Transcriptions of the major cello concertos on viola!

January 28, 2013 at 10:17 PM · Bravo! Those cello concertos are quite impressive... I'm sure purists will say it shouldn't be done, but you make quite a convincing case for them.

February 8, 2013 at 07:37 PM · Excellent! There should be more of this kind of thing. Bach did not think there was any problem with transcriptions of concertos for other instruments, so I don't know why we should. I especially like the Shostakovich.

February 12, 2013 at 10:35 PM · Why not? If it works, it works. I've made many arrangements, myself. Bach indeed, was the 1st great arranger, and thought nothing of arranging Vivaldi's concerto for 4 violins in b to 4 keyboards in a, and arranged his E major violin prelude for organ and also to a different key. He was also aware of, critical of, but ultimately sold some of the early pianos. He did not object on the grounds that it wasn't what he wrote for years earlier.

Does anyone know if the Bloch "Schelomo" (for cello) has ever been arranged for viola? I love that piece so much I might almost be willing to learn alto cleff just to play it! ;-)

Lots of very tough pieces that you've done, btw, Eun - bravo! I especially liked the Elgar cello concerto on the viola. I found it convincing and moving. I think that the timbre of the viola is much closer to the cello than to the violin, generally.