Entry Exam For The BBC Symphony Orchestra
--Viola Players

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) Faur's Requiem
c) Wagner's Ring Cycle
[5 pts.]

2. Tchaikovsky wrote 6 symphonies, including Symphony No. 4. 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 you 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 Blyton
[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 expect to 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. Arrange the following words into the name of a well-known Puccini opera.
Bohme, La
[5 pts.]

12. Within five minutes, how long is Chopin's Minute Waltz?
[5 pts.]

13. From which of the following countries did Richard Strauss come?
a) Venezuela
b) Sri Lanka
c) Germany
d) Japan
[5 pts.]

14. For what town were Haydn's "Paris" Symphonies written?
[5 pts.]

15. 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.]

16. From which song do the following lines come?
"God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen."
[5 pts.]

17. Spell the following musical terms.
allegro
rallentando
crotchet
pizzicato
intermezzo
[5 pts.]

18. Tosca is a character found in which Puccini opera?
[5 pts.]

19. Arrange the following letters to form the abbreviation for a well-known British broadcasting corporation.
C, B, B.
[5 pts.]

Back to the funnies page