Robin Ashwell (viola) with Anya Fadina (piano)

Schumann: Märchenbilder Op. 113

Roxanna Panufnik: Canto for solo viola

Hindemith: Sonata Op. 11 No. 4

Interval

John Ireland: The Holy Boy

Brahms: Viola Sonata in F minor Op. 120 No. 1

Schumann: Adagio and Allegro Op. 70

Robin Ashwell is a familiar face to our audience, performing many times in Wallingford as violist of the Sacconi Quartet (who perform on 7 September). Here he is partnered by pianist Anya Fadina, a graduate of the St. Peterburg Conservatoire who has since made her home in Britain.

We begin and end with Schumann; his Märchenbilder (fairy tales) and the Adagio and Allegro, both part of a group of works for solo instrument and piano, written towards the end of the composer’s life. The Brahms sonata is another late work, originally conceived for the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, but published for clarinet or viola. The Canto by Roxanna Panufnik comes from a distinguished tradition of works written specifically for competitions; in this case the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition of 2019. Inspired by Tertis’s Jewish heritage, the work develops a cantorial chant. The German composer Paul Hindemith wrote sonatas for all the common (and many uncommon) orchestral instruments. His viola sonata was written with a deeper personal knowledge, celebrating his own considerable prowess as a player.

View Robin Ashwell on YouTube.  And here is Robin in conversation with Roxanna Panufinik, about his approach to performing Canto.