Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation
After her death in 1979, Alba Rosa Viëtor’s compositions remained untouched for 25 years. In 2004, her son Hendrik Vietor asked the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami, Florida, to digitize and compile the entire collection of compositions of his mother in a catalog. On 13 March 2009, the Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation was founded by Mary van Veen-Viëtor, Hermance Viëtor and Maarten van Veen. The aim of the Foundation is: “The management of the musical legacy of Alba Rosa Viëtor and to make her music known by scores, performances and recordings. To promote the performing arts, in particular improvising and composing, and anything else that is directly or indirectly related to this or supportive to it, in the broadest sense of the word. ”
In 2009, the Foundation published a book, The Story of Alba Rosa Viëtor: Violinist and Composer 1889–1979. The book includes the memoirs and lectures by Alba Rosa Viëtor, as well as reviews and essays about her works by Paul Janssen and Peter Fraser MacDonald, and a list of her compositions. The Foundation has also released a CD with Alba Rosa Viëtor’s Piano Trio Op. 8, recorded by the Storioni Trio.
In 2010, the catalog of her works was released, and since that time her compositions have been performed more regularly. Recently, the historical recordings of performances of Alba Rosa Viëtor’s work (some of which were performed by herself) were transferred from 78 rpm records to CD. The Foundation has opened a website, posted an article on Wikipedia and made sure that all compositions are publicly available via Petrucci .
In 2014, the Foundation started a biannual chamber music festival, Alba Rosa Viva! The Festival is an idea of artistic director Reinild Mees, who had already put Alba Rosa Viëtor’s music in the spotlight during the Women’s Music Marathon in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. The Alba Rosa Viva! Festival is not only intended to make the works of Alba Rosa heard, but also to draw attention to other female composers, whose works are rarely heard in the classical music halls. Some contemporary compositions are always part of the festival program, in particular the works of the finalists of the biennial Alba Rosa Viëtor Composition Competition for composers up to 35 years old. An international jury, headed by composer Willem Jeths, decides about the Alba Rosa Viëtor Prize, whilst the audience decides about the Audience Prize.
In 2014 and 2016, the festival took place at Leeuwenbergh Utrecht, in 2018 at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. In 2022, the Alba Rosa Viva! Festival took place at Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam.