Editing Viola (section)

== Music ==
{{See also|Viola repertoire}}{{Listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Telemann - Viola Concerto Gmaj - 2. Allegro.ogg
| title        = Viola Concerto&nbsp;– 2. Allegro
| description  = Composed by [[Georg Philipp Telemann]], performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra with Elias Goldstein (viola)
| filename2    = Schubert - Arpeggione Sonata - 3. Allegretto (viola).ogg
| title2       = Arpeggione Sonata&nbsp;– 3.&nbsp;Allegretto
| description2 = From Schubert's [[Arpeggione Sonata]], performed by Elias Goldstein (viola) with the Advent Chamber Orchestra
| filename3    = Dvořák - Humoresque Op. 101 No. 7.ogg
| title3       = Humoresque in G, Op. 101, No.&nbsp;7
| description3 = From Dvořák's [[Humoresques (Dvořák)|Humoresques]], arranged for viola and piano by Elias Goldstein, performed by Elias Goldstein (viola) and Monica Pavel (piano)
| filename4    = Viola-walshimprov.ogg
| title4       = Improvisation for four violas
| description4 = Short four-part improvisation demonstrating the range and part of the tone quality of the viola
}}

=== Reading music ===
Music that is written for the viola primarily uses the [[alto clef]], which is otherwise rarely used. Viola music employs the treble clef when there are substantial sections of music written in a higher register. The alto clef is defined by the placement of C<sub>4</sub> on the middle line of the staff.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[Walter Piston|Piston, Walter]] |title=Orchestration |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |date=1955 |ISBN=0393097404}}</ref>

As the viola is tuned exactly one octave above the cello, music that is notated for the cello can be easily transcribed for alto clef without any changes in key. For example, there are numerous editions of [[Cello Suites (Bach)|Bach's Cello Suites]] transcribed for viola.<ref>{{IMSLP|author=For viola (arr)|cname=various composers arranged for viola}}</ref> The viola also has the advantage of smaller scale-length when compared to the cello. This means that the stretches needed by cellists to play certain notes are easier to achieve on the viola. However, occasional changes must be made due to differences in the ways that the two instruments are played, as well as their differences in range.

=== Role in pre-twentieth century works ===
In early orchestral music, the viola part was usually limited to filling in [[harmony|harmonies]], with very little [[melody|melodic]] material assigned to it. When the viola was given a melodic part, it was often duplicated (or was in unison with) the melody played by other strings.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Howard|first=Jacinta K.|date=August 1966|title=The Viola—Up from Obscurity|journal=[[American String Teacher]]|volume=16|issue=3|pages=12–16|doi=10.1177/000313136601600308|s2cid=186782038 |issn=0003-1313}}</ref>

The concerti grossi, ''[[Brandenburg Concertos]]'', composed by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach]], were unusual in their use of viola. The third concerto grosso, scored for three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo, requires virtuosity from the violists. Indeed, Viola I has a solo in the last movement which is commonly found in orchestral auditions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=New Zealand Symphony Orchestra |date=July 2020 |title=NZSO-2020-July-Associate-Principal-Viola-Excerpts.pdf |url=https://www.nzso.co.nz/assets/Uploads/NZSO-2020-July-Associate-Principal-Viola-Excerpts.pdf }}</ref> The sixth concerto grosso, [[Brandenburg concertos#Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051|Brandenburg Concerto No. 6]], which was scored for 2 violas "concertino", cello, 2 [[Viola da gamba|violas da gamba]], and continuo, had the two violas playing the primary melodic role.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz, Hector]] |title=[[Treatise on Instrumentation|A Treatise on Modern Orchestration and Instrumentation]] |publisher=J. Alfred Novello |location=Paris |date=1856}}</ref> He also used this unusual ensemble in his cantata, [[Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18]] and in [[Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199]], the chorale is accompanied by an obbligato viola.

There are a few [[Baroque]] and [[Classical Music Era|Classical]] concerti, such as those by [[Georg Philipp Telemann]] (one [[Viola Concerto in G major (Telemann)|for solo viola]], being one of the earliest viola concertos known, and one [[Concerto for Two Violas (Telemann)|for two violas]]), [[Alessandro Rolla]], [[Franz Anton Hoffmeister]] and [[Carl Stamitz]].

The viola plays an important role in [[chamber music]]. Mozart used the viola in more creative ways when he wrote his six [[string quintet]]s. The viola quintets use two violas, which frees them (especially the first viola) for solo passages and increases the variety of writing that is possible for the ensemble. Mozart also wrote for the viola in his [[Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (Mozart)|Sinfonia Concertante]], a set of two duets for violin and viola, and the [[Kegelstatt Trio]] for viola, clarinet, and piano. The young [[Felix Mendelssohn]] wrote a little-known [[Viola Sonata (Mendelssohn)|Viola Sonata in C minor]] (without opus number, but dating from 1824). [[Robert Schumann]] wrote his ''[[Märchenbilder]]'' for viola and piano. He also wrote a set of four pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, ''[[Märchenerzählungen]]''.

