* Concerto in G Major for Viola and String Orchestra, TWV 51: G9 ; the first known concerto for viola, still regularly performed today

Lionel Tertis, in his transcription of the Elgar cello concerto, wrote the slow movement with the ' C ' string tuned down to B flat, enabling the viola to play one passage an octave lower.

The baroque concerto was mainly for a string instrument ( violin, viola, cello, seldom viola d ' amore or harp ) or a wind instrument ( oboe, trumpet, flute, or horn ).

* Mozart's concerti for 2 pianos and 3 pianos, the Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola, and his concerto for flute and harp.

* Bruch's double concerto for viola and clarinet.

* Benjamin Britten's double concerto for violin and viola.

* Alfred Schnittke's double concerto for oboe, harp, and strings as well as his Konzert zu Dritt, for violin, viola, violoncello and strings.

* Michael Tippett's triple concerto for violin, viola, and cello.

His bassoon concerto and the Andante e Rondo ungarese ( a reworking of a piece originally for viola and orchestra ) are also popular with bassoonists.

In 1834, virtuoso violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini commissioned Berlioz to compose a viola concerto, intending to premiere it as soloist.

Kammermusik No. 6, for example, is a concerto for the viola d ' amore, an instrument that has not been in wide use since the baroque period, but which Hindemith himself played.

He continued to write for unusual groups throughout his life, producing a trio for viola, heckelphone and piano ( 1928 ), a sonata for double bass and a concerto for trumpet, bassoon, and strings ( both in 1949 ), for example.

Some of his clarinet and viola concertos are among the finest there are and a welcome addition to the not so ample concerto repertoire for both instruments.

His output of compositions also includes concertos for violin and viola, a chamber concerto for piano, winds and percussion, at least one other opera ( Herr von Hancken ), and much chamber music, including a trio for clarinet, cello and piano.

He wrote eight piano concertos, ten piano sonatas ( of which four are without opus numbers, and one is still unpublished ), eight piano trios, a piano quartet, a piano quintet, a wind octet, a cello sonata, two piano septets, a mandolin concerto, a mandolin sonata, a Trumpet Concerto in E major written for the Keyed trumpet ( usually heard in the more convenient E-flat major ), a " Grand Bassoon Concerto " in F, a quartet for clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, four hand piano music, 22 operas and Singspiels, masses, and much more, including a variation on a theme supplied by Anton Diabelli for Part II of Vaterländischer Künstlerverein.

As for toccatas written for string instruments, the final movement of John Adams ' Violin Concerto is entitled " Toccare ," a possible reference to the origins of the word toccata ; and the first movement ( Schnelle halbe ) of Paul Hindemith's fifth Kammermusik ( a viola concerto ) is written as a toccata.

He has composed over 100 works in 17th and 18th Century style for harpsichord ; piano ; clavichord ; organ ; violin solo ; viola solo ; flute solo ; recorder solo cello solo ; as well as quartets ; trios ; duets ; sonatas ; ouvertures ; concerto grossos ; harpsichord concertos ; violin concerto ; recorder concerto ; flute concerto ; oboe concerto ; cello concerto ; music for baroque theatre and a classical symphony.

The orchestra's discography includes Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and several works of Benjamin Frankel, including his eight symphonies, violin concerto, viola concerto, and several film score suites.

They are also thought to have pioneered the modern alto format of viola, in contrast to older tenor violas, but this stating is not correct since Gasparo made violas from altos of 39 to tenors of 44, 7 cm.

It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass.

It is uncertain whether the instrument is a descendant of the viola da gamba or of the violin, but it is traditionally aligned with the violin family.

He states that, while the exterior of the double bass may resemble the viola da gamba, the internal construction of the double bass is nearly identical to instruments in the violin family, and very different from the internal structure of viols.

The double bass is closest in construction to violins, but has some notable similarities to the violone ( literally " large viol "), the largest and lowest member of the viola da gamba family.

There is a small body of works written for piano quintet with the instrumentation of piano, violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of 2 violins, a viola, a cello and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a " normal " string quartet.

Another common type of Western art music quartet is the piano quartet, consisting of violin, viola, cello, and piano.

This is the predecessor of the modern-day violin, viola, and violoncello ( cello ).

Currently, the most common tuning fork sounds the note of A = 440 Hz, because this is the standard concert pitch, which is used as tuning note by some orchestras, it being the pitch of the violin's second string, the first string of the viola, and an octave above the first string of the cello, all played open.

It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola, cello, and double bass.

The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin.

For a child who needs a smaller size, a fractional-sized violin is often strung with the strings of a viola.

The Tertis model viola, which has wider bouts and deeper ribs to promote a better tone, is another slightly ' non-standard ' shape that allows the player to use a larger instrument.

A person who plays the viola is called a violist or a viola player.

* The viola is held in the same manner as the violin, however due to its larger size, some adjustments must be made to accommodate.

The viola, just like the violin, is placed on top of the left-hand shoulder between the the shoulder and the left side of the face ( chin ).

* The viola is generally strung with heavier strings than the violin.

The profile of the rectangular outside corner of a viola bow frog generally is more rounded than on violin bows.

Each string of a viola is wrapped around a peg near the scroll and is tuned by turning the peg.

Hungarian, Slovenian, and Romanian fiddle players are often accompanied by a three-stringed variant of the viola known as the kontra, or as well as double bass, with cimbalom and clarinet being less standard yet still common additions to a band.

In Hungary a three stringed viola variant with a flat bridge, called the Bracsa makes up part of a tradition rhythm section in Hungarian folk music.

He composed several instrumental sonatas with piano, including three for violin, two for cello, and two for clarinet ( which were subsequently arranged for viola by the composer ).

Shaker Loops ( for string septet ) ( 1978 ): A " modular " composition for three violins, one viola, two cellos, and one bass, with a conductor.

* Flute Quartet with viola da gamba in G major, WK 227

The gravi-kora has been adopted by kora players such as Daniel Berkman, Jacques Burtin, Le Chant de la Forêt ( The Song of the Forest ), suite for kora, gravi-kora, flute and viola, and Foday Musa Suso, who featured it in recordings with jazz innovator Herbie Hancock, with his band Mandingo, and on Suso's New World Power album.

Pieces for solo kora, duets with cello, viola, guitar and koto, suites for flute, guitar and three koras.

* Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude in b minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier BWV 866, arranged for string quartet with the first six bars augmented with a viola part by Igor Stravinsky, completed by Louis Andriessen ( 2006 )

Wind quartets are scored either the same as a string quartet with the wind instrument replacing the first violin ( i. e. scored for wind, violin, viola and cello ) or are groups of four wind instruments.

For centuries, viola makers have experimented with the size and shape of the viola, often adjusting the proportions or shape to make a lighter instrument with shorter string lengths, but which still has a large enough sound box to create an unmistakable ' viola sound '.

Many experiments with the acoustics of a viola, particularly increasing the size of the body, have resulted in a much deeper tone, making it resemble the tone of a ' cello.

More recent ( and more radically shaped ) innovations have addressed the ergonomic problems associated with playing the viola by making it shorter and lighter, while finding ways to keep the traditional sound.

The American composer Harry Partch fitted a viola with a cello neck to allow the use of his 43-tone scale.

The technique required for playing a viola has certain differences compared with that of a violin, partly because of its larger size: the notes are spread out farther along the fingerboard and often require different fingerings.