Having taken my LRSM exam in violin performance this past weekend, I thought I would put down some of the questions they asked in the exam if it is of help to others. Personally I thought that the questions were extremely broad and not as straightforward as the diploma. It was very conversational and I felt at times they were asking me "yes" or "no" questions but knew that I should elaborate ... Very awkward!

My program was:
Bach - Sonata for Solo Violin in G minor, 3rd and 4th movements
Mozart - Sonata in Eb major, K481, 1st and 2nd movements
Bruch - Concerto No. 1 in G minor, 1st movement
Suk - Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17, 3rd and 4th movements

1. (Opening question) What do you think is important when choosing a recital?
2. Who are your role models for violin?
3. It's interesting to note the Bach doesn't have any dynamics written in the piece. How did you approach this?
4. Do you think that Bach used anything odd in his harmonic structure of the piece?
5. Where there any drastic differences in the Baroque violin that affects how you play Bach today?
6. What do you think makes Mozart interesting?
7. Does Mozart use any unusual cadences in this piece?
8. Do you think that Mozart linked the violin to the voice at all?
9. Why do you think the Bruch is so popular?
10. Can you show us the harmonic structure of the concerto? Do you think it's in sonata form?
11. Are there any other interesting harmonic things happening in this piece?
12. You mentioned that Suk was influenced by Dvorak. Can you show us harmonically how he was influenced?
13. Do you think there are any Czech harmonies in this piece and can you show us where?
14. (Closing question) Do you have any questions for us?

Some of those sound quite tricky! How did you feel the exam went?

Personally, I left the exam room with no idea of how it went! The recital was okay. The page turner for the pianist said that it was brilliant and the examiners were beaming at the end of my Mozart, especially ... but he's a flute player so who knows ... I messed up some rhythm in the sight reading for sure because they gave me a piece that was really straightforward and then randomly threw in sextuplets ... I just couldn't get my head around it at the moment and kicked myself afterwards for how I played it. The viva voce was just WEIRD! As you can see the questions were (I thought) strangely worded and not very straightforward. It could have been due to the fact that I was being examined by non-string players (one was an organist and the other a sax player). It could have been they weren't quite sure how to ask me some things that they wanted to ask. Some questions I deliberately didn't answer in the way that I expect they wanted and I turned politician and changed them around a bit ... And now I have to wait three months! Agony!

I'm pleased to inform anyone interested that I now have my LRSM certificate! And I scored very strongly in all areas so all the worrying was for nothing. They said that my answers for the viva voce were concise and intelligent but they did mention something about me not directly answering a question on comparing the harmonic structure between Suk and Dvorak ... They added that they understood that I knew what I was talking about though.

Congratulations

Congratulations on your result.

I am also really impressed that with all the exam stress, you still managed to remember all the questions that they asked! But thank goodness you did. My instrument is not violin, but it is still so useful to see the questions as they help in my LRSM piano preparation.

Congratulations! You must be delighted - especially after a three month wait!

The questions in the viva certainly seem far more analytical than for the diploma - but I suppose that's to be expected really (I can't see myself being able to do the "turned politician and changed things around a bit" thing!).

It's great to get an idea of the kind of thing you may be asked, so thanks for posting them

Funnily enough I was going to comment on that particular question - very tough, I thought. I suppose there is an obvious connection there (wasn't Suk Dvorak's nephew or something?) which is obviously why you brought it up in the first place, but still difficult to give a detailed answer off the cuff (which, by the sounds of it, you cleverly avoided doing!).

And well done!

Congratulations!!

Well done, scifi-karis!

Suk married Dvorak's daughter! He was a pupil of Dvorak's as well, so had a lot of musical influence from him I think, although my research said that he had his own distinct style that wasn't really related to other Czech composers. When the examiners asked how they were harmonically related I told them that Dvorak wrote "4 Romantic Pieces" for violin which were similar in structure and style to the pieces that I played by Suk ... I went into quite a lot of detail comparing the two pieces and avoided the question ...

Thanks to everyone for the congrats! I'm pretty happy! Now I can start working more seriously on my audition pieces ...

Congratulations Scifi.

Cngratulations.

Congratulations... and now onto the next project!

Let's hope the audition is as successful.

Many congratulations scifi-karis
Llongyfarchiadau ( Congrats in Welsh)
You certainly impressed the examiners with your playing and your musical insights in the Viva, so well done on all fronts.
What is the audition for?

I'm hoping to do my Master's in music within the next two years once I finish my current contract. I'm looking at Israel and Germany at the moment but really don't have any idea what I'm doing or where exactly I should look! Basically I'd like to be a better player in general but my line of work would mean that I should look more at pedagogy courses as well.

A Master's in Music - is it Violin Performance? That is great news - best of luck with it scifi, and good luck in deciding whether to go to Israel or Germany to study for it.

Yes, in violin performance, although I wouldn't mind chamber music, orchestra or pedagogy! Israel is top on my list but the question is whether I can pass the auditions!