 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2011-05-31 21:23
I realize that I'm feeding myself to the lions here, but there's nothing quite so useful as getting outside feedback, so here goes...
Here is a recording of my postgrad recital at the SF Conservatory of Music, which was a full-length mock orchestral audition. There are definitely things I would have liked to have done better or differently, but on the whole I think it turned out fairly well, as I'd never done a mock audition of this length before. Any comments would be absolutely welcome.
Professional Studies Diploma Recital/mock audition
Round 1
Bb/A Clarinet:
Brahms - Symphony 3
Mendelssohn - Symphony 3
Beethoven - Symphony 6, 1st mvt
Rossini - Overture to Semiramide
Peter/Wolf - cadenza
Bass Clarinet:
Mahler - Symphony 6
Shosty - Violin Concerto
Round 2
Bb/A Clarinet:
Mozart - Concerto, 1st page
Mendelssohn - Scherzo
Scheherazade - cadenza
Verdi - Overture to Luisa Miller
Puccini - Tosca
Beethoven - Symphony 8
Bass Clarinet:
Mahler - Symphony 1
Grofè - Grand Canyon
Barber - Second Essay
Round 3
Bb/A Clarinet:
Mozart - Concerto, exposition
Beethoven - Symphony 4
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 4
Respighi - Pines of Rome
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol
Shostakovich - Symphony 9
Debussy - Prelude/Afternoon/Faun
Ravel - Daphnis/Chloe opening
Bass Clarinet:
Berg - Violin Concerto
Khachaturian - Piano Concerto
Schumann - Symphony 3
Strauss - Don Quixote
Stravinsky - Rite of Spring
The whole recording is about 35 minutes long. Round 1 begins at 0:00; round 2 begins at 5:10; round 3 begins at 15:05. The excerpt list above was derived from a much longer list that covered about 90% of the material I worked on this year. For the purposes of the mock audition, I had my professor put together a "typical" set list that I might see in any given audition, and I was not permitted to see a list for a given round until just before I went on stage. My professor told me afterward that he'd ignored my request for a "typical" set list and instead gave me what he called a "worst-case-scenario."
This recording has had large gaps removed, and the sound normalized to -4db. The recording device wasn't great, and was at the back of the hall; there is noticeable microphone hiss, which I haven't removed so as to preserve the sound quality of the excerpts. The total time for all three rounds, including breaks, was about an hour and a half.
I'm playing on a set of Schwenk & Seggelke M1000 Bb and A clarinets with a Vandoren CL4 mouthpiece and Klassic ligature, Rue Lepic 3.75 reeds. The bass clarinet is a Buffet R13 Prestige with the low C, on a slightly refaced Fobes mouthpiece, with a Spriggs ligature, V12 3 reeds.
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Author: srattle
Date: 2011-05-31 22:50
Hi Paul,
I listened through to this.
Some definite good things, and a few individual things that could use a little work.
The main thing that I noticed, however, is that there is some intonation issues. I think it has to do with voicing, but I felt especially the throat tones sound voiced a little on the low side. They sound a bit on the low side and somehow more flat (in sound quality) then I think they could be. Something to think about maybe?
Also, often I had the feeling that you weren't 100% hearing the accompaniment behind the excerpts you were playing (which I think not only makes the excerpts sound better, but makes them a lot easier too) Sometimes I would notice some phrasings that wouldn't necessarily go perfectly with the accompaniment, plus there are some points where a specific note that would need to be voiced higher or lower (leading tones are quite a give away) that weren't quite on the money.
Also, in your Mozart exposition (both times) I didn't quite get a great feeling of the rhythm/tempo which I believe is a pretty important aspect in auditions. Again, just something to listen to on the recording and think about.
I don't really want to get too specific here. If you want to hear any other opinions, you can contact me somewhere else. Nothing too major, mainly just specifics that I heard from this particular recording. I do think the intonation thing is something you should think about though.
Good job though, it sounds like a rough workout
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2011-06-01 00:12
Alex, yes, I had a small audience of about fifteen or twenty people. They were seated across the center rows of the hall and were taking notes on scores I'd provided. The event felt very much like a real (though unscreened) audition. I did a similar event for my jury a few weeks later, basically handing the complete list off to the committee... which was even more nerve-wracking, as the woodwind studio faculty at SFCM are either principal or tenured players in the SF Symphony.
