Entrance
Exam for Violists for the BBC Orchestra
The pass mark is 10% but be careful -- over 45% and you are
overqualified.
1. Who wrote the following:
a) Beethoven's Symphony No. 6
b) Faurè's Requiem
c) Wagner's Ring Cycle
[5 pts.]
2. Tchaikovsky wrote 6 symphonies including Symphony No. 5. Name the
other five.
[5 pts.]
3. Explain counterpoint or write your name on the reverse of the paper
[10 pts.]
4. Which of the following would you tuck under your chin?
a) a timpani
b) an organ
c) a 'cello
d) a viola
[1 pt.]
5. Can you explain sonata form? (Answer yes or no.)
[5 pts.]
6. Which of the following literary works was made the subject of a
Verdi opera?
a) First Among Equals -- Jeffrey Archer
b) Macbeth -- William Shakespeare
c) Noddy and Big Ears -- Enid Blynton
[5 pts.]
7. Domenico Scarlatti wrote 555 harpsichord sonatas for which
instrument?
[5 pts.]
8. Arrange the following movements in order of speed, starting with the
slowest first.
a) Quickly
b) Slowly
c) Very Quickly
d) At a Moderate Pace
[4 pts.]
9. Where would you normally find the conductor during a performance?
[5 pts.]
10. Which of the following wrote incidental music to A Midsummer
Night's Dream?
a) Des O'Connor
b) Mickey Mouse
c) Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
d) Terry Wogan
[5 pts.]
11. Which of the following is the odd one out?
a) Sir Colin Davis
b) Andrew Davis
c) Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
d) Desmond Lynham
[5 pts.]
12. Arrange the following words into the name of a well-known Puccini
opera.
Bohème, La
[5 pts.]
13. Within five minutes, how long is Chopin's Minute Waltz?
[5 pts.]
14. From which of the following countries did Richard Strauss come?
a) Venezuela
b) Sri Lanka
c) Germany
d) Japan
[5 pts.]
15. For which town were Haydn's Paris Symphonies written?
[5 pts.]
16. Which is the odd one out?
a) Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet --Tchaikovsky
b) Romeo and Juliet --Berlioz
c) Romeo and Juliet Ballet -- Prokofiev
d) Ten Green Bottles -- anon.
[5 pts.]
17. From which song do the following lines come?
"God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen."
[5 pts.]
18. Spell the following musical terms.
allegro
rallentando
crotchet
pizzicato
intermezzo
[5 pts.]
19. Tosca is a character found in which Puccini opera?
[5 pts.]
20. Arrange the following letters to form the abbreviation for a well
known British broadcasting
corporation.
C, B, B.
[5 pts.]
