In 2012, 1024, and 2016 under the title ‘Viola Project,’ I invited violists and composers to the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln [College for Music and Dance in Cologne] with the objective: ‘Be there when it is composed!

Be there when it is rehearsed!’ Composers write for violists – and violists can influence this. The old hierarchy ‘superordinate composer’ and ‘subordinate performer’ are increasingly giving way to a new partnership in which composers and performers recognize that they nee...