Sacha, I agree with you on the pitch and rhythm issues that came up in this recording. I think a part of the pitch issue is that the mouthpiece and ligature setup was fairly new to me (Vandoren CL4 + Klassic) and I wasn't quite used to it. That said, the longer barrel may have taken the throat register down a bit too much in addition voicing low and dropping fingers. Going over the recording again, I think I was probably overcompensating. Rhythmically... well, this recording is showing me a lot of tendencies that I either haven't been aware of, or that came up under the stress of the audition setting. I need to do more work with a metronome and a recorder, I think.
Drew, I'm hoping to get a pretty good response on this one. It was a really unique recital for me, and I feel like now that I've learned all this material, I have a good starting point to prepare for any auditions that might come up.
Post Edited (2011-06-01 00:15)
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-06-01 00:56
Without getting nitpicky, I'd say it's decent. Highly competent, but doesn't blow me away. The rhythm issues get me more than the pitch issues. Overall, though, it lacks oomph. Feels like you're taking a test, rather than making music. Which is especially hard in an audition situation, because you ARE taking a test, but there most of all it's vital to be in making-awesome-music mode.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: whole note
Date: 2011-06-02 04:23
What a workout!
I really liked your sound which was light, clear, and energetic.
Thanks for sharing.
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Author: Lam
Date: 2011-06-02 05:47
Great work !
By the way, the Debussy Prelude/afternoon/faun 2nd part except should be played on a B flat.
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2011-06-02 06:51
Well done for getting through all that, it's a lot of material to work through!
I was in a lesson the other day and the teacher I was with mentioned that I was 'relentlessly playing the clarinet'. Sounds like an odd thing to say but what he meant was I was biting down and just playing the whole time; no nuances or colours where I could have relaxed my hold on the mouthpiece sometimes for a lighter sound where it was needed. I feel that through this audition you were relentlessly playing the clarinet; call it trying too hard if you will. You can clearly play the material, so you could back off a bit sometimes. It was evident in the Mozart concerto and in high notes in general. I felt that you could simply allow your high notes to come out rather than willing them out.
I hope that makes sense???
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2011-06-03 00:54
I give you props for just, as you say, feeding yourself to the lions.
Overall, great job. When you were in the zone, it was very impressive. IMO, there were times where you got a little bit out of control (overblown/air leak, etc). Try to keep as relaxed as possible while maintaining a command and confidence in your playing.
Keep up the good work
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2011-06-04 06:23
Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, I can't say how much I really appreciate your honest feedback, and I'll be sure to incorporate your suggestions and thoughts into my preparation for the next audition!
Over the course of the last year, I've focused primarily on orchestral playing and audition material... and starting a serious attempt at winning a job in the audition circuit. I found myself at the following auditions:
Orchestra Victoria, assoc principal/Eb (Melbourne, Aus)
"The President's Own," section (Washington, DC)
Vancouver Symphony, assoc principal/Eb (Vancouver, BC)
Monterey Symphony, 2nd (Monterey, CA) - runner up
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, bass/utility (San Francisco, CA)
Kansas City Symphony, bass/utility (Kansas City, MO) - semifinalist
New World Symphony, section (regional in San Francisco) - semifinalist
Dallas Opera, principal (Dallas, TX)
Coming up:
Orchestra de Chambre de Lausanne, principal (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Oakland East Bay Symphony, principal (Oakland, CA)
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With respect to the mock audition above, I think I should mention that after the Dallas audition I was totally burned out... 8 auditions in as many months seriously wiped me out. I didn't practice as much as I should have for the mock audition/recital, and even though I'm fairly happy with it I don't think it was nearly as good as it could have been. I think it does give me a sense of what my baseline level of preparedness is, and in a certain sense it's probably more useful (read: revealing) than an extremely refined performance.
Two thoughts. First, it seems that the only way to get good at auditions is to practice your butt off and take a lot of them. Throughout the school year, I SLAYED myself trying to get decent enough at these excerpts (as well as Eb and Bass clarinets) to make a good showing at auditions. The most successful auditions were the ones where I had a good deal of lead time to prepare - particularly, Monterey and Kansas City. I was very happy with both of those auditions, and in both cases, I had about two months to prepare.
Second, I've been taking some singing lessons with one of the great vocal faculty members at SFCM. She has an extremely interesting approach to breathing that absolutely transforms my sound and ease of playing. In the excerpts recorded, there are some obvious times where I'm not "on my breath," and the difference between those excerpts and the ones where I'm breathing properly is striking. In fact, I don't think I would have made semis at KC Symphony if I hadn't taken a couple lessons with this person, as the change in my breathing made playing the bass clarinet almost effortless (articulation, on the other hand.... needs some work).
In any case, if there are more comments on the recording I'd love to hear them. I'll detail the approach to breathing in another topic, or maybe in a later posting on this thread. Questions, comments, etc., are always welcome.
Cheers,
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