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The Human Viola

Violist Ruth Gibson stands up for her overlooked and underestimated instrument - its vocal qualities, its ability to represent human emotions, and its unapologetic rebelliousness.

Violist Ruth Gibson explores her instrument's unique voice across three programmes full of intriguing musical choices. The viola may have less solo repertoire than its string siblings, the violin and the cello, and its awkward mid-range sound might be harder for listeners to hear, but Ruth believes it’s undoubtedly the unsung hero of orchestras and chamber ensembles. This butt of musical jokes has a long history of being overlooked, and Ruth will be encouraging it into the limelight at last.

In this first episode, she unpicks the viola’s human qualities, admiring how composers write for it in ways that highlight the different sides of its personality. Her choices include one of the first viola concertos, film music that makes the most of voices in the middle of the texture, an improvisation featuring a viola d’amore, and an extremely demanding duet for two violas.

There’s also a piece by Morton Feldman where the viola’s voice adds pathos to a tragic story, and a set of variations by Paganini arranged for viola that brings out the instrument’s agility and playfulness.

A Tandem Production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

59 minutes

Last on

Sun 9 Apr 2023 23:00
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

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The Vocal Viola

See all episodes from Viola: The Unsung Hero

Music Played

  • Georg Philipp Telemann

    Viola Concerto in G major, TWV 51:G9 (II. Allegro)

    Performer: Antoine Tamestit. Orchestra: Academy for Ancient Music Berlin.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.

  • Johannes Brahms

    String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 (I. Allegro non troppo, ma con brio)

    Performer: Thomas Kakuska. Ensemble: Belcea Quartet.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.

  • Keaton Henson

    Supernova

    Performer: Hélène Clément. Performer: Reinoud Ford. Ensemble: Studio-Ensemble.
    • LAKESHORE RECORDS.

  • Richard Strauss

    Don Quixote (III. Maggiore - Sancho Panza)

    Performer: James Ehnes. Orchestra: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
    • ABC CLASSICS.

  • Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh

    Blindsight

    Composer: Garth Knox. Performer: Garth Knox. Performer: Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh.
    • DIATRIBE RECORDINGS.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 (IV. Allegretto con variation)

    Performer: Jörg Widmann. Ensemble: Arcanto Quartett.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.

  • Morton Feldman

    Rothko Chapel 5

    Performer: David Abel. Choir: UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus.
    • NEW ALBION.

  • Hector Berlioz

    Harold in Italy, Op. 16 (III. Sérénade d'un montagnard des Abruzzes à sa maîtres)

    Performer: Timothy Ridout. Orchestra: Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg. Conductor: John Nelson.
    • ERATO.

  • Edward Elgar

    Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84 (II. Adagio)

    Performer: John Bingham. Ensemble: Medici Quartet.
    • WHITEHALL.

  • Nicolò Paganini

    Variations on "O mamma, mamma cara" (Il carnevale di Venezia, Op. 10)

    Performer: Dana Zemtsov. Music Arranger: Michael Kugel. Orchestra: Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Raiskin.
    • CHANNEL.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1051 (II. Adagio ma non tanto)

    Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music. Director: Richard Egarr.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.

  • Sir George Benjamin

    Viola, Viola (1997)

    Performer: Sachiko Suda. Performer: Shota Yanase.
    • BIS.

Broadcast

  • Sun 9 Apr 2023 23:00
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3