Viola repertoire

This article lists notable compositions within the viola repertoire. The list includes works in which the viola is a featured instrument (i.e., viola solos, concertos, viola and piano duos, etc.). The list is ordered by composer surname.

A

• Julia Adolphe (born 1988)

:Unearth, Release (2016)

• Kurt Atterberg (1887–1974)

:Sonata in B minor for cello (or violin, or viola, or horn) and piano, Op. 27 (1925)

B

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

:Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 (1721)

• Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)

: Viola Concerto in C Minor

• Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

:Concerto for viola and orchestra in A minor, Sz. 120, BB 128 (1945)

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

:Serenade in D major for flute, violin and viola, Op. 25 (1795)

:Notturno in D major for viola and piano, Op. 42 (1803)

:Duo in E-flat major for viola and cello, "mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern" ("with two obbligato eyeglasses"), WoO 32 (1796–97)

• Luciano Berio (1925–2003)

:Sequenza VI for solo viola (1967)

• Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)

:Harold en Italie, symphony for orchestra with viola obbligato, Op. 16, H. 68 (1834)

• Ernest Bloch (1880–1959)

:Suite Hébraïque for viola and piano or orchestra (1951)

• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

:Sonata No. 1 in F minor for viola and piano, Op. 120 No. 1 (1894)

:Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major for viola and piano, Op. 120 No. 2 (1894)

:Two Songs for voice, viola and piano, Op. 91 (1884)

• Max Bruch (1838–1920)

:Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra, Op. 88 (1911)

:Romanze for Viola, and Orchestra, Op. 84

C

• Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827)

:41 Caprices for solo viola

• Henri Casadesus (1879–1947)

:Concerto in B minor (1924) (attributed to George Frideric Handel)

:Concerto in D major (1931) (attributed to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach)

:Concerto in C minor (1947) (attributed to Johann Christian Bach)

• Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979)

:Morpheus for viola and piano (1917)

:Sonata for viola and piano (1919)

D

• Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

:Sonata for flute, viola and harp, L. 137 (1915)

E

• Edward Elgar (1857–1934)

:Canto Popolare for viola and piano (1904)

F

• Gala Flagello (b. 1994)

:Burning Day, for violin and viola (2021)

:E Pluribus Unum, for violin and viola (2023)

:Wishes and Warnings, for violin and viola (2023)

:Burn as Brightly, for two violas (2024)

G

• Morton Gould (1913–1996)

:Concerto for viola and orchestra (1943)

H

• Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

:Duo for violin and viola in C major, Perger 127, MH 335

:Duo for violin and viola in D major, Perger 128, MH 336

:Duo for violin and viola in E major, Perger 129, MH 337

:Duo for violin and viola in F major, Perger 130, MH 338

• Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)

:Concerto for viola and orchestra (2015)

• Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)

:Sonata in F for viola and piano, Op. 11 No. 4 (1919)

:Kammermusik No. 5 for viola and chamber orchestra, Op. 36 No. 4 (1927)

:Der Schwanendreher for viola and small orchestra (1935)

: Trauermusik for viola and orchestra (1936)

• Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812)

: Viola Concerto in D major

: Viola Concerto in B-flat major

: 12 Etudes for Viola

: Duets for Violin & Viola 1-3 Op. 7

: Duets for Violin & Viola 1-6 Op. 13

: Duets for Violin & Viola 1-6 Op. 19

: Duets for Violin & Viola 1-6 Op. 65

• Theodore Holland (1878-1947)

: Suite in D major for viola and piano

I

• Airat Ichmouratov (b.1973)

: Concerto N1 for viola and orchestra, Op.7 (2004)

: Three Romances for Viola, Strings and Harp Op.22 (2009)

J

• Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981)

: Bullet Time, for nine violas (2010)

L

• Peter Lieberson (1946–2011)

: Concerto for viola and orchestra (1992)

• György Ligeti (1923–2006)

: Viola sonata for solo viola (1994)

M

• James MacMillan (b. 1959)

: Concerto for viola and orchestra (2013)

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

: Viola sonata in C minor, MWV Q 14 (1824)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for violin, viola and orchestra, K. 364 (K. 320d) (1779)

: Duo No. 1 in G major for violin and viola, K. 423 (1783)

: Duo No. 2 in B-flat major for violin and viola, K. 424 (1783)

: Kegelstatt Trio in E-flat major for clarinet, viola and piano, K. 498 (1786)

• Nico Muhly (b. 1981)

: Concerto for viola and orchestra (2014)

P

• Walter Piston (1894–1976)

: Concerto for viola and orchestra (1957)

R

• Anthony Ritchie (b. 1960)

: Sonata for Solo Viola (1969)

: Viola Concerto, op. 64 (1994)

: Viola Concerto no. 2 (2018)

S

• Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)

: Concerto for viola and orchestra (1985)

• Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

: Märchenbilder for viola and piano, Op. 113 (1851)

: Märchenerzählungen for clarinet, viola and piano, Op. 132 (1853)

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

: Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 147 (1975)

• Jean Sibelius

: Duo for violin and viola, JS66

• Carl Stamitz (1745–1801)

: Concerto for viola in D major, Op. 1 (c. 1774)

• Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

:Don Quixote, Op. 35 for cello, viola, and orchestra

T

• Tōru Takemitsu (1930–1996)

: A String around Autumn for viola and orchestra (1989)

• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)

: Concerto in G Major for viola and orchestra, TWV 51:G9

: Concerto in G major for 2 violas and string orchestra, TWV 52:G3

V

• Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881)

: Sonata in B-flat major for viola and piano, Op. 36 (1862)

: Elegie, Op. 30

: 6 Morceaux, suivis d'un capriccio, Op. 61: Capriccio for solo viola

W

• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

: Flos Campi for viola, wordless chorus, and small orchestra (1925)

: Four Hymns for tenor, viola, and string orchestra (1914)

: Romance for viola and piano (c. 1914)

: Six Studies in English Folk Song for cello or viola and piano (1926)

: Suite for viola and small orchestra (1933–1934)

• William Walton (1902–1983)

: Viola Concerto in A minor (1928–1929)

• Graham Waterhouse (b. 1962)

: Four Epigraphs after Escher, Op. 35, for viola, heckelphone and piano (1993)

: Sonata ebraica for viola and piano (2013)

• Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)

: Rêverie in F sharp minor, for viola and piano

• John Woolrich (b. 1954)

: Ulysses Awakes for viola and ten strings (1989)

References

Books

Further reading

• Barrett, B. M., Barrett H. (1996). The Viola: Complete Guide for Teachers and Students. University of Alabama Press. . .
• White, Katie (2014). A Pedagogical Introduction: Viola Repertoire from 1986-2013. (DMA dissertation). University of Oregon.
• Warmath, Jordan (2016). The Contemporary Revolution—Evolution of Viola Repertoire. (DMA dissertation). University of California. .

External links

• List of Compositions Featuring the Viola at the International Music Score Library Project
• Directory of Works compiled by Music4Viola