[[Max Bruch]] wrote a romance for viola and orchestra, his Op.&nbsp;85, which explores the emotive capabilities of the viola's timbre. In addition, his Eight pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op.&nbsp;83, features the viola in a very prominent, solo aspect throughout. His [[Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra]], Op. 88 has been quite prominent in the repertoire and has been recorded by prominent violists throughout the 20th century.

From his earliest works, [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] wrote music that prominently featured the viola. Among his first published pieces of chamber music, the sextets for strings Op.&nbsp;18 and Op.&nbsp;36 contain what amounts to solo parts for both violas. Late in life, he wrote two greatly admired [[Clarinet Sonatas (Brahms)|sonatas]] for clarinet and piano, his Op.&nbsp;120 (1894): he later transcribed these works for the viola (the solo part in his [[Horn Trio (Brahms)|Horn Trio]] is also available in a transcription for viola). Brahms also wrote "[[Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano]]", Op. 91, "Gestillte Sehnsucht" ("Satisfied Longing") and "Geistliches Wiegenlied" ("Spiritual Lullaby") as presents for the famous violinist [[Joseph Joachim]] and his wife, [[Amalie Joachim|Amalie]]. [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]] played the viola and apparently said that it was his favorite instrument: his chamber music is rich in important parts for the viola. Two [[Czechs|Czech]] composers, [[Bedřich Smetana]] and [[Leoš Janáček]], included significant viola parts, originally written for [[viola d'amore]], in their quartets "[[String Quartet No. 1 (Smetana)|From My Life]]" and "[[Intimate Letters]]" respectively: the quartets begin with an impassioned statement by the viola. This is similar to <!-- (Incidentally, Dvořák was the violist at the premiere.) --> Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven all occasionally played the viola part in chamber music.

The viola occasionally has a major role in orchestral music, a prominent example being [[Richard Strauss]]' tone poem ''[[Don Quixote (Strauss)|Don Quixote]]'' for solo cello and viola and orchestra. Other examples are the "Ysobel" variation of [[Edward Elgar]]'s ''[[Enigma Variations]]'' and the solo in his work, ''[[In the South (Alassio)]]'', the ''[[pas de deux]]'' scene from act 2 of [[Adolphe Adam]]'s ''[[Giselle]]'' and the "La Paix" movement of [[Léo Delibes]]'s ballet ''[[Coppélia]]'', which features a lengthy viola solo.

Gabriel Fauré's [[Requiem (Fauré)|Requiem]] was originally scored (in 1888) with divided viola sections, lacking the usual violin sections, having only a solo violin for the ''Sanctus''. It was later scored for orchestra with violin sections, and published in 1901. Recordings of the older scoring with violas are available.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilman|first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYC0AAAAIAAJ&q=gabreil |title=Orchestral Music: An Armchair Guide |date=1951 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en}}</ref>

While the viola repertoire is quite large, the amount written by well-known pre-20th-century composers is relatively small. There are many transcriptions of works for other instruments for the viola and the large number of 20th-century compositions is very diverse. See "The Viola Project" at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where Professor of Viola [[Jodi Levitz]] has paired a composer with each of her students, resulting in a recital of brand-new works played for the very first time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Symphony Violists Teaching at the Conservatory |url=https://www.sfcv.org/articles/music-news/symphony-violists-teaching-conservatory |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.sfcv.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Twentieth century and beyond ===
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}
In the earlier part of the 20th century, more composers began to write for the viola, encouraged by the emergence of specialized soloists such as [[Lionel Tertis|Tertis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lionel Tertis |url=https://www.thestrad.com/lionel-tertis/3548.article |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=The Strad |language=en}}</ref> Englishmen [[Arthur Bliss]], [[Edwin York Bowen]], [[Benjamin Dale]], and [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] all wrote chamber and concert works for Tertis. [[William Walton]], [[Bohuslav Martinů]], and [[Béla Bartók]] wrote well-known viola concertos. Hindemith wrote a substantial amount of music for the viola; being himself a violist, he often performed his own works. [[Claude Debussy]]'s [[Sonata for flute, viola and harp (Debussy)|Sonata for flute, viola and harp]] has inspired a significant number of other composers to write for this combination.

