Program for Curtis Audition(or any other conservatory)

[journeyyourmind]

Alright, well here is my program for what would be for starting a summer course in 2008. I just turned 17 and me and my teacher have now chosen the repertiore that were going to be perfecting for the next year or so. These pieces are of course apart from a much larger repertiore, but these will be my best pieces prepared.

Major Bach work - English Suite no. 2 A minor, I've already got the first movement.

Classical Sonata - Beethovens Sonata Les Adieux(needs to be learned)

2 Chopin Works of contrasting speed - 2nd scherzo(learned but needs redoing/polishing)
                                                              Chopin Nocturne(we have not yet chosen a nocturne)

And work of your choosing 10 minutes or longer - now heres where me and my teacher didn't initially agree. I've already learned Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 which I recently performed for my winter recital, however, I for some reason am getting the impression that everyone will play hung. 2 but I could be wrong. MY teacher says it's perfect because it shows off my technique and because I will have had ample time to grow with the piece, she also insists that it doesn't matter because good technique will outshine the commonality if it is truly played well enough. I can definitely have the piece pretty much perfect by then, but I am simply wondering about the commonality. And of course this applies to all conservatories not just Curtis, but these happen to be the Curtis requirements, but any suggestions in general would be well appreciated.

[le_poete_mourant]

If I were you, I wouldn't go with the Hungarian Rhapsody.  As you say, it is a more "typical" piece.  Done too much.  It's not going to make you really stand out.  If you are set on Liszt, go for something more out there; the Spanish Rhapsody is an excellent, showy Liszt piece that isn't played too much (which is a shame, because it's a great piece!) 

But second, you might want to go with something from another era; you've already got Romantic covered with Chopin, so why not go for something 20th century?  Not too far out there, you know, but even Vine and Barber are acceptable for auditions, I think. 

[kriskicksass]

While normally I'd agree that the final piece should be 20th century, I say stick with your teacher's advice. You need to learn all of Beethoven's 81a, a nocturne, and the majority of a Bach suite. That's a lot, even over a whole year! When audition time comes, you'll be grateful to have a piece that you've been playing for over a year, especially something as flashy and technical as that Rhapsody.

My general advice for auditions: the 'older' the piece, the better.

[soliloquy]

I disagree with both of you on the HR2.  Nobody will be playing it, and it will not show off your technique.  It is definitely NOT Curtis caliber repertoire.  The Bach and Beethoven are fine, although if you're going to have to learn a Beethoven Sonata I would definitely suggest Opp. 109 or 111; Les Adieux IS something that everyone will be playing.  The Chopin is, unfortunately, not going to work.  Remember, this is CURTIS.  They accept 3-5 new piano students a year and you will be competing with people from all over the world, and you need to, in lack of better terms, "bring it".  I would suggest the Barcolle Op. 60, along with one of the following: Etude Op. 25 No. 6, Etude Op. 25 No. 11, Etude Op. 10 No. 2, Scherzo No. 4, Ballade No. 4.  The Scherzo would be a bit risque, but if you can pull it off it would be the most impressive.  For the piece >10 minutes, you really ought to be running a modern piece within the common repertoire.  From experience, I have come to believe the Rzewski North American Ballad No. 4 "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" is the best choice for this.  It is not excessively difficult, but not easy either, and has historically done consistently very well in competitions and auditions.



Good luck!

[viking]

Since Curtis only accepts 5-10 pianists each year, I would plan for many many other backup universities, especially with your choice of repertoire.  Yes, it would be possible to get in, but I think you need to be really outstanding in your playing and choices of repertoire to get accepted.  For example, why not play some freakishly difficult 20th century piece?  Maybe Shostakovich's 24th Prelude and Fugue?  There are so many possibilities...

[cygnusdei]

The Chopin is, unfortunately, not going to work.  Remember, this is CURTIS. 

What's wrong with Scherzo no. 2?

[phil13]

What's wrong with Scherzo no. 2?

Scherzo No.2 is the most often played Scherzo, with No.1 following closely in its tracks.

I disagree with both of you on the HR2.  Nobody will be playing it, and it will not show off your technique.  It is definitely NOT Curtis caliber repertoire.

I can agree with that. Go with a lesser-known Hungarian Rhapsody, or the Spanish Rhapsody, or possibly Ballade 1 or 2.

