Comparative Violin/Viola Repertoire

March 11, 2015 at 10:30 PM · For the Walton (I've not studied Bartok or Schwanendreher), I'd say the Dvorak was the nearest fit difficulty-wise (Mendelssohn being a little easier). For Stamitz, I'd say Mozart 3, though Mozart is always more testing than anyone else. I've not studied the Bruch Romanze, but from the look of it, I'd have thought the Beethoven Romanzen were similar (the G-major is slightly more difficult than the F-major).

Walton, Bartok and Hindemith all wrote violin concertos, so you could perhaps expect to find these to be comparable in difficulty to their viola concertos.

March 11, 2015 at 11:05 PM · Mr.Rokos,

Thank you very much for your input! All of the pieces you've mentioned are ones I'm familiar with, and they're all wonderful. I will probably learn the Mozart first - never a bad thing to practice one's technique! The Dvorak will definitely be a tough one, and the Mendelssohn has always been one of my favorites (as well as being another hard one). Your comparison of the Bruch Romanze the Beethoven Romanzen seems spot on to me. They're definitely comparable in difficulty, and by looking at the music alone, I believe the Bruch falls right in between the F-Major and the G-Major.

Thank you again!

March 11, 2015 at 11:36 PM · Mozarts 4 & 5 are more difficult and testing than 3. They're certainly worth going for if you're a bit beyond Stamitz and Hofmeister on the viola. And if you can listen to yourself when playing them and adapt your playing to the way you know they should sound, it'll improve your all-round playing no end.

March 12, 2015 at 01:20 AM · I think I'm going to shy away from Mozart's 4th and 5th for now haha. I've heard nothing but horror stories for both of them, and I feel like my technique on violin isn't quite ready for them. I'm currently looking at the Walton on viola, but on violin I've never played anything difficult. It's always been a side instrument for me that I play for fun or when my school asks me to. I'll definitely follow that advice! I've found myself doing it often with pieces I've listened to, but never gave it any thought.