Musicologist Dr. Victor Yuzefovich gave a lecture about Vadim Borisovsky, who brought distinction to the viola in Russia.
PROVO, Utah (Oct 9, 2014)—Relative to its long history, the viola has only recently risen from obscurity. Where once it was just a supporting instrument in the background of an ensemble, it is now a major player, and many composers have written concertos and other pieces with the viola front and center. Many of these works can be found in Brigham Young University’s Primrose International Viola Archive, the world’s most comprehensive repository of materials related to the viola. And on those shelves, the name Vadim Borisovsky appears again and again.
Musicologist Dr. Victor Yuzefovich came by special invitation of the Department of German and Russian to give a lecture about the work of Borisovsky, founder of the Russian viola school and a major player in bringing the viola to fame. Yuzefovich was privileged to work directly with Borisovsky while writing a book about the man’s life.
Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1900, Borisovsky entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1917. Despite initially studying the violin, Borisovsky dedicated himself to the viola when he was only 18 years old. At the time, the viola had yet to become a well-respected instrument and was seen as inferior to the violin. One associate discouraged his move, telling him, “Only retired generals and brassless musicians play viola.”
Borisovsky did much to change this poor conception of the viola. He played as lead violist for the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, cofounded the Beethoven Quartet with Dmitry Tzyganov and brothers Vasily and Sergey Shirinsky, and led a long and highly acclaimed concert career. Throughout his life, Borisovsky saw his mission as threefold: (1) to raise a new generation of viola players, (2) to build new and higher-quality violas, and (3) to print new material for the viola.
Borisovsky returned to the Moscow Conservatory, where he taught the viola for nearly fifty years. He took easily to teaching and preferred to work directly with students. Rather than write books explaining his methodology, Borisovsky taught his students through demonstration, always using his students’ instruments. He was influential in the decisions of many violinists to become violists, as he had, and several of the conservatory’s colleges began teaching the viola. Once obscure and belittled, the viola came to be highly regarded in Russia
Besides his work as a teacher and performer, Borisovsky is well known for his work in transcription. The transcription process involves rewriting pieces of music for an instrument or instruments not originally intended. His transcriptions were so highly regarded that they were often mistaken for the original compositions themselves. Borisovsky wrote more than 200 transcriptions during his life for the viola and viola d’amore (which is shaped like the viol but played under the chin like the viola), giving his students and fellow performers a wealth of resources to draw from.
“The huge evolution of the viola in the 20th century in Russia and worldwide owes much to Vadim Borisovsky and those who were taught by him,” Yuzefovich said. “Russian musicians rightly consider him the founder of the viola school.”
At the close of the lecture, Yuzefovich received a specially bound copy of the Béla Bartók Viola Concerto. The concerto was presented by Claudine Bigelow, head of viola studies and chamber music coordinator at BYU.
For future events hosted by the Department of German and Russian, visit their website.
—Samuel Wright (B.A. American Studies ’16)