Klarinet Archive - Posting 000708.txt from 2001/03

From: rgarrett@-----.edu
Subj: Re: [kl] College Students/Orchestra Discussion
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 08:33:02 -0500

At 01:04 AM 03/28/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>For those who have had orchestral experience and have taken many auditions
>please explain to me
>what a panel looks for other than the obvious things? Basically I am
>asking is there only one true way to playing a given excerpt? By this I
>mean should there be a universal way to playing a piece whereby whoever is
>judging me should be able to juxtapose my playing to the standard way that
>it should go? And of course I understand that you would adhere to the
>markings by the composer. For example, I know you would take Beethoven
>literally with dynamics.

You've asked a bunch of very important questions - all of which have
several possible answers. Many of those answers are dependent upon certain
criteria: which orchestra? who sits in the top chair? who conducts?
etc........ Knowing there are a number of possible answers for each
question you have asked, I would suggest that this posting be read only as
one possibility - that it represents personal experiences as well as those
learned from others in the same ensembles I participate in.

First - a panel comprised of woodwind players and a conductor might look
for the following: Tone quality, pitch, and rhythm. In the big auditions
for the big jobs - these are usually a given. Rhythm is something that is
carefully scrutinized however - as is personal expression and a performance
that shows experience in having played the music before. What I mean by
that is if you are playing Beethoven 6 second movement - are you not only
in rhythm but does it sound in your playing as though you are hearing the
violin accompaniment or answering 8th notes during the rests? You ask if
Beethoven can be taken literally - and the answer is yes - perhaps 5
different literal ways/interpretations. Hopefully your teacher has been
able to present one or two good or proper approaches to Beethoven. The
variables in interpretation are many - but if you were to play Beethoven
with too much freedom, it wouldn't necessarily go over well with a panel.

Keep in mind that the panel discusses you in terms of your overall playing
ability, your ability to express and blend with them (if they are ww
players or principals in the ensemble), and if they could perform well with
you in the section. The conductor, if part of the panel, is thinking all
of those things as well as tapping or conducting along - one 16th note out
of place, and you might be history. Perhaps the most common example would
be when young auditionees play the Concerto by Mozart and during the half
note tied to the first 16th note of a 16th note run up (5th measure of the
solo), do you jump the gun by a 32nd note or are you too late off the tie
by the same amount? These are the kinds of rhythmic things I mean.

>Assuming that I have a great tone, wonderful tonguing, excellent phrasing,
>projection, great technique ect., does the panel listen for the cookie
>cutter obvious in playing the excerpt or something more? Or is it just
>that, assuming I have all these wonder attributes about my playing is that
>what will make me the best candidate for
>the job.

You may have a great tone - but perhaps one that the conductor hears as
having too much projection or too many high partials in the sound - or
perhaps it doesn't have enough. The panel is looking for a specific blend
and sound - your's might not be what they are looking for. I'm thinking of
the Philadelphia Orchestra auditions a couple of years ago - the person who
got the job had the specific kind of sound the panel was looking for. The
runner up was at least as good a player in all regards - but he may not
have gotten it because his sound was different than what they were looking for.

> I think I am sometimes confused with the roll of the excerpts. Are they
> tools to demonstrate my playing or are they strict examples of symphonic
> music in which I am to play until I find someone who likes the way I play
> them? I know that this is a lot to ask but starting grad school and being
> bombarded by so many excerpts has lead me to ask these questions.

They demonstrate your playing ability evidenced by tone, technique(s),
expressive qualities, and experience in performance.

Hope this helps........there will, undoubtedly, be some very good,
interesting, and perhaps opposing answers.

Best wishes,
Roger Garrett

Roger Garrett
Clarinet Professor
Director, Symphonic Winds
Illinois Wesleyan University
School of Music
Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
Phone: (309) 556-3268
Fax: (309) 556-3121

From the London Daily News, circa 1926:

"The saxophone is a long metal instrument bent at both ends. It is alleged
to be musical. As regards markings, the creature has a series of tiny taps
stuck upon it, apparently at random. These taps are very sensitive: when
touched they cause the instrument to utter miserable sounds suggesting
untold agony. Sometimes it bursts into tears. At either end there is a
hole. People, sometimes for no reason at all, blow down the small end of
the saxophone which then shrieks and moans."

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