This week we are turning our attention to the violas, but violinists don’t tune out yet!

Our selection is the Viola Concerto in C Major by Joseph Schubert (not to be confused with the more well-known and prolific Franz Schubert).  J. Schubert was a representative of the Classical period in music history, as reflected by the characteristics of this concerto, which for violists is always a welcome note as so much of the standard viola repertoire is from the relatively modern era.

Schubert’s Concerto in C Major is a fabulous example of the qualities of Classical concertos – clear statements of a theme (or themes), development of those themes in related keys, clear restatement of the themes with slight variation, much reliance on arpeggiation to flesh out melodies, and perhaps above all crisp, clear, articulation demanded on the part of the string player.

At the end of the day, this concerto is a delightful sample of Classical repertoire, and makes for something invigorating to have on in the background as you go about your daily work – even if you are a violinist!  Violists, however, particularly enjoy!