Viola concerto

The viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments, usually a full orchestra or string orchestra but sometimes smaller. Early examples of the viola concerto include, among others, Georg Philipp Telemann's concerto in G major, and several concertos by Carl Stamitz. The first concertante work to use the viola without caution (though extreme virtuosity only later became identified as the desired characteristic in a concerto soloist) was the violin and viola Sinfonia Concertante of Mozart.

The viola has not enjoyed wide popularity as a solo instrument and, like the cello, suffers from problems of projection against an orchestral ensemble. According to some, (such as Alfred Einstein, among others), the essence of the concerto is not the display of virtuosity but conflict and resolution, and the viola is less suited than the piano, or even the violin, to balance itself against an orchestra that is not deliberately underused by the composer. One must also consider that in the past, viola players were often violinists retreated in ranks, and as such, viola soloists were few until fairly recently. Composers like William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Paul Hindemith were among the first to begin composing solo viola works for newer and more capable players. These players in turn arranged works originally for other instruments, (an example being Lionel Tertis's arrangement of Edward Elgar's cello concerto).

elected list of concertos and concertante works

*Samuel Adler
**Viola concerto (1999) ( [http://www.recordsinternational.com/RICatalogFeb03.html] )

*Malcolm Arnold
**Viola concerto with small orchestra (1971, his op. 108)

*Grażyna Bacewicz
**Viola concerto (1968)

*Johann Sebastian Bach
**Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Solo part for two Violas)

*Simon Bainbridge
**Viola concerto (1976) ( [http://www.ump.co.uk/bainbridge.htm] )

*Tadeusz Baird
**Concerto Lugubre for viola and orchestra (1975)

*Béla Bartók
**Viola concerto (unfinished, compl. Tibor Serly)

*Arnold Bax
**Phantasy for viola and orchestra (1920)

*Sally Beamish
**Viola concerto (1995)

*Jirí Antonín Benda
**Viola concerto in F major (about 1775)

*Michael Berkeley
**viola concerto (rev. 1996)

*Hector Berlioz
**Harold in Italy

*Boris Blacher
**Viola concerto (1954)

*Ernest Bloch
**Suite for viola and orchestra (1919)
**Suite Hebraïque;

*York Bowen
**Viola concerto in C minor, opus 25, about 1908 ( [http://www.recordsinternational.com/RICatalogJun05.html] )

*John E. Bower
**The Echo Over the Voice for solo viola, chamber ensemble, and interactive electronics (2007) ( [http://www.johnebower.com] )

*Max Bruch
**Romance for viola and orchestra, Op. 85
**Concerto for viola, clarinet and orchestra, Op. 88

*Revol Bunin
**Viola concerto, Op. 22 (1953)

*Willy Burkhard
**Viola concerto, opus 93 (1953/54)

*Henri Casadesus
**Concerto in B Minor in the style of George Frideric Handel
**Concerto in C Minor in the style of Johann Christian Bach

*Rebecca Clarke
**Sonata for Viola and Orchestra (1919) ( [http://www.rebeccaclarke.org/june8.html] )-- the sonata for viola and piano orchestrated in 2004-5 by Ruth Lomon

*Gyula Dávid
**Viola Concerto (1950)

*Edison Denisov
**Viola concerto (1986)

*Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
**Viola concerto in F major

*Cornelis Dopper
**Nocturne for viola and orchestra (1937)

*Jacob Druckman
**Viola concerto (1978)

*Andrei Eshpai
**Viola concerto in one movement (1987) ( [http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/eshpai.htm] )

*Morton Feldman
**The Viola in My Life IV (1971)

*Cecil Forsyth
**Viola concerto in G minor (1903)

*Benjamin Frankel
**Viola concerto op. 45 (1967)

*Peter Racine Fricker
**Viola concerto (premiered 1953) ( [http://www.musicweb-international.com/fricker/wright.htm] )

*Steven Gerber
**Viola concerto

*Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002)
**Concerto for viola and strings

*Alexander Goehr
**Viola Concerto (1996)

*Evgeny Golubev
**Viola concerto opus 57 (1962)

*Morton Gould
**Viola concerto (1945)

*Christoph Graupner
**Viola (or Viola d’Amore) concerto

*Sofia Gubaidulina
**Viola concerto (1996) ( [http://www.schirmer.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2420&State_2874=2&workId_2874=24022] )

*John Harbison
**Viola concerto (1988) ( [http://www.schirmer.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2420&State_2874=2&workId_2874=24173] )

*Chris Paul Harman
**Concerto for viola and orchestra,"Uta" (1999-2000)

*Karl Amadeus Hartmann
**Concerto for viola (and wind band)

*Hans Henkemans
**Viola concerto (1954, premiered 1956) ( [http://www.klassiekemuziekgids.net/componisten/henkemans.htm] )

*Paul Hindemith
**Trauermusik for viola and strings
**"Kammermusik" No. 5 for viola and small orchestra
**Konzertmusik for viola with chamber orchestra
**Der Schwanendreher

*Franz Anton Hoffmeister
**Viola concerto in B-flat major
**Viola concerto in D major

*Robin Holloway
**Viola concerto (1984)

*Vagn Holmboe
**Viola concerto #1, M. 141, 1943 (once called "Chamber Concerto No. 5")
**Viola concerto #2, M. 357, 1991–2

*Alan Hovhaness
**Talin for viola and strings, op. 93 No.1 (1951-52)

*Johann Nepomuk Hummel
**Fantasy for Viola and Orchestra, op. 94

*David Hunt
**"Sicut Lilium" for viola and orchestra

*Gordon Jacob
**Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1925)
**Viola concerto #2 (1979) ( [http://www.musicweb-international.com/Classpedia/Jacob.htm] )

*Giya Kancheli
**Viola concerto "Mourned by the Wind" (1986)

*Nigel Keay
**Viola concerto (2000) ( [http://www.nigelkeay.com/violaconcerto.html] )

*Erland von Koch
**Viola concerto, op. 33 (1946 rev. 1966)

*Victor Legley
**Viola concerto, op. 78 (1971) ( [http://www.cebedem.be/composers/legley_vic/en.html] )

*Zdeněk Lukáš (born 1928) (Kabelac student)
**Viola concerto (1983) [http://www.zdenek-lukas.cz/]

*Jef Maes
**Viola concerto (1943)

*Gian Francesco Malipiero
**Dialogo N^r 5.

