, “Das Musikleben der Gegenwart: Wien,” Die Musik 17, no. 7 (May 1925), 626.

24

Additionally, Frank’s racial lineage was publicly questioned by the Alpenländische Rundschau66

(originally classified as an “un-political newspaper” but taken over by NS-Gauverlag after

Anschluß in September 1938) and his personal information was included in two Nazi party

publications, Judentum und Musik: mit dem ABC jüdischer und nichtarischer Musikbeflissener67

(1938) and Lexikon der Juden in der Musik; mit einem Titelverzeichnis jüdischer Werke (1941).

Like many other professionals who either maintained a public reputation, held political

opposition to the Nazi party, and/or had Jewish connections (i.e. by professional or religious

affiliation, ethnic heritage, marriage, etc.), Frank and his family were forced to leave Vienna.

With financial assistance provided by the Vienna Center for American Friends Service

Committee, American Committee for Christian Refugees, and private donors, Frank and his wife

were granted passage to New York via Paris in August 1939.68

Exile and Return

Details regarding Frank’s life in New York are limited; in an interview with the Neue

Wiener Tageszeitung shortly after his return to Vienna, he described his experiences in the

United States as positive. According to this account, Frank taught at a conservatory, worked for

publishers, and continued to compose while in exile.69 Works composed in New York consist of

his only violin concerto, Symphony no. 3, New York: Porträts einer Stadt (symphonic tone

66 “‘Die fremde Frau’ — oder ‘Lemberg noch tu unserem Besitz,’” Alpenländische Rundschau 14, no. 706 (April 24, 1937), 9.

67 Frank’s entry references a “Dollfuß-Requiem” which is most likely referring to Ein deutsches Stabat Mater (1935), dedicated to Engelbert Dollfuß after his assassination by the Nazis in 1934.

68 Horst Weber and Stefan Drees, eds., Quellen zur emigrierter Geschichte Musiker (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2005), 92.69 “Ich lebte in New York, wo ich an einem Konservatorium unterrichtete und für Verlage arbeitete.” “Wiener

Musiker erlebt Amerika: Professor Marco Frank nach zehnjährigem Exil nach Wien zurückgekehrt,” in Neue Wiener Tageszeitung (January 29, 1949), 5.

25

poem), as well as various vocal and piano pieces.70 Additionally, Frank is credited with the

arrangement of Walter Damrosch’s The Opera Cloak. In this interview, Frank described his

perspective on the arts in New York:

The European is facing completely new conditions [in America]. There is only one major opera, the Metropolitan [Opera House], and also it plays only four and a half months a year. In contrast to European opera stages, which are almost all state-owned, it is a pure private enterprise, as the maintenance of music is exclusively in the hands of private bodies. The main focus of the performances is not the ensemble, but the star. Each performance includes sound names. That's why there are a number of traditional works including the well-known Italian operas. The “Rosenkavalier” is particularly popular. The great conductors are almost exclusively Europeans. It is customary to conduct Italian works by Italians, those of French origin by French and German operas by the Germans.71

While separated from his native country, Frank founded the Association of Old Austrians

(Verein der Alt-Österreicher) with other displaced professionals, in order to continue promotion

of Austrian music abroad. Furthermore, he participated in organizing Viennese concert events to

aid the post-war reconstruction efforts.72 Of his time away from Vienna, he recalled: “I am glad

that Vienna has lost nothing of its musical city. I am not angry with the fate of having to live

abroad for so long, for I have learned a lot and have gained numerous new impressions.”73 Frank

returned to Vienna in December 1948, where he would remain until the end of his life.

70 Racek, 705.71 “Der Europäer sieht sich völlig neuartigen Verhältnissen gegenüber. Es gibt nur eine große Oper, die

Metropolitan, und auch sie spielt nur viereinhalb Monate im Jahr. Zum Unterschied von europäischen Opernbühnen, die fast alle staatlich sind, ist sie ein reines Privatunternehmen, wie überhaupt die Pflege der Musik ausschließlich in den Händen privater Stellen liegt. Im Mittelpunkt der Aufführungen steht nicht das Ensemble, sondern der Star. Zu jeder Vorstellung gehören klingende Namen. Deshalb gibt es Repertoire stehen eine Anzahl herkömmlicher Werke, zu denen vor allem die bekannten italienischen Opern gehören. Besonderer Beliebtheit erfreut sich auch der “Rosenkavalier.” Die großen Dirigenten sind fast ausschließlich Europäer. Es ist üblich, die Werke italienischer von Italienern, die französischer Herkunft von Franzosen und deutsche Opern on Deutschen dirigieren zu lassen.” “Wiener Musiker erlebt Amerika: Professor Marco Frank nach zehnjährigem Exil nach Wien zurückgekehrt,” Neue Wiener Tageszeitung (January 29, 1949), 5.

72 Ibid.73 “Ich freue mich, daß Wien von seiner Musikstadt nichts verloren hat. Ich bin dem Schicksal nicht böse, daß ich so

lange im Ausland leben mußte, denn ich habe viel gelernt und zahlreiche neue Eindrücke gewonnen. Auch habe ich drüben fleißig gearbeitet.” Ibid.

26

During the last decade of his life, Frank worked as a freelance composer producing a

smaller number of works, including String Quartets nos. 3 and 4, Der Namenlose dieser Zeit

(ballade for singers and piano), Scherzo capriccioso, Spielmusik, 3 Spielmusiken (for chamber

orchestra), and Reineke Fuchs (symphonic story after Goethe). According to Susanne Rode-

Breymann, Frank “could no longer gain a foothold” as a composer after his return and

maintained income as a viola teacher.74 He served as viola professor at the Vienna Conservatory

(Konservatorium der Stadt Wien) from 1948-1951; no details regarding Frank’s curriculum or

students are currently available.

