Bowed strings/Viola Sheet Music

Occupying the middle place between the cello and the violin, the viola doesn’t yield to its bowed string colleagues in its popularity. Despite the numerous jokes about the viola made up by other string players who tried to malign it by placing lower than it is in the orchestral hierarchy, viola is no longer the ‘Cinderella’ of the orchestra as it used to be called. Due to its rich, dark and expressive tone, viola acts as the inner voice in symphonic works and string quartets. History remembers many composers who played viola. It was, in fact, the favourite instrument of J.S. Bach who appreciated its loud but soft sound, and Jimmy Hendrix was one of those who also started his career on the viola. The names of virtuoso violists Lionel Tertis, William Primrose, Paul Hindemith and present-day Nigel Kennedy, Lawrence Power, Nobuko Imai are those who inspire more musicians for playing and writing for the viola. If one compares the viola repertoire to that of the violin or cello, there will be a relative gap in the number of solo pieces. However, the 20th century brought up the revival of interest in playing viola – both on the side of performers and composers. Some of the most gorgeous concertos for viola were written by Bela Bartok , William Walton, Franz Zeyringer, Bohuslav Martinu. Playing viola may be a technical challenge but we have you covered. MusicaNeo catalogue stores 22897 music scores of any level for this rich and avant-garde instrument.