 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2018-06-04 20:41
Hi!
I need some help picking a solo for my auditions in the fall, and im not sure what piece should be next, usually the requirements just say a piece of contrasting styles, and this is for an honors band and a youth orcehstra,
Pieces i have done are
Stamitz Concerto Nr.3 Movement 1.
Arabesques By JeanJean
Concertino and Concerto No.1 Movement 1 by Weber
Brahms Sonata No.1 movement 1
Im looking for a piece that is technically challenging, more than musical
thanks!
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-06-04 22:39
Maybe Poulenc Sonata? If you can play it well enough, I guess you can win the audition for any youth orchestra.
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2018-06-05 01:32
Poulenc is a great suggestion. Perhaps Rossini I,T&V if have some technical prowess. But what about an unaccompanied piece like the Osborne or Stravinsky?
I used the Stravinsky for all of my college auditions, back in the day, and it always demonstrated my aptitude.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-05 01:56
You have some nice pieces under your belt. Meaning really nice pieces if they are well played.
I like Robert's idea of Stravinsky. It's not played a lot and it's a bit demanding. I know it's played a lot, perhaps too much, but the Mozart Concerto if play correctly will win you a lot of auditions. The second movement surely shows off your sound quality. This is a very important movement. At auditions sometimes a slow movement is nice to have prepared if you have a great sound.
I've seen people win auditions playing for 1 minute, Flight of the Bumble Bee and nothing else. But it was played very clean.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2018-06-06 18:07
see, with that i’m not really a fan of the more modern/contemporary style so i’d like to keep more with like french/romantic/classical. so what would be your suggestions then??
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-06-06 18:27
Since you already seem to know what you want, search 'clarinet solos' on YouTube and pick something that suits you.
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2018-06-07 06:54
do you guys think spohr concerto 1 movement 3 would be too hard for someone with those under their belt? i’ve played all of those pieces successfully for audition and or solo festival
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Author: JF Clarinet
Date: 2018-06-07 08:56
I would say learn a piece by a composer you haven't played anything by before. Once you have learned a Brahms Sonata, you should be able to take that style of playing and apply that to the other Sonata, a Brahms trio, or the Quintet (when you are potentially a professional player and won't have a teacher to guide you through the style of a composer you haven't played before). As you are building the beginnings of your core repertoire, try to be diverse in composers, and try to learn what would be considered stables that you will be able to play in most auditions (when you get to choose).
If you are looking to ever get a job playing or teaching clarinet, you need to know the Mozart Concerto, so I would highly recommend learning that. At some point you will need to learn the whole thing, but the third movement is somewhat technical if that's what you are looking for. If you look at the Spohr and Crussell concertos, there will likely be at least one movement of one of them that fits what you are looking for. Maybe consider the Saint Saens Sonata 4th movement, it's a staple piece, and even though that isn't the most technical, it could be a good choice mattering on what you are trying to contrast.
And I know you aren't into contemporary music, but I'm gonna also vote for the Poulenc Sonata. It's contemporary, but the third movement isn't far out there in terms of being atonal, and it is quite impressive when played well.
You will be the best judge of if a technical piece is realistic for you. Listen to the piece and look at the music (imslp.org is your friend), try sightreading it. By whatever deadline you need the piece to audition with, do you think you can learn all of those runs cleanly? Will you be able to articulate as quickly as you need to? Know where your technical limits are now, and don't be afraid to push your limits, but be reasonable.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-07 23:41
With Spohr hitting the high C is pretty hard, but it is a crowd pleaser if you nail it. A harder reed is probably a must. But if you can't hit the high C play the Mozart WELL! Really well. Maybe by memory.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2018-06-12 08:37
Take a look at any of Jeanjean's etudes or standalone pieces (he wrote many). They're technically demanding and have loads of opportunities for musicality. What about Brahms' second sonata?
My final recommendation, as I always make, is to get a private teacher. They can help you with these decisions and are much more capable of assessing your technical prowess than we can here and will be a much better judge than you (or anyone) are of yourself. My first private lesson was a very humbling experience. :-)
Spohr is very difficult. He was a violinist and you can tell by how he wrote even for clarinet. To play his works (any of his four concertos) clean at tempo is very challenging, much more technically difficult than the works you listed above, and as a result, they're hard to play musically.
When I was auditioning for my college wind ensemble as a freshman, I played the 1st movement of Mozart. The conductor stopped me about 20 bars in and said, "I know you can play technically, but can you play musically? Play the 2nd movement for me." So that's what I did. Playing a piece like the 2nd movement of any of the Webers or Mozart (or a selection from within) will show off technique (they're not exactly waltzes in the park - they require serious discipline and skill) and, more importantly, your musicality.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2018-06-13 05:34
Perhaps Messager's "Solo de Concours"? Very musical but a lot of notes and a great cadenza. Ribaud's "Solo de Concours" is OK, but not a lot of notes after the first page flurry.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-06-13 09:30
Probably our clarinet community should stop saying that Introduction, Theme and Variations is composed by Rossini...
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