The first edition of the Viola-Etuden (1950) was published during Frank’s tenure at the

Conservatory and the Praktische Viola-Schule was published shortly thereafter. Although the

etudes were released before the method book, they were intended as a supplement to the

instructional material presented within the Viola-Schule. Frank dedicated his viola method book

to Wilhelm Rohm, who created the music department for the Österreichischer Bundesverlag

(ÖBV) publishing firm in 1946 and served as the chief editor of the periodical Musikerziehung

(produced by ÖBV) until 1961. ÖBV’s main function was to produce “new music in a modern

idiom required by Austrian music education, and concentrating on following modern educational

principles.”75 The etudes of Frank were advertised in Musikerziehung as the “best practice

material for the classroom/instruction” and intended for violists who had achieved proficiency on

74 “Als einer der wenigen österreichischen Komponisten kehrte er nach zehnjährigem Exil nach Wien zurück, konnte als Komponist aber nicht mehr Fuß fassen (seinen Lebensunterhalt verdiente er sich 1948 bis 1951 als Bratschenlehrer).” Rode-Breymann, 116.

75 Wilhelm Rohm, “Österreichischer Bundesverlag,” Oxford Music Online, accessed July 3, 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000020543.

27

the violin through third position.76 Among his other compositions, the pedagogical viola material

most frequently appears within summaries of his oeuvre, as found in biographical dictionary

entries. Furthermore, more academic institutions currently maintain holdings of Frank’s viola

pedagogical material than any other of his compositions.77

Frank’s works were featured on concert programs hosted by the Austrian Composers'

Association (Österreichischer Komponistenbund) before and after his death. Frank died April 29,

1961, shortly after his eightieth birthday. His gravesite is located in the Vienna Central Cemetery

(Ehrengrab Wiener Zentralfriedhof)78 among other prominent figures of Viennese art and

culture.

Despite Frank’s presence in Viennese concert halls and over the airwaves before exile,

the significance of his musical output has been overshadowed by the composers of the Second

Viennese School. This does not necessarily suggest that Frank’s works are inferior; rather, as

Peter Burkholder explains, the composers who modeled their works after the “great masters” of

previous eras (i.e. Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, etc.) were more likely to hold relevance

throughout twentieth-century musicology.79 Moreover, the lack of extant recordings of Frank’s

oeuvre further hindered his relevance. Primrose, considered one of the first professional violists

to record extensively, confirmed this point: “[o]nce an artist ceases to record or perform, his

76 “Bestes Übungsmaterial für den Unterricht! […] Seine Etüden sind vor allem für diejenigen Violaspieler gedacht, welche als Voraussetzung die dritte Lage im Violinspiel beherrschen.” “Marco Frank” in Musikerziehung 4, no. 1, (September 1950), inside cover.

77 According to WorldCat, approximately twenty institutions worldwide own copies of Frank’s viola material. 78 Link to the directory and description of artists buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery,

https://www.friedhoefewien.at/media/files/2015/ehrengraeber_finalversion_web2_166056.pdf 79 “It is the composers who chose Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach as models for three own highly innovative

compositions who we, in turn, most deeply respect and choose to study - Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, of course, but also Hindemith, Strauss, Stravinsky, Bartok, and Ives.” Peter Burkholder, “Museum Pieces: The Historicist Mainstream in Music of the Last Hundred Years,” in Journal of Musicology 2, no. 2 (Spring 1983), 122.

28

reputation gradually evanesces.”80 Frank’s intimate understanding of the viola’s function within

ensembles served to provide players with suitable study literature idiomatic for the instrument

and thus more beneficial than violin transcriptions currently in use. The following chapter will

examine the benefits of his pedagogical literature.

80 William Primrose, Walk on the North Side (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1978), 83.

29

CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS OF PRAKTISCHE VIOLA-SCHULE AND VIOLA-ETUDEN

This chapter will explore and analyze Frank’s viola study material and compare it to a

selection of standard intermediate violin etudes by Franz Wohlfahrt (1833-1884), Heinrich

Kayser (1815-1888), Mazas, Schradieck, and Ševčík. The analysis will cover five basic

categories: identification of pacing throughout the series; survey of forms employed; common

keys used; tempo, meter, bowing and articulation markings; and other basic techniques (e.g.

pizzicato, chords, double-stops). The purpose of this analysis is to determine the usefulness of an

original viola etude series in contrast to ‘tried and true’ violin transcriptions.

Method: Organization and Content

Frank’s Praktische Viola-Schule was published in 1953, three years after the Viola-

Etuden. This method book shares similarities in content and organization with Kayser’s Neue

Schule für Bratsche op. 54, Hans Sitt’s (1850-1922) Praktische Bratschen-Schule, and Joseph

Vimeux’s (1804-1847) Méthode d'alto. Similar to earlier viola study literature, Frank’s

instructional material was intended for players who have already achieved proficiency on the

violin. However, due to the plethora of elementary viola music published in the mid- to late

twentieth century, experience on the violin is not necessary to study Frank’s pedagogical works,

as long as the violist has attained equivalent mastery to Telemann’s Concerto in G Major TWV

51:G9 or similar, as found in the fourth volume of the Suzuki Method.

The preface to the Viola-Schule includes a brief description of the instrument’s range

(with alto and treble clefs), open string tuning, and the importance of treble clef knowledge.

Frank provided a short primer for each diatonic note (with solfège and fingering indications) in

30

first position on each string and follows with a two-octave C major scale. Intervals are

introduced in exercises of thirty-two to thirty-four measures, covering seconds through tenths;

similar intervallic exercises are also found in the method books of Sitt, Gebauer, Vimeux,

Kayser, and Tomás Lestán (1827-1908). In contrast to other interval exercises that simply

present pitches in ascending and descending order, Frank created a subtle melodic contour which

varies throughout and encourages the student to acquire aural and physical connections between

the notes (i.e. finger pattern awareness along and across strings). After the interval exercises, all

scales are presented in first position with their corresponding relative minor and ordered first by

sharps, then by flats. The organization of the first eight pages in Frank’s Viola-Schule is identical

to Sitt’s Praktische Bratsche-Schule.

