Dimitri Murrath

Past performances

February 15th, 3pm
Recital in Reston, VA with Pei-Shan Lee, piano
Viola and piano works by Bach, Schubert, Hindemith, Takemitsu, Debussy
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February 22nd, 4pm
Walden Chamber Music players, Hingham, MA
Hindemith, Bach, Beethoven, Devienne
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On the Walton Viola Concerto

In recent weeks, I found myself revisiting the Walton Concerto, both in teaching and my own practice. It has a special place in my repertoire: it was the first piece I learned after making the jump from being a violinist who also plays the viola, to a fully committed viola player.

From my background as a violinist, the first thing that struck me regarding this piece was how similar it is to Prokofiev's first violin concerto. In overall structure, in textures, in characters and even in the way the various themes and motives are built, the resemblance is so striking that it simply cannot be coincidence. Here is a very interesting article on the subject by Atar Arad. In it, Mr. Arad suggests that Walton hid his mischief of copying Prokofiev, by adding an even more direct quote from Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 5.

Besides this, what is helping me to forge a personal interpretation of this work is to look at other works of the composer. Much of Walton's music is theatrical and dramatic. That is of course the case of his oratorio Belshazzar's Feast, one of his most acclaimed and popular works. His film scores can also provide a great source of inspiration, for those who work well with images. First of all, there is this, from the movie "Battle of Britain". Then, the score of Lawrence Olivier's "Henry V". The Agincourt battle scene has got something of the second movement.

Dimitri Murrath - Biography

Born in Brussels, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has made his mark as a viola soloist of the international scene, performing regularly in venues including Jordan Hall (Boston), Kennedy Center (Washington), Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall (London), Kioi Hall (Tokyo), the National Auditorium (Madrid), and Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels).

A first prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has won numerous awards, including second prize at the First Tokyo International Viola Competition, the special prize for the contemporary work at the ARD Munich Competition, Verbier Festival Academy's Viola Prize, and a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

With repertoire extending from Bach to contemporary music by Ligeti, Kurtag and Sciarrino, Murrath is particularly keen on performing new works. He has taken part in the Park Lane Group New Year Series in London to great critical acclaim, as well as commissioned, given the world premieres, and recorded several solo works.

An avid chamber musician, Murrath has collaborated with Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Richard Goode, Laurence Lesser, Paul Katz, Donald Weilerstein, Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, Menahem Pressler, Radovan Vlatkovic, Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, David Soyer, and Mitsuko Uchida.

Festivals include IMS Prussia Cove (UK), Ravinia's Steans Institute for Young Artists (Chicago), Verbier Festival Academy, Gstaad Festival (Switzerland), Caramoor Rising Stars (New York), Great Lakes Festival (Michigan) and Marlboro Music Festival (Vermont).

Violist Dimitri Murrath began his musical education at the Yehudi Menuhin School studying with Natalia Boyarsky, and went on to work in London with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He graduated with an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a student of Kim Kashkashian.

A.D., New England Conservatory. BMus, MMus, Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Studies with Kim Kashkashian, Natalia Boyarsky, and David Takeno.
Faculty: Longy School of Music, New England Conservatory.

Dimitri Murrath - Repertoire

Viola and piano

Johann Sebastian BACH
Sonata for viola da gamba in G major, BWV 1027
Sonata for viola da gamba in G minor, BWV 1029
 
Ernest BLOCH
Suite Hebraïque

Benjamin BRITTEN
Lachrimae

Johannes BRAHMS
Sonata in F minor Op. 120 No. 1
Sonata in E-flat major Op. 120 No. 2

Rebecca CLARKE
Sonata (1919)

Claude DEBUSSY
Première rhapsodie pour clarinette (tr. Viola)

Antonín DVORÁK
Sonatine for violin and piano in G major, Op. 100

George ENESCU
Concert Piece

Paul HINDEMITH
Sonata Op. 11/4
Sonata Op. 25/4
Sonata (1939)

Joseph JONGEN
Allegro Appassionato

Sergei RACHMANINOFF
Cello sonata

Franz SCHUBERT
Sonata ‘Arpeggione’

Robert SCHUMANN
Adagio und Allegro, Op. 70
Märchenbilder, Op. 113

Three Romances, Op. 94

Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
Sonata, Op. 147

Toru TAKEMITSU
A Bird Came Down the Walk

Henri VIEUXTEMPS
Sonata, Op. 36

 

Solo

Atar ARAD
Tikvah

Johann Sebastian BACH
Suite for violoncello solo No. 1 in G major, BWV1007
Suite for violoncello solo No. 2 in D minor, BWV1008
Suite for violoncello solo No. 3 in C major, BWV1009
Suite for violoncello solo No. 5 in C minor, BWV1011
Partita for violin solo No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004 

György KURTÁG
Signs, Games and Messages

György LIGETI
Sonata (1995)

Nicolo PAGANINI
Caprice No.13

Max REGER
Suite No. 1 in G minor, Op.131d
Suite No. 2 in D major, Op.131d
Suite No. 3 in E minor, Op.131d

Paul HINDEMITH
Sonata Op. 31/4
Sonata (1937)

Edwin ROXBURGH
Soliloquy 2

Salvatore SCIARRINO
Tre Notturni Brillanti

Igor STRAVINSKY
Elegie

Christopher THEOFANIDIS
'Flow, my Tears'

Henri VIEUXTEMPS
Capriccio

Eugène YSAŸE
Sonata for violoncello solo, Op. 28

 

Concerto

Béla BARTÓK
Concerto, Opus Post.

Hector BERLIOZ
Harold in Italy

Max BRUCH
Romance

Paul HINDEMITH
"Der Schwanendreher"
Trauermusik

Franz HOFFMEISTER
Concerto in D major

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
Sinfonia Concertante

Krzysztof PENDERECKI
Concerto

Alfred SCHNITTKE
Concerto

Carl STAMITZ
Concerto in D major

William WALTON
Concerto

Carl Maria Von WEBER
Andante and Rondo ungarese

 

Dimitri Murrath - Press

NEC Today, July 2008

Primrose Competition , June 2008

Verbier Festival, June 2008

Chamber Music Today, May 2007

The Strad, Aug 2004

Dimitri Murrath - Travel Blog

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Dimitri Murrath - Techniques

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Dimitri Murrath - Schedule

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