viola
The open strings of the viola.
Bowed, string instrument, the second smallest member of the violin family. It is one of the instruments that form the string quartet, where its traditional role is to provide harmonies. It is played tucked under the chin, like the violin, and its four strings are tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4. With its dark, vibrant tone, it is often used for music of a reflective character, as in Igor Stravinsky's Elegy (1944) or Benjamin Britten's Lachrymae (1950). Concertos have been written for the viola by composers such as George Telemann, Hector Berlioz, William Walton, Paul Hindemith, and Béla Bartók.
Viola
| Unfinished opera by Smetana (libretto by E Krasnohorská, on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night), begun in 1883. |
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