Peter Minkler's album of works for the solo viola offers some of the very best that the instrument has to offer. For starters,
Minkler's playing is appealing in virtually every way imaginable. His tone is one of the must consistently enjoyable in memory; across the broad range of the instrument,
Minkler's is at once warm and deep while maintaining clear, precise articulation. Even in the uppermost registers of the instrument,
Minkler's viola never seems to be straining and never produces a choked quality on the A-string. Intonation is extremely consistent, as would be expected from an orchestral musician.
Minkler's playing is also, perhaps most importantly, thoroughly musical, insightful, witty, and highly nuanced. Interpretations are musical without being overdone, rubato is delightfully sparing, and character changes along with the time periods of each work. His selection of repertoire is also extremely enjoyable. Beginning with Bach's second cello suite (the only transcribed work on the program),
Minkler touches on Romantic composers Henri Vieuxtemps and Max Reger, early twentieth century composers
Paul Hindemith and
Igor Stravinsky, and rounds things out with works of
Lillian Fuchs and Marcel Dick from the last half of the century. Appealing not only to violists, this album is likely to please anyone interested in solo string works or just solid, unpretentious musical artistry.