Stephen Upshaw, celebrated British violist with international soloist and ensemble experience, presents his new album Veneer. The EP brings together the contemporary compositional art of four outstanding composers who open up new worlds of sound for the viola as a solo instrument:

Ed Finnis – veneer: a sophisticated, multi-layered journey through texture, harmony and reflected soundscapes, in which the viola appears in subtly altered layers of sound.

Errollyn Wallen – Lavinia: A poetic, lyrical piece with warm, sometimes jazzy echoes that gives the solo viola a deeply emotional voice.

Aaron Holloway-Nahum – New Hymns: A modern homage to liturgically inspired form and spirituality, rethought and filled with rhythmic impulses.

Tonia Ko – Soothe a Tooth: Experimental sound painting, the viola as an acoustic landscape medium: original, impulsive and expressive in tone painting.

Upshaw interprets these works with great intensity, technical mastery and deep expression. The choice of these four composers reveals a deliberate program: each voice brings an independent universe of sound, but together they create a coherent journey through reflection, emotion, spirituality and sound innovation.