h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The maestro stops by the house of the viola player, but the player is not home. After confirming with a neighbor that the player is out, the maestro gets angry and trashes the house. When the player comes home, he asks the neighbor what happened. The neighbor explains about the maestro getting mad. The viola player says, The maestro came to see ME?"

There must be more than this! http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F52639?thread=117370

If you want viola jokes.......

This violist knows soooooo many

I thought the word was "violator"

Depeche Mode? I don't recall a lot of strings in their work. Bluesy slide guitar occasionally - "Personal Jesus". OK, that's strings ... sort of ...

Talking of violas, I would recommend William Alwyn's "Pastoral Fantasia" as a really stirling example of what the viola is capable of. The piece is very much in the Vaughan Williams/"Lark Ascending" tradition, but in some ways is even more expressive and atmospheric. As an additional point of interst, Chandos feature the piece on a CD which also includes Alwyn's "Lyra Angelica", which has to be one of the most beautiful harp concertos ever written.