Those classical guys were NOT respectful

In quartet music, why is it that the viola hardly ever gets cool solo parts?!?!? I mean, sure, I'm completely biased, I'm not gonna lie, but why are the violins and cello cooler than the instrument which is a combination of BOTH OF THEM??? (For those of you who aren't exactly sure what I meant by that statement, the viola is played like a violin, is almost the same size, and uses the same octave, but has the same strings as a cello. It's pretty hardcore.) Mostly the only pieces that contain kick-ass viola sections to play are contemporary ones, such as music by Shostakovich and John Mackey (Strange Humors is viola-central) and the like. THEY saw the beauty of the Outkast Instramint, THEY realized it had been in the shadows of the cozy closet for far too long and needed some light (unlike Daniel Craig :-) ). So I ask you, what was the deal with these classical guys and the viola? What was WRONG with it? I can think of waaaaaaay too many cool things about playing it, that's for sure:

-Nobody knows what it is. Well, sort of.

-It's got the same loverly strings as a cello but is far easier to carry around

-It's big and tough-looking next to a violin, but still appears sweet next to a cello

-It's got a C string (yesssss resonance is a good thing)

-People always need violists, it's just a fact of string life, so it's hard to be out of work with a viola

-It has its own clef that everyone but violists hate, so it's all ours

-It's just plain cool

So why was it the instrument to be sheltered, cast away, forever reduced to scratching out dull harmonies and accompaniments?

*Sigh*

Okay, I'm exaggerating (why does that tend to happen when I discuss my instrument?!?!). This past summer at string quartet camp (I know, right? HA) I played Mendelssohn 12, and it was like an equal, beautiful tapestry of sound and color, with all the instruments at some point becoming more prominently colored in the weaving. Last winter I played an AMAZING Shostakovich piece (quartet 11) that felt like, instead of a tapestry, a bunch of threads bunched together; it was so bare, I'd say, so individual and together at the same time (I adore that piece--check it out). But really, we just got a new piece in quartet today, and it's Beethoven, which I like a lot, but our coach chose it because the CELLO gets a cool part, because the VIOLINS got the last cool part in our other piece. So when this year is over, it's my turn. I shall rebel and demand we get a piece I can boast about.

HA--watch, it'll be too hard for me to play. :-)

I am done now. Violas are respected just fine, I know. Really, I know. I'm not pissed. It's okay. Classical music kicks ass, period.

Intense viola activist-ing,

Josie