Search for a Fairly Large Romantic Work

[phil13]

Okay, I'm having real trouble picking a romantic work this summer just because there are so many I'd like to learn.  Which one of these would be a good piece to use for the Romantic requirement in a conservatory or college audition? Which ones are to be avoided? This topic would most likely be best answered by a person who is part of the audition process or has at least gone through it.

Chopin Grand Waltz Op.42 in A flat Major
Chopin Nocturne in E flat Major, Op.55 No.2
Chopin Polonaise in F minor, Op.71 No.3
Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccoso in E minor, Op.14
Faure Nocturne in B minor Op.119
Scriabin Polonaise in B flat Minor Op.21
Medtner Fairy Tale Op.34 No.2 in E minor
Medtner Sonata in C minor Op.25 No.1 (1st mvt.)
Or suggest your own.

As always, thanks in advance.

Phil

[nicco]

The scriabin polonaise sure looks exciting

[dnephi]

Good luck with whatever you choose.  You might like a MacDowell piece.  He was a great American composer.  In fact, I honestly think he's better than any other American composer, simply because Barber's music is bad and Gershwin's isn't quite the right caliber.

[jre58591]

In fact, I honestly think he's better than any other American composer, simply because Barber's music is bad and Gershwin's isn't quite the right caliber.

hey hey hey. theres no need for that here. barber was a great american composer that was way more revolutionary in composition than macdowell was. dont get me wong, macdowell's sonatas and piano concertos are great, but his music was pretty standard for his time, which was romantic. barber introduced a new type of neoromanticism to america, which won him a pulitzer prize. a lot of barber pieces would be a great project to work on, such as the interlude you mentioned in another thread. but yes, i would agree that gershwin is not the right caliber, for his pieces simply arent serious enough. regarding the audiedtion piece, i still reccomend any serious medtner piece, and in addition, some scriabin. the polonaise is a good piece. the chopin pieces are good, but probably a bit too played. try to aim for a piece that is a little out of the ordinary, but not completely obscure.

[pianote]

how about...
based loosely on the pieces you listed...
for college auditions...

Mendelssohn                    (instead of the rondo cap...) Fantasy in f# minor, Op.28

or...

Schumann                        Fantasy in C, op.17

Debussy                           Le isle joyeuse

Brahms                             Rhapsody in b minor, Op.79, No.1

Rachmaninov                    Moment Musicals or Mvts from his Sonatas

Ravel                                Sonatine

Chopin                             Ballades or a MVT from his sonata...or a different nocturne...
                                        (Op. 48, No.1 is a nice piece...op.9 no.3 is higher in difficulty)
                                        OR Barcarolle in F#, op.60

Liszt                                 Tarantella from Venezia e Napoli
                                        Hungarian Rhapsodies
                                        Etudes


...the list goes on & on 

[phil13]

regarding the audiedtion piece, i still reccomend any serious medtner piece, and in addition, some scriabin. the polonaise is a good piece. the chopin pieces are good, but probably a bit too played. try to aim for a piece that is a little out of the ordinary, but not completely obscure.

I'm a littly sketchy on doing the Scriabin, for several reasons:

1. I have no idea what much of it sounds like- i have no recording or midi file and am basically sight-reading the piece (and we all know how lovely THAT is)

2. Because of lack of said recording, I also don't know how difficult it is or if I'll have time to learn it.

3. I'm doing another Scriabin piece for the etude requirement and I'm iffy about using 2 pieces by the same composer.

For medtner, add Fairy Tale Op.20 No.1 in B-flat minor to the list above.

how about...
based loosely on the pieces you listed...
for college auditions...

Mendelssohn (instead of the rondo cap...) Fantasy in f# minor, Op.28

What's its difficulty (abrsm, maybe) and its musical beauty? And how long is it?

Phil

[dnephi]

Watch out! My teacher said that she judges people auditioning and she always hears them playing things that are too difficult for them to play well. 

[phil13]

Ha ha ha, don't worry I have  like 8 months to learn and perfect this stuff. I'm learning some tough pieces right now, but with 6 hours of solid practice every day from here till February, I think I'll be all right. 

I believe I've narrowed it down to one of the two Medtner fairy tales, the Scriabin polonaise (possibly) or the 1st mvt. of the Mendelssohn F#- Fantasie.

Phil

[hodi]

mendelssohn op.28 fantasy is really a great piece
but it requires quite some time to get the 3rd movement perfectly under your hands.

try also the scriabin fantasy op.28 (op.28 has some really good stuff!!!!!!)

[phil13]

mendelssohn op.28 fantasy is really a great piece
but it requires quite some time to get the 3rd movement perfectly under your hands.

try also the scriabin fantasy op.28 (op.28 has some really good stuff!!!!!!)

If I do the Mendelssohn, I'll only do the 1st mvt.

Phil

[nanabush]

Hmmm is this romantic repertoire or 20th century?  rach, debussy and ravel arn't romantic from what I recall...

[mike_lang]

I believe it is usually more virtuosic Romantic pieces that they look for - Chopin scherzi and ballades, Hungarian Rhapsodies, Sonatas (of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, etc.).  There is a quite a range, but they generally expect some display of technical prowess.

