William Walton · Professional · viola
How to play Viola Concerto
Viola Concerto is in A minor and sits at the professional level. Premier 20th-century viola concerto for professional, competition, and advanced conservatory auditions and recitals. The fastest way through it is to name the passage that keeps breaking, on the same five dimensions a panel listens for, and fix that one first.
The hard passages
- Sustained lyrical melancholy line of the opening Andante comodo
- Fast, metrically shifting scherzo with quartal harmony
- Wide leaps and high-register intonation
- Cyclic thematic shaping across movements
- Projection and tonal warmth on the viola against full orchestra
What panels listen for
Warm singing tone in the Andante, rhythmic precision and metric agility in the scherzo, secure intonation in leaps, and structural awareness of the cyclic return.
Frequently asked
How hard is Viola Concerto?
Professional level. A cornerstone 20th-century viola concerto and a standard professional/major-conservatory audition concerto; demanding for its lyrical-yet-virtuosic writing and rhythmic scherzo (established viola repertoire).
What tempo is Viola Concerto?
I. Andante comodo; II. Vivo, con molto preciso; III. Allegro moderato
What are the hardest parts of Viola Concerto?
The passages that trip players up: Sustained lyrical melancholy line of the opening Andante comodo, Fast, metrically shifting scherzo with quartal harmony, Wide leaps and high-register intonation, Cyclic thematic shaping across movements, Projection and tonal warmth on the viola against full orchestra.
How can I tell if I am ready to perform Viola Concerto?
Talk it through with the teacher, free, no signup. Play your take of Viola Concerto, get the one specific fix that is holding you back, then run it again. The teacher listens every day, not just at lesson time.
More viola pieces
Stuck on a passage in Viola Concerto?
Name the passage and what it does wrong. Real fix in 30 seconds. Free to try, no card.
Name the passage that breaks