The History of Viola

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss the place and importance of viola in the family of string instruments and to shows the development of the instrument. Since the article contains a descriptive research, source scanning method was used. The effects of the major viola schools on each other and the origin of the viola are among the oldest findings. It was concluded that the instrument developed from the 16th century to the present, with the influence of all these schools. The article also examines major schools and introduces composers who have written works for viola. In the writing phase, many books were used as sources, and the support of my thesis advisor Beste Tıknaz Modiri was taken. Another observation is the inadequacy of domestic resources in this area. The aim of this article is to discuss the place and importance of viola in the family of string instruments and overview its development through history. It is based on the doctoral thesis of the author, which had been completed in Istanbul University under the supervision and with the support of Professor Beste Tıknaz Modiri. The study involves a descriptive research carried out through survey of literary sources in Turkish and other languages. The primary focus is the examination of the major schools of viola and the introduction of composers who have written works for the instrument. It was concluded that the development of the instrument from the 16th century to the present day has been influenced significantly by all these schools and composers. Another major observation is the inadequacy of Turkish written resources in this area.

Keywords: Viola, Primrose, Fuchs, Bartok, Hindemith

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/6-07-04