 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: NHClarinetLady23
Date: 2008-08-08 00:34
What do you all think of the Weber Concertino as an audition piece? Do you think it has enough "noodles"? If not, what is a better piece?
Thanks! :-)
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-08-08 05:02
Generally it is a pretty good choice as it showcases many different things all in a short package. opinions do vary though.
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: thedean
Date: 2008-08-08 05:32
I suggest something similar by Weber.
Introduktion, Thema, und Variationen.
Obviously you can choose which variations you play or don't play, but it showcases a lot of aspects of the clarinet and is as much of a show piece as the Concertino, but obviously a little shorter and i think easier to learn.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yYON_QEr4
you get an idea, but this one is way faster than it should be..
Enjoy,
Dean Hayhow
- Music Teacher, Australia
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Author: John25
Date: 2008-08-08 11:08
Dean - Weber had no connection with the "Introduction, Theme & Variations" once published under his name. The work is in fact Josef Küffner's First Clarinet Quintet, op.32 (see my article in "The Clarinet" in 1986, vol.13, no.4).
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Author: NHClarinetLady23
Date: 2008-08-08 12:44
Hi
I'm auditioning fr my university's wind ensemble and symphony orchestra and will be auditioning for a local symphony later in the year.
Thank you all so much for the suggestions so far--I appreciate them very much!
Cheers!
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2008-08-08 20:56
First of all, let me point out that I think you are asking your question to the wrong folks. I think you should contact the directors of your university's wind ensemble and orchestra and the music director of the local symphony and ask them to list some pieces that they think would make you competitive for their organization. If the Weber "Concertino" or works of similar difficulty turn up on their list, then fine. If they suggest works that are generally at a higher level, then you know you have some work to do and some ideas of what might be an acceptable choice.
Having said that, I'll toss in my $.02 about the Weber. As David points out, it is a student piece. I think, by that, he means many good high school students are able to play it very well. Given that fact, the issue becomes whether it will be competitive in a university (or local symphony) audition. I think two important questions then become "What university are you talking about?" and "What kind of local orchestra is it?" Whether the Weber is a good choice depends on how competitive the auditions are likely to be and whether you have the chops and time to prepare something more challenging. There's a big difference between auditioning for performing groups in a college or university that has a small music department with relatively few majors and auditioning at a college or university that has a top-notch music program with a first rate clarinet professor who has a thriving studio of clarinet performance majors.
The Weber Concertino sounds flashy but doesn't really carry a very high degree of technical or musical difficulty and a knowledgeable audition committee will recognize this. I would expect that a good performance of the Concertino should give you a decent shot at getting into a wind ensemble, even in a competitive situation. There are likely to be a number of spots open (and perhaps some flexibility in the numbers accepted) and the Weber will demonstrate that you can get around pretty well on your instrument. However, in a competitive situation, I think there's a good chance you won't wind up in the first section.
As you undoubtedly are aware, orchestras generally have far fewer clarinet positions than wind ensembles. Also, if your school has a strong music program, you will likely be competing with upperclassmen. If you are going to a university where there will likely only be a few underclassmen auditioning, Weber might be enough. If you are going to a larger program, where there is a music school and clarinet performance majors, it probably won't. I think the same thing is true regarding the local symphony. If it's a volunteer community orchestra, particularly one where there is a policy of doubling parts, Weber will likely be enough to get you in. If it is a professional symphony, Weber probably won't do the job.
What would be a better piece depends on your ability level. If we (arbitrarily) limit the list to works (that at least exist in a version) for clarinet and orchestra, some other pieces that I think would increase your chances are the Debussy "Premiere Rhapsody," Weber "Concerto No. 1," Spohr "Concerto No. 1," Mozart "Concerto" (but IMO, there are some significant risks involved in using it), or the Rossini, "Introduction, Theme and Variations" (quite possibly not by Rossini, BTW, and not to be confused with the much simpler "Theme and Variations in C" that was by a very young Rossini). Expanding the list to include works for clarinet solo or clarinet and piano, would increase the number considerably. But before you do that, I would recommend you find out what the various music directors consider appropriate.
