Viola concerto

File:Hoffmeister concerto per viola solo pag1.jpg

First page of the viola solo part, in the manuscript parts set of Hoffmeister's viola concerto in D

A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of viola concertos include Telemann's concerto in G major and several concertos by Carl Stamitz and other members of his family. The first concertante work to use the viola without caution was Mozart's violin and viola Sinfonia Concertante.

The viola, as with the cello, suffers from problems of projection against an orchestral ensemble and so has not enjoyed wide popularity as a solo instrument. According to some musicologists, including Alfred Einstein, the essence of the concerto is not the display of virtuosity, but in conflict and resolution, and the viola is less suited than the piano, or even the violin, to balance itself against any orchestra that is not deliberately underused by the composer. Viola players were often originally violinists and so until recently there were few viola soloists. William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Paul Hindemith were among the first composers to write solo viola works for new, more capable players. These players in turn arranged works originally composed for other instruments, an example being Lionel Tertis's arrangement of Edward Elgar's cello concerto.

Selected list of concertos and concertante works

• Samuel Adler
  • Viola Concerto (1999) ([1])
• Necil Kazım Akses
  • Viola Concerto (1977)
• Alessandro Appignani
  • Viola Concerto (2008)
• Malcolm Arnold
  • Viola Concerto with small orchestra, Op. 108 (1971)
• Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (Solo parts for two violas)
• Simon Bainbridge
  • Viola Concerto (1976) ([2])
• Béla Bartók
  • Viola Concerto (unfinished, compl. Tibor Serly)
• Arnold Bax
  • Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra (1920)
• Jiří Antonín Benda
  • Viola Concerto in F major (about 1775)
• Hector Berlioz
  • Harold in Italy
• Valentin Bibik
  • Concerto No. 1 for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 53 (1984)
  • Concerto No. 2 for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 104 (1994)
• Boris Blacher
  • Viola Concerto (1954)
• Herbert Blendinger (b.1936)
  • Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 38 (1982)
  • Concerto for viola and string orchestra, Op. 16 (1962)
• Ernest Bloch
  • Suite for Viola and Orchestra (1919)
  • Suite hébraïque
• York Bowen
  • Viola Concerto (1908)
• Tim Brady
  • Viola Concerto (2012)
• Max Bruch
  • Romance for viola and orchestra, Op. 85
  • Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra, Op. 88
• Revol Bunin
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 22 (1953)
• Willy Burkhard
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 93 (1953/54)
• Diana Burrell
  • Viola Concerto “...calling, leaping, crying, dancing...” (1994)
• Henri Casadesus
  • Concerto in B minor in the style of George Frideric Handel
  • Concerto in C minor in the style of Johann Christian Bach([3])
• Rebecca Clarke
  • Sonata for Viola and Orchestra (1919) ([4])-- the sonata for viola and piano orchestrated in 2004-5 by Ruth Lomon
• Gyula Dávid
  • Viola Concerto (1950)
• Matthew Davidson
  • Music for Viola and Orchestra (2011)
• Brett Dean
  • Viola Concerto (2004)
• Edison Denisov
  • Viola Concerto (1986)
• Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
  • Viola Concerto in F major
• Cornelis Dopper
  • Nocturne for Viola and Orchestra (1937)
• Iván Erőd (b.1936)
  • Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 30 (1979–1980); Ludwig Doblinger Musikverlag
  • Koncertant Fantasy for viola and string orchestra, Op. 35 (1980–1981); Ludwig Doblinger Musikverlag
• Morton Feldman
  • The Viola in My Life IV (1971)
• Cecil Forsyth
  • Viola Concerto in G minor (1903)
• Benjamin Frankel
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 45 (1967)
• Kenneth Fuchs
  • Divinum Mysterium (2010)
• Srul Irving Glick (1934–2002)
  • Concerto for Viola and Strings
• Mikhail Goldstein
  • Concerto in C Major attributed to Ivan Khandoshkin ([5])
• Evgeny Golubev
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 57 (1962)
• Morton Gould
  • Viola Concerto (1943)
• Ignatz Gspan
  • Concerto in C major for Viola and Orchestra (Strings) (18th century)
• Sofia Gubaidulina
  • Concerto for viola and orchestra (1996)
• Sofia Gubaidulina
  • Two Paths: A Dedication to Mary and Martha for two viola solo and orchestra (1998)
• John Harbison
  • Viola Concerto (1988) ([6])
• Hans Henkemans
  • Viola Concerto (1954, premiered 1956) ([7])
• Jacques Hétu
  • Viola Concerto Op.75
• Jennifer Higdon
  • Viola Concerto (2015)
• Paul Hindemith
  • Kammermusik No. 5 for Viola and Small Orchestra
  • Konzertmusik for Viola with Chamber Orchestra
  • Der Schwanendreher
  • Trauermusik for Viola and Strings
• Franz Anton Hoffmeister
  • Viola Concerto in B flat major
  • Viola Concerto in D major
• Alan Hovhaness
  • Talin for Viola and Strings, Op. 93, No. 1 (1951–52)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel
  • Potpourri for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 94
• Gordon Jacob
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1925)
  • Viola Concerto No. 2 (1979) ([8])
• Joseph Jongen
  • Suite, Op. 48 (1915)
• Giya Kancheli
  • Viola Concerto Mourned by the Wind (1986)
• Nigel Keay
  • Viola Concerto (2000) ([9])
• Erland von Koch
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 33 (1946 rev. 1966)
• Joseph Martin Kraus ([10])
  • Viola Concerto in C Major (attributed to Roman Hoffstetter)
  • Viola Concerto in E-flat Major
• Victor Legley
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 78 (1971) ([11])
• Zdeněk Lukáš (born 1928) (Kabeláč student)
  • Viola Concerto (1983) [12]
• Jef Maes
  • Viola Concerto (1943)