Frank incorporated a section dedicated to fingering exercises similar to Sitt, Schradieck’s

first volume of School of Violin Technics, and Ševčík’s School of Violin Technique op. 1. There

are nine exercises in total, each covering all four strings and varying in metric and rhythmic

value (i.e. eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes); the seventh exercise includes a brief meter

change from 4/4 to 5/4. Additionally, the eighth and ninth exercises feature chromatic changes

for the first, second, and third fingers; unlike Schradieck and Ševčík, which build dexterity in all

fingers equally, only the ninth exercise emphasizes the fourth finger. At this point in the Viola-

Schule, Frank noted: “Following are etudes for viola volume I and II by the same author.”81 An

etude of fifty-four measures appears between the fingering exercises and primer material for

second position; this etude (no tempo indication) incorporates notes on all four strings, simple

chromatic changes of the first, second, and third fingers, recurrent use of fourth finger similar to

the previous fingering exercise, frequent string crossings, and five patterns of bowing which

81 “Hier anschließend folgen die Viola-Etuden Heft I und II desselben Autors,” Frank, Praktische Viola-Schule, 16.

31

change throughout.82 This D minor etude (see Figure 4.1) is on par with the level of difficulty

found in the first two volumes of the Viola-Etuden, in respect to changes in finger pattern and

bowing direction.

Figure 4.1: From Praktische Viola-Schule, pp. 17-18

Positions and shifting are introduced, beginning with second position and ascending

through seventh, concluding with half position. Each position provides a short primer for finger

82 Variations include: separate and slurred eighth notes grouped by two and four, two slurred eighth notes followed by two separate, one separate followed by three slurred eighth notes.

Frank - Method Ex p. 17Frank - Method Ex p. 17

32

placement, applicable major and minor scales within one position, and short exercises involving

shifting back to first position.83 Following the section on third position is another instruction

from Frank: “Together with the following exercises [Book] III etudes for viola by the same

author should be used.”84 The third-position etudes found in the Viola-Schule are similar in

difficulty to those found in the third volume of the Viola-Etuden (in regard to chromaticism,

shifting between positions, and bow coordination), however they are less rhythmically complex.

Treble clef is used in the sections on fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh positions, yet is only present

in etude no. 35 from the Viola-Etuden.

Select scales with shifts appear following the primer on half position; the organization of

this section begins with C major then ascends by common keys.85 The first instance of arpeggios

occurs somewhat late in Frank’s method, although this is similar to Sitt’s placement. The order

of arpeggios ascends chromatically from low C, with two repetitions on tonic and subdominant

patterns, and incorporates positions as well as shifting throughout. Frank also includes a short

section of diminished-seventh arpeggios in mixed meter (ascending in 3/4 and descending in

5/4). This section ends with a primer and brief exercises on the chromatic scale in first and third

positions, as well as a complete chromatic scale covering three octaves.

The last section of Frank’s Viola-Schule consists of preliminary studies of trills, double-

stops, and chords. For the trill exercises, Frank only utilizes the strongest fingers (omitting the

fourth finger) on all strings, first in sixteenth and then thirty-second notes. The exercises are

followed by two short etudes that incorporate shifts, trills, and grace notes. The double-stop and

83 Third position contains five exercises, fourth position contains two, fifth position contains three, and only primers and scales are included for sixth and seventh positions, as these higher positions were less commonly used by violists participating in orchestral and chamber music at the time of publication.

84 “Gleichzeitig mit den folgenden Übungen benütze man Heft III der Viola-Etuden desselben Autors,” Frank, Praktische Viola-Schule, 22.

85 C, D, E, E-flat, F, G, g, A, B-flat, B, b, C (beginning from middle C). Major keys appear as capitalized letters, minor keys in lower-case.

33

chord exercises are presented in slow tempi (Lento and Andante) and are well-suited for the

hands of an intermediate violist. In other words, Frank does not involve many difficult-to-reach

intervals on the C string, nor does he include many finger crossings (i.e. higher finger on the

lower string or vice versa). The last double-stop etude involves shifting in both thirds and sixths.

The method concludes with an exercise of thirty-six measures on three-note chords with

instructions for execution (i.e. strike the lowest note, then sustain the top two notes).

Etudes

Etudes have historically been used to strengthen a player’s technique. Unlike the

technical exercises found in Schradieck or Ševčík, etudes provide a musical context to

implement specific techniques.86 In analyzing these etudes, I found they are useful with or

without the Praktische Viola-Schule, although the comprehensive nature of the method book

enables for a fuller understanding of the fingerboard, while the player can focus on bowing

techniques required by the three volumes of etudes.

Technical Pacing

First advertised in Musikerziehung, the Viola-Etuden are described as the “best practice

material for study” and were intended primarily for players who had achieved prerequisite

mastery on the violin.87 Frank’s etudes are well-suited for intermediate students who have

achieved mastery of basic notational reading on all strings, including common keys idiomatic to

string playing (i.e. D, G, C, and F) and physical coordination of scales and arpeggios.

86 Some violists believe that all technique can be taught and implemented through repertoire. Personally, I feel that too much focus on technical elements in solo literature can hinder musicality, if not balanced with regular study of scales, arpeggios, etudes, etc.

87 “Bestes Übungsmaterial für den Unterricht!…Seine Etüden sind vor allem für diejenigen Violaspieler gedacht, welche als Voraussetzung die dritte Lage im Violinspiel beherrschen.” Musikerziehung 4, no. 1 (September 1950), inside cover.

34

There are fifty etudes in total, divided across three volumes, and they cover all basic

techniques required for Telemann’s Concerto in G Major. In general, the first two volumes do

not exceed the first position (with the exception of an extension to F on the A string in etude no.

