Atar Arad:
The Hindemith competition, international competition, that took place in Munich commissioned from me, a piece. And during the COVID year, I was totally obsessed with Bach Chaconne, and it's a huge masterpiece. So when they contacted me and asked me or commissioned the piece for the competition. I had no doubt in my mind that I will write a Chaconne.
Christopher Burrus:
Atar Arad, professor of Viola at the Jacobs School of Music, has released Partida Party, a collaborative work for Viola. He collaborated with four former students to create a work modeled on the famous Partida #2 by JS Bach. Professor Arad joined me at WFIU to talk about the new recording. In composing his Chaconen.
Atar Arad:
We took from Bach, you know, from the Partita with the Chaconen. So I wrote it and I liked it. Then came the idea of this collaboration because I am fortunate to have students who were not only studying the viola with me. I kind of inspired them to write music also. And I knew exactly who they were, and I contacted them and I said let's do a partita like the Bach, the minor partita for violin. With the second I already have the Chaconne, so you listen to it and then one would write Almande. The other one would write the Courante Sarabande and Gigue and we do a piece...together. And they were very enthusiastic about doing it and the whole project was, you know, kind of with a lot of enthusiasm. We are five people. It's true they are former students, but they are friends now. It's together, a collaboration.
Christopher Burrus
Did you find it difficult to balance your own musical voice or artistic vision against the music of Bach?
Atar Arad:
I have to tell you, I think it's my music, not Bach, unfortunately, maybe (laughs). It's my music and I didn't think about Bach, Bach Chaconen. I thought about the form of Chaconne.
But of course, I was so obsessed with the Chaconne of Bach at that time that it was in my mind. And and of course it's present there and I have to tell you also that I thought I was the first one who wrote a Chacon based on my way of using the 12 tones idea, but I was mistaken. There was the composer, German composer, Kreneck, who has a little chaconne in his solo Sonata for Viola, which is based on 12 tone, so unfortunately I'm not the first, but I didn't know it.
Christopher Burrus:
You composed this at the Viola. Your chaconne. Is all of your composing done that way? Do you always have the Viola near you or in your hands while you're working?
Atar Arad:
No. Sometimes I just sit and compose, but then if it's for Viola, I try it. If it's not for Viola, I don't try it. Yeah, if it's a Viola piece. For instance, I have two quartets. I don't write on the Viola or anything. I think I I know the Viola enough that I don't need to. But sometimes, you know, like my first composition, my solo Sonata. At first I was improvising and then before I knew it, I said, Oh yeah, that's me. And I have ideas. Technical ideas also. So I sat down and not knowing it began to write and then until today I didn't stop writing. But it's different. Every piece is different. You know, I like to play anything. But for me there is no better thing and better experience than to play my own piece.
Christopher Burrus
Partita party is now available on all major platforms and from the sounds better on Viola music label for Wfiu Arts. I'm Christopher Burrus.
