The Lure of the Viola

Viola jokes are commonplace in the professional music world - why is this you ask? Going back to 150 years ago the state of viola playing was terrible - there was not even the option of studying it at the world's leading music conservatoires! There were in the views of the first great viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis, two major turning points in the perception of the viola as a solo instrument in it's own right.

The first is the commission for a viola concerto from Hector Berlioz by the great violinist of the time Niccolo Paginini. Paginini had been struck by the warmth and beauty of the tone of the viola. The resulting work was Berlioz's Harold in Italy which is less of a concerto and more a symphony with a solo viola obligato. Needless to say, although Paginini refused to give the premiere of the work he commissioned because it was too easy, he quicky revised his opinion after hearing the work for the first time!

The other major turning point according to Tertis was the discovery of Mozart's masterly Sinfonia Concertante, a work that was little performed before the turn of the twentieth century, the first recording of it being made by Tertis and violinist Albert Sammons. What people seldom realise is that Mozart was himself a violist and by the end of the classical period (1750-1810) the importance of the viola had all but been forgotten. The viola, that had once been such a prestigious instrument especially in Baroque music and earlier (the viola predates the violin), had fallen from grace.

The viola is currently in a state of renaissance, with world class performers once again plying their trade on the instrument. The viola I would argue is more difficult to play at a high level than the violin; to show the same level of technical efficiency on the viola requires one to be able to cope with the size of the instrument (the viola is significantly larger). It is for this reason that the viola was neglected for such a long time, It has since become - rather than an instrument of dazzling scherzos and death-defying runs - the instrument of choice for all of those composers who wish to convey their true emotions.

For 110 years since Lionel Tertis started on his quest to expand the repertoire the viola has benefited hugely. The greatest composers of the twentieth century and now the 21st have and are writing peices for the viola that bring out the soul of the instrument. Dmitry Shostakovich's viola sonata was the last piece he wrote - handing the completed score to Druzhinin 3 days before his death - the work could be seen to depict times in the composer's life with the first movement showing the release of pressure on the composer's creaivity since the death of Stalin, the second - a deeply sarcastic scherzo - the enforced joyful writing that was demanded by the Soviet high command, whilst the last is the deepest, it is a lament for the fear of death - which he surely knew was coming to him. The movement for me (which is strongly reminiscent of Beethoven's 'Moonlight' sonata's 1st movement) depicts fear, despair and finally acceptance in the face of death. 

The lure of the viola is to truly share your emotions with the listener.