2, measure 32). Volume One develops passage-work with coordination of basic bowing patterns

and string crossings through bowing variations. The second volume develops more musical

gestures through variation of rhythm and chromatic motion. The third volume advances the

overall range to encompass the third position and includes as many etudes involving meter

changes as those appearing in the first two volumes. Furthermore, Volume Three incorporates a

combination of bowings within a single etude, as opposed to consistent bowing patterns in the

earlier volumes. Frank’s etudes progress moderately, but not as quickly as Wohlfahrt’s op. 45

(Volume Two) or Kayser’s op. 20 in terms of key signatures, chromatic motion, double-stops,

expressive indications, and advanced bowing techniques (i.e. consecutive up-bows and ricochet).

Form

The most common form used in Frank’s etudes is rounded binary (aba’ with a short

coda), similar to Wohlfahrt and Kayser (op. 20).88 Etudes nos. 2, 24, 30, 44, 46, 47, and 48 are

through-composed and incorporate specific techniques that will be discussed later in this chapter.

Several etudes allow the student the opportunity to explore musical concepts such as theme with

slight variations (nos. 29 and 40), minuet (nos. 18 and 29), gavotte (no. 40), and scherzo (no. 9).

Common Key Signatures and Left Hand

Not all key signatures are equal on the viola, in terms of physicality and acoustic

resonance of the instrument. Due to the high number of tones which vibrate sympathetically with

the viola’s open strings (i.e. ringing tones), the keys which resonate most naturally on the

88 Kayser op. 43 contains etudes in binary form (ab).

35

instrument are C, G, D, and F. Table 4.1 compares the key signatures found in the Viola-Etuden,

Wohlfahrt’s op. 45, Kayser’s opp. 20 and 43, in order of greatest frequency.

Frank most commonly uses the keys that resonate best with the instrument’s open strings: C (13),

G (12), D (7), and F (6). Additionally, the keys utilized less frequently are still highly resonant

on viola. In comparison, Wohlfahrt as transcribed for viola utilizes F (16) and C (15) most

frequently while Kayser’s op. 20 uses A-flat, F, and C five times each. Interestingly, Kayser’s

op. 43, originally created for viola, utilizes C (12), D (5), and G (5), which suit the viola’s natural

resonance better than those keys found in his op. 20. While the etudes of Wohlfahrt contain a

high frequency of viola-friendly resonant keys, there are a greater number of etudes in flat keys

(i.e. E-flat, A-flat) appearing early in the text, which require the player to avoid open strings and

use a lowered fourth finger more frequently (a technique more easily executable on the violin).

The average pitch range for Frank’s etudes in the first two volumes spans from the C

string up to E on the A string. Wohlfahrt (op. 45, nos. 1-30) and Kayser (op. 20) maintain a

similar pitch range, although both composers utilize more lower string notes in the early etudes

than Frank. The third volume maintains a higher range, as it is mostly focused on third position;

this volume is similar to Wohlfahrt (op. 45, nos. 31-60) which includes mostly third-position

etudes. Frank’s choice of keys enables the player to master the geography of the fingerboard

through idiomatic key signatures, chromaticism, and repetitive patterns found throughout.

Table 4.1: Key Signatures Used in Frank’s Viola-Etuden, Wohlfahrt’s op. 45, and Kayser’s opp. 20 and 43 A♭ A a B♭ b♭ b C c D♭ D d E♭ e F f G g

Frank vol. 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 3 2 Viola-Etuden vol. 2 1 1 3 5 3 3

vol. 3 1 2 4 1 1 7 2 Wohlfahrt, vol. 1 2 3 9 1 2 1 1 6 1 4

op. 45 vol. 2 1 1 6 1 1 2 3 10 4 1 Kayser op. 20 5 1 3 1 8 1 1 2 2 3 2 5 3 2

op. 43 1 4 1 1 12 5 3 2 4 3

36

Tempo, Bowing, and Meter

The most common tempo indications in Frank’s etudes are: Allegro (15), Moderato (14),

and Allegro moderato (9). Wohlfahrt uses tempo indications of Allegro (without additional

description) and Moderato most frequently, whereas Kayser employs more variations of Allegro

and Andante. While it is ultimately the individual teacher’s responsibility to determine the exact

tempo for the student, Frank’s indications are to ensure proper attention to intonation and

comfortable bow control.

Frank deploys bowing variations in eight etudes. Within these etudes, between six and

eight variations are suggested (although the individual teacher may add more, if desired); Figure

4.2 shows all variations listed by Frank. The effect of specific passages changes the gesture

substantially with each bowing variation, most noticeably in etudes nos. 1, 3, 6, 8, and 13.

These variations result in either alterations of the rhythm depending on slur grouping (no. 1),

coordination of string crossings (nos. 3 and 13), and shifting emphasis on internal beats

throughout the measure (nos. 6 and 8). In etude no. 1, five of the eight bowing variations create a

quarter note value by combining two eighth notes under a slur. Examples of these rhythmic

changes occur on the downbeat of measures 24 and 39 (Figure 4.3) and as a syncopated rhythm

in measure 48 (Figure 4.4).

Frank Variations

Figure 4.2: Bowing Variations used in Viola-Etuden

37

Figure 4.3: Etude no. 1 Allegro moderato, mm. 24 and 39

With each variation in etudes no. 3 and 13, the coordination of string crossings in the sequences

is affected by changes in slur grouping (Figures 4.5 and 4.6). These excerpts were selected due to

their similarities to passages found in Campagnoli’s op. 22 (e.g. Caprice no. 15, mm. 48-49).

