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Hindemith was the composer for the viola, the instrument which he himself played supremely well (indeed, he was recorded in the Op. 25 No. 1 Solo Sonata and the 1939 Sonata with piano). Throughout these works, even in Op. 31 No. 4 and the 1937 Sonata, which are unpublished, there is an almost overwhelming competence. The sheer mastery with which he was able to go about making one instrument express the creativity of his extraordinarily fertile mind is quite breathtaking. But this is not easy music, and much is demanded of the listener. There is a strong feeling that it emanates from an era of unrest: the constant moving-on from one idea to another and the rapid harmonic shifts are symptomatic of this. The role of the viola is somewhat solitary.
Alfred Einstein encapsulated Hindemith's relationship to his audience thus: ''He is unwilling to exploit his feelings publicly and he keeps his two feet on the ground. He merely writes music, the best that he can produce.'' 

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