 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-07-16 21:20
I'm starting college in the fall. I'm playing the second two of the Stravinsky Three Pieces and the 2nd movement of the Mozart for my orchestra audition. The audition is without accompaniment.
I'm having trouble with the phrasing of the Mozart. Without the accompaniment, my playing sounds like two bars, pause, two bars, pause and so on instead of a continuous line. It's hard to sustain the phrasing. Is it musically legitimate to hold over the rests a little bit so they aren't so long? Or is there some other way to make it sound less interrupted? Even if I try to think it into one phrase, if I'm playing the rhythms as written it still sounds fragmented. Or is it just inevitable that it will sound this incomplete unaccompanied?
Thanks,
Micaela
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-07-16 23:34
I realize this doesn't answer your question, but I played the exact same two songs for my first college auditions (I doubt I had anymore luck with the phrasing than you are at the moment!!)... small world = )
DH - theclarinetist@yahoo.com
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-07-16 23:53
Playing for an audition without accompaniment is difficult without doubt. It is legitimate to sustain a little longer in these circumstances. A slow movement is a good opportunity to show off your lyrical side and tone. Although it is difficult you should be singing the melodic line at least of the accompaniment in you head during the rests to maintain the integrity of the work. Make a demonstrable break in your performance during longer rests to give yourself a short rest. One of the most noticeable aspects of this type of performance is the tendency to rush, you hear it all the time. Best of luck.
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Author: vin
Date: 2003-07-17 00:01
If you can imagine the orchestra part while you are playing and especially during the rest, you will go along way toward making the listener feel the long phrase, even with the two bar rests. I would say that a little holding over will help some but only enough to make it not sound clipped. Also, of course it's going to sound quite naked without the accompianment. Tape yourself and see if the line is in fact coming through, you might suprise yourself. Listen to your favorite recording, whether it be marcellus, wright, meyer, shifrin, whoever, and see if you can image if the orchestra isn't there. Then listen to the tape of yourself and compare/contrast. What school are you going to?
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Author: Shawn
Date: 2003-07-17 00:24
Micaela-
Unlike everyone else, I would tell you to definitely NOT hold over into the rests. If you are auditioning for your school's orchestra, they are going to want to hear you play the Mozart with rhythmical accuracy, along with every other little musical nuance. And, regardless of their instrumental background, they are going to know that selection (and if they don't then they should). You can make the 2nd mov. work without hanging over. And yes, you do need to hear the orchestral line internally, or there will be a lack of continuity.
*A conductor might think that if you play through the rests on this piece then you'll probably play through the rests in every orchestral piece as well.
Just a difference of opinion, and good luck.
-Shawn
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Author: krawfish3x
Date: 2003-07-17 13:26
i dont know how much this will help, but if you can get a recording of it. my favorite is Marcellus'.
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Author: R13A
Date: 2003-07-17 15:58
yes, my favorite is also the Marcellus recording.
Obtain a cd of it and as you listen to it, read the music......over and over.
Note his musicanship .........the nuances, subtleties, control, expressiveness. Feel and sense the spirit of the music.......where it's going and how it's getting there.......you are not playing it, you are COMMUNICATING it.
ARTICULATION.......not only tonguing styles but how each note is approached, held onto/pushed and released.
RHYTHM RHYTHM RHYTHM
For better control and preciseness, you may want to consider thinking it in 6/8 time.
Different editions have different phrasings, articulations.
Also, the cadenza....depending on which edition you have, eg: look at the phrasing in the Baermann edition compared to the Bellison (Carl Fischer) edition.
As an example of communicating it......this movement was used in the movie OUT OF AFRICA.......if need be, rent the movie and note the scenes/scenery while this is being played.
regards
dennis
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-07-17 16:17
R13A said:
>Also, the cadenza....depending on which edition you have
The Mozart Concerto does not contain a cadenza...GBK
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Author: R13A
Date: 2003-07-17 18:20
GBK
hello again
one of the editions I have, Simeon Bellison/Carl Fischer, dating back to the 1960's......
pg. 9, 6th measure after letter D.......begins with a Bb with a hold.
At this point, there is an asterisk. At the bottom of the page, the asterisk denotes " CADENZA BY CARL BAERMANN ".
There is no other measure markings until letter E. The type size for this length of notes is in 'cadenza' format.
I intentionally mentioned 'cadenza' under the terminology of different editions.
I do, however, agree/concede/beg your forgiveness that technically speaking, there is no 'cadenza' as intended by Mr. Wonderful, aka Mozart.
![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
regards
dennis
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-07-17 18:42
R13A... The 1943 Carl Fischer/Bellison edition of the Mozart Concerto is one of the worst (if not the worst) edition available. It certainly is the cheapest - and I suppose you get what you pay for.
Aside from the above mentioned gaffe with the term "cadenza", there are numerous questionable notes and trills(!), the articulation is highly inconsistant, awkward and an annoyance to fix, the dynamic markings are often surprising (to say the least), and with recent attempts to reconstruct the basset clarinet version this edition is badly outdated.
Put that edition out with yesterday's trash, where it belongs...GBK
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2003-07-17 19:13
Bärenreiter: Neue Ausgabe of Mozart's complete works probably the best.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-07-17 19:24
I think the 3 editions which offer the most recent insight and thought, yet leave the door open for one to make the Concerto a personalized piece would be the 1977 Bärenreiter edition (edited by Giegling), the 1974 Schott edition (edited by Hacker) or the 1987 Breitkopf and Härtel edition (re-edited by the Trio Di Clarone) ...GBK
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-07-17 22:21
I listened to an interview with the wonderful (late) Isaac Stern that was rebroadcast as part of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.
One point he made that is valid to all instrumentalists is to develop your own style of playing and NOT to copy someone elses.
This rings especially true when you consider the robots that Juliard (for example) turns out: almost without exception they play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at the EXACT same tempo - with the EXACT same nuances and slides ... I'm sorry - their techniques are marvellous but their interpretations are stolen. The funny thing about this is that they all play it like Stern!!
I have heard Stern play live and it was a thorouhly humbling experience - he played the Bach E Major and the Berg Violin Concerti in the early 80s when he came here on tour.
If your teacher can listen to you and then direct your to think about how you feel the music is and guide you to perfecting your own interpretation - then your teacher is a true musican - IMHO.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-07-18 02:44
Thanks for all the advice!!!
For the record, I genuflect before the Marcellus recording regularly (not only am I a Marcellus fan, I have about a dozen of those George Szell/Cleveland "Essential Classics" CDs and love all of them). I have Sabine Meyer's basset clarinet version too but I prefer Marcellus. And I have the 1987 Breitkopf edition GBK mentioned. It seems I'm on top of things for once.  And I play the concerto on A clarinet, of course.
I haven't worked on this concerto in my lessons for a while; I'm going to bring it to my next lesson and ask my teacher the same question. I'll try out all your suggestions and see how they work for me. Thanks again!
diz- Funny thing, I've performed the Bach E major concerto about 10 times now (it was our big string orchestra piece last year and I was the soloist). Just try keeping a high school orchestra in tune while playing in E major...yikes. Regarding individuality, the same situation can even be seen in my (now former) youth orchestra, where most of the 1st violin section studies with the same teacher- they all play the same music very well but exactly the same. I usually distinguish myself by playing unusual repertoire (Mozart being an obvious exception) but I do my best to have individual interpretations and a personal sound too (rich and dark instead of the glassy clearness everyone seems to go for now).
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