Editing Viola (section)

=== Role in pre-twentieth century works ===
In early orchestral music, the viola part was usually limited to filling in [[harmony|harmonies]], with very little [[melody|melodic]] material assigned to it. When the viola was given a melodic part, it was often duplicated (or was in unison with) the melody played by other strings.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Howard|first=Jacinta K.|date=August 1966|title=The Viola—Up from Obscurity|journal=[[American String Teacher]]|volume=16|issue=3|pages=12–16|doi=10.1177/000313136601600308|s2cid=186782038 |issn=0003-1313}}</ref>

The concerti grossi, ''[[Brandenburg Concertos]]'', composed by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach]], were unusual in their use of viola. The third concerto grosso, scored for three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo, requires virtuosity from the violists. Indeed, Viola I has a solo in the last movement which is commonly found in orchestral auditions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=New Zealand Symphony Orchestra |date=July 2020 |title=NZSO-2020-July-Associate-Principal-Viola-Excerpts.pdf |url=https://www.nzso.co.nz/assets/Uploads/NZSO-2020-July-Associate-Principal-Viola-Excerpts.pdf }}</ref> The sixth concerto grosso, [[Brandenburg concertos#Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051|Brandenburg Concerto No. 6]], which was scored for 2 violas "concertino", cello, 2 [[Viola da gamba|violas da gamba]], and continuo, had the two violas playing the primary melodic role.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz, Hector]] |title=[[Treatise on Instrumentation|A Treatise on Modern Orchestration and Instrumentation]] |publisher=J. Alfred Novello |location=Paris |date=1856}}</ref> He also used this unusual ensemble in his cantata, [[Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18]] and in [[Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199]], the chorale is accompanied by an obbligato viola.

There are a few [[Baroque]] and [[Classical Music Era|Classical]] concerti, such as those by [[Georg Philipp Telemann]] (one [[Viola Concerto in G major (Telemann)|for solo viola]], being one of the earliest viola concertos known, and one [[Concerto for Two Violas (Telemann)|for two violas]]), [[Alessandro Rolla]], [[Franz Anton Hoffmeister]] and [[Carl Stamitz]].

The viola plays an important role in [[chamber music]]. Mozart used the viola in more creative ways when he wrote his six [[string quintet]]s. The viola quintets use two violas, which frees them (especially the first viola) for solo passages and increases the variety of writing that is possible for the ensemble. Mozart also wrote for the viola in his [[Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (Mozart)|Sinfonia Concertante]], a set of two duets for violin and viola, and the [[Kegelstatt Trio]] for viola, clarinet, and piano. The young [[Felix Mendelssohn]] wrote a little-known [[Viola Sonata (Mendelssohn)|Viola Sonata in C minor]] (without opus number, but dating from 1824). [[Robert Schumann]] wrote his ''[[Märchenbilder]]'' for viola and piano. He also wrote a set of four pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, ''[[Märchenerzählungen]]''.

[[Max Bruch]] wrote a romance for viola and orchestra, his Op.&nbsp;85, which explores the emotive capabilities of the viola's timbre. In addition, his Eight pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op.&nbsp;83, features the viola in a very prominent, solo aspect throughout. His [[Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra]], Op. 88 has been quite prominent in the repertoire and has been recorded by prominent violists throughout the 20th century.

From his earliest works, [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] wrote music that prominently featured the viola. Among his first published pieces of chamber music, the sextets for strings Op.&nbsp;18 and Op.&nbsp;36 contain what amounts to solo parts for both violas. Late in life, he wrote two greatly admired [[Clarinet Sonatas (Brahms)|sonatas]] for clarinet and piano, his Op.&nbsp;120 (1894): he later transcribed these works for the viola (the solo part in his [[Horn Trio (Brahms)|Horn Trio]] is also available in a transcription for viola). Brahms also wrote "[[Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano]]", Op. 91, "Gestillte Sehnsucht" ("Satisfied Longing") and "Geistliches Wiegenlied" ("Spiritual Lullaby") as presents for the famous violinist [[Joseph Joachim]] and his wife, [[Amalie Joachim|Amalie]]. [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]] played the viola and apparently said that it was his favorite instrument: his chamber music is rich in important parts for the viola. Two [[Czechs|Czech]] composers, [[Bedřich Smetana]] and [[Leoš Janáček]], included significant viola parts, originally written for [[viola d'amore]], in their quartets "[[String Quartet No. 1 (Smetana)|From My Life]]" and "[[Intimate Letters]]" respectively: the quartets begin with an impassioned statement by the viola. This is similar to <!-- (Incidentally, Dvořák was the violist at the premiere.) --> Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven all occasionally played the viola part in chamber music.

The viola occasionally has a major role in orchestral music, a prominent example being [[Richard Strauss]]' tone poem ''[[Don Quixote (Strauss)|Don Quixote]]'' for solo cello and viola and orchestra. Other examples are the "Ysobel" variation of [[Edward Elgar]]'s ''[[Enigma Variations]]'' and the solo in his work, ''[[In the South (Alassio)]]'', the ''[[pas de deux]]'' scene from act 2 of [[Adolphe Adam]]'s ''[[Giselle]]'' and the "La Paix" movement of [[Léo Delibes]]'s ballet ''[[Coppélia]]'', which features a lengthy viola solo.

Gabriel Fauré's [[Requiem (Fauré)|Requiem]] was originally scored (in 1888) with divided viola sections, lacking the usual violin sections, having only a solo violin for the ''Sanctus''. It was later scored for orchestra with violin sections, and published in 1901. Recordings of the older scoring with violas are available.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilman|first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYC0AAAAIAAJ&q=gabreil |title=Orchestral Music: An Armchair Guide |date=1951 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en}}</ref>

While the viola repertoire is quite large, the amount written by well-known pre-20th-century composers is relatively small. There are many transcriptions of works for other instruments for the viola and the large number of 20th-century compositions is very diverse. See "The Viola Project" at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where Professor of Viola [[Jodi Levitz]] has paired a composer with each of her students, resulting in a recital of brand-new works played for the very first time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Symphony Violists Teaching at the Conservatory |url=https://www.sfcv.org/articles/music-news/symphony-violists-teaching-conservatory |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.sfcv.org |language=en}}</ref>