The viola sonata is a

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

for viola, sometimes with other instruments, usually piano. The earliest viola sonatas are difficult to date for a number of reasons: *in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

era, there were many works written for the viola da gamba, including sonatas (the most famous being Johann Sebastian Bach's Three Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, now most often played on the cello) *in the Classical era and early

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

, there were few works written with viola specifically in mind as solo instrument, and many of these, like those of the Stamitz family, may have been written for the viola d'amore, like most of their viola works—though it is now customary to play them on the viola; it was more typical to publish a work or set, like

George Onslow George Onslow may refer to: *George Onslow (British Army officer) (1731–1792), British politician and army officer *George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow (1731–1814), British peer and politician *George Onslow (composer) André George(s) Louis ...

's opus 16 cello sonatas, or

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

Clarinet Sonatas A clarinet sonata is piece of music in sonata form for clarinet, often with piano accompaniment. The Clarinet Sonatas by Brahms are of special significance in the development of the clarinet repertoire. Several important transcriptions are also ...

in the late 19th century, that specified the viola as an alternate. Two early exceptions were the viola sonata of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

(1824, posthumously published in 1966) and the opus 1 sonata of the composer Ernst Naumann (1832–1910), published in 1854. * The viola returned to a solo role in the 20th century.

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

wrote three sonatas for either clarinet or viola at the beginning of the century. Paul Hindemith, himself a viola virtuoso, composed works several sonatas for viola solo, and others for viola and piano such as the Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 11 No. 4 in 1919. Rebecca Clarke composed the Sonata for viola and piano the same year. Bax'
Viola Sonata
written (like Walton's concerto) for the great English viola player Lionel Tertis in 1923, is one of his most-played and oft-recorded chamber works.

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (8 December 1919 – 26 February 1996) was a Polish-born Soviet composer and pianist. Names Much confusion has been caused by different renditions of the composer's names. In official Polish documents made before he mov ...

wrote four viola sonatas between 1971 and 1983. The Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, is the last composition by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, completed in July 1975 and dedicated to

Fyodor Druzhinin Fyodor Serafimovich Druzhinin, also Fedor, (russian: Фёдор Серафимович Дружинин; 6 April 1932 in Moscow – 1 July 2007) was a Soviet violist, composer and music teacher. Druzhinin studied viola at the Moscow Central Musi ...

. György Ligeti wrote his Sonata for Solo Viola between 1991 and 1994. * In the 21st century,

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, ''Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and ''Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and string ...

wrote a viola sonata entitled '' Sonata ebraica'' , completed in 2013.

Work list

* Malcolm Arnold **Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 17 (1947) * Granville Bantock **Sonata in F for Viola and Piano "Colleen" (1919) *

Jan Zdeněk Bartoš Jan Zdeněk Bartoš (4 June 1908, Dvůr Králové nad Labem – 1 June 1981, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Biography Bartoš started to play the violin as a pupil of Karel Hršel in Hradec Králové. In 1924, after he graduated from busi ...

**Sonatina for Viola and Piano, Op. 46 * Marion Bauer **Sonata for Viola, Op. 22 (1932) * Arnold Bax **Sonata for Viola and Piano in G (1921–1922) **Fantasy Sonata for Viola and Harp (1927) *

Jack Beeson Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are ''Lizzie Borden'', ''Hello Out There!'', and ''The Sweet Bye and Bye''. Early life Born in Muncie ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1953) * Arthur Benjamin **Sonata in E minor (1942) *

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...

**Sonata in D minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 22 (1945) *

Valentin Bibik Valentin Savich Bibik ( ua, Валентин Савич Бібік; russian: Валентин Саввич Бибик; 19 July 1940 – 7 July 2003) was a Ukraine, Ukrainian composer, teacher and professor. Merited Artist of Ukraine, Honored ...

**Sonata for Solo Viola No. 1, Op. 31 (1977) **Sonata for Solo Viola No. 2, Op. 136 (1999) **Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1, Op. 72 (1988) **Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2, Op. 137 (2000) *

Easley Blackwood Jr. Easley R. Blackwood Jr. (April 21, 1933 – January 22, 2023) was an American professor of music, concert pianist, composer (sometimes using unusual tunings), and the author of books on music theory, including his research into the properties of ...

**Sonata No. 1, Op. 1 (1953) **Sonata No. 2, Op. 43 (2001) * Arthur Bliss **Sonata for Viola and Piano (1933) * Luigi Boccherini **Sonata Viola (or Cello) and Continuo in C minor, G.18 * York Bowen **Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 18 (1911?) **Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 22 (1911) *

**Sonata in F minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 120 No. 1 (1894) **Sonata in E major for Viola and Piano, Op. 120 No. 2 (1894) *

James Francis Brown James Francis Brown (born 7 December 1969) is an English composer. He studied composition with the Viennese émigré Hans Heimler (a pupil of Alban Berg) and then at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Career Francis Brown's significant ch ...

