Re:Re:Re:What are some good pieces to do auditions with

[1555]Re:Re:Re:What are some good pieces to do auditions with (329 reads)	2002-01-23 10:04:30

James Walker

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In terms of the mallet portion of your audition, you'll probably want to prepare something to show your two-mallet technique, as well as your four-mallet technique. In the auditions I helped to administer, either as a grad' student or during the couple of semesters I taught as a "sabbatical substitute," I remember seeing a broad range of skill levels represented, varying from fairly simple to fairly complex. Common two-mallet pieces included:

first movement, Bach A minor Violin Concerto
two-mallet transcription of a movement from a Bach violin sonata/partita
first movement, Creston Concertino
two-mallet Musser etudes/preludes
"Tambourin Chinois" (Kreisler)
Green/Breuer xylophone rag

Some of the four-mallet pieces I've heard at auditions included:

Yellow After The Rain (Peters)
four-mallet transcription of a movement from a Bach sonata/partita for violin
Bach chorale or some other rolled piece
movement from the Fissinger suite
four-mallet Musser etude/prelude
Frogs (Abe)

You want to show that you have technical facility, but also demonstrate your musicality. Also, while you'll want to put your best foot forward, don't try to do a piece which is beyond your current abilities. You'll probably also be asked to play some scales and arpeggios (major, perhaps some minors as well) during your audition, along with some sight reading, and it's fairly easy to recognize when an auditioning student has prepared a difficult piece beyond his current abilities, simply to impress at an audition. If one isn't ready to play the third movement of the Creston, then don't spend weeks and months wrestling it into shape for an audition. Personally, I'd rather hear an auditioning student play a Musser etude or the Bach A minor well, demonstrating a strong musical and technical foundation in the process, rather than hear someone hammer through a tough piece purely to impress.

JW

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