The viola is a stringed musical instrument, the alto member of the violin family. With four strings tuned C, G, D, A, it is built in proportions similar to the violin but with a body length of 37 to 47cm, about 5cm longer than the violin and tuned a fifth lower. The viola varies more in size than do the violin and cello. Too large an instrument is simply unplayable, too small an instrument is weakest where it is most wanted—on the lower strings. Most violas are resonant and mellow in the lower range and have rich, full sounds in the middle and upper ranges.
The viola has always been called a "big violin," but the word "violin" actually means "little viola." Both instruments have four strings tuned a fifth apart and both are made in the same way. However, there are differences too. The viola has a larger fingerboard and longer strings, leading to a darker, less delicate sound. The bow is shorter and heavier than that of a violin, making bow control more difficult. This leads to viola music being written in alto clef instead of treble. It has to concentrate much less on the athletics and much more on the dark expressive power of the instrument.
The viola tends to be dismissed as a mutant violin, despite the fact that it has been around in its present form for about 300 years. The earliest surviving examples are two fairly large violas by the Italian builder Gasparo da Salo (1540-1609). Size has always been a constant point of discussion among violists, with no real standard having been established. Whatever the size, there are only a few remaining violas made by the masters: a dozen Stradivariuses and four Guarberis are left in the world. However, violists are generally happier to go for more modern instruments, which have not been knocked around much and provide just as rich a tone.
In the 1700s, the viola was merely there to bulk out the sound between the celli and the violins. Considering the thousands of works produced by Telemann and Bach, the handful of viola works they wrote shows that there was little call for viola music. Haydn injected life into the instrument by establishing the string quartet (2 violins, a cello and a viola). This provided a stock of excellent music for viola players.
Even the addition to the viola repertoire by Hector Berlioz failed to stimulate the market. He wrote Harold in Italy, a viola concerto, one of the few 19th century viola works.
The 20th century looked more promising for the instrument, with Lionel Tertis arranging a large amount of music for the viola and in 1928 persuading William Walton to write a concerto. Then came pieces by Vaughan Williams, Britten (Lachrymae) and Bartok (Viola Concerto). Dmitri Shostakovich also wrote the Viola Sonata, which is regarded by many as one of the finest modern pieces for the instrument.
Famous violists include Scot William Primrose, who added a new technical dimension to viola playing. Cecil Aronowitz is a South American particularly strong in chamber music who played as the Amadeus Quartet's fifth player when they performed quintet music. Of the modern players, Japan's Noboko Imai and Russia's Yuri Bashmet stand out. The latter is a keen and engaging advocate of his instrument and says this: "People say to me that the viola sounds sometimes like a violin and sometimes like a cello. But I think it is wrong. The viola has its own strong, very special sound. In fact, to me, the cello or the violin sometimes sound like the viola. The viola is not just a middle instrument, but is the centre of gravity." Many violinists have tried playing the viola but Israel's Pinchas Zukerman is one of the few who has succeeded. He has managed to bring across his virtuoso technique and innate feeling, with a particularly Jewish sound.