*Bohuslav Martinů
**Rhapsody-concerto for viola and orchestra (1952)

*Darius Milhaud
**Viola concerto with orchestra of soloists, 1929, opus 108 (a revised version — a version for larger orchestra was premiered by Monteux, conducting, Paul Hindemith, viola in Amsterdam)
**Concertino d'été, 1951, opus 311
**Second viola concerto, 1955, opus 340 (for William Primrose) (see [http://www2.potsdam.edu/CRANE/martinka/milhaud.htm] )

*Paul Müller-Zürich
**Viola concerto opus 24 in F minor (1934)

*Thea Musgrave
**"Lamenting with Ariadne" for viola and chamber orchestra

*Per Nørgård
**Viola concerto "Remembering Child"

*Gösta Nystroem
**Viola concerto "Hommage à la France" (1940)

*Marc Parella
**Viola concerto (2007)

*Krzysztof Penderecki
**Viola concerto (1983)

*Allan Pettersson
**Viola concerto (1979)

*Walter Piston
**Viola concerto (1957)

*Quincy Porter
**Viola concerto (1948) ( [http://www.newmusicbox.org/first-person/nov99/quincyporter.html] )

*Alessandro Rolla
**About a dozen viola concertos

*Julius Röntgen
**Triple concerto in B-flat major, for violin, viola, cello and strings (1922)
**Triple concerto for violin, viola and cello (1930)
**Introduktion, Fuge, Intermezzo und Finale for violin, viola, cello

*Hilding Rosenberg
**Viola concerto (three versions - 1942, 1964, both for viola and strings, 1945 for larger orchestra) ( [http://web.telia.com/~u48022134/worklist_1942-1943.html] )

*Antonio Rosetti
**Concertos (at least two) for viola and orchestra

*Miklós Rózsa
**Viola concerto op. 37 (1979) ( [http://www.musicweb-international.com/rosza/rosza.htm] )

*Edmund Rubbra
**Viola concerto op. 75 in A minor

*Poul Ruders
**Viola concerto

*Dalmazio Santini
**Viola concerto

*Joly Braga Santos
**Viola concerto

*Ahmet Adnan Saygun
**Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1977)

*Alfred Schnittke
**Viola concerto (1985)

*Tibor Serly
**Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra

*Gil Shohat
**Concerto for Viola and Orchestra

*Anton Stamitz
**Concerto in B-flat major (recordings on Panton and on Koch Schwann CDs, and on a 1980 Supraphon LP. A score was published by Schött in Mainz and New York in 1972.)
**Concerto in F major for viola and strings (1779) (Score published by Schött in 1970. Referred to as concerto no. 2.)
**Concerto in G major (published by Breitkopf und Härtel in 1971. Referred to as concerto no. 3. See also the comment under Carl Stamitz.)
**Concerto in D major (published by Breitkopf und Härtel in 1973. At least one of Anton Stamitz' concertos was published earlier by Sieber in Paris during the 1700s.)

*Carl Stamitz
**Concerto in C major
**Concerto in D major (1774) (also, possibly at least one other. It is possible also that, as stated in the article Viola d'amore, these works were intended for that instrument primarily or as alternatives.)

*Johann Stamitz
**Concertos (at least one, in G major, published by Litolff in 1962. May have been meant for viola d'amore.)

*Richard Strauss
**Don Quixote with a cello and orchestra

*Georg Philipp Telemann
**Most famously, a played by many students

*Johann Baptist Vanhal
**Viola concerto in C major
**Viola concerto in F major (according to [http://library.duke.edu/music/vanhal/wanhal7.html the Duke university Vanhal page] both were originally for violoncello or bassoon)

*William Walton
**Viola concerto in A minor (1928–9, revised in 1961. Also premiered by Paul Hindemith)

*Richard Wernick
**Viola concerto

*Ralph Vaughan Williams
**Suite for Viola and Orchestra
**Suite "Flos Campi" for Viola, Chorus and Orchestra (technically not a concerto)

*John Woolrich
**Viola concerto

*Carl Friedrich Zelter
**Viola Concerto E-flat major

ee also

* Viola
*Viola sonata
*Bassoon concerto
* Concerto
*Concerto for orchestra
* Clarinet concerto
*Flute concerto
* Harpsichord concerto
* Piano concerto
* Violin concerto
* Violoncello concerto
* String Instrument Repertoire

External links

* [http://www.viola.com/ Viola website, hosting information about the viola.]
* [http://www.haydn.dk/index.php Michael Haydn page with Many Classical and Early-Romantic Worklists]
* [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/rumi/viola/vfc/vfcmainpage.html#_HOME_ Viola Fan Club and Repertoire List]
* [http://www.viola-in-music.com Viola in music] - The role of viola in music. Information, description of works, videos, free sheet music, MIDI files, RSS update.