Marion Bauer (Aug. 15, 1882 - Aug. 9, 1955) was an American composer, music critic, teacher, and writer. Born in Walla Walla, Washington, she was the youngest of seven children. Her father noticed her musical inclinations and she began studying piano  with her elder sister Emilie, who was 17 years older than her. 

After finishing high school, Bauer traveled to New York City to be with her sister Emilie, and focus on composition. She also studied with Henry Holden Huss and Eugene Heffley, and through some other connections, Bauer went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. In return for composition lessons, Bauer taught her English. Bauer came back to America after a year in Paris, and continued to study with Heffley, and also began teaching piano and music theory on her own. Just a few years after that she returned again to Europe, this time to study with Paul Ertel in Berlin. She also studied later on with Andre Gedalge at the Paris Conservatory, who had also taught Maurice Ravel and Darius Milhaud. Bauer would go on to teach and lecture at New York University, Juilliard, and Columbia University. She also helped found the American Music Guild, the American Music Center, and the American Composer's Alliance, and also served on the board of important organizations.

As a composer, her music was enjoyed by audience goers and critics alike; her music was contemporary, but on the conservative side. She wrote around 160 works of various genres, and in 1932, wrote her Viola Sonata , which could be interchanged for clarinet.

In the first movement, Allegretto, the piano starts by stating the main theme, which the viola then echoes. This movement has large interval jumps for the viola throughout, with the piano often doing the same, and as a constant, smooth companion to the viola.

In the second movement, Andante Expressivo, the piano begins with the theme and the viola follows,  much like the first movement. The first section is lyrical and romantic, and then a section with some pizzicatos gives it a waltz-like feel.

The third movement, Allegro, begins intensely, and doesn't let up for sometime, with the piano constantly in motion while the viola line soars above. There's a cadenza in the middle, followed by a tender line played by the viola, and later returns to the intensity of the beginning.

Here is a recording of this wonderful work for you to enjoy!

Virginia Eskins