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Article: Take my viola, please: Jokes target distinguished instrument.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 3, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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What's the range of a viola? About 35 yards if you have a strong arm.
This is just one example of a viola joke, a genre that has become almost as ubiquitous in symphonic circles as Aggie jokes or Polish jokes elsewhere.
Why the poor viola should be the butt of jokes is not clear, though it's interesting that composer Richard Strauss, who assigned the part of Don Quixote to the cello in his tone poem of that name, gave the role of the comical Sancho Panza to the viola. Other than that, it's not a funny instrument. If viola players ever begin feeling put upon, they can take comfort in the fact that Mozart, Beethoven and Dvorak all liked to take the viola ...