New release Gems Rediscovered featuring the music from Paul Juon, Ernest Walker, Benjamin Dale, and Robert Fuchs was the brain-child of violist Spencer Martin:
“For the past five or so years, I have been thinking about recording a program of unknown or unrecorded works for viola and piano. The works recorded on this CD are the pieces that rose to the top.
All of the works on this program are firmly planted in the Romantic tradition. The music of these lesser-known composers offers an interesting sampling of the varied works composed for the viola during this time period — a time in which the viola came into its own as a solo instrument.
It is my hope that this music will be of interest to violists and non-violists alike, as each of these pieces deserves a place in our standard repertory.” — Spencer Martin
Meet Spencer Martin:
Spencer Martin has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Europe as both violist and conductor. An active chamber and orchestral musician, he has appeared as guest violist with the Pro Arte String Quartet and the Amelia Piano Trio. His solo performances include Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra in venues in Austria, including Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Spencer has served as Principal Violist in the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and also frequently performed in the viola sections of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Spencer’s solo, chamber, and orchestral performances have been featured in numerous radio broadcasts including National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Minnesota Public Radio and Kansas Public Radio.
Spencer currently serves on the faculty of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. A former member of the music faculty at the University of Alabama, Spencer holds degrees from Butler University, Wichita State University and the University of Minnesota. His teachers include Korey Konkol, Catherine Consiglio and Barbara Westphal. Also an avid proponent of Baroque music, Spencer performs frequently on Baroque violin and has studied in Berlin with Baroque violinist Bernhard Forck.
Spencer can also be heard on the Innova CD “Waves of Stone, Music by Brooke Joyce.”
Find out more about Spencer Martin at his website www.SpencerLMartin.com!
Listen to Fuchs: Sonata in D Minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 86 – III. Allegro vivace on Delos Radio:
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