Of course America produces wonderful dancers, great soloists as the term goes.

But the band's signature is its singing; no one of the three women is a great soloist, but their voices meld sensationally.

In the Adagio, for instance, the first violins seemed to be singing the main melody with the freedom of a great soloist.

But perhaps it's best to think of them as great soloists: they don't really need accompanists.

He unabashedly programmed novelties next to symphonic literature and introduced audiences to great soloists.

Scorsese delegates-like a great soloist who is also a great bandleader and casts his musical aura on the other soloists he hires.

He is a great soloist who happened to land on the viola.

But violists have had only a handful of great soloists to look up to, and the instrument's last true superstar, William Primrose, died in 1982.

"I had a bad complex about improvising because Lawrence was one of the great soloists," Mr. Woodman said on Thursday.

It was just after 1950 that the great soloists began to beat a path to Mr. Vatelot's door.