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VIOLA AND PIANO MUSIC

Contemporary Viola and Piano Music & Repertoire

This collection of contemporary viola and piano music presents works written for performers seeking expressive, modern repertoire for concerts, competitions, and advanced study. These compositions explore the full range of the viola–piano duo, from lyrical writing and intimate dialogue to dynamic interplay and textural contrast. This page provides an overview of available works, including instrumentation details, program notes, and score information.

DRIPPING MINUTES - FROZEN YEARS 

for viola and piano 

Duration:

8'30" minutes
 

Instrumentation:   

viola and piano

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Year Composed:  

2017
 

Written For:            
Tabea Zimmermann
 

Premiere Performance:
12 November 2021

Philharmonie im Kulturpalast

Dresden, Germany

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Matan Gilitchensky, viola

Ohad Ben-Ari, piano 

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music for viola and piano

Program Notes:

As the title suggests, Dripping Minutes - Frozen Years explores themes of time, the passage of time, and the contrast between psychological time and real time. In this slow-paced piece, I depict certain events that pass by, yet collectively, they create a sense of time standing still.
 

Dripping Minutes - Frozen Years is dedicated to Tabea Zimmermann. 
 

Score of Dripping Minutes - Frozen Years for viola and piano

About Viola and Piano Music

The viola and piano duo offers a warm, expressive sound world, combining the viola’s rich timbre with the piano’s harmonic depth and coloristic range. Writing for this ensemble allows for intimate dialogue, dramatic contrast, and a wide spectrum of textures. These works contribute to the expanding contemporary repertoire for viola and piano, providing performers with technically engaging and artistically rewarding pieces suitable for both recital and professional performance settings.

Viola and Piano Repertoire List

  • Rebecca Clarke – Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919)

  • Paul Hindemith – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 11 No. 4 (1919)

  • Dmitri Shostakovich – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147 (1975)

  • Henri Vieuxtemps – Élégie, Op. 30 (1854) (A valid and common historical inclusion due to its importance in the repertoire)

  • Benjamin Britten – Lachrymae, Op. 48 (1950, rev. 1976)

  • Nadia Boulanger – Trois pièces (1914)

  • York Bowen – Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 18 (1905)

  • George Enescu – Concert Piece (1906)

  • Mieczysław Weinberg – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 28 (1945)

  • Ernest Bloch – Suite for Viola and Piano (1919)

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams – Romance (1914)

  • Dmitri Kabalevsky – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 117 (1974)

  • György Kurtág – Signs, Games and Messages (1980s–2000s) (Selected movements often performed with piano)

  • Henri Dutilleux – Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher (1976, later arranged) (Originally solo cello, arrangements exist)

  • Jennifer Higdon – Sonata for Viola and Piano (1990)

  • Lillian Fuchs – Sonata Pastorale (20th century)

  • Libby Larsen – Sonata for Viola and Piano (2001)

  • Peter Maxwell Davies – Sonata for Viola and Piano (1984)

  • Elliott Carter – Elegy for Viola and Piano (1943)

  • Frank Bridge – Allegro appassionato (1908)

  • Paul Chihara – Sonata for Viola and Piano (1982)

  • Aaron Jay Kernis – Still Movement with Hymn (1993)

  • Kaija Saariaho – Vent Nocturne (2006) (Originally viola/electronics, piano versions are performed)

  • Caroline Shaw – In manus tuas (2009, arr. 2020s) (Originally solo cello, arrangements exist)

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