Laurence Sherwood <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>On a personal note, I recently heard Nogotula Ngwenyama play the E-minor
>partita on her chosen instrument, the viola.  I thought her overall
>performance was quite fine, although I confess it was the first time I had
>heard an entire recital performed on viola.  However, clearly she struggled
>a bit with the partita.

This kinda thing bugs me.  Don't try to force a violin piece onto the
viola...  It was written for the violin so play it on the violin...  Things
like these amount to little more than stunts...  likely, if played on the
violin, it probably would have been immeasurably better...  but also very
likely, the performance would have lost much of its interest.  I can't help
but wonder if undertakings such as that are done only to compensate for a
lack of true musical distinction otherwise.  The viola is not so different
an instrument from the violin...  if you can play one, you can quickly
learn to play the other...  and if the music you wish to play called for
it...  you SHOULD!

Albie