2

Frank Example #1

Frank Example #1

m. 24

m. 39

Frank Variations

Frank Short Examples

120

Frank Example #1

Figure 4.4: Etude no. 1 Allegro moderato, m. 48

Figure 4.5: Etude no. 3 Allegretto, mm. 33-35

38

In etudes no. 6 and 8 (Figures 4.7 and 4.8), the variation of slurs slightly alter the emphasis of the

internal beat within the measure, most noticeably when notes are grouped by three. Additionally,

the presence of a hemiola in measures 36-37 (in brackets below) further challenges the player to

coordinate string crossings and bow changes under each variation.

2

4

Frank Variations

Frank Short Examples

120

Figure 4.6: Etude no. 13 Allegro moderato, mm. 27-28

Figure 4.7: Etude no. 6 Allegro moderato, mm. 22-40

39

Figure 4.8: Etude no. 8 Allegro moderato, mm. 18-39

In comparison, the bowing variations found in Wohlfahrt also incorporate alterations of rhythmic

patterns (i.e. from eighth notes to dotted eighth-sixteenth, etc.) but incorporate more variations of

articulation. Kayser’s op. 20 suggests fewer bowing variations than the violin version while op.

43 contains seventeen variations only in the first etude. It is interesting to note that the specific

number of bowing and articulation variations found in modern editions of Wohlfahrt and Kayser

vary by editor.

Bow markings in other etudes require the player to execute multiple patterns within a

single study; the mastery of each bowing variation in earlier etudes develops the necessary

2

3

40

control to make quick pattern changes. For example, etude no. 9 (Figure 4.9) displays the

frequency of the changing patterns.

Figure 4.9: Etude no. 9 Allegretto, mm. 58-67

Figures 4.10-4.12 show other basic bow-specific instructions including rapid retaking of the

down-bow89 (nos. 4 and 28) and consecutive up-bows (no. 29). Wohlfahrt has two etudes with

consecutive up-bows (nos. 24 and 45) and one etude with ricochet (no. 40) while Kayser op. 20

has only one etude (no. 33) with containing consecutive up-bows.

While Frank’s etudes do not require advanced bowing techniques, the coordination of the basic

gestures (achieved through variations) is vital to bow control when executing more difficult

strokes.

89 Etude nos. 12, 16, 20, 42, and 50 also include retakes of the down bow.

2

Frank Short Examples

120

Frank Short Examples

120

Frank Short Examples

120

Figure 4.12: Etude no. 29 Tempo di Minuetto, mm. 25-27

Figure 4.10: Etude no. 4 Moderato, mm. 51-53

Figure 4.11: Etude no. 28 Allegro, mm. 38-41

41

Meter changes in the Viola-Etuden occur more frequently than the violin transcriptions

from Wohlfahrt, Kayser, and Mazas.90 Frank uses multiple meters in thirteen of the fifty total

etudes, and deploys mixed meter as early as etudes nos. 1 (see Figure 4.13), 7, 9, and 10 in the

first volume; this exposes students to changing meters within one movement.

(Figure 4.14) emphasizes the proportional relationship between time signatures (4/4 Etude no. 49

and 12/8; 3/4 and 6/8).

rhythmic shifting from duple, triple, or quintuple subdivisions. Figure Eleven etudes

4.15 shows an

incorporate

example of such rhythmic variation in etude no. 29.

Figure 4.15: Etude no. 29 Tempo di Minuetto, mm. 43-48

90 Mazas makes use of meter changes only between sections and they are more related to form.

Frank Short Examples

120

Frank Short Examples

120

Frank Short Examples

120

mm. 41-43

mm. 14-16

Figure 4.13: Etude no. 1 Allegro moderato, mm. 1-6

Figure 4.14: Etude no. 49 Moderato, mm. 14-16 and 41-43

42

Miscellaneous Techniques

Unlike Mazas or Kreutzer, Frank does not specify technical objectives throughout his

Viola-Etuden, however he does occasionally cover miscellaneous techniques such as pizzicati,

trills, double-stops, chords, shifting, and clef changes from alto to treble (only no. 35). The use of

pizzicato is scarce and limited to open strings at the conclusion of etudes nos. 38 and 50. Kayser

applies pizzicato throughout op. 20, however as double-stops, chords, and left-hand pizzicato;

Wohlfahrt contains no etudes with pizzicato. In etudes nos. 16, 20, 29, 30, and 38, Frank

includes trills and only in no. 24 (Figure 4.16) does he present a preparatory exercise (in

quintuplets).

Figure 4.16 Etude no. 24 Allegro moderato, mm. 1-3

Dynamic indications are sparsely applied and found in etudes nos. 14, 38, and 47; the scarcity of

printed dynamic markings allow the student freedom to explore his/her own expressive

interpretation.

Double-stops as well as three- and four-note chords appear in etudes nos. 3, 6, 14, 16, 20,

33, 36, 38, 44, and 50. The use of multiple stopping is progressive, beginning with simple G, F,

and C chords, then increasing in difficulty to cross fingers in nos. 36 and 38.

2

pizz.

2

pizz.

2

pizz.

No. 3 No. 6 No. 36

No. 44, mm. 21-25

No. 38, mm. 67-70

2

pizz.

Figure 4.17: Double-Stops Used in Etudes nos. 3, 6, 36, 38, and 44

43

The use of multiple-stopping is less challenging than that found in Wohlfahrt and Kayser op. 20,

where the smaller proportions of the violin make such double-stops possible. Frank’s use of

shifting is limited to Volume 3, whereas Kayser op. 20 requires shifting earlier in the sequence

than either Wohlfahrt or Frank.

Frank’s musical style is relatively traditional by twentieth-century standards (i.e.

compared to composers of the Second Viennese School); like his earlier compositions, he utilizes

a retrospective approach to viola instruction. Throughout the collection of fifty etudes, Frank

deploys several ‘traditional’ stylistic elements (i.e. detached bow strokes, repetitive motives,

musical sequences, etc.) found in music of the Baroque and Classical eras.91 In no. 20, Frank

concludes the etude with a tempo change to Largo, common in works from earlier eras to signify

a final cadence (Figure 4.18).

