“If any contemporary violist continues to carry the torch of the composer-performer, it is Scott Slapin.”
Journal of the American Viola Society
“...brilliantly written... real lyricism... heartfelt’"
Fanfare
"Slapin is a real viola virtuoso..."
American Record Guide
“…a solid core of modern viola duo writing.”
Interlude
“Scott Slapin is great! It's hard to imagine better performances.”
20th Century Violin Virtuoso Ruggiero Ricci
0:00 Bach Sonata No. 1 Fugue
0:39 Slapin South Hadley Mass (Adagio)
1:45 Lane Sonata No. 3 (Wind in the Trees)
2:30 Hindemith Sonata Op. 25, Nr. 1 (mvt 4)
3:02 Slapin Sonata in C for two violas (Andante)
4:10 Slapin Adventures in Ancestry (Part 1)
5:20 Slapin Intermezzo for two violas
7:06 Paganini Caprice No. 3
7:50 Slapin Sonata in G for violin and viola (Allegretto)
8:31 Bach Partita No. 2 (Chaconne)
10:00 Kreisler Praeludium and Allegro
11:22 Slapin Lullaby
12:03 Paganini Caprice No. 10
12:35 Ernst The Last Rose of Summer
One of Scott's compositions
Scott with his Iizuka viola and violin and two paintings by William Sorrow
Scott with a painting by Emanuel Vardi
Click here to listen to the Slapin Anthology.
BIO
Scott Slapin is the composer of ten albums of original Neo-Romantic music for viola and the soloist for innovative viola recordings ranging from premieres (Frank Proto's Soundscapes, AVS Premieres) to rare transcriptions (Bach's Sonatas and Partitas, Paganini's 24 Caprices.) His 1998 Sonatas and Partitas album was the first complete recording of its kind on viola, and he can be heard playing solo Bach, Paganini, and some of his own music on various soundtracks for film and TV. He has been teaching privately and performing as a recitalist for three decades.
Scott (b. 1974, NJ) studied composition with Richard Lane and violin/viola with Barbara Barstow and Emanuel Vardi. At eighteen he was one of the youngest graduates of the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He wrote for and soloed with many ensembles, gave countless recitals, premiered solo works at Carnegie's Weill Hall and international viola congresses, served as a fellow at the Montalvo Arts Center in California, taught at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, played in symphony orchestras from Cincinnati to São Paulo, and performed for more than twenty years with his wife Tanya Solomon as the award-winning Slapin Solomon Viola Duo.
Scott's recital compositions have been performed by hundreds of violists internationally, and his playing has received critical acclaim in Fanfare, Strad, Musical Opinion, Mundo Clásico, and the American Record Guide. He has been commissioned by the Primrose International Viola Competition, the American Viola Society, the Penn State Viola Ensemble, and the Wistaria String Quartet. He teaches viola, violin, and composition worldwide via Skype and plays a viola and violin by Hiroshi Iizuka. Scott and Tanya live in Gateshead, England.
Listen to some of Scott's compositions (grouped by instrumentation) at YouTube:
- More than a dozen unaccompanied character pieces for viola
- Thirty viola duos
- Chamber music for strings
- music for viola choir
- concertos
- educational materials
- A mass "for the dead violist"
- A two-viola, one-act opera about Cremonus, God of the Viola
Listen to Scott play:
- Unaccompanied viola music (by Hindemith, Reger, Slapin, Proto, Dankner, Pigovat)
- Transcriptions for viola (by Bach, Paganini, Ysaye, Ernst, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Rossini, Mozart)
- Unaccompanied violin music (by Bach, Paganini, Slapin)
- Excerpts from many live recitals
- Duos from the Baroque to the present (Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo)
- Instructional videos for violists of all levels
Unedited readings (mostly from the pandemic):