Ulrich Koch, Maier, Beyer, Blees & Collegium Aureum
"Stamitz: Concerto for Viola and Sinfonia Concertante" (Vinyl)

In a blind pull from the record shelf, I have selected the Stamitz viola concerto, one of the first legitimate solo works for the viola that has endured.  While still considered a student work, the concerto is gaining ground as one of the key representatives of classical writing in the viola canon.

Ulrich Koch was a huge standard bearer for the viola in Europe.  His name appears not only on recordings but also at the top of works of music that were dedicated to him.   On this recording Koch plays a candenza in the first movement that I'm unfamiliar with; it is certainly not the standard one that is published in the music.