I can feel a violist’s joke coming on…
Nevertheless, while it will be difficult (unless you detune the string) to go below C, we can go very high in the treble, especially when your name is Gérard Caussé or Kim Kashkashian.
you could most likely say that two octaves up from the open string is the maximum range for the viola, at least for solo work. the sound isn’t pretty, it’s definitely not “expressive”, but if you REALLY need those notes.
It’s not like a violin. if I recall correctly, violin has a few more usable notes at the top of its range (I don’t have a violin handy to check.)
The cello makes better use of its extreme high range, notes two octaves up from the open string are more useful than on the viola, in my opinion at least.
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