Lena Hart on the Colour of Sound

We meet backstage an hour before her recital, her instrument out of its case on a folding table. “Tone is colour,” she says, “and colour is a decision. Every bow stroke is an ethical choice about what the music should mean tonight.”

Hart's repertoire has expanded well beyond the solo viola's usual corner, commissioning works that treat her instrument as a protagonist rather than a guest. “The viola has been the understudy for three centuries,” she laughs. “I am simply giving it better lines.”

On recording, she prefers sessions after midnight, lights out, headphones off. “When I cannot see the walls, I can hear them.”