Book excerpt: After decades of stagnation, the performing arts began to flourish in Berlin under Frederick the Great. A group of musician-composers were recruited who were to form the basis of a brilliant court ensemble, including C.P.E. Bach and the Graun brothers, encouraged by the presence of Ludwig Christian Hesse. They wrote music for the viola da gamba, an instrument which was already becoming obsolete elsewhere. This study shows how the unique situation in Berlin produced the last major corpus of music written for the viola da gamba, and how the more virtuosic works were probably the result of close collaboration between Hesse and the Berlin School composers. The book will appeal to professional and amateur viola da gamba players as well as to scholars of eighteenth-century German music.