Ottawa composer Peter Amsel has written a new single- movement work for solo viola, Sonata Fantasia (2001). Commissioned and premiered by Rivka Golani, it was performed in Ottawa on October 23 in a concert presented by Espace Musique, Ottawa's new-music society.

Peter Amsel has written two other works for solo viola: his early miniature Afternoon Daydream (1988) (see CVS newsletter No. 35; spring 1995; pp. 7-9) and Poème pour Alto (2000) (see CVS newsletter No. 46; autumn 2000; p. 19). Mr. Amsel writes the following about his latest work for viola:

"My Sonata Fantasia plays on the literal meaning of the word "sonata" which means "to sound" to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The Fantasia comes through in my desire to give the performer a piece that is not only substantive, but enjoyable in its substance. There are prolonged passages in the music that resemble cadenzas that would be found in concertos and allow the player great expressive freedom. . . .

Many of my recent works have been dedicated to survivors of the Holocaust or have had something to do with that topic. This is not to say that everything that I compose is going to be a memorial work; it is just that it is something that I am conscious of and have been making an effort to memorialize in my works, especially in a time when there are still people trying to revise history. As a Jewish composer living in "modern times" I would like to address the issue of the "contemporary music scene" by saying that it is impossible to say that in this new millennium there is a single distinctive Jewish voice in contemporary music. However, at the same time it is impossible to forget our past, and that is, and will be, reflected in the music. It becomes a part of the message.

The Ottawa Citizen's music critic Richard Todd reviewed Ms. Golani's performance, commenting that Sonata Fantasia is

"an engrossing piece that displays a real feeling for the viola's acoustical properties and possibilities. One of Amsel's virtues as a composer is his sense of proportion. There were enough solid ideas in the score that he could easily have milked them to make a longer piece. On the other hand, he could have made it shorter and more epigrammatic, but that would have robbed it of much of its narrative sensibility.

Peter Amsel was born in Toronto in 1968 and, after completing his basic music studies in Sudbury where he received a performance diploma in classical guitar from Cambrian College, he studied composition at the University of Ottawa with Steven Gellman and in Montréal with Bruce Mather. In 1992 he was awarded the Pierre Mercure Award for solo or duet compositions (Poème pour Violon) and the Serge Garant Award for chamber music (In Memoriam: 1791-1991) by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). In 1993 he was again honoured by SOCAN when he was awarded the third prize in the Pierre Mercure category for solo or duet compositions (Poème pour Petite Flûte). His compositions include works for diverse solo instruments, chamber music, choral music and orchestral works.

He has had numerous commissions, including works for Alcides Lanza and Robert Jones (piano duo) for a concert at McGill University in 1992 as well as a commission by Julian Armour for a piece for violoncello and piano for a performance at the first Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in 1994. Rivka Golani has commissioned a double concerto from Peter Amsel, for viola and harpsichord with string orchestra and percussion, and an orchestration of George Enescu's Concertpiece for viola and piano that will be premiered in Romania in April 2002. In the summer of 2002 mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham will join in the premiere of Peter Amsel's String Quartet No. II "The Last Spring" at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.

Peter Amsel devotes his time to composing, writing and painting. He publishes occasional reviews for For The Love of Music, an electronic music journal that he founded in 1999. He is currently developing the Crazy Composer Web site, which will present poetry, paintings and samples of scores by Amsel, as well as information about upcoming premieres and information about his current projects and interesting links.

Readers can contact Peter Amsel at the following:
874 Cahill Drive West, Ottawa, ON K1V 9A2
Tel. (613) 260-9347
E-mail: pamsel@rogers.com

KJ