Serious Viola

Q: If you’re lost in the desert, what should you walk toward—a good viola player, a bad viola player, or an oasis? A: The bad viola player—the other two are just figments of your imagination.

The mellow alto string that reads a strange clef and plays the unassuming inner lines of orchestral accompaniment is the butt of more classical-music jokes (yes, there is such a thing) than any other instrument. But Yuri Bashmet, who debuts with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra this month, is transforming the introvert of the string family into its most captivating member.

“There are few true virtuosos of the viola,” asserts SPCO president Bruce Coppock. “But Bashmet is a force of nature. He is a prodigious talent.” Beyond achieving an unlikely stardom, Bashmet has done a great deal to make the world take his instrument seriously. He not only plays the viola brilliantly, he has significantly expanded its repertoire through his influence and commissions, favoring a fleet of Russian composers, including Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, and Alfred Schnittke.

Bashmet’s adventurous program with the SPCO includes film scores by Takemitsu, an arrangement for viola and strings of Shostakovich’s String Quartet no. 13, Minnesotan Stan Skrowaczewski’s Symphony for Strings, and composer Igor Raykhelson’s Adagio for Viola and Strings.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what instrument you play, there’s always room for a great virtuoso,” Coppock says. “It’s not like the world was waiting for a violist. But Yuri Bashmet is phenomenally gifted.” And that’s no joke. Oct. 25–27. Various locations, 651-291-1144