Furthermore, Frank provides a note in no. 47 of “nach Händel,” which is evident through his use

of Fortspinnung and harmonic progression.

The idiomatic nature of these etudes is evident through Frank’s choice of key signatures

deployed, application of traditional bowing instructions, and frequent musical sequences that

serve to prepare the violist for more difficult works by solidifying the geography of the

fingerboard and coordination of the bow arm. Although the Viola-Etuden were composed long

after Wohlfahrt and Kayser, Frank’s etudes are useful for modern students to bridge the gap

between earlier musical styles and more contemporary expectations.

91 Etude numbers: 4, 12, 16, 18, 20, 21, 28, 29, 42, 47.

2

pizz.

Largo

Figure 4.18: Etude no. 20 Allegro moderato, mm. 44-48

44

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

The viola has achieved great strides in emancipating itself from the violin and the

circulation of lesser-known viola composers creates the potential to develop a completely

independent curriculum of original viola study literature. Transcriptions have certainly

influenced the viola’s reputation as a solo instrument worthy of independent study; however, as

the perceptions of viola continue to shift away from violin-centric methods, violists should

expand their standardized literature to include more works originally written for the instrument.

Frank’s contributions to viola pedagogy through the Praktische Viola-Schule and Viola-Etuden

can serve to supplement the existing body of standard viola study literature that has relied

heavily upon violin transcriptions, as well as give violists the opportunity to explore music

written originally for viola by a violist. While it may take time for violists to develop new

traditions completely independent from the violin, I encourage string teachers to explore

pedagogical works of lesser-known composers and consider the possibilities beyond the

traditional handful of violin transcriptions.

45

APPENDIX A

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF ORIGINAL STUDY LITERATURE FOR VIOLA

46

Bergmann, Anton. Violaschule. Regensburg: Alfred Coppenrath's Verlag, 1892.

Brähmig, Bernhard. Practische Bratschenschule. Leipzig: Carl Merseburger, ca1870.

Brunner, Adolf. Neue Schule fur die Viola oder Bratsche. Leipzig: Zimmerman, c1891. Carse,

Adam. Viola School. London: Augener, 1929.

Cavallini, Eugenio. Guida per lo Studio Elementare e Progressivo della Viola. Milan: Ricordi,

1920.

———. 24 studi per viola. Milan: Presso Francesco Lucca, ?1830-1833.

Frank, Marco. Praktische Viola-Schule. Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1953.

———. Viola-Etuden. Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1950.

Hermann, Friedrich. Technische Studien, op. 22: für Viola, als Vorübungen zu den Koncert-Studien op. 18. Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, ?1881.

———. Koncert-Studien, op. 18. Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, ?1897.

———. Das Studium der Viola. Mainz: Schott, 1911.

Hofmann, Richard. Viola-Schule, op. 40. Leipzig: Merseburger 1883.

———. Die ersten Etüden für Viola, op. 86. Leipzig: Edition Peters, 1893.

———. 15 Etüden für Viola: in verschiedenen Lagen, für fortgeschrittene Schüler, op. 87. Leipzig: Merseburger, 1893.

Kayser, Heinrich Ernst. 36 Etuden für Bratsche, op.43. Hamburg: Cranz, 1870.

———. Neue Schule für Bratsche, op. 54. Hamburg: Cranz, 1873.

Lestan, Tomás. Método Elemental de Viola. Madrid: A. Romero, 1870.

Palaschko, Johannes. 10 Künstler-Etuden für Viola, op. 44. Leipzig: Zimmermann, 1907.

———. 24 leichte melodische Viola-Studien, op. 86. London: Schott, 1930.

———. Melodische Etüden für Bratsche allein, op. 92. Berlin: N. Simrock, 1929.

47

———. 20 Etuden für Viola zur Förderung der Technik und des Vortrags, Op 36. Leipzig: Fr. Kistner, ca. 1904.

———. Zehn Viola-Studien für vorgerückte Spieler, op. 49. Heilbronn: C. F. Schmidt, 1910.

———. 12 Studien für Viola, op. 55. Leipzig: Steingräber, 1912.

———. Dodici Studii per Viola, op. 62. Milan: Ricordi, 1923.

———. 15 Studien-Etudes für Viola, op. 66. Mainz: Schott’s Söhne, 1926.

———. 25 Melodische Stüdien für Viola, op. 96. Leipzig: C. Merseburger, 1930.

———. Vingt-quatre études mélodiques pour alto, op. 77. Paris: A. Leduc, 1927.

———. Venticinque studi facili e melodici per viola la e 3a posizione, op. 87. Milan: Ricordi, 1928

Reher, Sven Helge. Twelve Studies for Viola. Hollywood: Highland Music, c1978.

———. Twelve Studies for Intermediate Viola. [Calif.?]: S. H. Reher, c1986.

Ritter, Hermann. Viola-Schule: für den Schul- und Selbstunterricht. Leipzig: C. Rühle, c1904.

———. Elementartechnik der Viola alta. Leipzig: F. Kistner, ca1895.

Schloming, Harry. Das Studium der Viola: Praktischer Lehrgang für die Viola in zwei Teilen, op. 20. London: A. J. Benjamin, c1912.

———. 24 Studien fur vorgeschrittene Schuler, op. 15. London: A. J. Benjamin, 1910.

Sitt, Hans. Praktische Bratschenschule. Leipzig: Edition Peters, 1891.

———. 15 Etuden für Viola, op. 116. Adliswil: Edition Kunzelmann, 1913.

Uhl, Alfred. Zwanzig Etüden für Viola. Mainz: Schott’s Söhne, c1973.

Vimeux, Joseph. Méthode d’alto. Paris: Joly, 1851.

Volmer, Berta. Bratschenschule. Mainz: Schott, c1955.