• Bohuslav Martinů
  • Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1952)
• Darius Milhaud
  • Viola Concerto with orchestra of soloists, Op. 108 (1929; a revised version — a version for larger orchestra was premiered by Monteux, conducting, Paul Hindemith, viola in Amsterdam)
  • Concertino d'été, Op. 311 (1951)
  • Viola Concerto No. 2, Op. 340 (1955; for William Primrose) ([13])
  • Air (from Sonata No. 1), Op. 242 (1944)
• Paul Müller-Zürich
  • Viola Concerto in F minor, Op. 24 (1934)
• Nico Muhly
  • Viola Concerto (2015)
• Thea Musgrave
  • Lamenting with Ariadne for Viola and Chamber Orchestra
• Gösta Nystroem
  • Viola Concerto Hommage à la France (1940)
• Krzysztof Penderecki
  • Viola Concerto (1983)
• Allan Pettersson
  • Viola Concerto (1979)
• Walter Piston
  • Viola Concerto (1957)
• Mikhail Pletnev
  • Viola Concerto (1997)
• Quincy Porter
  • Viola Concerto (1948) ([14])
• Behzad Ranjbaran
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2014)
• Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841)
  • Concertino in E-flat major for Viola and Orchestra (or String Quartet), BI. 328/546
  • Introduction and Divertimento in F major for Viola and Large Orchestra (incomplete), BI. 329
  • Divertimento in F major for viola and orchestrad'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
  • Concerto in C major for viola and orchestra, BI. 541
  • Concerto in D major for viola and orchestra, BI. 542
  • Concerto in D major for viola and orchestra, BI. 543
  • Concerto in E-flat major for viola and orchestra, BI. 544
  • Concerto in E-flat major for viola and orchestra, BI. 545
  • Concerto in E-flat major for viola and orchestra, BI. 547
  • Concerto in E major for viola and orchestra, BI. 548
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 549
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 550
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 551
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 552
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 553
  • Concerto in F major for viola and orchestra, BI. 554
  • Concerto in B-flat major for viola and orchestra, BI. 555
• Antonio Rolla (1798–1837)
  • Variazioni Brillanti in F major for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 13 (1822)
• Julius Röntgen
  • Triple concerto in B-flat major, for violin, viola, cello and strings (1922)
  • Triple concerto for violin, viola and cello (1930)
  • Introduction, Fugue, Intermezzo and Finale for violin, viola, cello
• Hilding Rosenberg
  • Viola Concerto (three versions - 1942, 1964, both for viola and strings, 1945 for larger orchestra) ([15])
• Miklós Rózsa
  • Viola Concerto, Op. 37 (1979) ([16])
• Edmund Rubbra
  • Viola Concerto in A minor, Op. 75
• Ahmet Adnan Saygun
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1977)
• Alfred Schnittke
  • Viola Concerto (1985)
• Joseph Schubert
  • Viola Concerto in C major
  • Viola Concerto in E-flat major
• Peter Sculthorpe
  • Elegy for Viola and Strings (2006)
• Tibor Serly
  • Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra
• Ragnar Soderlind
  • Viola Concerto “Nostalgia delle radici” (2003)
• 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 18th century.)
• Carl Stamitz
  • Concerto No. 1 in D major (1774)
  • Concerto No. 2 in B-flat/A major
  • Concerto No. 3 in A major
• Johann Stamitz
  • Concertos (at least one, in G major, published by Litolff in 1962. May have been meant for viola d'amore.)
• Constantinos Stylianou
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in C minor (2012)
• Georg Philipp Telemann
  • Most famously, a Concerto in G major (catalogued as TWV 51:G9) played by many students
• Johann Baptist Wanhal
  • Viola Concerto in C major
  • Viola Concerto in F major (according to the Duke university Wanhal page both were originally for violoncello or bassoon)
• Alexander Voltz
  • Viola Concerto No.1 in Bb Minor, Op.1
• William Walton
  • Viola Concerto in A minor (1928–29, revised in 1961. Premiered by Paul Hindemith)
• Matthew Whittall
  • Viola Concerto "The heaven that dwells so deep" (2012) Premiered by Ilari Angervo (viola) & Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. by Ernest Martinez-Izquierdo
• John Williams
  • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2009)
• John Woolrich
  • Ulysses Awakes (1989)
  • Viola Concerto (1993)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • Suite for Viola and Orchestra
  • Suite Flos Campi for Viola, Chorus and Orchestra (technically not a concerto)
• Carl Friedrich Zelter
  • Viola Concerto E-flat major

See also

• Viola sonata
• String instrument repertoire

External links

• Viola website, hosting information about the viola.
• 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.