Edward Lawrence - Hindemith Solo Viola Sonata op 25 #1

Recorded in 1985 at Jessen Hall, UT.
From an Edward Lawrence Viola Recital
1. Breit
2. Sehr frisch und straff 4:20
3. Sehr langsam 9:30
4. Rasendes Zeitmaß. Wild. Tonschönheit ist Nebensache
5. Langsam, mit viel Ausdruck
While shuffling things around in our house, we found this recording of Edward Lawrence’s recital on reel to reel tape and we had it digitized.
Ed was a close friend of mine. I met him in Houston at my brother’s house. By sheer chance, Charles, my brother, had purchased his 1st house after joining the Houston Symphony next to Ed’s parent’s house. Ed had been at Eastman, where he was majoring in piano with Cécile Genhart and playing viola in the Rochester Symphony. He had been loaned a del Gesu violin and a Tourte bow from his violin teacher in Houston, Mr. Hess, showing great respect for his student. He experienced a breakdown, and moved back to Houston. When I met him, he asked me what I was doing and I said going to UT in music. He decided to go as well because he wanted to learn cello better and he knew a professor there. He already played piano, violin, and viola extremely well. He expanded my understanding of music vastly. We got together to listen to music on a regular basis. Eventually he rented a room in our house for several years. He was the best musician I have ever met. I also met Kenneth Grigg, the best pianist that I know by far, at UT. The 3 of us played a Brahms trio with Kenneth on piano, Ed on cello and, me on violin. Other musicians would come over to my house to play chamber music with us. At one point, Ed and Bob Fried, a bassist, formed a chamber orchestra, Arius. Ed served as music director, Bob as business manager, and Kenneth and I were members. Our friendship expanded beyond just music. Ed loved playing with our son, Charles. Charles loved cats and would proudly announce “I’s the kitty cat”. Ed would tease him by saying the same thing back and Charles would say “No I’s the kitty cat”. This could go on for quite a while. We would spend hours playing old-fashioned video games at a place down the street where you could play 10 games for a dollar. He loved cold-weather and enjoyed the unusual snowfall in Austin while he was staying at our house as is quite obvious by his pictures in the snow. The group in front of our house is Ed, my wife, Jo, and our oldest son, Charles.
Edward Lawrence was a founding member and teacher at the Musica Humana school for young musicians in Houston. This is their Memoriam for Edward:
Edward Lawrence was an active performer on the violin, viola, violoncello, and piano. He attended the Eastman School of Music where he was a scholarship student of the renowned piano pedagogue, Mme. Cécile Genhart. He then completed a degree in music theory at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also received a performer’s certificate in ‘cello performance with Professor Phyllis Young. He was a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Houston Ballet Orchestra. For two seasons he served as the music director of the Arius Chamber Players (of which I was a member), a touring string ensemble based in Austin, Texas. He developed much of the pedagogy that aided the formation of our music program.
Mr. Lawrence maintained a private lesson studio at his home until he passed away on Ash Wednesday, February 10th 2016.
Hindemith bio:
en.wikipedia.o...
Hindemith - Sonata for Unaccompanied Viola
www.allmusic.c...

[@Wavewolfaroha]

One of my favorite viola pieces, and this performance is now a favorite, too! Such a powerful interpretation.

[@johnrakthai]

Thank you so much for doing this Doug!! 🙏

[@Epastein]

Super talent

[@michellmalik2826]

Nice