Regardless of the direction "on the viola, with conviction and passion", a question that needs to be answered is "exactly what [part of the viola] is being hit?" If a composer doesn't give clear directions about how exactly to do something, there is no reason for a potential performer to believe that a recording is the gold standard of musical and technical choices. I contend that where you hit the viola (at least, for the first note) may have an impact upon how one would accurately notate it, so perhaps the score should indicate that. Given that the recording suggests a volume above mf, the length of the notes MAY actually matter; the instrument becomes differently resonant as it becomes a multitude of smaller "instruments" over the course of the performance. To think that some people suggest there is too much violance in modern music...*
*Yes, I meant to spell it that way. Geoff _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