48

APPENDIX B

MARCO FRANK EXPANDED WORKS LIST

49

The following works list has been compiled with various sources: WorldCat.org, Austrian Newspapers Online (ANNO) hosted by the Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG, 1949), Die Wiener Staatsoper in den Zwischenkriegsjahren (Rode-Breymann), Wiener Symphoniker’s online program archives, and Frank’s personal estate held at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus Musiksammlung. Additional details about each work have been provided, if available.

Date Title Composed Librettist / text by

Premiere date and location (for significant works, not all dates are listed) Publisher information (Pub) Miscellaneous remarks (Prem)

Opera, Staged and Vocal Works

1897 Die drei Musketiere for chamber opera in 2 acts

1911 Requiem for solo voices, mixed choir, and orchestra

1917 Eroica, music drama in three acts Text: Dr. Richard Batka Prem: March 21, 1919 at the Wien Volksoper Pub: (piano reduction) Vienna: L. Doblinger, 1918.

1923 Das Bildnis der Madonna, opera in two acts Text: Lothar Ring Prem: Mar 27, 1925 at the Wien Staatsoper Pub: (piano reduction) Vienna: Josef Weinberger, 1924.

1924 3 lieder: “Liebesnacht” “Der Frühling” “Verloren” For voice(s) and piano accompaniment Pub: Vienna: L. Doblinger, 1924.

1928 Springbunnen for mens’ choir

1929 Triptychon for voice(s) and piano accompaniment Movements: “Mein ganzes Sehnen bist Du!” - “Nun ist meines Lebens schönste Zeit” - “Ich hab dich gefunden” Text: Hilde Haslbruner Pub: Schuberthaus, ?1929.

50

1933 Der selige Octave, musical comedy in one act Text: M. Frank

1934 Mardis Gras, ballet

1935 Bagno, music drama in one act Text: M. Frank

Ein Deutsches Stabat Mater Prem: April 12, 1935 with “Dreizehnlinden” and Wiener Symphoniker Pub: (piano reduction) Vienna: Eberle, 1935.

1936 Die fremde Frau, opera in three acts Libretto: Friedrich Schreyvogel; after Alexander Bisson’s La Femme X Prem: April 17, 1937 at the Wien Staatsoper Pub: (piano reduction) Vienna: Eberle, 1936.

1949 Der Namenlose dieser Zeit Ballade for bass voice with piano accompaniment

Orchestral Works

1927 Hexenjagd

1928 Symphony no. 1 in D “Steirische” Homunculus

1929 Guitarra, Danse rustique espagnole / ‘Guitarra, spanischer Tanz’ Pub: by Edition Scala (Vienna, 1929) and Wiener Monatshefte für Musik: Ausgabe U (Wien-Berlin: Töpfer, 1930)

Nocturne Pub: Vienna: Edition Scala, 1929

1930 Hörspiel-OuvertürePiano Concerto #1 in e

Prem: April 26, 1931 with Stella Wang and Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester

1931 Suite im alten Stil, [after motifs of 16th century], for strings, harp, and piano Prem: October 27, 1931 by Wien Frauensinfonieorchester

Lustspiel-Ouverture

1932 Symphony no. 2 in G

1933 Suite orientale* Movements: Provocation - Märchenerzähler - Karawane - Schlangenbeschwörer - Fata Morgana - Feuertanz.

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1934 Libysche Suite* [possibly reworked material from Suite oriental] Movements: Invocation - Karawane - Fata Morgana - Schlangenbeschwörer - Märchenerzähler - Feuertanz Pub: Edition Scala (Vienna, 1934)

1936 Romanisch Suite Walzerintermezzo

1938 Piano Concerto no. 2 in D

1942 Violin Concerto in E

1947 New York, Porträts einer Stadt, symphonic poem in three movements Movements: “Unter den Wolkenkratzern” - “Am Hafen” - “Volksfest” Prem: March 15, 1955 with Wiener Sinfoniker

1948 Symphony no. 3 in F

1949 Scherzo capricciosoSpielmusik

1953 3 Spielmusiken for chamber orchestra

1955 “Reineke Fuchs” symphonische Fabel nach Goethe

1956 Corelliana: Entrada - Toccata - Corrente [three studies after Corelli] Symphony no. 4 Kleine Tafelmusik

Chamber Music

1925 String Quartet no. 1 in A Sinfonietta Piano Quartet in a

1926 String Quartet no. 2 in F

1929 Russian Rhapsodie, after Alabjew’s Le Rossignol, for violin and piano Pub: Vienna, Doblinger, 1929. Dedicated to Arnold Rosé, arranged for orchestra in 1949

1929-31 Arab Suite for solo piano Movements: Die Sphinx - Der Schlangenbeschwörer - Die Schleiertäterin - Die Karawane Pub: in Wiener Monatshefte für Musik (Wien-Berlin: Töpfer 1929-1932)

1930 Idylle, 5 Stückte for string quartet Pub: in Wiener Monatshefte für Musik

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1934 Concertino in G minor

c1934 Piano Sonata in C Minor

1935 Violin Sonata

1936 Sonate for Viola and Piano Prem: violist Annie Haldenwang-Baradieser on August 25, 1936

1937 Galante Serenade for violin and piano Arranged for violin with orchestra in 1948

1942 Prologue extatique for solo piano Pub: New York: E.B. Marks Music Corp, 1942.

1949 String Quartet no. 3 Pub: Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1951.

1953 String Quartet no. 4 in C

1957 Piano Sonata in E Minor

n.d. String Quartet no. 5 Piano Quintet

Pedagogical Literature

1950 Viola-Etuden, three volumes Pub: Vienna: Österreichischen Bundesverlag, 1950.

1952 Praktische Viola-Schule Pub: Vienna: Österreichischen Bundesverlag, 1953.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barber, Barbara. "A Comparison of Traditional and Suzuki Teaching." American String Teacher 41, no. 4 (Autumn, 1991): 75-82.

Barrett, Henry. The Viola: Complete Guide for Teachers and Students. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1978.

