Wait... Good Viola Pieces Exist? (Official Viola Tier List) 

I love how educated they are on everything else except viola stuff

Viola doesn’t try to be a violin. The more muted, heartier sound is intentional and works in its own right!

"I'm struggling to hear the pitch"--Eddy That's it. That's the quote!!!!

"I feel like we just offended all violists"....UM...I think you already accomplished that previously 😂

VIOLA GANG RISE UP 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥

The problem with people who eat a lot of chilli, is that they can't taste more subtle flavours any more and crave only chilli to "liven" it up. You've chillied up your ears guys. The viola isn't the violin, it tastes different. It doesn't need violin spice, it needs a more receptive palate!!

The thing about the viola is that it doesn’t shine with other instruments or when it’s trying to play something “violiny”. When viola plays a completely solo piece with not even a piano, it sounds so deep and beautiful. The piece has to be written just so.

I go to see student performances at Curtis often. Let me tell you, their violists are NO JOKE. Especially this one, I’ll have to find her name, I was totally blown away. Talent beyond talent, and she projected like a violinist too. It didn’t sound clunky at all. I think it must be that the viola is more difficult to play because when you hear it played extremely well it’s just mindblowing.

"i feel like we just offended all violists out there" not the first time guys... not the first time

Viola's dark, meaty, and sometimes muted or strained tone makes it my favorite instrument in the orchestra. The deep warmth sends me. How it connects the violins and cellos together in orchestral harmony is essential... without it, an orchestra sounds naked and sparse. Violas make the ensemble resonate with breadth and life. A good solo viola has a weight that makes the sound stick with you forever. I learned a smidge of viola from a friend in high school and have recently, over a dozen years later, been trying to work the viola up again. This list is exactly what I need - pie-in-the-sky pieces to dream of learning. Your violin bias is way too strong lol, but I really appreciate this topic being covered! Always gonna vote for giving the viola more light and exposure on your channel. :)

Brandenburg concerto in C tier is wild

Pt 2 please with a Viola King cameo- I miss that bro 👑

PLEASE DO A PART 2! As a violist, Bruch's Romance is my obsession. Also hope Wieniawski's Reverie and Vieuxtemps Capriccio are there

man, I really want you guys to bring back the more classical music nerd content, where you go deep in about it.

0:11 IN AND THERE'S A MOZART LAUGH

The one video we thought they would never make…

It’s just worth remembering that all the things TwoSet said about the viola (it’s quiet, it can’t project, it doesn’t really have that bright, clear forceful tone) are the same things we trumpet players say about the violin.

At the end Brett says, "Violinists out there, don't worry, there's always a back-up career." It's true, cause violinists are a dime a dozen, but a good violist is always in demand! Though you should only play viola because you love it! (Yes, I'm viola gang!)

Twoset convinced me to learn viola

The Shostakovich viola sonata is absolutely fantastic

I just woke up and the first thing I see is a TwoSet viola tier list!!!😱 I am a violist, but I never played violin before viola. I absolutely love the instrument, its rich tone is just so captivating! My personal favorite piece is Walton’s viola concerto, the piece as a whole is so great and emotional. PLEASE do a part 2, this was awesome to see!

My favorite for a while has been Passacaglia. I've always wanted to see a viola pieces tier list. Finally, that wish has been fulfilled

“Welcome to TwoSetViola” I see y’all have joined the dark side VIOLA GANG RISE UP

Omg very triggering. 😂😢😂 Part 2 please

I have a strong suspicion that Brett and Eddy secretly love the viola, but due to the mainstream bias towards the violin, they have to join the crowd and make those viola jokes. I mean, I don't know much viola piece, and some of these pieces actually sound good!! They are recommending these viola pieces to us to promote viola even though they are saying the opposite. Long live Twoset Viola!! (And they make good viola jokes, remember, viola prayer makes the best viola jokes)

Viola tier list done, next TwoSet cello tier list!

As a violist - i think we are superior.

Shostie writes a viola sonata then dies. His last piece.

Wait that Hindemith Concerto clip did not do it justice 😭

If they do a part two, they should check out Vaughan Williams Romance for Viola and Piano, it’s beautiful

Apparently Mozart was so fond of the viola that he played the viola part in his quartets!

Yes yes I want a part 2!!! Loved TwoSet Viola, and some of those pieces sound really nice! 😊 Viola gang needs some appreciation after all the jokes 🤭✨

How could you do such a thing, Berlioz's Harold in Italy is so good!!!! :'(

I'll be real, Brett got it right. The violin is piercing while the viola is more damp. Which is why I'd rather listen to a viola 80% of the time. I prefer my ears intact.

One piece which is missing in this list is Mendelssohn’s viola sonata in c minor- composed when he was a essentially a foetus and just so achingly beautiful

You should listen to Suite for Viola and Orchestra by Vaughn Williams, it's beautiful :)

Part 2, we need to see the ranking for the rest of the pieces! Would also like to see them try playing on some of the alternative forms for the viola.

Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante is just a next level piece

You should have gone for the slow movement of the Brandenburg 6, absolutely beatiful duo that becomes a trio.

