Alba Rosa Viëtor (July 18, 1889 – April 15, 1979) was an Italian-born violinist and composer who settled in the United States in 1919.

Biography

Alba Rosa grew up in Milan, where she was admitted to the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

at the age of 8. She was the youngest student ever to be admitted. At the age of 14 she continued her studies in Brussels, after a short stay in Uruguay. Here she studied under the famed violinist

César Thomson César Thomson (18 March 1857 – 21 August 1931) was a Belgian violinist, teacher, and composer. Biography He was born in Liège in 1857. At age seven, he entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and studied under Désiré Heynberg, Rodolph ...

and later she studied under the creator of the Sevcik violin method,

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. Biography Ševčík was born in Horaž ...

. One of his notable students was

Jan Kubelík Jan Kubelík (5 July 18805 December 1940) was a Czech violinist and composer. Biography He was born in Michle (now part of Prague). His father, a gardener by occupation, was an amateur violinist. He taught his two sons the violin and after dis ...

, who would become her mentor and to whose memory she dedicated her ''Elegie''. In 1919 she settled permanently in the United States, and married Jan Fresemann Viëtor, a Dutch businessman who was a skilled amateur violinist. After a successful career as a violinist, in 1916 she played alongside

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

on piano during a tour in Argentina, she decided to end this and dedicated herself completely to composing. After her divorce (the marriage was dissolved in 1940; Jan died in 1953 in Panama) she became a member of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors. She composed prolifically for orchestra, voice and various solo instruments. Several American orchestras and soloists including the National Gallery of Art Symphony Orchestra and the Frost Symphony Orchestra, have performed her works. Her compositions were performed in the same program as

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

and

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by the National Gallery Orchestra in 1950. The most important element that dominates all of Alba Rosa Vietor's work is not the form but rather the mood she wishes to convey. Lawrence A. Johnson calls one of her best known works, Primavera Lombarda (Springtime in Lombardy), "an intriguing moody Mediterranean tone poem". After her death in 1979 her compositions fell into oblivion. Due to the initiative of her son Hendrik Viëtor to digitize the works of his mother, her works have been performed more frequently since 2003. Her works have been archived by the Marta & Austin Weeks Music Library of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

The Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation and Alba Rosa Viva! chamber music festival

The Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation was founded by Mary van Veen-Viëtor, Hermance Viëtor and Maarten van Veen in 2009 to promote knowledge of Rosa Viëtor's music and to encourage improvisation and composition, particularly by female composers. The Foundation has published a book, ''The Story of Alba Rosa Viëtor: Violinist and Composer 1889–1979'' (2009), which includes essays about her works by Paul Janssen and Peter Fraser MacDonald, as well as a list of compositions. The Foundation have also released a CD with a recording of her Piano Trio Op. 8 by the Storioni Trio. In 2014, the Foundation started a biannual chamber music festival, Alba Rosa Viva! This festival is not only intended to make the works of Alba Rosa heard, but also to draw attention to other female composers, whose works are rarely heard in the classical music halls. Some recent compositions are always part of the festival program. The Festival is an idea of artistic director Reinild Mees, who had already put Alba Rosa Viëtor’s music in the spotlight during the Women's Music Marathon in the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

Amsterdam. The Foundation also organizes the biennial Alba Rosa Viëtor Composition Competition for composers up to 35 years old, with a jury headed by composer

Willem Jeths Willem Jeths (born 31 August 1959) is a Dutch classical composer. Early life Jeths was born in Amersfoort. He started his musical career as a child with piano and music theory lessons in the Music School of Amersfoort with Paul Seeling. He orig ...

. The compositions of the finalists are performed during the festival.

Compositions

Source:

Works for piano solo

* Capriccio 1914 * Piccolo Danza 1914 * Gavotte Rococo 1916 * Tema Fugato 1916 * Valse Lente 1916 * Studio (Etude) 1917 * Allegro Appassionato 1918 * Barcarola (A Jan) 1918 * Eileen’s Refrain 1935 * Indian Dance 1935 * Calma 1936 * Nocturne 1936 * Tin Soldiers 1936 * Truitje Danst op Klompies 1936 * Scherzo 1937 * Incertezza 1939 * Danse Grotesque 1946 * Sonata 1948 * Variations On London Bridge 1950 * Plainte Chromatique I+II 1951 * Playground 1951 * Preludio 1951 * Five Sketches 1953 * Children Singing 1965 * Making Money 1965 * Dreams 1965 * Billy’s Prayer 1966 * Frolics 1966 * Richiamo emembrance 1972 * Pezzi 1973 * Dialogue 1977

Works for violin and piano

* Giuochi 1916 * Valse Romantique 1939 * Canzonetta 1939 * Elegie n memory of Jan Kubelik 1941 * Rhapsody 1952

Chamber music works

* Canzonetta 1939 piano, violin, cello *Quintetto in La Minore 1940 piano, string quartet * Duetto Fugato all’ Antica 1950 2 pianos * Piano Trio in A minor 1951 piano, violin, cello *Intermezzo 1952 violin I, violin II, viola, violoncello, double bass * Little Suite 1952 piano, violin I, violin II * Evening Bells 1956 carillon * Chimes at Dusk 1956 violin, viola * Four umoristicSketches 1957 piano, violin I, violin II * Little Poem 1958 violin I, violin II, viola * Recitativo 1959 violin I, violin II, viola * Serenade In Pre-Modern Style 1961 timpani, harp, violin I, violin II * Duet 1962 flute, clarinet * Toddler at Play 1966 flute, violin, piano, percussion * Billy’s Prayer 1967 flute, clarinet Bb, bassoon * Four Pieces 1968 instr.* Suite 1969 piano, flute, violin, violoncello * Ritornello 1976 oboe, piano * Tarantella 1976 oboe, piano • Popolino 1979 clarinet, piano

Works for orchestra

* Primavera Lombarda 1949 * Mediolanum 1950 * The Blue Bird Suite 1951 * Symphonietta infonietta 1959 * Ballet Suite (Tabloid) 1960 * Five Symphonic Sketches 1962

Vocal works

* To A Violinist 1940 * Wall Street ext by Burton 1940 * High Flight ext by Magee 1941 * Virgilian Spring ext from Virgil1941 * Invocation 1945 * Forget Me Not 1945 * Dedication ext by Roche 1945 * Chiusa (Longing) 1947 * Rimpianto 1947 * Malia 1955 * To My Darling 1957 * The Meadow Lark 1958 * Nostalgia 1959 * Little Refrain 1960 * Two Choral Songs 1961 * My Birthday Song 1962 * L’orgoglio 1963 * Rhythm Song 1963 * Goodbye To Naples 1967 * Two Poems 1973

Popular works for piano

* Valse De Salon 1936 * Tango Habernera 1949 * Noche De Verano (Tango) 1949 * Paraphrase On “South Pacific” 1949

References

External links

Scores of Alba Rosa Viëtor compositions

CD Piano trio Alba Rosa Viëtor by the Storioni trio

Website Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation

University of Miami: Marta & Austin Weeks Music Library: Alba Rosa Vietor Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vietor, Alba Rosa 1889 births 1979 deaths Musicians from Milan Italian women classical composers Italian classical composers Italian classical violinists American women classical composers American classical composers American classical violinists 20th-century classical composers Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century classical violinists Women classical violinists 20th-century women composers 20th-century Italian women 20th-century American violinists