Viola repertoire
Orchestral viola excerpts, the standard audition repertoire
The viola excerpts that appear on almost every audition list, annotated with what each one is actually testing.
- Excerpts
- 12
- Composers
- 11
- Audition excerpts
- 12
- Eras
- 4
Viola auditions ask a specific question: can you produce a sound that carries in the middle of the texture without turning either thin or heavy? The excerpt list is built around it, Don Juan for projection in a high register, the Mendelssohn Scherzo for control at speed, the Brahms for rhythm and weight.
The two solo excerpts, Don Quixote and the Mahler 10 Adagio, appear mainly at principal auditions and test characterisation rather than section blend. Everything else is about matching.
Preparing an audition?
12 of these excerpts appear on standard viola audition lists, ordered by difficulty and annotated with what panels listen for.
The viola audition listBrowse by era
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Every viola excerpt
Strauss, Don Juan, opening
Mendelssohn, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo
Brahms, Haydn Variations, Variation VI
Strauss, Don Quixote, Sancho Panza solo
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, III, Trio fugato
Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture, viola melody
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, I, opening
Mozart, Haffner Symphony, IV, Presto
Smetana, The Bartered Bride, Overture
Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
Prokofiev, Romeo & Juliet, Dance of the Knights
Mahler, Symphony No. 10, Adagio, opening
Excerpts test the technique underneath
Arco's viola curriculum builds the bow strokes, positions, and clef reading these passages assume.