Viola Master Training - Course Description

EXAM MATERIAL

 

MA I

1st semester: 1 concerto's outer movement, 2 movements by Bach, 1 etude, performance of a contemporary piece given to the student beforehand by the sub-department

2nd semester: 1 concerto's outer movement, 2 movements by Bach, 1 etude, orchestral parts (2-3 excerpts randomly selected from 10 orchestral parts announced in advance + sight-reading)

 

MA II

Preparation for the MA diploma concert

During BA 3rd year and the MA study program's 1,5 years the concerto may once be substituted by another difficult sonata (e.g. Schubert: Arpeggione 1st or 3rd movement, Shostakovich: Sonata 1st or 2nd movement, Hindemith, Enescu, etc. Pieces that cannot replace the concerto: Brahms sonatas, Schumann: Märchenbilder. Instead of Bach solo movements other solo sonatas of the same difficulty (Hindemith, Reger, Ligeti, etc.) may also be performed.

 

MA DIPLOMA CONCERT

  • 1 concerto (if students perform a Stamitz, Hoffmeister, Telemann, etc. piece with an orchestra, an additional virtuoso piece has to be performed as well)
  • an introductory slow movement and fugue from Bach's violin solo sonatas, or Chaconne or Chromatic Fantasia in D-minor
  • 1 complete chamber work with a significant viola part

 

MA II – Complex Oral Exam

The oral exam must consist of a 20-minute oral presentation, possibly supplemented with live music illustration, related to the student's instrument, its literature and history, but not directly related to the repertoire of the student's diploma concert. The student must discuss the topic of the oral exam with their main subject teacher and submit it 3 months prior to the oral exam. In case the presentation is partly related to a piece performed at the diploma concert (composer, genre, etc.), the student must note that the oral exam must not consist of only the analysis of the particular piece.   

 

REPERTOIRE COVERED DURING STUDIES

MA I

  • Etude material: Hermann, Vieux, Paganini
  • Bach: as seen above
  • Concerto: as seen above

Instead of Bach solo pieces solo sonatas (Hindemith, Reger, Ligeti, etc.) of the same difficulty may also be performed.