 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: yearsofwisdom
Date: 2009-12-01 21:46
Is 1 month long enough to prepare a new concerto? currently i am playing the 2nd movement of the mozart but i just don't think i have a great chance at winning it if i do.... would i have enough time if i chose to do another concerto?? i only have 1 month with about 1 hour to play each day...
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Author: hammer_sickle01
Date: 2009-12-01 23:25
Just for the sake of others, I'll ask you a few clarifying questions, just so you can get the best possible advice.
Is it one of those concerto competitions where you have to play one movement with accompaniment that best showcases the piece? (If not and you're just solo playing...then is it live or recording?) If so, you need to honestly evaluate yourself and see if the 2nd movement is what displays your talent best. Also, which do you believe is more important to show; musicality or technique? If you're simply choosing Mozart's 2nd because it's the easiest(for lack of a better word...and I mean no disrespect to Mozart) of the three and you're short on time, then perhaps you should listen to a few recordings (my favorite is Sabine Meyer for reference) and get an idea of how to phrase certain parts in the piece.
You also need to ask yourself if this specific movement will outdo other competitors who may be auditioning with works by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Bach and maybe even Elgar. You could play Mozart near perfection but someone else could be playing something a little more, "impressive" (I guess) and would one-up you in that situation.
Now, you said you would have one month if you choose to begin learning another concerto for this competition. Personally, Weber's Concertino is my favorite audition piece (for a concerto competition, I'm not sure). It's short and variative and won't take you 20+ minutes to play it in it's entirety. I've had a situation where I was going to turn in the Concertino recording to a program that was specifically asking for a concerto (it wasn't a competition that you'd perform in the end but more so that you got free tuition for the session if choosen) and emailed the admissions supervisor just to make sure that a Concertino would still be under the requirements (which it was). I don't see why not but just make sure...
Also, whenever your next session is coming up, ask your tutor's suggestions. Depending on how long you've been getting lessons from them, they should have a pretty good synopsis of your abilities and potential. Not that we can't help and I can understand if you're looking for outside opinions but ideally they would give you the best answer.
Lastly, if you end up winning do you end up performing it with a full orchestra (or whatever it requires)? And will they be around your age group? If yes, then this can give the members here some perspective on our recommendations (like is the string section very difficult with "whatever" concerto?).
Please try to answer some of the questions I have. I would say something like, Finzi concerto (just because I think it's so underplayed) but it could sound a little sporadic if it's the case where you won't have an accompaniment. Same goes for other concertos.
I hope it all works out in the end!
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Author: yearsofwisdom
Date: 2009-12-02 01:57
Wow thank you so much for taking interest. I would say i am a fairly advanced player for my age, 16. And i chose this piece because i was working on the nielsen for another group audition and i wanted to use this piece as a contrast. Now what you said about someone playing a piece by elgar or Tchaikovsky, is the same worry that i have. I think i may call my teacher and talk to her since the application is due in a couple of days. I would also be playing with a pianist and if i were to win, i would play with the symphony orchestra of adult players. Also, i believe the winner from 2 years ago, played the concertino as well... I am considering playing the 1st movement of the Weber Concerto 2 since i have prior experience with it but i want to learn a new piece as well as possibly win.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-02 02:38
I was going to suggest one of the Weber Concerto's if you've already looked at them before. The first Concerto is more doable than the second as far as technique goes. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-12-02 12:26
I second Ed's suggestion. The last movement of the first concerto is not only pretty straight forward (technically speaking) but it's very effective from a listener's point of view.
Larry Combs won his spot in the Chicago Symphony with the Weber.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: yearsofwisdom
Date: 2009-12-03 01:23
Hey Ed thanks for the suggestion. I have looked at the Weber concerto 1 first movement and i have used it many a times for auditions. I am keeping that in the back of my head as i rush to choose a concerto since the audition is beginning of january. I have never looked at the weber concertino but my best friend won this competition 2 years before with it so i don't know if they would be willing to have another winner play it.... i have basically narrowed it down to one of the movements of the Mozart, or the first movement of the weber or the concertino.... which would be most impressive/give me the best chance at winning?
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-12-03 06:00
yearsofwisdom wrote:
> which would be most impressive/give me the
> best chance at winning?
The one you enjoy playing and listening to the most.
I'm not kidding. The pieces we enjoy the most are generally also those we understand the best from a musical standpoint. Remember they don't pick a winner based on who picked the best piece--it's who gave the best performance.
That being said, however, I would generally stay away from playing a first movement of a concerto for one of these competitions. You don't want to leave your audience with a feeling of incompleteness, and I think stopping at the end of a first mvt. could do that--particularly of Weber's first concerto. Much as I love the work, the first movement doesn't end triumphantly--it leaves things kind of unresolved. I don't think you want that--it's kind of anti-climactic.
In my opinion, it's much better to play a 3rd movement of a concerto or some piece like the Concertino, which is entirely self-contained. One reason the Concertino works so well is that it is a complete work. You get the dramatic touch of being introduced by the orchestra at the beginning, you go through all the variations, and you have a triumphant finale at the end. The listener has a feeling of completeness with none of the potential awkwardness associated with playing only a single movement of a work. Believe me, that kind of stuff matters more than you might think.
If I were doing this competition, I'd probably do the 3rd movement of the 2nd Weber Concerto because it's got enough flash to make even the violin players take notice. I played it when I was a sophomore in high school--so I guess I was about a year younger than you. If you haven't played it before, though, I wouldn't try to learn it in a month--you could probably learn the notes without too much trouble [if you really are at a level where you can handle Nielsen confidently, Weber 2 shouldn't give you any trouble at all], but that still wouldn't give you much time to get it polished and up to a reasonable tempo. HOWEVER, I'd be sure to put Weber 2 mvt. 3 on my list of pieces to learn for competitions in the future, because it's great for that sort of thing--probably better than Nielsen, actually, since it's much more accessible to the listener and much shorter than playing the entire Nielsen concerto.
Given your list of choices, I'd probably have to go with the Concertino. Weber 1 mvt. 1 isn't going to end quite right. Weber 1 mvt. 3 would be much better, but it's not on your list. Mozart 3rd mvt. (the Rondo) is cute and fun, but it isn't quite the virtuosic showpiece that the Concertino is--it would probably be my second choice after the Concertino.
But, like I said, the most important thing is to choose a piece that YOU enjoy. You'll play much better that way, and your audience will enjoy the music more if you are enjoying it with them.
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Author: yearsofwisdom
Date: 2009-12-05 19:31
Thank you all for your great responses. I do have one question though and i really want to do the concertino but is 1 month enough time for me to get it ready? i have like 1 hour a day to play.
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Author: yearsofwisdom
Date: 2009-12-06 02:45
I have talked to my teacher and i have chosen to the Concertino. It's such a fun piece and i think i will be able to pull it off. Thank you all for the suggestions.
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