Hans Werner Henze's output is primarily dominated by large-scale, representative musical genres with a richly differentiated instrumental tonal palette: opera and other forms of musical theatre works, ballet, solo concertos and cantatas and also music for large-scale orchestra or chamber ensemble. In contrast, the chamber music works which Henze has composed throughout his entire compositional career right up to the present day have always remained somewhat on the sidelines. Many of these chamber music works had been composed for specific occasions, chiefly to honour figures who had accompanied him on longer or shorter stretches of his journey through life.

Henze composed An Brenton in July 1993 for an event commemorating the Australian violinist Brenton Langbein who had just died. The violinist had been a long-standing leader of the Collegium Musicum Zurich, the orchestra established and conducted by Paul Sacher, and was subsequently also the leader of the Basel Chamber Orchestra [Basler Kammerorchester].He additionally held a violin class at the Music Academy in Basel for a substantial period of his career. Interestingly enough, this piece is not composed for the violinist's instrument, but instead for solo viola. The work was given its first performance on 15 July 1993 by Jurg Dahler, one of the two viola players of the Chamber Musicians of Zurich [KammermusikerZurich]. This ensemble had been formed by Langbein in 1962: it frequently included compositions by Henze in its programmes and had given the premiere of Henze's music for Volker Schlondorffs Film Der junge Torless in its transformation as the Fantasia of the same name for string sextet (1967) in 1968. Langbein was the soloist in the first performance of Henze's Violin Concerto No. 2 in 1972 which had been commissioned by Paul Sacher. Henze had already made acquaintance with Langbein during the 1960s.

The work Selbstbildnis [Self Portrait] was composed in 1989 at the suggestion of the viola player Gunter Pretzel who was in search of compositions reflecting other pieces of music. The Prelude from Bach's first Suite for violoncello solo should be included in my composition. As a starting point, I chose a theme from my opera Sturmnacht [Stormy Night], thus combining two very significant personal things: the story of my first full-length opera and my love of Johann Sebastian Bach whose music I, as son of a church musician, grew up with. Back then, his portrait hung above my piano. Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz

Charles Dancla (1817-1907) is considered to be the last great representative of the French Violin School. He was a composer, solo violinist at the Paris Opera and professor at the Paris Conservatoire and wrote numerous educational works for violin, including his well-known three-volume work Little School of Melody'. He knew, in a unique way, how to implement the principle 'no music without technique, no technique without music' in his teaching material. This is the case in his easy melodic studies Op. 84 which are available here in an arrangement for viola for the first time. These studies are perfectly suited for young beginners after the second year, but also for adult players, false beginners or those switching instruments. Most of them can be effectively used as little performance pieces, providing an excellent foundation for every advanced etude or concert piece.
Each study is preceded by new or revised exercises which either deal with specific problems relating to the playing technique, like change of string, spiccato, martele, chromaticism, change of position, octaves, or double stops, or present the tonal material of the respective study in a condensed, playful form.
Those who prefer Dancla's somewhat easier original preliminary exercises will find them in the appendix.
A little dictionary of the musical and technical terms in this volume shall make their meaning accessible to young players in particular.

English - French - German.

Violist and composer Benedict Taylor presents a collection of 60 pieces for solo viola. Drawn from the rich tradition of Irish folk music the collection covers a range of styles including Jigs, Reels, Hornpipes and Marches. The volume includes notes on playing styles. Recordings of all tunes are available as mp3 downloads. German and French translations of all texts are available as PDF downloads from the Schott Music website.
Suitable for players of grades 3-8.

German - English.

Garth Knox is one of the most prominent violists of his generation, and as former long-time member of the Arditti Quartet he has developed and maintained a fondness of contemporary music. In the mean time, he gives concerts and teaches courses all over the world.

With 'Viola Spaces' he wants to make contemporary playing techniques accessible to advanced players. The pieces, or 'playing spaces', are true concert studies, each of them dealing with specific techniques such as harmonics, pizzicato (with 9 fingers!) or tremolos which are explained in great detail.

Another volume with modern playing techniques for two violas and a volume with variations on a piece by the French viola da gamba master Marin Marais for four violas are planned.

German.

This volume of studies is intended not only as a supplement to the ".Viola Method". but also, in the coise and varying difficulties of its contents, to be of value to every student of the Viola.
These studies which have been extracted from the multitude of excellent etudes for the Violin for their varying technical problems have been chosen with special regard for their suitability to the Viola. The order in which the student works at these studies is left to his, or his teacher's discretion, and therefore as it is not proposed that the book is worked through from beginning to end but that each technical problem is overcome by the most suitable exercise.
Unklike hitherto existing collections the technique of the instrument is divided under 7 main headings.
As the bowing exercises are in no way exhaustive space has been left for the student or teacher to devise his own.

This virtuosic arrangement of the world-famous movement from 'Carmina Burana' is suitable both as an effective encore and competition piece. Printed with two versions in each edition, it is designed as a study in thirds or in tenths both for the violin and the viola.

'Apparently the viola is just a somewhat larger violin, simply tuned a fifth lower. In reality though, there is a world of difference between the two instruments.' - The composer lends weight to his argument with this impressive 'real' viola piece: extreme high notes are avoided, indeed, one movement is played exclusively on the C string.