Two set viola returns

Running commentary from me (a clarinetist and wannabe violist): Ok they did Walton dirty 😭 it's up there with Trauermusik for best standard-rep concerto for sure I don't like the Bartok at all, it seems really awkward (and I love Bartok so that's not the problem) The Berlioz seems like more of an orchestra piece than a viola piece to me. It would be like calling Scheherazade a violin concerto The Brahms pieces are even better in their original form as clarinet sonatas! Didn't know Ligeti or Shosty wrote viola music, will listen (edit: the Ligeti kinda goes hard?) Disappointed that the Widmann Concerto didn't make it on the list, it's one of the most creative modern concertos I can think of (up there with Chin's violin concertos and Eotvos' percussion concerto)

No matter how many times I teach them, I never get tired of the Telemann solo and double concertos.

I think viola actually sounds very nice when played well. Look at some into more of zukermans viola stuff.

I would like to have heard a wee bit more of the pieces

I always remember the conductor screaming “viOOOOOLAAAAAA” whenever I hear viola in any TwoSetVid 🥲

One of my favorite pieces for viola has always been Telemann's Viola Concerto in G major (TWV 51:G9). Especially the opening movement is beautiful. Please check that out. Also, consider the following works: - Bloch's excellent Suite for viola & orchestra - Debussy's Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp - Hindemith’s Trauermusik for viola and string orchestra (Especially the last movement is very moving. Hindemith composed the piece probably in just a few hours. He had come to London to perform his work Der Schwanendreher, but King George V happened to die just as the visit began. Der Schwanendreher would have seemed too cheerful during the mourning period, so Hindemith composed as quickly as possible a beautiful piece of mourning music for viola and string orchestra more suitable for the situation.) - Reger's Piano Trio No. 1 in B minor op. 2 (for violin, viola and piano) - R.Strauss' Don Quixote - George Benjamin’s Viola Sonata - Kalevi Aho’s Trio for clarinet, viola and piano

VIOLA KING COMEBACK WHEN?

Viola king ranking viola pieces, 100% official, definitely trustworthy!!

I'll always write for viola. It's a gorgeous instrument, and a lot of players are really open to playing new music.

We absolutely 100% need a part 2. When you do part 2, I hope you watch Marc Sabbah's performance of Vieuxtemps, Henri - Capriccio for Viola solo "Hommage à Paganini". It is gorgeous, and the acoustics are to die for🥹

part 2 pretty please with a cherry on top covered in a banana sundae

Thank you for your content. I just think it is quite absurd to judge a piece based on couple seconds of it. However, that is not the reason I am writing this. I just thought I had to write something about the Shostakovich Viola Sonata. We can hear couple cheerful seconds of a very dark piece. Yes, the microphone was too close, but that does not mean, viola is not projected well. I had the honor to hear this sonata live and I had the opposite problem. The piano was quite weak. So I don't think it is correct to dismiss the piece because of a mic too close. Fun fact, the part we can hear was not really composed for viola. It is actually the opening of opera The Gamblers (recommend hearing that beginning). Shostakovich recomposed it for viola and piano couple decades later because it works so well with viola. It is so catchy and I just love it. However as I mentioned, the piece is dark. Particularly the last movement. Especially if you think about the fact, that these were the last notes of Shostakovich basically written on his death bed. You can feel the pain, darkness, sadness and probably the last effort to resist the inevitable. I just can't imagine any other instrument playing this part better. Viola works extremely good here. At the very end we can hear a morendo part played on piano, which I believe to be something like last breath of a leaving personality. Shostakovich passed away just days after checking the official transcription of his handwriting, never to listen to this magnificent piece live.

I see viola, I click! (Im a violinist)

As a violist I'm so glad they finally did that video 🥹 Also for part 2 please listen to Martinu Rhapsody Concerto (especially the 2nd movement)

YOU GUYS SHOULD DO CELLO NEXT!!!!!

Yeah finally the so long awaited viola pieces tier list! 😂

fun fact: with the Brahms sonatas 1 & 2 it was first written for clarinet than transcribed for viola.

As a violist, I need to know what they think of the Zelter concerto.

I am a violist and I am proud 🥹 ❤ love ❤ you two set! 🎻

Is the viola Eddy gave you as your birthday gift still alive, Brett?

Morpheus by Rebecca Clark is a fantastic duet for viola and piano

Part 2, please! As someone who started learning viola last year _because of_ your channel, you have no idea for how long I've been craving this specific video. I'm so happy right now! To what Brett said, about the viola sounding "like the violin, but muter" - I can sort of see that, but I think to me it feels more natural to think about it in a different way: the viola just has a different sound quality than a violin, it's less bright (and more difficult to project on) which can be a flaw in certain pieces/areas, but in other areas/pieces, that same quality can bean advantage, as it means it's also more mellow and less piercing than the violin. That quality really lends itself to expressing sadness, grief, fear (I know, I know, queue all the viola jokes). There's a really great video by the RU-vidr "Viola King" called "Top 10 Darkest Viola Pieces Ever Written" and it features a lot of pieces that weren't in this video (although they might be in part two). Maybe check it out (and it would be amazing if you considered making another video about it!), it's really good and genuinely interesting!

