JAVS Summer 2026

Figure 2. M. Reitikh, Elementary School [method] for the Viola (1940), p.5. From top to bottom: a) The alto clef; b) Viola tuning; c) Notes in first position; d) Fingerings in first position.

As Poniatovsky notes, and as is evident through engagement with Soviet viola literature, Reitikh served as editor for dozens of viola works and collections published by Sovetski Kompozitor, one of only two state music publishers in the USSR. 9 A year after the publication of Reitikh’s method book, Alexander Ryvkin’s System of Daily Exercises for the Viola (1941) appeared. It was used primarily in Leningrad where Ryvkin lived and worked. 10 The years of World War II and the subsequent postwar recovery did not produce new original pedagogical works, apart from additional collections of repertoire and etudes

for beginning through advanced levels, often transcribed from other instruments. In fact, the next significant developments in pedagogical viola literature emerged only decades later, when teaching methods for all instruments became more unified across the country and the viola gained national prominence through leading figures such as Borisovsky and Fyodor Druzhinin (1932 2007). 11 Nevertheless, there remained a demand for a comprehensive pedagogical resource for the viola, as well as for a more standardized teaching framework. Following discussions at the 1977 viola conference, upper

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue

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