Viola Gems

Following SEMPRE VIOLA and VIOLA ANCORA, Eberhard Klemmstein has now recorded another album of short character pieces for viola and piano entitled VIOLA GEMS. This time, it mainly contains arrangements and, as original music for viola, the rarely heard Hebrew melodies by Joseph Joachim.

Klemmstein has placed his own viola sonata at the centre of the collection. He saw it as a challenge to create something for his own instrument without being tempted to compose in a way that was overly tailored to the instrument. The result is a truly well-founded, profound four-movement work that does full justice to the sonata genre.

The viola is an instrument with a distinctive timbre that is very captivating at first, but can also become tiresome over time. The solution is to present as many different pieces as possible and to bring out the individual character of each piece of music.

Eberhard Klemmstein and his partner at the piano, Oda Schmidt, have succeeded admirably in this endeavour, and listening to the CD takes you on an entertaining and musically fascinating journey through the world of the viola.