„It is my belief that good works will survive the widest variety of arrangements. This is particularly noticeable in the case of Johann Sebastian Bach´s music, which can endure even the most aberrant instrumentation and will not suffer, of course, from accompainment by Robert Schumann, either. After all, the ancient practice of transcription was a favorite of Bach himself.
For this reason, I have no scruple when it comes to playing these arrangements, especially since they are in Schumann´s case authorized. To the contrary, I find that different instruments can often highlight the statement of a work more clearly than those originally intended. In this case, I am thinking in particular of Schubert´s Arpeggione–Sonata.
Aside from a few examples, this instrument did not survive and there is no known work composed for it. The reasons for its lack of success are evident: although it was sweet and lovely, it had a weak and inflexible tone and was tuned similar to a viola da gamba, which was hardly played or taught any more, and provided with frets which, while facilitating difficult passages, practically precluded a personal intonation, it was unable to compete against the more potent violin family.
