 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-06 02:46
I will be a senior in HS this coming year and I really want a great, fun, challenging, and very musical Concerto that I can play for our Concerto competition, State solos, and college auditions. I want to start pretty soon on this piece and I would love your opinions.
Freshman year I took Alleluja by Mozart. Sophomore year was Scene and Air by Bergsen. Junior year was Concertino by von Weber. I've been in All-District Band for 3 years and All-State for 1. I didn't start to really practice until my junior year (last year) and so I am experiencing a big leap in my playing level. Right now my teacher is having me learn Premiere Rhapsody by Debussy as a solo to learn over the summer for fun (and so I'll be acquainted with it before college). I like the Crusell Concerto no. 2 (3rd movement), but it seems too easy and it also isn't musical enough for me. I loved the musicality in Concertino-it was so beautiful! I am also learning the Weber Concerto no.1 in my free time and I don't think that I should be taking 2 Webers in a row and that I should branch out.
Here's a link to what solos I can take:
http://gradedmusic.ihigh.com/form.php
Musical Type:Instrumental
Event: Bb Clarinet Solo
Grade: A
Then press search.
Thanks for your help! The more musical the better!
How would the Neilsen Fantasy be? I love how it sounds and it is SO BEAUTIFUL!
Post Edited (2005-07-06 03:09)
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2005-07-06 03:15
Fantasy and Variations by Spohr is a good single-movement piece that lasts about 8 minutes or so. Starts out in a very tense minor key, so it's quite a different direction than Weber.
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-06 04:41
Have a look at the Franz Anton Rossler Clarinet Concerto in Eb.
Look through the Langenus Books 2 and 3 for hints on how to play the grace notes; and compare them to the (to me) much less attractive phrasing advice provided by Himie Voxman.
The piano reduction is by Richard Hervig, who also wrote the cadenza that closes out the first movement. It has a great concentricity with the style and chord structure of the first movement; but you might find it interesting to further embellish/extend it.
The second movement, a Romance, is wondeful; and the interaction with your accompaniest makes it a real duet.
Play the 1/32nd notes in the Rondo quite fast!
You also might want to have a look at the Saint-Saens Opus 167 Sonata for Clarinet in Eb. If you want to show off your exquisite throat tones, the first movement is where its at. I think that this piece has elements of the fire of his opus 28 for fiddle: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.
Enjoy your work.
The piece calls for a lot of sublety in its musicianship.
The
Bob Phillips
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2005-07-06 06:17
Well, right off I was going to suggest Arlequin by Louis Cahuzac, but that's not on the list. :^(
The Osborne Rhapsody is deceptively complicated and requires SO much musicality to pull it off. Same goes for the Stravinsky Three Pieces. Sutermeister Capriccio is fun. The Alwyn Sonata is nice, but it really needs your full attention or it will become boring for you as a player.
Those are my suggestions. Not so good for a concerto competition, but honestly, Missouri's state list is kind of crappy, not a whole lot of choice there!
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Author: William
Date: 2005-07-06 16:29
The Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A should be on everyone's repretoire list--and being a senior in HS, that might be a good choice (as well as "the right time") for you.
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Author: Tom Piercy
Date: 2005-07-06 17:16
Getting back to your request -
You wrote that you are looking for a Concerto to play for your school's concerto competition and which you can also use for your State solos, and college auditions.
From your state's list, here are some very nice Concertos that I think are suitable for competitions and also suitable for college auditions.
Busoni Concertino Op. 48
(Good piece - not played very often.)
Cavallini Adago and Tarantella
(I've seen an arrangement of this for cl w/ band and cl w/ orch. OK piece - but maybe not as challenging as you are looking for.))
Dello Joio Concertante
(Good piece - not played very often.)
Finzi Concerto
(Excellent piece! - not played very often.)
Krommer (listed as Kramer in your state list) Concerto in Eb
(Excellent piece - a nice break from all the Mozart and Weber being played by others, but perhaps not as challenging as you are looking for.)
Spohr Concerto No. 1
(Excellent piece! - technically and musically challenging.)