Best,
ML

[pianote]

i've played the 1st movement of the mendelssohn fantasy...and even though other romantic pieces maybe more technically harder, if you can perfect the colors / musicality of the piece you'll be just fine. i've won of competitions against a lot of the hard hitting pieces (liszt hungarian rhapsodies / etudes / chopin scherzi / brahms rhapsodies / etc.) and I think it's because the Mendelssohn is a somewhat obscure piece yet very amazing if you play it correctly.

just my two cents.

[mike_lang]

i've played the 1st movement of the mendelssohn fantasy...and even though other romantic pieces maybe more technically harder, if you can perfect the colors / musicality of the piece you'll be just fine. i've won of competitions against a lot of the hard hitting pieces (liszt hungarian rhapsodies / etudes / chopin scherzi / brahms rhapsodies / etc.) and I think it's because the Mendelssohn is a somewhat obscure piece yet very amazing if you play it correctly.

just my two cents.

I have not heard the Mendelssohn, but it is true that on occasion, an exceptionally played less technically demanding piece will trump a standard "hard-hitter."  As a rule, though, a scherzo, hungarian rhapsody, etc. is a very safe bet for auditions.

[phil13]

Hmmm is this romantic repertoire or 20th century? rach, debussy and ravel arn't romantic from what I recall...

A lot of 20th century composers are Romantic, like Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Medtner, Faure... 20th century as requested by colleges usually implies some sort of modern technique, like Barber (sans Adagio for Strings), Bartok, Stravinsky and Prokofiev- not to mention the later ones or the atonal composers. Either that, or an Impressionist work, i.e. Debussy and Ravel.

I have not heard the Mendelssohn, but it is true that on occasion, an exceptionally played less technically demanding piece will trump a standard "hard-hitter."    

Well, the 1st mvt. is truly beautiful. Maybe I'll read through it and see if I'm up to it. Now, it's either that or Medtner's Op.20 No.1.



 

As a rule, though, a scherzo, hungarian rhapsody, etc. is a very safe bet for auditions.

Um... from what I heard, the 4th scherzo is the only 'safe' one, and it's damn hard.

If I was going to learn a Hungarian Rhapsody, I'd do my favorite- No.19 in D minor. But I've got enough challenges as it is. At some point, I'll post what I'm doing for college audition rep- maybe in a new thread.

BTW, why is it that there aren't many colleges that give specific guidelines? Most of them request about 15-20 minutes of contrasting pieces. That certainly isn't enough time for pieces like a Chopin or Rachmaninoff Sonata- or even a full classical sonata, in most cases.

Phil

[mike_lang]

The best way to go is to prepare for the most demanding (and specifying) of the colleges that you will audition for, and tailor the rest of auditions from that.  I.E., if one school asks for a full Beethoven sonata and one asks for one movement of a classical sonata, you prepare a full Beethoven sonata.  A 15-20 minute program can be a cut of the larger 40 min. (or whatever it ends up being) program that you've prepared for the other schools.

Best,
ML

[phil13]

The best way to go is to prepare for the most demanding (and specifying) of the colleges that you will audition for, and tailor the rest of auditions from that.  I.E., if one school asks for a full Beethoven sonata and one asks for one movement of a classical sonata, you prepare a full Beethoven sonata.  A 15-20 minute program can be a cut of the larger 40 min. (or whatever it ends up being) program that you've prepared for the other schools.

Best,
ML

Okay, so what would an ideal but not insanely difficult program be to you, Michael?

Phil

[mike_lang]

Okay, so what would an ideal but not insanely difficult program be to you, Michael?

Phil

Mine for undergraduate was:

Bach - Prelude & Fugue in Bb Major (the famous #21 of Book I)

Virtuosic etude: Chopin Op. 10 No. 5 - of course there are much more difficult choices, but this seemed to be enough with its final octaves

Romantic work: Chopin Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor

Classical Sonata: Beethoven Op. 13 "Pathetique"

20th century: Gargoyles by Lowell Liebermann - I note that the faculty like generally to hear American composers (here in the US), and so this worked well

It seemed to be effective in total.

Best,
ML

[jre58591]

here is a recording of medtner op 20 if anyone is interested. geoffrey tozer is the pianist.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/02uvtx

[phil13]

My teacher will look at the scriabin polonaise this weekend and give me his opinion on monday. If he says yes, I'll learn that because I'm getting tired of waffling over these pieces and the polonaise looks like a lot of fun.

Phil

[nicco]

Here is the scriabin

https://rapidshare.de/files/23860424/01_-_Scriabin_-_Polonaise__Op.21.mp3

[pianochild]

i suggest the mendelssohn Andante & Rondo Capriccioso, it is a really nice - wel known piece, the only downside is that its quite long?

[pianote]

i suggest the mendelssohn Andante & Rondo Capriccioso, it is a really nice - wel known piece, the only downside is that its quite long?

and that it's overplayed 

[phil13]

Okay it's either Scriabin's polonaise or Medtner's 20-1. The Medtner seems doable, but the Scriabin would fit the bill for the Romantic requirement better. Both are in b-flat minor, both are fun to play, both are underplayed, both would look good on the program...

I hate waffling.

Phil

[phil13]

Okay, the final answer...

Medtner. Apparently my teacher dislikes the Scriabin, and after recieving a recording of each, I've decided the Medtner is not only a more attainable goal, but a more coherent and superior piece. Long live Medtner's music!

Phil