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career, not as a representation of their current ability, but as a step in the process to
becoming the musician they are now.39 Larsen reflects:
It is very young compositional technique. It works fine for the
instruments, you know, and it’s fun, but the architecture’s wrong. The
viola writing is not anything worth spending your time on—it’s fine, but
it’s not what Rob wanted. I think what he wanted was more of a
concertino, he wanted more of a feature piece, a piece that featured viola,
and I gave him a chamber piece. So I don’t think he was very pleased with
it, which wouldn’t have bothered me at all except that I’m not pleased
with the piece!”40
39 In looking back on the process of commissioning the work, Levine has a similar
attitude: “I wasn’t thinking Γd commission an epic viola piece. Ijust wanted an
interesting experience. I learned a lot from that experience!” Since its initial
performances he has not returned to the work, and although he admits he’d probably not
go out of the way to organize a repeat performance of the work, he would be happy to
perform it again should the opportunity arise. (Levine interview 2009).
Larsen, interview, 7/2009.