Berlioz, Hector. The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz. Translated by David Cairns. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

———. Treatise on Instrumentation. Translated by Theodore Front. New York: Dover, 1991.

Botstein, Leon, et al. “Vienna,” in Grove Music Online. Accessed July 2, 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/29326

Boyden,DavidD.,revisedbyPeterWalls,et.al."Violin."OxfordMusicOnline.AccessedFeb.20,2016.http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000041161.

Burkholder, Peter. “Museum Pieces: The Historicist Mainstream in Music of the Last Hundred Years,” in Journal of Musicology 2, 2 (Spring 1983).

Castledine, Madeline. “Etudes and Viola Pedagogy.” DMA diss., University of Cincinnati, 1998.

Dalton, David. Playing the Viola: Conversations with William Primrose. Oxford: Oxford, 1988.

Drüner, Ulrich. Das Studium der Viola: Eine Sammlung von 100 originalen Etüden des 19. Jahrhunderts. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1982.

———. “The Etude: A Survey of its History and its Problems.” Translated by W. Sawodny in Die Viola: Jahrbuch der Internationalen Viola-Gesellschaft 1981-1982. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1979.

Neubert, Paul. “The Development of Viola Instruction at the Paris Conservatoire during the Nineteenth Century and the Evolution of an Idiomatic Style of Writing for the Viola as seen through the Music of the Viola Concours, 1896–1918.” DMA diss., University of Kentucky, 2004.

Parker, Sophie E. "A Survey of Viola Teachers' Perceptions of Viola Pedagogy." DMA diss., University of Houston, 2014.

Primrose, William. Walk on the North Side. Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1978.

Quantz, Johann Joachim. On Playing the Flute, translated by Edward R. Reilly. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001.

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Riley, Maurice W. The History of the Viola. Ann Arbor: Braun-Brumfield, 1980.

Stowell, Robin. The Early Violin and Viola: A Practical Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Zeyringer, Franz. Literatur für Viola. Hartberg: Julius Schönwetter, 1963.

———. “Organization of The Elementary Viola Instruction,” trans. Walter M. Wels, in Die Viola: Jahrbuch der Internationalen Viola-Gesellschaft 1893-1984. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1986.

Marco Frank Resources

Bechert, Paul. “‘The Image of the Madonna’ at the Staatsoper.” The Musical Times 66, no. 978 (May 1, 1925).

Fechner, Auguste. “Lettre de Vienne.” La Rampe 11, no. 409 (May 3, 1925).

Frank, Marco. Praktische Viola-Schule. Vienna: Österreichischen Bundesverlag, 1953.

Frank, Marco. Viola-Etuden. Vienna: Österreichischen Bundesverlag, 1950.

Friedhöfe Wien. “Ehrengräber am Wiener Zentralfriedhof.” Accessed December 16, 2015. https: //www.friedhoefewien.at/media/files/2015/ehrengraeber_finalversion_web2_166056.pdf.

Frith, Michael. Zemlinsky Studies. London: Middlesex University Press, 2007.

Harten, Uwe. “Frank, Marco.” Österreichisches Musiklexikon Online. Last modified May 6, 2001. http://www.musiklexikon.ac.at/ml/musik_F/Frank_Marco.xml.

Kralik, Heinrich. “Das Musikleben das Gegenwart: Wien.” Die Musik 17, no. 7 (May 1925).

Lettmayer, Ferdinand. Wien um die Mitte des XX. Jahrhunderts: ein Querschnitt durch Landschaft, Geschichte, soziale und technische Einrichtungen, wirtschaftliche und politische Stellung und durch der kulturelle Leben. Vienna: Verlag für Jugend und Volk, 1958.

“Marco Frank.” Musikerziehung 5, no. 1 (1951): 32-33.

“Marco Frank.” Radio Wien 14 (December 29, 1933): 2.

“Orchesterkonzert.” Radio Wien 11 (December 8, 1933): 2.

Racek, Fritz. “Marco Frank.” In Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, ed. Friedrich Blume, 704-705. Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1949.

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Riemann, Hugo. Musik-Lexikon. Mainz: Schott’s Söhne, 1959.

Ristow, Mitarbeit von Nicole, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer. “Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit - Marco Frank.” Last updated November 7, 2013. https://www.lexm.uni-hamburg.de/object/lexm_lexmperson_00003446.

Rock, Christa Maria, Hans Brückner, and Julius Streicher. Judentum und Musik: mit dem ABC jüdischer und nichtarischer Musikbeflissener. München: Hans Brückner-Verlag, 1938.

Röder, Werner, and Herbert A. Strauss. Biographisches Handbuch Der Deutschsprachigen Emigration Nach 1933. Munich: Saur, 1980.

Rode-Breymann, Susan. Die Wiener Staatsoper in den Zwischenkriegsjahren: ihr Beitrag zum zeitgenössischen Musiktheater. Tutzing: Schneider, 1994.

Rohm, Wilhelm. "Österreichischer Bundesverlag." Oxford Music Online. Accessed July 3, 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000020543.

Schmidl, Carlo. Dizionario Universale dei Musicisti. Milan: Sonzogno, 1938.

Stengel, Theophil, and Herbert Gerigk. Lexikon der Juden in der Musik; mit einem Titelverzeichnis jüdischer Werke. Berlin: B. Hahnefeld, 1941.

Weber, Horst, and Drees, Stefan, eds. Quellen zur emigrierter Geschichte Musiker. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2005.

Wienbibliothek im Rathaus Musiksammlung. “Nachlass Marco Frank.” Accessed December 2015. http://share.obvsg.at/wbr02/LQH0266793-1201.pdf.

“Wiener Musiker erlebt Amerika.” Neue Wiener Tageszeitung (Jan. 29 1949): 5.

Zemlinsky, Alexander von, and Horst Weber. Briefwechsel mit Arnold Schönberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg und Franz Schreker. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1995.

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