A Survey of Orchestral Audition Excerpts for Violin

To help justify the study of orchestral audition repertoire in the college-level applied violin lesson, forty-five American orchestras representing a variety of geographical locations and budgets were surveyed to discover a common violin audition repertoire asked to be played during professional orchestra auditions. Eighteen orchestras responded to the survey.

These orchestras sent their lists of excerpts, which totaled 373 (including solo and string quartet repertoire), and the number of orchestras requiring each excerpt was tallied. Some orchestras specified which movement or measures of a movement were required while other orchestras were not as specific. Regarding the latter, if an orchestra asked for Schumann's Symphony No. 2, all of the movements were tallied separately, even though an experienced auditioner knows that the second movement, Scherzo, will probably be the only movement requested. (This is also indicated by the frequency of requests for the Scherzo on many audition lists.) My own experience on audition committees and as an auditioner, along with interviews of concertmasters from major orchestras and specific requirements on some lists, have helped determine the locations in an excerpt that are generally required.

The most noticeable results of the survey were the sixteen requirements of Richard Strauss's Don Juan, twelve of the Scherzo from Schumann's Symphony No. 2, and eleven of the Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn. The concertos most often used were the first movements of the following: Brahms (10), Tchaikovsky (9), and Sibelius (9). Additional repertoire was tallied including more violin excerpts, concertmaster and associate/assistant concertmaster solos, first violin parts of string quartets, and solo pieces.

This list puts into perspective the scope of the repertoire violinists could encounter at auditions. There are approximately 838 other orchestras in the United States, as listed in the Musical America Directory, and many foreign orchestras that might ask for other material. ¹ The lists in this article do not include repertoire that might be required by foreign orchestras.

Orchestral Violin Excerpts

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Number of orchestras requiring the excerpt	Composer, title, and movement of the excerpt (all first violin parts unless otherwise noted)
16	R. Strauss, Don Juan
12	Schumann, Symphony No. 2, mvt. 2
11	Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Scherzo
7	Mozart, Symphony No. 39, mvt. 2
7	Mozart, Symphony No. 39, mvt. 4
7	Brahms, Symphony No. 1, mvt. 1
7	Brahms, Symphony No. 4, mvt. 3
6	Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4, mvt. 1
6	Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, mvt. 3
6	Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, mvt. 3
5	Brahms, Symphony No. 3, mvt. 1
5	Brahms, Symphony No. 4, mvt. 1
5	Mozart, Symphony No. 35, mvt. 4
4	Brahms, Symphony No. 2, mvt. 1
4	Brahms, Symphony No. 2, mvt. 2
3	Brahms, Symphony No. 4. mvt. 2
3	Brahms, Symphony No. 4, mvt. 4
3	Mozart, Symphony No. 39, mvt. 1
3	Mozart Symphony No. 35. mvt. 1
3	Mozart, Overture to The Magic Flute (Violin 2)
2	Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, mvt. 2
2	Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 1, mvt. 3 (Violin 2)
2	Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
2	Prokofiev, Classical Symphony
2	Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2, mvt. 2 (Violin 2)
2	Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, mvt. 1
2	Smetana, Overture to The Bartered Bride (Violin 2)

Concert Master Excerpts

In addition to section violin repertoire.

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Number of orchestras requiring the excerpt	Composer, title, ad movement of the excerpt (all first violin parts unless otherwise noted)
9	Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherezade
6	Brahms, Symphony No. 1, mvt. 2
5	Rimsky-Korsakov, Capriccio Espagnole
4	R. Strauss, Ein Heldenleben
3	Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake, Act 2, “Pas d'action”
3	R. Strauss. Also Sprach Zarathustra

String Quartets

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Number of orchestras requiring the work	Composer, title, and movement of the work
2	Mozart, Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 458, mvt. 1
1	Mozart Quartet in G Major, K. 387, mvt. 1
1	Mozart, Quartet in F Major, K. 590, mvt. 1
1	Haydn, “Quinten” Quartet, Op. 76, No. 2, entire work
1	Beethoven, Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4, mvt. 4
1	Beethoven, Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, mvt. 1

Solo Violin Works

Including cadenzas where applicable.

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Number of orchestras requiring the work	Composer, title, and movement of the work
10	Brahms, Concerto, mvt. 1
9	Tchaikovsky, Concerto, mvt. 1
9	Sibelius, Concerto, mvt. 1
8	Mendelssohn, Concerto, mvt. 1
8	Beethoven, Concerto, mvt. 1
8	Mozart, Concerto No. 5, K. 219, mvt. 1
8	Mozart, Concerto No. 4, K. 218, mvt. 1
8	Prokofiev, Concerto No. 2, mvt. 1
7	Paganini, Concerto No. 1, mvt. 1
7	Bach, Solo Sonatas and Partitas, any two contrasting movements

Viola Excerpts

The following list of viola orchestral excerpts was compiled by Wing Ho, recently appointed professor of viola at the Beijing Conservatory, after a survey of thirty American orchestras. These excerpts were selected for publication in the new Standard Orchestral Audition Excerpts for Viola, available in the United States from Cattle Publishing, based on the frequency of their appearance on the audition lists of the orchestras surveyed.

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Bartók	Concerto for Orchestra
	Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Beethoven	Symphony No. 3
	Symphony No. 5
	Symphony No. 9
Berlioz	Benvenuto Cellini Overture
	A Roman Carnival Overture
	Scherzo from Romeo and Juliet
Brahms	Symphony No. 2
	Symphony No. 4
	Variations on a Theme bv Haydn
Bruckner	Symphony No. 4
Mahler	Symphony No. 5
Mendelssohn	Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream Symphony No. 3
Mozart	The Magic Flute Overture
	The Marriage of Figaro Overture
	Symphony No. 35
	Symphony No. 39
	Symphony No. 40
Prokofiev	Symphony No. 5
Ravel	Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2
Schoenberg	Verklene Nacht
Shostakovich	Symphony No. 5
Strauss	Don Juan
	Don Quixote
	Ein Heldenleben
	Symphony No. 6
Wagner	Tannhause Overture

Solo Passages

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Enescu	Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
Ginastera	Variations Concertantes
Grieg	Holberg Suite
Kodaly	Hary Janos Suite
Prokofiev	Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2
Ravel	Mother Goose Suite
Liszt	Faust Symphony
Strauss	Don Quixote

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