We need a part 2! Im playing the Hummel Fantasy right now and i need you guys to review it!!!

It’s 04.00, I should be asleep but here I am, watching TSV rank viola pieces and being sad when it’s over! Part 2, please!

Thank you both, Brett & Eddy, so much for this episode! I've actually been meaning to research and find all of the good pieces with a viola solo. I'd love to see a part two to this episode. Super duper cool! 😎😎🎻🎻 Sending warm hugs. Stay healthy. Take care. 🫂💕💯🥰🥰

We need B2TSM to cover “Viola Gang” rn!

That was great! I almost whooped out loud when I saw that clip of Maxim Rysanov playing Schubert. (He's also commissioned and conducted new works, which I think is fantastic.) Have you heard him play some of the pieces from Dobrinka Tabakova? Delicious, I'm telling you.

I'd love to get part 2, it's always like a nice rec list of various pieces

Yes! Please part two for more viola education (and twoset roasting while ranking).

York Bowen's Viola Concerto should have been on the list. Not only is it a repertoire piece but Bowen was in general enthusiastic about viola and think more highly of it than violin, and wrote a lot of other chamber works for it.

Thank you so much!!🥰✨🙏🏻

The Shostakovich Viola Sonata a “C”? It’s one of the great pieces period, not just as a viola piece. Listen to the third movement. The piece was completed just weeks before his death, and it explores this deepest mystery of life.

8:10 “that’s too much A, we need to rebalance” and when you thought they would balance the pieces between A tier and B tier but SIKE they just casually put some in C and D tier lmao i love these guys 😂

So does this mean we are getting a cello and a double bass teir list as well? Those would be interesting to see 😉 Edit: Twoset complementing anything viola (in the voice of Bruce Banner a la Age Of Ultron): oh these really are the end times😂

Part 2! I’m just realizing how much less tiring viola is to listen to than violin. I’ve learned to appreciate violin now but it still hurts my ear bones.

Part 2 please! Also it’ll be awesome if y’all rank cello solos/concertos also 😊

The ballade from RVW's suite for viola and orchestra!

You missed out so much good stuff, like the Handel-Halvorssen Passacaglia, the Glinka sonata, the Rubbra concerto (and his other gried viola piece Meditation on a Byzantine Hymn). Also, Rebecca Clarke deserved better. I must thank you for putting the Bartok and Walton concerti on the same tier - lest you begin an alto civil war.

5 mil subs eddy performs the walton viola concerto

You two are the best. Yes more, please.

You guys should really listen to more viola - there is so much great stuff out there nowadays, even on youtube.

4:58 abslolutely love this rendition of the Mozart concertante! Noah and Amihai are just slayyying it!

Violins hurt my hearing. Cellos too clumsy. Gimme viola.

you guys are a piece of work

Okay, do a part II, with Max Reger, Britten, Vaughn Williams, and Stravinsky. And a bonus round ranking all of Rolla's 40(?) viola concertos! 😂

Yes, a part two! These were nice to listen to.

If part 2 doesn't have the Bloch Suite for viola and orchestra or the Martinu Rhapsody-concerto I'm rioting (No really go listen to those pieces)

please do another 8-10 must see performances video! i love just listening to cool pieces with you guys and seeing how you gush about them;-;

Haven't even watched the video yet and I'm already excited! we either get viola jokes or viola appreciation and I'm here for it :D Edit: turned out to be a bit of both! Loving the fact that they actually acknowledged good viola playing lol. Shostakovich viola sonata deserved better though 😞 I think violinists just need to realize that not every instrument needs to be obnoxious and piercing 🙄

We need a part 2!

Thanks twoset

One piece that is absolutely missing is Telemann's viola concerto.

TwoSet do a wonderful job promoting the violin, however, they are doing the greater string world a disservice continuing to promote the stereotype that violists are failed violinists. I would love to see more younger kids wanting to start on viola, but it’s a struggle to convince them to play the instrument when there is still a stigma attached to it. Why not celebrate the instrument and its unique tonal qualities, rather than the obvious bashing of the instrument’s tonal range and difficulties to project as a solo instrument?? Also, I felt the 5 second excerpts were poorly chosen and highlighted their ignorance of the viola rep. Maybe they should consider bringing an actual violist into the studio for part 2 for a little guidance. You can do better, TwoSet!

Great video, thank you Twoset!

I actually kinda prefer the muted quality of Viola because I can find Violin more sharp sounding sometimes. To each their own right 🤷‍♀️

VIOLA APPRECIATION

Violas are so wonderful!!! Please Two Set Violins, I love and respect you a great deal, except when you talk about violas😢

I missed Twoset's educational videos soooo much!!! Please do more🥺🥺🥺

Good job viola gang. After years and years and years of hard work, you finally have been honored. BTW please do a part two brett and eddy, and if you guys do, eddy should dress up as the VIOLA KING!

Ohh I can feel this is gonna be good 😆