Viola pomposa Viola pomposa The viola pomposa (also known as the violino pomposo) is a five-stringed instrument developed around 1725. There are no exact dimensions applicable to all instruments used under this name, although in general the pomposa is slightly wider than a standard viola (hence the Italian adjective "pomposa"). It uses four viola strings, tuned conventionally (C-G-D-A), with the addition of a high E string (usually a violin string), giving it a greater range than the orchestral viola; the trade-off comes in a sound which is slightly more resonant than a violin. The viola pomposa is played on the arm and
String Quartets (Ligeti) work, like the first string quartet, but was also considered to be in six or three movements, with the three lasting about 12' + 3' + 6' minutes in total. The piece would be dedicated to the Arditti Quartet, entirely microtonal, inspired by the hyperchromaticism of Gesualdo, and inspired by melodic ideas from Burma, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Java, Bali, and Cameroon. It's also suggested that the entire quartet would be tuned in scordaturas based on harmonic partials, akin to the violin and viola in Ligeti's Violin Concerto. The fourth quartet would be dedicated to the Kronos Quartet, and be inspired by