0 a wooden musical instrument with four strings, held against the shoulder and played by moving a bow across the strings. It is slightly larger than the violin. -- 中提琴
Towards the end, the viola presented a memorably ardent cantabile rendering of the keening lament, brutally interrupted by tormenting tutti interjections.
At one point she goes to a 'conventional' viola tutor, who teaches her to read notation.
Reflections (1960) for viola, clarinet, oboe and harp finds the composer at her most relaxed and good-humoured.
Most arias are accompanied only by strings: violins (sometimes divided, sometimes unison), violas and bassi.
For most of the time the two violins are coupled in euphonious thirds, the viola and bass in tenths.
Four times the viola initiates further discussion, but the discourse closes, unresolved and uneasy.
The tonal variety accorded it, first by the cello, then the viola, does seem to mirror the refracting effect of water on the visible.
Initial discrete cells presented by a viola are permutated and distributed among other solo instruments in a gradually proliferating internal dialogue characteristic of chamber music.