All that said, however, I think the piece that will give you the best chance is the one with the highest degree of difficulty that you can absolutely nail at the audition. That means a piece that you can play confidently even when nerves kick in. IMO, you will have a better chance with a secure performance of the Weber than you will with a mediocre performance of one of the other works I listed.
Best of luck with your auditions.
Best regards,
jnk
Post Edited (2008-08-08 21:00)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-08-08 23:44
I probably wouldn't use the Concertino for a university or local symphony audition. It's played too much by HS students. If you're going to play Weber, one of the Concertos (Op. 73 or 74) or the Grand Duo Concertante might be better.
As Jack said above, though, the best thing to do is to find out from the people holding the auditions what they are looking for. Perhaps you should try to find some current or former members of the groups in question and found out what they played for their auditions. That way, you'd at least have an idea what they're looking for, even if you don't play the same pieces yourself.
Do you have to play a solo piece or can you play orchestral/wind ensemble excerpts instead of or in addition to a solo piece? You might find it rewarding to play some tricky orchestral or wind ensemble excerpts, since you are auditioning to play with those groups. Most professional orchestras would have you play excerpts, even if they make you play a solo.
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2008-08-09 02:10
Just because a piece is played (often badly) by high school students does not make it a bad piece. Michael Wayne's performance of it at clarinet fest by all accounts was superb. Most pieces are not bad on their own, it's bad performances that make them bad...in that moment in time.
I think the Concertino is a fine piece for an audition provided you play it very well.
I also completely disagree with the notion that doing a hack job on the Francaicx (for example) in an audition will be more impressive then playing a piece like the Concertino at a high level.
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-08-09 03:00
Ryan25 wrote:
> I also completely disagree with the notion that doing a hack
> job on the Francaicx (for example) in an audition will be more
> impressive then playing a piece like the Concertino at a high
> level.
That's certainly true, but playing Francaix at a high level will be more much more impressive than playing the Concertino at the same high level.
When you are competing against others for a spot, you want to play well, of course, but you also want to show what you are capable of doing and distinguish yourself. There are more people who can play Concertino well than can play one of the Weber Concertos, for example. If you know you can work up a more challenging piece and play it just as well, though, then you really ought to play the more challenging piece, because it will better demonstrate what you are capable of.
Does Concertino have "enough" noodles? I don't know. I don't really know what that means. It wouldn't be my choice because a lot of people play it, and there's other more challenging and less-played stuff out there that I know I can play just as well. Also, if something is played a lot and the person hearing the audition is familiar with it, they are more likely to nitpick than they would with respect to something they haven't heard as often, because they will come into the audition with more expectations/preferences. That's one of the problems with playing something like the Concertino or the Mozart Concerto.
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Author: marshall
Date: 2008-08-10 00:02
The concertino is very common for clarinetists who are auditioning for undergraduate programs. For that reason, I'd never use it on an audition for a university orchestra.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2008-08-10 00:37
Who really cares about being impressed by being able to play the, imo, the rather dull, Francaix concerto? If i was on the panel I would recomend the Weber and would listen to the candidate's musicality, intonation, technique, sense of ensemble with the orchestral accomp, (this is important in my veiw beacause it shows the person has studied the work in depth and has gone past learning just the notes), and to just observe them as a performer.
At the end of the day it's about communicating the composer's and performers ideas. Surely that's what music is about?
I say stick with it.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2008-08-10 03:59
Thank you Peter,
This is exactly the point I was trying to make. I only brought up the Francaix because of it's technical "flashy" quality.
The truth is, a lot can be shown with any of the Weber pieces and the Concertino is a fine choice.
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2008-08-11 00:02
All the above points are very valid. And just to put the nail in the coffin (regarding enough "noodles"), I prepared Weber 1 for an audition (the 3rd movement) and went in and played my prepared piece very well. The conductor of the group then said it was fine but wanted to hear something to show of expression and musicality. He asked if I had played the Mozart and I of course had and he requested I play the 2nd movement. Just the first couple of bars. I didn't have a problem with it. Everything turned out fine. My point is that it's not the noodles that make an audition, it's your expression and ability to play that fast stuff musically. So keep that in mind.
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