Viola

 

 

The viola is of course a regular instrument in the classical symphony orchestra. However, as popular as its siblings, the violin and more recently the cello, have become as concertante instruments, the poor viola has always lagged behind. It had some exposure in the baroque and rococo area (Telemann, Stamitz), faired very poorly in the classical and romantic periods, and only gained more ground in the 20th century, when composers like Hindemith, Bartok, Arnold, Walton, Milhaud, Nystroem, Bacewicz and Penderecki composed concertos for this ugly duckling. I have opted for a relatively unknown masterpiece from 2004 by Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova. It is played by Maxim Rysanov with The Hallé under Delyana Lazarova on Hallé.