**Sonata for Viola (1995) *

Arthur Butterworth Arthur Eckersley Butterworth, (4 August 1923 – 20 November 2014) was an English composer, conductor, trumpeter and teacher. Biography Early life and education Butterworth was born in New Moston, near Manchester. His father was secretary of ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1986, though sketched 1949) * Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco **Sonata for Viola and Harp, Op. 144 * Paul Chihara **Sonata for Viola and Piano (1996) * Rebecca Clarke ** Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919) * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf **Sonatas for Viola and Piano * Felix Draeseke **Sonata in C minor (1892) **Sonata in F (1901–2) *

Lorenzo Ferrero Lorenzo Ferrero (; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (2000) *

Jacobo Ficher Jacobo Ficher (russian: Яков (Хакобо) Фишер; 15 January 1896 – 9 September 1978) was an Argentine composer, violinist, conductor, and music educator of Russian birth. Life Ficher was born in Odessa, Russia, to Alexander Ficher, ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 80 (1953) * Ross Lee Finney **Sonata for Viola and Piano *

Lillian Fuchs Lillian Fuchs (November 18, 1901 – October 5, 1995) was an American violist, teacher and composer. She is considered to be among the finest instrumentalists of her time. She came from a musical family, and her brothers, Joseph Fuchs, a viol ...

**''Sonata pastorale'', for Solo Viola *

Robert Fuchs Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in hi ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano in D minor, Op. 86 *

Harald Genzmer Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

**Sonata for Solo Viola (1957) **Sonata for Viola and Piano **Sonatine for Viola and Piano *

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' in ''Grove Music Onl ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1946) *

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

**Sonata in D minor for Viola and Piano (incomplete) (1835) *

Hilding Hallnäs Hilding Hallnäs (24 May 1903 – 11 September 1984) was a Swedish composer.Svenskt Musik/Swedish Music Information Centre http://www.mic.se/avd/mic/prod/micv5eng.nsf/docsbycodename/start Hallnäs was married to the actress Gun Holmquist. Life ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 19 (1943) * Hans Werner Henze **Sonata for Viola (1979) * Kurt Hessenberg **Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 94 *

Jennifer Higdon Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Award for Best Contempora ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1990) * Paul Hindemith **Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 11 No. 5 (1919) **Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 25 No. 1 (1922) **Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 31 No. 4 (1923) **Sonata for Solo Viola (1937) ** Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 11 No. 4 (1919) **Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 25 No. 4 (1922) **Sonata for Viola and Piano (1939) * Vagn Holmboe **Sonata for Solo Viola * Arthur Honegger **Sonata for Viola (1920) *

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American-Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and ...

**Campuan Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 371 (1982) **Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 423 * Bertold Hummel **Sonatina No.1, Op. 35b (1969) **Sonatina No.2, Op. 52b (1973) *

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the Transition from Classical to Romantic music, transition from the Classical period (music), Classical to the Romantic ...

**Sonata in E-flat for Viola and Piano, Op. 5, No. 3 * Miriam Hyde **Sonata in B minor for Viola and Piano (1937) * Gordon Jacob **Sonata No. 1 (1949) **Sonata No. 2 (1978) * David Johnstone **Sonatango for Solo Viola (2007) *

Paul Juon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

**Viola Sonata in D, Op. 15 (1901) **Viola Sonata in F minor, Op. 82 (1923) * Aram Khachaturian **Sonata for Solo Viola * Friedrich Kiel **Sonata, Op. 67 in G minor *

Luigi von Kunits Ludwig Paul Maria "Luigi" von Kunits (20 July 1870 – 8 October 1931) was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. Born in Austria, he studied at the Vienna Conservatory. He later moved to Canada where he was the founding cond ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1917) * Ernst Krenek **Sonata for Solo Viola * Libby Larsen **Sonata for Viola and Piano (2001) *

Victor Legley Victor Legley (18 June 1915 in Hazebrouck – 28 November 1994 in Ostend) was a Belgian violist and composer of classical music, of French birth. He first studied in Ypres with Lionel Blomme (1897–1984). In 1935 he matriculated at the Ro ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 13 (1943) * Lowell Liebermann **Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.13 (1984) * György Ligeti ** Sonata for Solo Viola (1991–94) *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1955) *

** Sonata for Viola and Piano in C minor (1824) * Darius Milhaud **Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano, Op. 240 (1941) **Sonata No. 2 for Viola and Piano, Op. 244 (1944) *

