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A Celebration of the Viola

The Primrose is back- live!

 

 

For a long time, it seemed impossible to hold a live competition in the United States this year. But then, the restrictions fell, foreigners were once again allowed to enter the country, and the Primrose Competition, as the first of many music competitions, took place at Colburn School in Los Angeles. First Prize and an award of USD 15.000 went to American Violist Natalie Loughran (24), a student of Roger Tapping and Misha Armory at the Juilliard School in New York. Loughran also won the Audience Award plus the prize for the Best Performance of a work written by a BIPOC composer.
 

Natalie Loughran, First Prize Winner of the 2021 Primrose Competition

Winners:

1st Prize    Natalie Loughran (24, USA)
2nd Prize    Samuel Rosenthal (21, USA)
3rd Prize    Nicholas Swenson (22, Denmark/USA)

Jury:

Barry Shiffman, Andrés Cárdenes, Victoria Chang, Daniel Heifetz, Mai Motobuchi, Dimitri Murrath, Chauncey Patterson

The Primrose Competition is for violists who have just celebrated their 30th birthday and younger, and are members of the American Viola Society. There are specific repertoire requirements, including a new one this year – for a work by a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) composer. Violists who advance to the live rounds play at an extremely high level and come from all over the world. This year, there were 103 applicants, 17% of which were European, 30% Asian, 53% North American. Laureates represent 14 separate countries and have ranged in age from 16 to 27. From the beginning, the Competition has attracted violists from around the world aspiring to multifaceted careers as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral players, and pedagogues. Prizewinners of the Primrose have gone on to highly distinguished professional lives. 
The Primrose International Viola Competition (PIVC), named for the premiere viola soloist of the 20th century, William Primrose, was founded in 1979 by David Dalton and presented in conjunction with International Viola Congress VII in Provo, Utah, which Dr. Dalton also hosted. Primrose initially resisted having the competition named in his honor as he agreed with Bartok's assertion that "competitions are for horses.” Eventually, Primrose agreed to let his name be used for the competition. Between 1987 and 2008, eleven iterations of the competition were held with the title of the “Primrose Memorial Scholarship Competition.” In 2009, the American Viola Society revived the original name. Since its inception, the core mission has been to provide a competition dedicated solely to the viola, its performers and its literature, thereby helping advance all three. The PIVC was the first international competition specifically for the viola; the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition was founded in 1980, followed by others such as the Maurice Vieux and Tokyo Viola Competitions. Numerous compositions have been commissioned for the PIVC, including works by Wayne Bohrnstedt, Richard Lane, Scott Slapin, Peter Askim, and Christian Colberg.