Josef Schelb, an exponent of the 20th-century's so-called "classical modernism," knew how to use a wide range of the instrument's tonal possibilities for his typical, unmistakable personal style of those years, combining atonal-to-dodecaphonic structureswith contrapuntal composing techniques. In the work's four movements, sharply contrasting in tempo and expression, the emotional tension ranges from a lyrical, contemplative inwardness via a humorous, dance-like ease to expressive, rhythmically intricatestaccato formulas. Originality, compositional mastery, inventiveness, and high viola characterstics - coupled with a considerable demand of virtuosity - are features of this work, now available for the first time in a published edition. -the publisher