Zimmermann wrote a series of works for unaccompanied solo instruments in which he experimented with material and tested out virtuoso playing techniques, simultaneously producing self-contained, independent works of art. In 1955, Zimmermann‘s daughter Barbara died soon after her birth; for this reason, the Sonata for Viola solo bears the dedication “…to the song of an angel” in reminiscence of Alban Berg’s violin concerto.The final section of the work contains a quotation from the chorale “Gelobe...