The name is absent

144

Conclusion

In her Viola Sonata Libby Larsen set out to find a way to fuse the lyrical nature of
the viola with the percussive sound of American music and American language. In some
respects the fusion of the language of rock ^,n^, roll and jazz with Larsen’s melodic and
harmonic style is successful. By listening to a variety of American popular music and
allowing the rhythms she heard to take priority over the melodic structure, she created a
blend of rhythms unique to the viola repertoire. Although the individual motives used in
the outer movements successfully combine rhythmic and melodic elements, the lack of
transitional material and the limited connection between motives creates a very sectional
and sometimes interrupted feeling. The second movement has its own set of challenges
due to its static harmony and limited melodic material.

The Viola Sonata provides a glimpse into the early stages of a new approach for the
composer in terms of creating a work free of extramusical material. Larsen, who for
much of her career has felt tied to stories, images, experiences, and the sounds of the
world around her, is now working to incorporate her philosophies about music and her
life experiences into her music without providing a narrative at the beginning of her
scores. While in her earlier works, she accompanied each score with a description of its
genesis and message, in the Viola Sonata she provides just the opposite. In its preface she
writes:

It seems that when I compose for strings, as in my String Symphony, I
focus on the quality of the instrument for its purely communicative
powers, leaving any extramusical interpretation to the listener.⁹²

92

Larsen, Viola Sonata, Preface.

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