A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Throughout music history, especially during the Baroque, Classical, Romantic eras, viola was viewed mostly as an ensemble instrument. Though there were a few notable concertos written for the instrument in this time period, these instances were quite rare and the instrument continued to be ignored. However, during the 20th century, the instrument was revitalized thanks to the work of a number of violists and composers, which led to the commission and composition of many more viola concertos, expanding the repertoire significantly.
Early examples of violas taking solo roles in orchestral settings include Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, scored for two solo violas, Georg Philipp Telemann's Concerto in G major, and Carl Stamitz's Viola Concerto in D major. Arguably, one of the first concertante works to use the viola without caution was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, scored for solo violin and viola. Although not much work was written for the viola alone in the Classical or Romantic periods, with only a few example concerto-like pieces emerging such as Max Bruch's Romanze, Hector Berlioz's Harold en Italie, or Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Potpourri, the viola concerto would see significant growth from the late 1800s.
A number of violists and composers are credited with revitalizing the viola concerto and expanding its repertoire, with much of it centralized in Britain in the early 1900s.
British violist Lionel Tertis is often credited with popularizing the viola as a solo instrument in the early 20th century through advocating for the composition of new pieces, as well as arranging works for the viola. A number of works were dedicated to Tertis including concertos by William Walton and York Bowen, and other concertante works such as Arnold Bax's Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra. Tertis also commissioned pieces such as Ralph Vaughan Williams' Flos Campi and Gustav Holst's Lyric Movement for Viola and Small Orchestra, in addition to gaining permission to transpose works for the viola, such as Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto and Frederick Delius's Caprice and Elegy for Cello and Orchestra. [1]
William Primrose was also an important figure in establishing the role of the viola as a soloist, having a number of concertos dedicated to him by composers like Quincy Porter and Darius Milhaud. He also commissioned works as well, with the most famous being Béla Bartók's posthumously completed Viola Concerto. [2]
Other contemporary composers, such as Alfred Schnittke and Krzysztof Penderecki, have also composed pieces for Viola and Orchestra. Orchestrations of accompaniments from chamber works into concertante works have also become more popular, with more well known transcriptions being those of Shostakovich's Viola Sonata or Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata.
The viola ( vee-OH-lə, Italian:[ˈvjɔːla,viˈɔːla]) is a string instrument that is usually bowed. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth higher) and the cello (which is tuned an octave lower). The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4.
A concerto is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typical three-movement structure, a slow movement preceded and followed by fast movements, became a standard from the early 18th century.
Franz Ignaz Danzi was a German cellist, composer and conductor, the son of the Italian cellist Innocenz Danzi (1730–1798) and brother of the noted singer Franzeska Danzi. Danzi lived at a significant time in the history of European music. His career, spanning the transition from the late Classical to the early Romantic styles, coincided with the origin of much of the music that lives in our concert halls and is familiar to contemporary classical-music audiences. In his youth he knew Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom he revered; he was a contemporary of Ludwig van Beethoven, about whom he — like many of his generation — had strong but mixed feelings and he was a mentor for the young Carl Maria von Weber, whose music he respected and promoted.
Carl Philipp Stamitz was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School.
Scordatura is a tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain passages easier to play. It is common to notate the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch resulting is altered. When all the strings are tuned by the same interval up or down, as in the case of the viola in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, the part is transposed as a whole.
The viola sonata is a sonata for viola, sometimes with other instruments, usually piano. The earliest viola sonatas are difficult to date for a number of reasons:
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯. Its key signature has two sharps. The D major scale is:
F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B♭, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
E-flat major is a major scale based on E♭, consisting of the pitches E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E♭ minor,.
Edwin York Bowen was an English composer and pianist. Bowen's musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player. Despite achieving considerable success during his lifetime, many of the composer's works remained unpublished and unperformed until after his death in 1961. Bowen's compositional style is widely considered as ‘Romantic’ and his works are often characterized by their rich harmonic language.
Johann Andreas Amon was a German virtuoso guitarist, horn player, violist, conductor and composer. Amon composed around eighty works, including symphonies, concerti, sonatas, and songs. He also wrote two masses, various liturgical works, and two operettas.
Ernst Wallfisch was a prominent viola soloist, recording artist and pedagogue, primarily remembered along with his wife, pianist Lory Wallfisch, as partners of the Wallfisch Duo.
Lawrence Power is a British violist, born 1977, noted both for solo performances and for chamber music with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio.
Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist.
Bernard Zaslav was an American viola soloist and chamber musician with an extensive recording and performance career. A founding member of The Composers Quartet in 1965, he went on to play with the Fine Arts Quartet, Vermeer Quartet, and the Stanford String Quartet. He has also performed and recorded as the Zaslav Duo with his wife, pianist Naomi Zaslav.
Tatjana Masurenko is a German violist of Russian descent.
Timothy Ridout is a British violist and 1st Prizewinner of the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.
This article lists notable compositions within the viola repertoire. The list includes works in which the viola is a featured instrument. The list is ordered by composer surname.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)