LRSM Viola Guide: Advanced ABRSM Recital Planning
A practical guide to LRSM viola performance, including recital structure, Programme Notes, specialist options, Viva Voce and Quick Study.
LRSM viola is a major step beyond DipABRSM. The recital is longer, the Programme Notes need more technical and analytical substance, and the player must show a more independent musical identity.
In the ABRSM Performance Diploma Syllabus 2022, LRSM Music Performance includes a recital of about 40 minutes, Programme Notes of about 1,800 words, a Viva Voce and a Quick Study. The usual prerequisite is DipABRSM Music Performance in the instrument, or an accepted substitution.
For the full route, see the ABRSM viola diploma exam hub.
What changes after DipABRSM
| Area | DipABRSM | LRSM |
|---|---|---|
| Recital length | About 35 minutes | About 40 minutes |
| Written work | Audience-facing Programme Notes | More detailed and technical Programme Notes |
| Musical expectation | Secure first diploma playing | More sustained authority and stylistic independence |
| Options | Limited flexibility | Wider specialist options where appropriate |
LRSM should feel like a recital with a strong point of view. For viola candidates, that often means deciding what kind of violist the programme reveals: Classical, Romantic, modernist, chamber-minded, orchestral, or deeply centred in solo repertoire.
Repertoire direction
The LRSM viola list includes J.C. Bach, Bach cello suite groupings, Bartok, Bax, Berkeley, Bliss, Bloch, Brahms complete sonatas, Britten, Hindemith, Hoffmeister, Jacob, Maconchy, Martinu, Milhaud, Patterson, Rawsthorne, Reger, Reicha, Rivier, Rubbra, Schubert, Shostakovich, Stamitz, Vaughan Williams, Walton and Hugh Wood.
The list invites serious programming. A Brahms sonata can create one centre of gravity; solo Bach can create another. Hindemith, Martinu, Milhaud, Shostakovich or Walton can shift the recital toward twentieth-century language. The task is to make those choices speak to each other.
LRSM viola repertoire choices
| Composer | Repertoire choice |
|---|---|
| J.C. Bach | Concerto in C minor, arr. Casadesus: 2nd and 3rd movts (Salabert) |
| J.S. Bach | Cello Suite no.1 in G, BWV 1007: 1st, 2nd and 3rd movts, Prelude, Allemande and Courante, trans. Forbes (Chester) |
| J.S. Bach | Cello Suite no.2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 1st and 2nd movts, Prelude and Allemande, or 4th and 7th movts, Sarabande and Gigue, trans. Forbes (Chester) |
| J.S. Bach | Cello Suite no.3 in C, BWV 1009: 1st and 2nd movts, Prelude and Allemande, or 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th movts, Courante, Sarabande and Bourree I and II, trans. Forbes (Chester) |
| J.S. Bach | Cello Suite no.4 in E-flat, BWV 1010: 4th, 5th and 6th movts, Sarabande and Bourree I and II, trans. Forbes (Chester) |
| J.S. Bach | Cello Suite no.5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 4th, 5th and 6th movts, Sarabande and Gavotte I and II, trans. Forbes (Chester) |
| Bartok | Concerto: 1st movt (ed. Serly or Dellamaggiore/P. Bartok: Boosey & Hawkes) |
| Bax | Legend (Studio Music) |
| Bax | Sonata (1922): 1st movt (Studio Music) |
| L. Berkeley | Sonata in D minor, Op.22: complete (Chester) |
| Bliss | Sonata (1933): complete (OUP archive-Allegro) |
| Bloch | Suite (1919): complete (G. Schirmer) |
| Brahms | Sonata in F minor, Op.120 no.1: complete (Wiener Urtext) |
| Brahms | Sonata in E-flat, Op.120 no.2: complete (Wiener Urtext) |
| Britten | Elegy for solo viola (Faber) |
| Hindemith | Der Schwanendreher: 1st movt (Schott ED 2517) |
| Hindemith | Sonata in F, Op.11 no.4: complete (Schott ED 1976) |
| Hoffmeister | Concerto in B-flat: 1st movt (Schott ED 11247) |
| G. Jacob | Concerto no.1 in C minor: complete (Simrock) |
| G. Jacob | Concerto no.2 in G: complete (Simrock) |
| Maconchy | Any three of the 5 Sketches for solo viola (Chester) |
| Martinu | Rhapsody Concerto: 1st or 2nd movt (Barenreiter BA 4316a) |
| Milhaud | Sonata no.1, Op.240: complete (Heugel) |
| Milhaud | Sonata no.2, Op.244: complete (Heugel) |
| Paul Patterson | Tides of Mananan for solo viola (Weinberger) |
| Rawsthorne | Sonata: complete (OUP archive-Allegro) |
| Reger | Any two contrasting movements from one of the 3 Suites for solo viola, Op.131d: no.1 in G minor, no.2 in D, no.3 in E minor (Peters EP 3971) |
| J. Reicha | Concerto in E-flat, Op.2 no.1: 1st movt (Simrock) |
| Rivier | Concertino: 1st and 2nd movts (Salabert) |
| Rubbra | Concerto in A, Op.75: 1st movt (Lengnick) |
| Schubert | Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione”, D.821, arr. Wrochem: complete (Barenreiter BA 5683) |
| Shostakovich | Sonata, Op.147: 1st and 2nd movts (Boosey & Hawkes) |
| C. Stamitz | Concerto in D, Op.1: 1st movt (Peters EP 3816a) |
| Vaughan Williams | Suite for Viola: Group 2 complete (OUP) |
| Vaughan Williams | Suite for Viola: Group 3 complete (OUP) |
| Walton | Concerto: any two movts (OUP) |
| Hugh Wood | Variations, Op.1 (Chester) |
Programme planning
A strong LRSM viola programme should answer:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where is the programme’s centre? | The recital needs a musical argument |
| How does the viola’s colour change across the programme? | The instrument can sound monochrome if choices are too similar |
| What is the stamina demand? | Forty minutes exposes tension and inefficient shifting |
| What will the Programme Notes illuminate? | The writing should deepen the performance |
The safest programme is not always the easiest. It is the programme the candidate can keep alive through the whole span.
Programme Notes and Viva Voce
At LRSM, the notes should discuss musical content in more detail than DipABRSM. For viola, that might include register, texture, harmonic direction, transcribed source material, bowing choices, dialogue with the piano, or the way a composer writes for the instrument’s middle voice.
The Viva Voce should show that the player understands these issues from inside performance. It is not enough to know a composer’s dates. The candidate needs to explain why a phrase is shaped a certain way, why a movement sits well or awkwardly on the instrument, and how interpretation changes when the viola carries inner intensity rather than violinistic brilliance.
Specialist options
LRSM allows a specialist portion in suitable cases, including orchestral musician or chamber ensemble member. This can be attractive for violists because the instrument’s identity is so closely tied to ensemble playing.
Use the option only if it reflects genuine skill. A chamber or orchestral route should show listening, balance, cueing, articulation conventions and ensemble responsibility. It should not feel like a way of avoiding solo repertoire.
Next step
Candidates thinking beyond LRSM should read the FRSM viola guide early. FRSM changes the project by replacing Programme Notes with a substantial Written Submission.
