Nocturne
by Richard Lane
Piano Accompaniment - Sheet Music

Viola and piano - Grade 4

SKU: ET.VA13

Composed by Richard Lane. Contemporary. Composed 1995. Duration 3'. Editions BIM #VA13. Published by Editions BIM (ET.VA13).

ISBN 9790207009715.

Richard Lane and I gave many recitals together. He was a great friend and mentor from whom I learned a lot about music and life. Richard Lane wrote this Nocturne for us to play somewhere around 1995, and we subsequently performed it many times in recital in the northeastern United States. Although not a viola player himself, the viola was Richard Lane’s favorite string instrument, and he wrote many works for it - including three viola sonatas, more than twenty pieces of chamber music, and the competition piece for the 1991 William Primrose Competition. Richard Lane’s lyrical autumnal style fits perfectly with the viola’s character, and in this approximately five-minute Nocturne, he manages to cover the full spectrum of the viola’s colors and range, while creating an emotional experience for the audience surely to be among the most memorable of any recital. There are many lyrical short pieces in the viola’s repertoire, but this Nocturne is one that I keep coming back to. It allows the viola to bask in the best light possible.

Scott Slapin,
viola recitalist March 13, 2006.