Tom
www.thomaspiercy.com
Tom Piercy
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Author: rc_clarinetlady
Date: 2005-07-06 20:37
For the benefit of those making suggestions..........
Missouri requirements are that the selection has to be a minimum of 3 minutes long and a maximum of 7 minutes. That 7 minutes includes the tuning time too. If you choose something shorter than 3 minutes then there is the option to play two contrasting pieces or two movements from the same concerto. If the selection isn't three minutes then the rating will go down by one number ( and I becomes a II etc.).
If you go over the 7 minutes you aren't penalized as far as your rating goes but you will usually be stopped before you're done. A bummer if you can't do your finale on your piece. It's best to play something that fits into the 7 minute window or find the cuts that work best for contest pieces.
I second the idea of the Poulenc 1st or 3rd mvt. for you Carrie. You will love the 3rd. movt. Play it just for fun this summer if nothing else. I have it if you want to borrow it for awhile. I also love the Mozart k. 622. You should do it sometime if you haven't studied it yet. Email me if you need the Poulenc or the Mozart.
Rebecca
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2005-07-06 20:56
Having judged and observed the judging process for my orchestra's young artists concerto competition, I think, if you want to win, you need a piece that can stand up to the competition and will appeal to judges who play a wide variety of instruments. That means, as a work, it must compare favorably to Beethoven, Mozart, Prokofiev and Shostakovich piano concertos, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Mozart violin concertos, etc. Having a work composed by a recognizable master won't hurt.
Even if you didn't want to branch out from the works of Mozart and Weber, of the works with orchestra on the Missouri list (which I happen to think is a pretty good one, BTW), the piece that I think would give you the best chance to win a concerto competition is the Debussy "Premier Rhapsody." It's fun, it displays your technique (including dynamics, phrasing, rhythm and tempo), it has moments of sheer beauty and it's by a master equal in stature to those your competition will select. It also is short enough for you to perform the entire work rather than a single movement, finding the parts won't frustrate the orchestra's librarian and renting them won't break the orchestra's budget. My second choice would be the first movement of Spohr's first concerto.
Except for the Riotti, Rossler and Rueff, I've listened to recordings of all the works (with orchestra) on the list and I've at least read through all them except Rueff. My favorite concerto from the 20th century is Finzi and I think Dello Joio and Seiber would be great fun to perform. If, however, our conductor offered me an opportunity to play any one work on the list, it would be the Jacob "Mini Concerto" hands down. But I think if you want to win a concerto competition, you should prepare Debussy.
Best regards,
jnk
BTW, is there an orchestral version of the Nielsen Fantasistykke?
Post Edited (2005-07-06 21:10)
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-07 03:26
Wow, thank you all for your suggestions! I'll gladly accept any others too!
I'm going through amazon.com and listening to the 1 minute sample of each of the pieces you all have given me. They are all very great! I couldn't find the Krommer/Kramer concerto or the Spohr Fantasy and Variations though.
I think MO has a pretty good list too. So many choices and there are ways of getting solos added to the list as well, you just have to know the right people .
It seems like clarinetist04 favors unaccompanied solos
Yeah, I could take the Debussy which I have started working on. It's a very possible idea.
Thanks! I'll have to listen to these again and write down my comments and really think about this! Thank you all again!
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2005-07-07 04:34
I found the Krommer fairly quickly at Amazon. Search on "Krommer clarinet." The first hit was a Naxos recording with Kalman Berkes. Krommer actually wrote four clarinet concerti, two for one clarinet and two for two clarinets. The one on your list is Op. 36. It is a sunny piece and great fun to play and listen to, IMO not overly difficult from a technical standpoint.
For the Spohr, search Amazon on "Spohr clarinet." The "Fantasy and Variations (on a Theme of Danzi)" Op. 81 are on the Naxos recording of Spohr's 2nd and 4th concerti with Ernst Ottensamer. Scroll down the list a few items.
Or, you can go to the Naxos website (www.naxos.com). If you register under their free option, you can listen to the first 25% of each movement. They also have a recording of the Finzi.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-07 04:49
Wow, thanks Jack! I think I just don't know how to use their search engines that well! Good info to know about Naxos! Thank you!
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