FTCL Viola Guide: Trinity Fellowship Performance Diploma

FTCL viola is Trinity’s fellowship-level performance diploma. It is assessed as Approved or Not Approved, with a recital duration of 42-48 minutes and a written programme that includes 1,200-1,600 words of programme notes.

Trinity does not set a formal prerequisite, but the syllabus strongly advises candidates to have attained LTCL in the same subject or an equivalent Level 6 performance qualification. In practical terms, FTCL should feel like a postgraduate-level recital project.

For the broader route, see the Trinity viola diploma exam hub.

What makes FTCL different

Area	FTCL expectation
Recital	A mature 42-48 minute fellowship-level performance
Programme notes	1,200-1,600 words across the performed pieces
Assessment	Approved or Not Approved
Programme identity	Coherent, contrasting and artistically persuasive

At this level, a violist cannot rely on the attractiveness of the repertoire alone. The programme needs a clear artistic reason to exist.

Repertoire direction

The 2026 Trinity FTCL viola list includes Bach solo violin sonatas or partitas, Bartok Concerto, Bax Sonata, Bowen Concerto, Clarke Sonata, Henze Serenade for Solo Viola, Hindemith Der Schwanendreher, Kammermusik no.5 and 1939 Sonata, Ligeti Sonata, Milhaud Concerto no.2, Paganini Caprices, La Campanella, Penderecki Cadenza and Concerto, Schnittke Concerto, Shostakovich Sonata, Takemitsu A Bird Came down the Walk, Walton Concerto and Wiesenberg Monodialogue.

This is not simply a harder list. It is a list that asks what kind of advanced violist the candidate is: a solo Bach player, a concerto player, a modernist, a chamber-minded storyteller, or someone shaping the viola’s twentieth-century voice.

FTCL viola repertoire choices

Composer	Repertoire choice	Edition
Bach, J S	Any one of 3 Sonatas and 3 Partitas for Solo Violin	Peters
Bartok	Concerto	Boosey
Bax	Sonata	Studio
Bowen	Concerto	Weinberger
Clarke	Sonata	Chester
Henze	Serenade for Solo Viola	Schott
Hindemith	Der Schwanendreher	Schott
Hindemith	Kammermusik no. 5, op. 36/4	Schott
Hindemith	Sonata for Viola and Piano, 1939	Schott
Ligeti	Sonata	Schott
Milhaud	Concerto no. 2	Heugel
Paganini	Caprices, a selection	Peters
Paganini	La Campanella	Schott
Penderecki	Cadenza	Schott
Penderecki	Concerto	Schott
Schnittke	Concerto	Sikorski
Shostakovich	Sonata, op. 147	Schirmer
Takemitsu	A Bird Came down the Walk	Schott
Walton	Concerto	OUP
Wiesenberg	Monodialogue: a Fantasy for Solo Viola	Schott

Programme notes

FTCL programme notes should be informative, accessible and connected to the actual recital. For viola candidates, good topics might include:

Topic area	Possible focus
Viola idiom	Register, resonance, bow weight and projection
Transcription	What changes when Bach violin music is played on viola
Modern repertoire	How Hindemith, Ligeti, Penderecki or Schnittke reshape viola language
Concerto role	How the viola projects against piano reduction or ensemble texture
Programme arc	Why the recital moves through these works in this order

The notes should help the listener hear the programme better. They should also help the candidate clarify interpretation before the recording or exam day.

Recital pacing

A 42-48 minute viola recital needs careful pacing. Too much dense modern writing can become exhausting; too much lyrical warmth can become static. The programme needs contrast of texture, register, attack, harmonic language and emotional temperature.

Full-run recordings are essential. Listen for whether the tone remains alive near the end, whether intonation narrows under fatigue, and whether the final piece feels like a destination rather than simply the last item left.

Before entering

FTCL is worth waiting for. Enter when the recital sounds like a complete artistic statement and the programme notes can explain that statement clearly.

Candidates still building toward this level should compare LTCL viola.