Klarinet Archive - Posting 000128.txt from 1999/11

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Re: Mozart as an audition piece
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1999 18:41:33 -0500

On Thu, 4 Nov 1999, Tony Pay wrote:

> Well, the short answer is that for various reasons, I don't think
> the Mozart is the best piece to set in order to get an idea of how
> suitable a candidate is for an orchestral position.

I think I understand what you are saying. However, in the orchestra in
which I play and at the university at which I teach, whenever we have an
opening for a woodwind player, we always specify the appropriate concerto
by Mozart as the solo piece, or one of the solo pieces. (For flute, the D
major concerto; for oboe the C major, which is the same work as the
above; for clarinet, K. 292; and for bassoon, K. 191.) I have observed
that in many audition situations, the same procedure applies.

Naturally, especially if the position in question is an orchestral one,
there will be other music on the audition list, specifically, orchestral
excerpts. But, our reasons for choosing Mozart include the fact that
listening to how a player handles various aspects of the music of Mozart,
one can make an excellent assessment of many of the player's attributes -
how rhythmic they are, their tone quality and intonation, how refined
their technique is, etc. I can't think of any other music that leaves so
little to the imagination of the auditioning committee. This has little
if anything to do with what choices the player makes concerning style or
ornamentation. At that point, we are trying to determine something far
more basic or fundamental about the player.

A far worse choice is to try to pick something obscure in the hope that
the committee won't be familiar with it and that the candidate will
therefore be able to cover up any possible inaccuracies. Similarly,
choosing an avant garde or aleatoric work will generally leave the
committee completely perplexed about what the candidate can actually do.
Another trap into which young players sometimes fall is choosing something
with millions of fast notes, in an attempt to impress the committee with
their technique. Normally, we assume that players in such situations have
adequate technique; what we want to know is whether they can play
musically.

Sometimes, such an audition list will include various standard excerpts,
and a "solo of the applicant's choice." The widely and commonly held
understanding is that if they say that, what they mean is that "if you are
smart, you will choose Mozart."

I can say only that from personal experience that I feel in a much better
position to make a fair and accurate assessment of an auditioners
abilities after hearing them play Mozart.

Just my experince and my viewpoint.......

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu

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