Walker Sonata for Viola and Piano

Viola: Dillon Scott Piano: Adrian Zaragoza I- 00:00 II- 05:25 The Walker Viola Sonata was written in 1989. It is a very haunting piece that was dedicated in memory of George Walker’s father. On the surface, this piece may seem like an abstract musical statement, but its true meaning can be found under the surface. Walker’s father was a successful black physician in the Washington DC area in the early 20th century. Upon returning home one day, his father found that his office and his home had been vandalized and robbed. This was an event that he was not able to recover from. At the very end of the sonata, there is a chilling quote to a medieval French folk song titled “L'homme armé doibt on doubter” (“The Armed Man should be Feared“). When one takes into account the fearful and tense atmosphere that surrounds the entire sonata, one might draw the conclusion that this sonata could represent the grip that “the Armed Man“ can have certain people in this country. The first movement begins with an intense introduction that is followed by the main theme, which is both hysterical and paranoid. This theme can be found throughout the first movement just like the fear of the “Armed Man” can be omnipresent as well. At the end the movement, the music enters a state of paralysis, as if it is so tense it cannot move. The second movement begins in a naïve, almost childlike, playful manner. As the movement develops, this motif becomes more and more jaded and callous. By the end of the movement, this naivety is spoiled by the frustration and fear that surrounds the music. In the finale, the music spirals out of control and in that moment of fatality, it’s as if the armed man makes his last move, and with three violent chords, the music dies. After moments of stillness, the last sound that can be heard is the ghostly melody of the “Armed Man”. George Walker was the first black man to win the Pulitzer prize for music and the first black concert pianist to solo with a major orchestra and acquire professional management. He was a master of both counterpoint and motivic development. Walker was one of the first Black students at the Curtis Institute of Music graduating back in the 1940’s. He went on to have a groundbreaking career as an American composer in the 20th century. Curtis Institute April 2024