I’ve decided to keep track of pieces that are excruciating for violists to play. There seems to be an evolving canon (a pantheon, if you will) of works which violists seem to universally dislike playing. Usually this is due to the physical demands of the piece. The viola needs a bit more effort to get the strings to speak, and combined with more weight and a longer reach than the violin, and the lack of a way to play it while set on the floor like the cello, makes for some pieces which are literally the musical equivalent of waterboarding. Feel free, fellow violists, to add your nominees to the Hurt Locker via the comments section below, and I’ll update the list as needed.
Tchaikovsky – Fifth Symphony
Bruckner – Fourth and Seventh Symphonies (though all could be enshrined)
Gorecki – Third Symphony
Chopin – First and Second Piano Concertos
Beethoven – Sixth and Seventh Symphonies
Schumann – Third Symphony
Rossini – Stabat Mater
Mendelssohn – Elijah
Dvorak – Cello Concerto, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies
Schubert – Incidental Music to Rosemunde, Unfinished Symphony, Symphony No. 9 “Great”
Nielsen – Second Symphony, Fifth Symphony
Brahms – First and Second Symphonies
Respighi – Pines of Rome
Smetana – Ma Vlast (or just Moldau)
Wagner – Ring Cycle (esp. on “wagner” viola!)
Sibelius – Second Symphony
23 replies on “the hurt locker”
Respighi Pines of Rome
Smetana – Die Moldau
Bartok – any of the quartets
Kinda puts violist jokes in perspective. OK, so now I know you have REAL issues. Just for the record…
don’t listen to j-beard.
he can withstand ANYTHING. the guy is completely immune to pain.
that’s why he is THE uber-cellisto.
no excuses, no bellyachin’ – just pure delivery, straight-up.
I agree with adding Smetana’s Moldau; it is debilitating for the left hand. I also recall Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2 (“The Four Temperaments”) being very rough on the violas.
You think the Nielsen 2nd is rough….take a look at his 6th symphony(coming next season for the OSO). Totally mad string parts!!
The best is that it’s entitled “Simplice” – as if!
I thought the Moldau was unpleasant, but only until we played the entire Ma Vlast in one evening. It gives Elijah and Gotterdammerung a run for their money!
the cincinnati symphony took nielsen 5 on tour to europe a few years ago. by the end of the tour they were down half the viola section.
Don’t listen to Bob Priest about me. I hurt.
But the fact that he dislikes most Verdi and Tchaikovsky makes him an uber-viola sympathizer, card-carrying even.
Die Moldau, definitely! Also, how about Sibelius Symphony No. 2 – the Finale.
hahahaha, guilty as charged on two accounts:
1/ i can live without most V & T
2/ i’m a MAJOR viola sympathizer.
additionally, i take the question of viola pain so seriously that i’d like to see/hear if any viola mensch or menscha out there would like to take a shot at Heinz Holliger’s “Trema” for solo viola? i have the score. as far as i can tell, it makes Berio’s solo viola sequenza appear to be an ezy “saw” by comparison.
come on, violists, let’s git r done!
Newsflash from the VA (Violists Administration):
The following syndromes are now covered in current-serving and newly-retired registrants of the 55th BB (Bartok Brigade)
PT5SD (Post-Tchaik 5 Schwanendreher Disorder)
PTVD (Pre-tremolo Verdi Dyspepsia)
PRSD (Partial Respighi Shoulder Displacement)
Recommended medications include but are not limited to the following and available over-the-counter:
Violagra
Most ACE-inhibitors (Allegro Calmato Epidaural)
John F. (“Jack”) Daniels or naturopathic alternative, David Daniels,
IV of 100 CC DeepCello espresso
Switching to non-contact instruments, i.e. Bouzouki, oud, bagpipes
The National Review (distraction)
Justin Kagan, MD, DDS, LPN, BMF
LOL!!!
yo uber-bearded wonder,
since you’re both an MD & DDS no less, i wanna know what scripts ya gotz UNTER die geiger-counter? when you say you “feel pain,” i don’t believe YOUR medicine chest is that under-shelved. although, over the top counter IV Deep-Cello does cover a lot of “basses.”
i might be “Dr. Robert,” but, sheesh, you’re my friend, mondo, hook me up!
D-Bob, Ph(u)D
“Beethoven festival”
agreed!
grosse fuge in the version for solo viola!
Hi Charles,
As a violinist, I’m not sure I understand what you mean by the pain associated with these pieces. I get that you have to work harder to get your instrument to speak, but what exactly causes the pain besides using more bow pressure?
md
Michael, I’ll use the Tchaik 5 as an example. We play almost without any rests for the entire piece, and it lies mostly on the C and G strings, which is more tiring for both arms, and you’re usually playing either really softly or really loudly and very little in between. This makes for maximum fatigue. Most violinists don’t quite understand the fatigue associated with the viola – we have a player who has come over from violin to play in the section for this season, and he has said that he’s never been in pain with the violin, but that he’s constantly aching since he has been sitting in the viola section. It’s really a combination of the larger size and heavier weight of the instrument, plus the additional oomph required to get the lower strings to speak, and the constant playing of filler parts in the middle of the orchestral texture.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that! Let’s also mention that Tchaik string parts are not very friendly for everybody, I think.
Charles,
I agree, the size difference is significant. When I sized up from a 15″ to 16″ viola, it took months to build up the strength and stamina needed to accommodate that extra inch. I resorted to rolling up a small hand-towel to put under my left arm for support while I adjusted to the extra length and weight. I won’t even mention the pain and agony of learning to play higher positions. I seriously contemplated taking up Yoga.
The dreaded New Year’s Eve concert of Strauss waltzes and polkas!!!