Lionel Tertis

From 1900, Tertis was a professor of viola at the Royal Academy of Music and encouraged his students to compose for the viola. In 1906, he temporarily joined the Bohemian Quartet and later took the viola position in the Gerald Walenn Quartet.

As his reputation grew, composers such as Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Gustav Holst, Benjamin Dale, York Bowen, Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton wrote pieces for him. Tertis first played Walton’s Viola Concerto at the International Society for Contemporary Musical Festival in Liege.

Alongside pianist William Murdoch, violinist Albert Sammons and cellist Lauri Kennedy, Tertis formed the Chamber Music Players. He also worked with Sidney Griller to form the Griller Quartet in 1928. In 1937, he retired from concert performances to focus on teaching. His final appearance as a soloist was at a Royal Academy of Music charity concert to encourage the composition of new music. He rearranged pieces not originally for the viola and established his methods in various publications throughout his career.

In 1950, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. After his death, the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition was established to honour his memory, and in 2015, English Heritage unveiled a blue plaque at his London home.