[[Charles Wuorinen]] composed his virtuosic ''Viola Variations'' in 2008 for Lois Martin. [[Elliott Carter]] also wrote several works for viola including his ''Elegy'' (1943) for viola and piano; it was subsequently transcribed for clarinet. [[Ernest Bloch]], a Swiss-born American composer best known for his compositions inspired by Jewish music, wrote two famous works for viola, the ''Suite 1919'' and the ''[[Suite Hébraïque]]'' for solo viola and orchestra. [[Rebecca Helferich Clarke|Rebecca Clarke]] was a 20th-century composer and violist who also wrote extensively for the viola.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Her Life {{!}} Rebecca Clarke Society |url=https://www.rebeccaclarke.org/her-life/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> Lionel Tertis records that Elgar (whose cello concerto Tertis transcribed for viola, with the slow movement in scordatura), [[Alexander Glazunov]] (who wrote an ''Elegy'', Op.&nbsp;44, for viola and piano), and [[Maurice Ravel]] all promised concertos for viola, yet all three died before doing any substantial work on them.

In the latter part of the 20th century a substantial repertoire was produced for the viola; many composers including [[Miklós Rózsa]], [[Revol Bunin]], [[Alfred Schnittke]], [[Sofia Gubaidulina]], [[Giya Kancheli]] and [[Krzysztof Penderecki]], have written [[viola concerto]]s. The American composer [[Morton Feldman]] wrote a series of works entitled ''The Viola in My Life'', which feature [[concertante]] viola parts. In [[spectral music]], the viola has been sought after because of its lower overtone partials that are more easily heard than on the violin. Spectral composers like [[Gérard Grisey]], [[Tristan Murail]], and [[Horațiu Rădulescu]] have written solo works for viola. Neo-Romantic, post-Modern composers have also written significant works for viola including [[Robin Holloway]] Viola Concerto Op. 56 and Sonata Op. 87, [[Peter Seabourne]] a large five-movement work with piano, ''Pietà'', [[Airat Ichmouratov]] [[Viola Concerto No.1 (Ichmouratov)|Viola Concerto No. 1]], Op. 7<ref>{{cite web |title=Ichmouratov: Viola Concerto No.1/Piano Concerto |url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%205281 |website=www.chandos.net |access-date=29 September 2023}}</ref> and [[Three Romances for Viola, Strings, and Harp]], Op. 22.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ichmouratov: Orchestral Works |url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020141 |website=www.chandos.net |access-date=29 September 2023}}</ref>

=== Contemporary pop music ===
The viola is sometimes used in contemporary popular music, mostly in the [[avant-garde]]. [[John Cale]] of [[The Velvet Underground]] used the viola,<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Grow|first=Kory|date=2017-03-10|title=John Cale Reflects on 50th Anniversary of 'Velvet Underground and Nico'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/john-cale-on-velvet-undergrounds-debut-we-werent-there-to-f-k-around-109174/|access-date=2021-08-06|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> as do some modern groups such as [[alternative rock]] band [[10,000 Maniacs]], [[Imagine Dragons]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-10-03|title=Imagine Dragons is a study in contradictions|url=https://www.straight.com/music/imagine-dragons-study-contradictions|access-date=2021-08-06|website=The Georgia Straight|language=en}}</ref> folk duo [[John & Mary]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meet The Father-Daughter Duo In The Boston Symphony Orchestra|url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/09/30/father-daughter-boston-symphony-orchestra|access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.wbur.org|date=30 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref> [[British Sea Power]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rogers|first=Holly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AUyLBQAAQBAJ&q=Abi+Fry+Viola&pg=PA141|title=Music and Sound in Documentary Film|date=2014-11-20|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-91604-8|language=en}}</ref> The Airborne Toxic Event, [[Marillion]], and others often with instruments in a chamber setting. [[Jazz]] music has also seen its share of violists, from those used in string sections in the early 1900s to a handful of quartets and soloists emerging from the 1960s onward. It is quite unusual though, to use individual bowed string instruments in contemporary popular music.

=== In folk music ===
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Haromhuros bracsa.png|thumb|right|upright=0.45|3-stringed viola, used in Hungarian and Romanian folk music]]
Although not as commonly used as the violin in folk music, the viola is nevertheless used by many folk musicians across the world. Extensive research into the historical and current use of the viola in folk music has been carried out by Dr. Lindsay Aitkenhead. Players in this genre include [[Eliza Carthy]], [[Mary Ramsey (musician)|Mary Ramsey]], [[Helen Bell]], and [[Nancy Kerr]]. [[Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown]] was the viola's most prominent exponent in the genre of [[blues]].

The viola is also an important accompaniment instrument in Slovakian, Hungarian and Romanian folk string band music, especially in [[Transylvania]]. Here the instrument has three strings tuned G<sub>3</sub>–D<sub>4</sub>–A<sub>3</sub> (note that the A is an octave lower than found on the standard instrument), and the bridge is flattened with the instrument playing chords in a strongly rhythmic manner. In this usage, it is called a ''kontra'' or ''brácsa'' (pronounced "bra-cha", from German ''Bratsche'', "viola").