Klarinet Archive - Posting 000152.txt from 1999/11

From: chi chan <lokshing@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Mozart as an audition piece
Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1999 02:28:52 -0500

Great, I am a mozart lover. I bet that's why I palyed clarinet for 43 years
and only can play Mozart,s piece.

Wayne

Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> 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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