Maximum length of total combined performance of all three works – 20 minutes

Competitors will perform works that fulfill all of the following criteria, and each video recording shall be made from start to finish without cuts and/or splices. Each work shall be uploaded separately. Since it will be a blind review process, do not include your name on the videos or on the titles of your video files:

1. Virtuosic piece of choice (examples include, but are not limited to, Paganini’s 24 Caprices or the Penderecki Cadenza for Solo Viola);
2. The Prelude of a Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suite, the Preludio of Partita No. 3 in E Major, or the first movement of a Violin Sonata, transcribed for viola; and
3. First Movement of Carl Philipp Stamitz Viola Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 1 or Franz Anton Hoffmeister Viola Concerto in D Major, both including cadenzas.

Minimum length of performance – 20 minutes; Maximum length of performance – 25 minutes

The 24 competitors in the Quarter-Final Round will perform works that fulfill all three of the following criteria:

1. One major work for solo viola from the list below. Competitors may choose to play one or more movements from the same work to maintain time constraints; however, portions of movements are not permitted:
   • Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Solo Viola No. 1, Op. 11, No. 5 (1919); No. 2, Op. 25, No. 1 (1922); No. 3, Op. 31, No. 4 (1923); or No. 4 (1937)
   • Max Reger: Any of the Drei Suiten (Three Suites) for Solo Viola, Op. 131d (1915)
   • Ernst Krenek: Sonata for Viola Solo, Op. 92, No. 3 (1942)
2. One piece of choice with piano accompaniment from a category below:
   • Transcribed piece for viola – the transcription can be their own OR a transcription by William Primrose. Some Primrose transcriptions are listed in the PDF called “Primrose Transcriptions” below for reference. (Note: competitors who choose to perform the Weber Andante e rondo ungarese must use the Primrose transcription)
   • Virtuosic piece (examples include, but are not limited to, Paganini Sonata per la Grand Viola and Enescu Concertstück)
3. One piece for solo viola or for viola & piano by a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) composer. Competitors may refer to a list of suggested works here, but are not limited to these works. (Note: while the database is rather broad, competitors must choose a work specifically by a BIPOC composer to fulfill this requirement.)

Maximum length of performance – 50 minutes 

 The eight competitors in the Semi‐Final Round will perform works that fulfill the requirements below: 

1.  Any two contrasting movements of a solo work by Johann Sebastian Bach (one movement can have been used in the pre-screening round);
2. The commissioned work for viola and piano by composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama for the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition, lasting from 5-7 minutes (All live round competitors will have access to the score in March 2024); and  
3. A complete major work for Viola and Piano (Selections include, but are not limited to: Clarke Sonata, a Brahms Sonata, Rochberg Sonata, any Hindemith Sonata for Viola, Bloch Suite 1919, Shostakovich Sonata, Bax Sonata, Bowen Sonata, Walker Sonata, Rubinstein Sonata, any Juon Sonata, Vieuxtemps Sonata, etc.) 

Each of the three competitors in the Final Round will perform, in its entirety, Claude Debussy Trio for Flute, Viola and Pedal Harp (1915); and either the Bela Bartók Viola Concerto (ed. Serly) or William Walton Viola Concerto with orchestra.