UNACCOMPANIED VIOLA MUSIC
Contemporary Music for Solo Viola
The solo viola offers a uniquely introspective voice—dark, resonant, and deeply human. Lior Navok’s In Memoriam (Yizkor) expands this expressive tradition with a contemporary elegy written in response to the tragic events of October 7, 2023. Through fragile gestures, suspended tones, and quiet intensity, the piece creates a space for remembrance and reflection within the modern solo‑viola repertoire.
In Memoriam (Yizkor)
for unaccompanied viola
Duration:
4 minutes
Instrumentation:
viola solo
Year Composed:
2023
Premiere Performance:
Bernardo Di Marco, viola
4 April 2025
Córdoba, Argentina
Out of respect for the subject's sensitivity, the sheet music for In Memoriam is provided at no cost.
Related Music:
Program Notes
In Memoriam (Yizkor) is a work for solo viola (a version for violin is also available) that I wrote following the tragic October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel and the Gaza war that followed. As the world leans more and more toward the violent and uncertain, this piece serves as a global musical elegy.
Abstract
In Memoriam (Yizkor) is a work for solo viola (originally composed for violin) written in the aftermath of the tragic October 7, 2023 terror attack in Israel and the Gaza war that followed. As the world leans more and more toward the violent and uncertain, the piece serves as a global musical elegy, reflecting on loss, fragility, and the need to remember. The viola’s solitary, dark‑hued voice becomes a vessel for mourning and resilience, tracing gestures that hover between lament, silence, and quiet endurance. This work stands as a contemporary contribution to the solo‑viola repertoire of remembrance, shaped by grief yet reaching toward a universal human response.
About Contemporary Solo Viola Works of Remembrance
The solo viola’s warm, introspective timbre makes it an ideal instrument for works of remembrance and reflection. Contemporary composers often use its solitary voice to explore themes of loss, memory, and emotional resilience. With its blend of vulnerability and depth, the viola becomes both storyteller and witness, offering performers a powerful medium for personal and collective contemplation.
Modern and Contemporary Music for Solo Viola
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Igor Stravinsky, Elegy for Solo Viola, 1944
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Olga Neuwirth, Weariness Heals Wounds I: In Memoriam Michael Glawogger, 2014
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Lior Navok, In Memoriam (Yizkor), 2023
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Chen Yi, Memory, 2021
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Krzysztof Penderecki, Cadenza for Solo Viola, 1984
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György Ligeti, Sonata for Solo Viola (Movement V: Lamento), 1994
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Paul Hindemith, Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 25 No. 1 (Movement V: Langsam, mit viel Ausdruck), 1922
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Toru Takemitsu, A Bird Came Down the Walk, 1994