The viola repertoire is limited comparing to the violin repertoire in Classical Western Music. The viola gained significant importance as a virtuoso instrument after the 20th century. World renowned composers such as Bela Bartok, Paul Hindemith, and William Walton composed high level concertos for the solo viola which have a certain level of virtuosity. While foreign composers were composing works for viola, Turkish composers such as Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazim Akses, Yalcin Tura, Ertugrul Oguz Firat also composed concertos for viola. These Turkish composers frequently used folk elements in their compositions. This article focuses on how Ahmed Adnan Saygun applied these traditional folk elements in his viola concerto.

Keywords: Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Viola Concerto First Movement, Turkish Folk Music, Viola.