José Pablo Moncayo José Pablo Moncayo García (June 29, 1912 – June 16, 1958) was a Mexican pianist, percussionist, music teacher, composer and conductor. "As composer, José Pablo Moncayo represents one of the most important legacies of the Mexican nationalis ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1934) *Paul Müller-Zürich **Sonata for Solo Viola (1979) *Jacques Murgier **Sonata for Solo Viola * Ernst Naumann **Sonata in G minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 1 (1854) *

Ludvig Norman Ludvig Norman (28 August 183128 March 1885) was a Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, and music teacher. Together with Franz Berwald and Adolf Fredrik Lindblad, he ranks among the most important Swedish symphonists of the 19th century. Norman ...

**Sonata in G Minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 32 (1869) *

**Three sonatas for Viola (or cello), Op. 16 * George Perle **Sonata for Viola Solo, Op. 12 *

**Sonatas in A major and F minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 49 Nos. 1 and 2 (1900) **Sonata in B major for Viola and Piano, Op. 107 (1908-9) * George Rochberg **Sonata for Viola and Piano (1979) * Alessandro Rolla **Sonatas for Viola with Continuo *Johannes Röntgen **Sonata for Viola and Piano *

Julius Röntgen Julius Engelbert Röntgen (9 May 1855 – 13 September 1932) was a German-Dutch composer of classical music. He was a friend of Liszt, Brahms and Grieg. Life Julius Röntgen was born in Leipzig, Germany, to a family of musicians. His father, ...

**Sonata in C minor for Viola and Piano (1924) **Sonata in A major for Viola and Piano (1925) **Sonata in A minor for Viola and Piano (1925) * Nino Rota **Viola Sonata in G (1934–35, revised 1970) **Viola Sonata in C major (1945) * Anton Rubinstein **Sonata in F minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 49 (1855) * Philipp Scharwenka **''Sonate fantasia'' in G minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 106 (1899) * Franz Schubert **

Arpeggione Sonata The Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D. 821, was written by Franz Schubert in Vienna in November 1824. The sonata is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione (which was essentially a bowed guitar) extant today. The sonata wa ...

in A minor for Viola and Piano, D. 821 *

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

**Sonata for Viola and Percussion * José Serebrier **Sonata for Solo Viola (1955) * Alexander Shchetynsky **Sonata for Solo Viola (1987) * Vissarion Shebalin **Sonata for Viola and Piano *

** Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147 (1975) * David Stanley Smith **Viola Sonata, Op. 72 (1934) * Carl Stamitz **Sonata for Viola * Constantinos Stylianou ** Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1 in F minor (2019) ** Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 in E flat major (2020) *

Eduard Tubin Eduard Tubin ( – 17 November 1982) was an Estonian composer, conductor, and choreographer. Life Tubin was born in Torila, Tartu County, Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire. Both his parents were music lovers, and his fat ...

**Viola Sonata (1965) **Four Sonatas for Viola and Piano, Op. 5 (in C major, D, F and C) *

Octavio Vazquez Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines. Individuals * Octa ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1 (1992) **Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 (2002) * Henri Vieuxtemps ** Sonata in B major for Viola and Piano, Op. 36 (1862) **''Sonate inachevée'' (Allegro et scherzo) for Viola and Piano, Op. 60 (Op. 14 posthumous) (1884) *

Andrei Volkonsky Prince Andrei Mikhaylovich Volkonsky (also ''Andrey, André, Mikhailovich, Michailovich, Volkonski, Volkonskiy'') (russian: Андрей Михайлович Волконский; 14 February 1933 – 16 September 2008) was a Russian composer of cla ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 8 (1955–56) * Johann Baptist Wanhal **Viola Sonata in E *

**'' Sonata ebraica'' (2013) *

**Sonata for Solo Viola No. 1, Op. 107 (1971) **Sonata for Solo Viola No. 2, Op. 123 (1978) **Sonata for Solo Viola No. 3, Op. 135 (1982) **Sonata for Solo Viola No. 4, Op. 136 (1983) *

George Balch Wilson George Balch Wilson (January 28, 1927 – October 12, 2021) was an American composer who is known for his contributions to electronic music. In 1955 he won the Prix de Rome for composition. He taught for more than 30 years on the faculty of the U ...

**Sonata for Viola and Piano (1952) *

Richard Edward Wilson Richard Edward Wilson (born May 15, 1941) is an American composer and pianist. Rejecting serialism, to some extent Wilson engages in tonality, though often with the use of considerable chromaticism. His ''oeuvre'' includes orchestral, operati ...

Work list

See also

Notes

References

External links