Viola concerto

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, and 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 history of the viola concerto

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.

Revitalization of the viola concerto

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 Edwin 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.

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.

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.

List of viola concertos

List of other works for viola and orchestra

• Airat Ichmouratov
  • Fantasy on D. Shostakovich's Opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 12 (2006)
  • 3 Romances for Viola, String Orchestra, and Harp, Op. 22 (2009)
• Arnold Bax
  • Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra (1920)
• Hector Berlioz
  • Harold en Italie (1834)
• Ernest Bloch
  • Suite for Viola and Orchestra (1919)
  • Suite Hébraïque (1951)
• Johannes Brahms
  • Sonata for Viola and Orchestra (1894)
• Max Bruch
  • Romance for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 85
• Rebecca Clarke
  • Sonata for Viola and Orchestra (1919)

• Benjamin Dale
  • Romance
• Gyula Dávid
  • Music for Viola and Orchestra (2011)
• Cornelis Dopper
  • Nocturne for Viola and Orchestra (1937)
• Iván Erőd
  • Koncertant Fantasy for Viola and String Orchestra, Op. 35 (1980–1981)
• Morton Feldman
  • The Viola in My Life IV (1971)
• Geoffrey Gordon
  • Meditation and Allegro for Viola and Ensemble (2010)
• Sofia Gubaidulina
  • Two Paths: A Dedication to Mary and Martha for Two Viola Soloists and Orchestra (1998)
• Paul Hindemith
  • Kammermusik No. 5 for Viola and Chamber Orchestra
  • Konzertmusik for Viola with Chamber Orchestra
  • Trauermusik for Viola and Strings
• Gustav Holst
  • Lyric Movement for Viola and Small Orchestra (1933)
• Alan Hovhaness
  • Talin for Viola and Strings, Op. 93, No. 1 (1951–52)
• Herbert Howells
  • Elegy for Viola, String Quartet and String Orchestra, Op. 15 (1917)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel
  • Potpourri for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 94
• Joseph Jongen
  • Suite, Op. 48 (1915)
• Darius Milhaud
  • Concertino d'été, Op. 311 (1951)
  • Air (from Sonata No. 1), Op. 242 (1944)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra
• Thea Musgrave
  • Lamenting with Ariadne for Viola and Chamber Orchestra
• Niccolò Paganini
  • Quartet 15 for Viola and Orchestra (1820)
  • Sonata per la Grand Viola (1834)
• Joseph de Pasquale
  • Theme and Variations for Viola, String Orchestra, and Harp (1954)
  • Variations for Viola, String Orchestra, and Harp (1984)
• Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841)
  • Introduction and Divertimento in F major for Viola and Large Orchestra (incomplete), BI. 329
  • Divertimento in F major for Viola and Orchestra d'Archi, BI. 330
  • Rondo in G major for Viola and String Orchestra, 2 Oboes, and 2 Horns, BI.331
  • Divertimento in G major for Viola and Orchestra, BI. 332
  • Adagio and Thema with Variations in G major for Viola and Orchestra, BI. 333
• Antonio Rolla (1798–1837)
  • Variazioni Brillanti in F major for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 13 (1822)
• Julius Röntgen
  • Introduction, Fugue, Intermezzo and Finale for Violin, Viola, Cello
• Robert Schumann
  • Märchenbilder for Viola and Orchestra (1851)
• Peter Sculthorpe
  • Elegy for Viola and Strings (2006)
• Tibor Serly
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1929)
  • Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra (1948)
• Dmitri Shostakovich
  • String Quartet No. 13 for Viola and Orchestra (1970)
  • Sonata for Viola, Percussion, and Orchestra (1975)
• Leó Weiner
  • Ballad for Viola and Orchestra
• John Woolrich
  • Ulysses Awakes (1989)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • Suite for Viola and Orchestra
  • Suite Flos Campi for Viola, Chorus and Orchestra
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann
  • Antiphonen für Viola und 25 Instrumentalisten

Notes

See also

• Viola sonata
• String instrument repertoire

References

External links

• Viola website, hosting information about the viola. Archived 2007-04-20 at the Wayback Machine
• Michael Haydn page with Many Classical and Early-Romantic Worklists
• Viola Fan Club and Repertoire List
• Viola in music – The role of viola in music. Information, description of works, videos, free sheet music, MIDI files, RSS update.