Leilehua Lanzilotti

The 20/19 Project supports the creation of new viola sonatas by Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Scott Wollschleger, as well as recordings of, publications about, and educational resources for the works.

The 20/19 Project is rooted in the legacy of the viola. While researching repertoire, I came across a surprising historical synchronicity: three of the most performed viola sonatas in the repertoire were created in the same year, 1919. That year, arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge held her annual composition competition, encouraging two of her close friends—Rebecca Clarke and Ernest Bloch—to submit viola sonatas. Halfway around the world, a young Paul Hindemith was finding his voice and wrote his own viola sonata inspired by Claude Debussy's colorful writing. These pieces have become staples of the viola repertoire through performances by great viola soloists such as Clarke and Hindemith themselves, scholarship, and recordings/curation of the three works together because of their origins in the same year.

We celebrate the centennial through new sonatas by Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Scott Wollschleger. Legacy is developed over time through the impact of works which are given substantial resources beyond the premiere: in particular, high-quality recordings lead to repeated performances and integration into curriculum. The 20/19 Project will go beyond the commissions and premieres of the sonatas to include recordings of the works and video tutorials to show extended techniques used with brief interviews of the composers. Through this extensive free educational resource (an expansion of www.shakennotstuttered.com) other performers, students, and audience members will have a window into the creative process and a way to continue to learn the works, advocate for a culture of curiosity, and support a thriving culture of contemporary music for everyone.

Project Updates:

• The commissioning fees for the composers have been funded with the generous support of Elizabeth & Justus Schlichting.

• I performed the concerto version of the Clarke Sonata (orchestrated by Ruth Lomon) with the UNCO Symphony Orchestra under Inés Rodríguez in September 2018.

• The project received additional support from the Rebecca Clarke Society and the University of Northern Colorado Provost Fund for Faculty Scholarship and Professional Development for workshops with the composers.

• I completed several workshops with Scott Wollschleger including filming technique videos for Shaken Not Stuttered for his piece with Four/Ten Media.

• Oberlin Conservatory hosted a residency and workshop with Andrew Norman in April 2019 sponsored in part by a generous donation from Larry and Arlene Dunn.

• Four/Ten Media and I travelled to London for a workshop with Anna Thorvaldsdottir at her studio in April 2019.

• The project was granted a residency at Avaloch Farm Institute in August 2019 to rehearse the pieces before the premiere.

• The world premiere of The 20/19 Project took place at Madison New Music Festival in August 2019.

• I am publishing a series of articles in the Journal of the American Viola Society on The 20/19 Project (see links below).

• Studio Will Dutta published a monograph on The 20/19 Project in September 2019. The monograph is now in the music libraries of:

  • Brigham Young University (Primrose Archive)

  • The British Library

  • Canterbury Christ Church University

  • Illinois State University

  • Indiana University

  • Library of Congress

  • Oberlin Conservatory

  • Punahou School

  • Rice University

  • Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

  • University of Northern Colorado

  • University of Northern Texas

  • Yale University

• I gave a lecture recital on Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sola as part of The 20/19 Project for the International Viola Congress in Poland in September 2019—the exact centennial of the Clarke and Bloch premieres!

• I had my first recording session at Oktaven Audio to record Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sola in October 2019.

• UK premiere of the three new sonatas by Norman, Thorvaldsdottir, and Wollschleger was on November 28th, 2019 at Turner Contemporary with pianist Zeynep Özsuca! Download the digital booklet for the whole UK series here.

• The UK premiere was supported using public funding by Arts Council England. For a full report of the events in the UK with feedback from the audience, see this beautiful summary put together by Studio Will Dutta.

• Scott Wollschleger’s work Lost Anthems was published on Monday, April 27, 2020 and is available now on PSNY Schott.

• New extended technique videos for Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sola have been published on Shaken Not Stuttered, where you can also download the patch to perform the work.

• Sola was released on New Focus Recordings (see album link below) on December 4, 2020

• We recorded Lost Anthems at Oktaven Audio in April 2024.

A series for the Journal of the American Viola Society on The 20/19 Project

• The 20/19 Project: A Centennial Celebration, Journal of the American Viola Society, Vol. 35 No. 1, September 2019. Part one discusses the origins of the project and the process of commissioning new work in general.

• The 20/19 Project: Composer Workshops, Journal of the American Viola Society, Vol. 36, No. 2, Fall 2020. Part two gives a behind the scenes look at workshops with The 20/19 Project composers held at University of Northern Colorado, Oberlin Conservatory, and Thorvaldsdottir’s studio in London.

Past Performances and Presentations

Friday, December 4, 2020 — Live stream concert album release for Sola on New Focus Recordings

Wednesday, June 3, 2020 — Leilehua Lanzilotti: Collaborating in the Digital Age: The 20/19 Project, focusing on Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sola presented by the American Viola Society as a part of their 2020 Virtual Mini-Festival.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 — The 20/19 Project: Screening + Q&A hosted by Studio Will Dutta. The screening included Three Moments by Ana Quiroga and Pedro Maia and archive footage of the UK premiere of Lost Anthems by Scott Wollschleger performed by Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti and Zeynep Özsuca.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020 — Leilehua Lanzilotti: Practical Techniques for Successful Digital Composer/Performer Collaborations focusing on the collaboration with Anna Thorvaldsdottir for The 20/19 Project, hosted by Next Fest Connects.

Thursday, November 28, 2019 — Leilehua Lanzilotti / Zeynep Özsuca: Made in Transition, Part 2 at Turner Contemporary. Dive into three new viola sonatas by Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Scott Wollschleger and find your way among fragments, fragile echoes and broken gestures. Audio-visual preludes by Ana Quiroga and Pedro Maia mark the walls. Presented by Studio Will Dutta.

Friday, November 15, 2019 — Leilehua Lanzilotti / Will Dutta: Apart and Together at Daphne Oram Creative Arts Building. The new building is occupied in a maze of performance, discussion and student groups reimagining accepted musical narratives. Presented by Studio Will Dutta.

Thursday, November 14, 2019 — Michael O’Sullivan / Will Dutta / Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti: Studio Talk at St Mary’s Art Centre. Join our in-conversation series to explore the cultural, social and economic shifts facing the UK, with a line-up that includes former CIO at Credit Suisse and author of The Levelling, Michael O’Sullivan. Presented by Studio Will Dutta.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 — Rosalind Ventris / Will Dutta: Made in Transition, Part 1 at Westgate Hall. Emotions compete in these era-defining viola sonatas (performance of the original 1919 sonatas by Bloch, Clarke, and Hindemith), with three new audio-visual preludes by Ana Quiroga and Pedro Maia (world premiere). Presented by Studio Will Dutta.

Thursday, September 26, 2019 — Rosalind Ventris / Will Dutta: Life Drawing at The Faversham Assembly Rooms. Join artist Joseph Paxton for this unique opportunity to draw from an open rehearsal (of the original 1919 sonatas by Bloch, Clarke, and Hindemith). All levels welcome. Download the digital booklet for the whole UK series here.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 — Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti: Lecture recital on Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sola, part of The 20/19 Project, for the International Viola Congress in Poland—the exact centennial of the Clarke and Bloch premieres!

Saturday, August 10, 2019 — Madison New Music Festival: World Premieres

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 — Leilehua Lanzilotti / Inés Rodríguez (conductor) / UNCO Symphony Orchestra, Concerto version of the Rebecca Clarke Sonata (orchestrated by Ruth Lomon).