Lionel Tertis Author

Lionel Tertis first studied the violin in Leipzig, Germany and later at the Royal Academy of Music in London where he was encouraged by the principal, Alexander Mackenzie, to take up the viola. Further encouraged by Oskar Nedbal, he became one of the best known violists of his time. As Professor of Viola at the RAM, he encouraged his colleagues and students to compose for the instrument, thereby greatly expanding its repertoire. Composers such as Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge, Gustav Holst, Benjamin Dale, York Bowen, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and William Walton all wrote pieces for him.