Elizabeth Watson — viola d’amore

Welcome to the web site of Elizabeth Watson, soloist on viola d’amore and viola, who’s been at the forefront of British viola d’amore playing for more than three decades.

“The quality of the viola d’amore is faint and sweet: there is something seraphic in it, partaking at once of the viola and of the harmonics of the violin.” Hector Berlioz

“It is a distinctive kind of fiddle which sounds especially charming in the stillness of the evening.” Leopold Mozart

The viola d’amore belongs to the viol family yet is played like a violin. It has 6 or 7 bowed strings and 6 or 7 resonating strings — or none! The bowed strings are usually tuned as a chord, varied according to the music played. The resonating strings are tuned as a chord or as a scale. The viola d’amore flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries and has been a special interest since. It may be played in a baroque or modern way.