French violist Antoine Tamestit studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and went on to dominate the competition circuit in the early 2000s. His nimble, lyrical readings of Hindemith and Vieuxtemps prove unequivocally that the viola can be the hero. Tamestit settles with ease into the chamber works of Fauré and Beethoven, lending them a woozy pathos and thus a new kind of clarity. The energy Tamestit brings to Bach turns the composer’s polyphonic lines into a series of melodic fantasies, soaring and popping with a gripping immediacy. His unique interpretations of Bach's classics make the centuries-old instrumentals sound entirely new.