Suite for Viola, with piano; Ernest Bloch (G. Schirmer)

Violists everywhere are indebted to Ernest Bloch (1880-1959), who wrote several excellent, gratifying works for the viola across his lifetime.

• Bloch's Suite for Viola and Piano was composed for 1919 competition for new viola works sponsored by patron of the arts, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. His work tied for first place with Rebecca Clarke's viola sonata; Bloch's was eventually chosen as the winner, amid speculation among reporters that Clarke's sonata could not have been composed by a woman. Circumstances of the competition aside, the Suite is Bloch's masterpiece for the viola, an expressive, tour-de-force work incorporating a modern style (for the day) with novel effects including harmonics and ponticello bowing.