I am Fiona Richards and I have just recently joined Lessonface - hello to fellow teachers and lovely to be a part of this forum!
Having learned the violin as a child, I only came to the viola years later when I found myself having to teach it - I found the first instrument I could and dived in, slowly adjusting to learning the alto clef. Straight away I fell in love with the boomy resonance, mellow, expressive sound and the wonderful depth of the C string. For certain personalities, playing the viola can offer relief from the limelight of playing more exposed instruments and it can often have a more supportive role. Of course it can be just as soloistic and very versatile when required!
Anyway I was sad to see that the viola had no posts :(
Here are some of my current viola inspirations - hope you enjoy.
Astor Piazzola - Libertango arranged for 4 violas (played by the violas of the Berlin Phil)
Nino Rota - Intermezzo played by Gérard Caussé
Hello Fiona,
Have you ever played the Max Bruch 8 Pieces?
One of my favorites to play and, sadly, one of the only viola works I ever listen to! It's tricky as the clarinettist to reign in the louder dynamics for the sake of balance, but as long an no one buries the viola, it's a really beautiful work to hear and play.
Liam Murphy
Hi Liam,
No I have never played it and didn't know the piece so thank you for introducing me to it. I have been enjoying this recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNSVGdQpzsw. The blend of viola, clarinet and piano is lovely!
Fiona
In my home country, Australia, there are brothers, one a violist and one a clarinettist, called Paul and Brett Dean. They introduced the work to me in performance back when I was a student.
They have performed this work too, as well as the double concerto in E minor, also by Bruch.
Great combination of instruments, IMHO!
Cool! Good luck on Lessonface, I see you are new :)
It is interesting to see new teachers joining from different countries