 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: 2E
Date: 2011-06-17 09:34
Hey there,
I'm auditioning for the Australian National Academy of Music and have to choose one of the suggested pieces to play at the audition.
1. first movement of the Mozart concerto
2. first movement of the Weber Fm concerto
3. first movement of the Weber Eb concerto
At this stage I'm kind of leaning towards Weber 1, but think Weber 2 would also be good. I think playing Weber well would be more technically impressive than Mozart, but don't want to rule it out or anything. No idea what to choose haha, which piece would you choose?
Thanks for your advice,
2E.
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Author: vjoet
Date: 2011-06-17 12:56
I don't think it matters which you select. Each has its charm. Just play it convincingly. I personally would be more concerned about rending the MUSIC, than about flashy fingerings. I also think the judges want to hear the music beautifully rendered.
Young players often think technique is a goal in itself. Nope. It plays a supporting role to the MUSIC, and fine technique should be almost unnoticed. It should all sound easy.
Vann Joe
(amateur)
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Author: Joanna
Date: 2011-06-17 14:36
Beware of the Mozart. Most people will choose to play it and it will probably be played wrong. Because the beauty of the Mozart isn't the technical skill, it's the interpretation and the voicing that makes it difficult. If you decide to play it, make sure you think about those two things.
Both Weber Concertos are fun. Pick something that you enjoy to play and that you are comfortable with.
Good luck!
Joanna
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-06-17 15:04
I think Joanna is spot on - give the Mozart a miss at this stage - it needs great musical maturity to bring off convincingly.
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-06-17 16:05
Hi 2E:
Answering this question, knowing little about the biases of those who will audition you, let alone not hearing you play is a bit like telling my wife which dress I think she looks best in, while blindfolded (worse, while not knowing which one, in advance, she wants me to approve of most.)
Even having heard you play, to assume my proclivities similar to your auditioners would be foolish.
So--I'm going to answer this having first made a bunch of albeit exaggerated assumptions, likely not true. This reminds me a bit of a college survey course in Microeconomics, where we assume the marketplace has all the information it needs, in addition to whole bunch of other assumptions, put in place so we can see how price affects demand, in a fictional world where all else is held constant. in the interest of simplifying things so as to increase student understanding.
OK...you offer 3 pieces. I'll assume you play them all equally well and have no personal preference. And when I say "equally well" I mean that the audtioners, having heard all 3 pieces would be ambivalent about which one they would have had you played. Nevermind that a panel of 3 will have not only 3 different opinions, but more likely 8 opinions! Nevermind that I'll bet, had I heard you, I'd likely have my own order in which I liked them.
Perhaps I am best useful telling you what I think are the pros and cons of your choices--AS IF I WERE ON YOUR JURY PANEL. First, who are these people on the panel?...clarinetists, woodwind players, strings, conductors? If you can, know your audience.
Ricardo Morales has said in passing that the solo he fears most is the opening of Rhapsody in Blue--which like everything, he plays beautifully. He feels this way because "everyone knows it" and it's been done so many different ways, by orchestras, and bands, and jazz ensembles, that everyone has their own preconceived way of how it should sound--like a vocalist auditioning in the States with our national anthem.
Well, the Mozart K622 is most likely to be your most well known piece by the panel. It's a technical movement that should sound effortless, that's otherwise been interpreted many different ways by many players. This is both good and bad: good in that the jury might be open to hearing it in ways slightly different from their own standard, bad because it has "Rhapsody in Blue" like qualities in that everyone's heard it, and has a basis upon which to compare it to your playing.
I agree that one of the Weber's may be the way to go--and I side with, of your choices, the 1st movement of the 2nd Concerto, the Eb Opus 74. I do so because, it's romantic. It tells a story. It keeps the listener engaged, and it has plenty of opportunity to show both technique in fast parts and beauty in slower ones. I also think, psychologically, listeners wil much easier forgive a mistake made in the throws of playing a difficult part of this piece pationately.
Personally, though a beautiful movement, I just don't get as much of this romance from hearing the 1st movement of the Fm, Opus 73. But that's me. Others on this board, wiser than I am, have their thoughts.
Now--all that said..let me leave you with a thought from Stanley Drucker, as I paraphrase. Mr. Drucker has commented that technically capable clarinetists are far more prevelant than clarinet ARTISTS.
To this point, if you want to stand out in auditions, have the music you play TELL A STORY as you play it.
A wonderful teacher of mine described this movement as follows. This is an excerp. As I walk through the piece, I'm going to recall all he said to me and give it back to you.
'The piece opens with the frustration of a man, confronting his lover after a fight, with verbal rage. By measure 55 he begins to calm down. By 60 he's professing a sweet love song to her. At 64 he has another smaller verbal rage. At 68 he's trying to reason with her softly. At 77 he's sharing their romantic history. At 85 he questions her as to who, but he, is her right choice in life.
At 93 the woman takes over sighting the things he did to promote the breakup, in list form. It 101 she calms down, with a mild and quick escalation at 105.'
I could go on..hopefull the point is well taken.
If you want more of this--we can take the discussion offline.
I wish you the greatest success and hapiness playing the instrument we both love.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2011-06-17 16:26
ThatPerfectReed wrote:
> A wonderful teacher of mine described this movement as follows.
> This is an excerp. As I walk through the piece, I'm going to
> recall all he said to me and give it back to you.
>
> 'The piece opens with the frustration of a man, confronting his
> lover after a fight, with verbal rage. By measure 55 he begins
> to calm down. ...
As long as we remember that what you're describing is HIS story; hopefully we all make up our own stories to tell in the context of the music ...
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-06-17 20:44
Agreed Mark.
The stories of our own experiences, or those we believe in or can relate to, as we convey them through our musical instrument, make for the best performances. - )
The story this teacher gave me, worked for me, as I could relate. But it can't possibly be better then the one devised by the performer, only, perhaps, better than playing this movement with the absence of a story at all.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-06-18 00:58
Play the one you really think you play the best both technically and musically. All three pieces are fine, it's how you play it's not which one you choose. ESP
eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-06-18 01:03
A general question about such auditions: there are many editions of these pieces. How often do audition panels require or prohibit particular editions?
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-06-18 03:50
Maybe the first and secend movement of the Mozart. Reason is, from past experiences the judges only want to hear part of the first movement and some of the second. In my opinion the slow movement is harder to play, very hard to play with expression. You really have to feel the music on the second. If asked you should also be prepared to play the first part of the 3rd movement.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-06-18 03:55
I've performed the Mozart Concerto with 3 orchestras through the years. When playing this piece think of what it means to you. For example, with the second movement I envision a ballet dancer performing. Perhaps weird, bit it works for me.
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Author: 2E
Date: 2011-06-18 07:14
Thanks for your suggestions guys,
We're only allowed to play the first mvt of any of those three works. I agree that it's how I play, rather than what I play. I guess I just have to choose whatever I play best.
I think the panel will consist of one clarinettist, one other woodwind player and perhaps someone else who plays another instrument. Mozart would be most well known, and could potentially be dangerous ha.
At this stage, I'm still thinking I'll do Weber 1.
Thanks again for the help :p
2E.
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Author: RJShaw0
Date: 2011-06-18 09:52
Personally, I'd go for the Weber 1, the Mozart just has to be perfect, and the Weber would be great fun to play.
Picked up some good info for the Mozart Adagio, however, which I'm performing with an orchestra tomorrow. Cheers!
RJS
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