Faculty series recital focuses on viola with all-French inspired, interconnected program

Maggie Snyder, associate professor of viola at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, performs the October entry to the Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series in Ramsey Concert Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. 

Accompanied by Damon Denton on piano, Snyder will perform a recital of all-French inspired music, including works from Nadia Boulanger, George Enescu, Camargo Guarnieri, Maurice Ravel and Marcelle Soulage.

“This year's recital is a French-inspired program of music for viola which includes transcriptions of pieces for other instruments (violin, cello) and both rare and canon repertoire for viola,” said Snyder. “It includes pieces by women composers, especially the rare and wonderful sonata for unaccompanied viola by Soulage.”

Soulage was a French pianist, music critic and composer who taught at the Conservatoire de Paris and Conservatoire d'Orleans. She studied with Boulanger, whose “Trois Pieces” (originally for cello) are also included on the program.

These kinds of connections run throughout Snyder’s program. For instance, Brazillian composer Mozart Carmago Guarnieri also studied with Boulanger, and the piece included on this program has a tone that reflects that French inspired connection. Additionally, Ravel and Enescu’s presence in the performance is due primarily to the exceptional quality of their works.  However, their personal connection runs deeper than just the importance of their works.

“Enescu’s ‘Concertpiece’ is a central part of the canon of virtuosic viola literature, written as a competition piece and commissioned by Gabriel Fauré,” said Snyder. “And interestingly, Enescu and Ravel were classmates in Fauré's composition class at the Paris Conservatoire in the 1890s. In fact it was Enescu, a world-class violinist, who first read through Ravel's Violin Sonata with the composer at the piano.”

Tickets to the concert are $12 each or $6 for students and children and can be purchased at pac.uga.edu or the PAC box office. Those unable to attend can watch the concert live on the Hodgson School’s website: music.uga.edu/streaming.

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia sponsors more than 350 performances each year. Go to music.uga.edu to view the school’s performance calendar, subscribe to the weekly email newsletter, and learn more about the School of Music.