The Bach and Beethoven are fine, although if you're going to have to learn a Beethoven Sonata I would definitely suggest Opp. 109 or 111; Les Adieux IS something that everyone will be playing.
 

Two problems:

First, I don't know how thrilled the Curtis judges will be at a 17-year old playing either of these Late Beethoven sonatas unless they have an extraordinary musical maturity.

Second, both of these are inanely hard. Jorneyyourmind, if you learn a new 10-minute work don't get stuck with an extremely tough Late Beethoven sonata. How about Op.90 in E minor? It's a 2-mvt. sonata but it's effective and not too easy at all. Or, try Op.22 in Bb major- more difficult, but certainly not Op.111.

The Chopin is, unfortunately, not going to work.  Remember, this is CURTIS.  They accept 3-5 new piano students a year and you will be competing with people from all over the world, and you need to, in lack of better terms, "bring it".

This is not a real, year-long acceptance audition, but rather a summer course at the school, if you read a little more carefully.
That said, Scherzo No.2 would not be my choice either.

I would suggest the Barcolle Op. 60, along with one of the following: Etude Op. 25 No. 6, Etude Op. 25 No. 11, Etude Op. 10 No. 2, Scherzo No. 4, Ballade No. 4.  The Scherzo would be a bit risque, but if you can pull it off it would be the most impressive.

2 Chopin pieces with contrasting speeds- instead of those, might I suggest any of these pairings:

FAST

Etude Op.25 No.8 in Db major
Etude Op.10 No.7 in C major
Etude Op.10 No.10 in Ab major
Nocturne Op.9 No.3 in B major
Tarantella Op.43 in Ab major
Prelude Op.28 No.12 in G# minor


SLOW
Prelude Op.45 in C# minor
Nocturne Op.62 No.1 in B major
Nocturne Op.62 No.2 in E major

For the piece >10 minutes, you really ought to be running a modern piece within the common repertoire.  From experience, I have come to believe the Rzewski North American Ballad No. 4 "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" is the best choice for this.  It is not excessively difficult, but not easy either, and has historically done consistently very well in competitions and auditions.



Good luck!

I agree with this, if you choose not to do the Liszt.

May I also wish you the best of luck!

Phil

[journeyyourmind]

Thanks so much everyone for the replies, just looking for some opinions. I will of course be considering many many schools, it would be insane if i didn't!

[pianowelsh]

HOW QUICK CAN YOU LEARN AND POLISH REPERTOIRE? seriously you need to know that first! If you are very quick and can get a ballade or scherzo off the blocks in under a month and upto a perf level for a 2 month period maybe then you are talking about being potential Curtis material, But they really are looking for exceptional students there.  Id be inclined to suggest something like a Scriabin sonata maybe 4 or 5? Clearly some Bach or maybe even a Handel suite (less often done) you can drop a movement easily then for different places or if they have limited time. You generally need a big romantic piece too. I dispute that Hungarian Rhapsody isnt Curtis material actually. But i still dont think its the most safe choice.  It seems from what you say that you favour the virtuoso rep more than the particularly Lyrical - you could consider something like the Brahms first sonata?? Or even a set of Schumann variations?? Variations are good because when time is limited they will often say play from here to here and its easier to pick up convincingly in variation sets - in my experience.

[journeyyourmind]

Well, I'll be coming all the way from southern Florida, so no matter what, I have to try out for as many schools in different areas as I can and yes I believe I can definitely prepare those pieces in that amount of time. That 2nd scherzo I learned 3 years ago I am repolishing it, which is why it very well may be very ripe to play and thus a good choice. I was wondering primarily about the Liszt and the nocturne, as for saying I don't like lyrical pieces, yes you could get that impression especially because of the Liszt, but the Nocturne, and various other parts of other pieces are definitely lyrical, including the Scherzo, if my performance comes off as complete technical nonsense, then how could I possibly deserve to go to the school? I know this of course, which is why I plan on some back up schools, but either way, I'm still gonna have to go out and do my research, whether I get into Curtis or not.

[iumonito]

There are some good teachers in Miami.  Ivan Davis and Rosalina Sackstein come to mind.

If you like Liszt, you could do Dante.  It has everything and it is not light at all.  A little harder, you could tackle the Tanhauser overture.  Very neat.

If you are doing 20th century, you have to pick something substantial, like Prokofiev 6 or 7th sonata.  If that is too hard  or not your cup of tea, perhaps Debussy Images II or Scriabin sonata 4 or 5.

Good luck.  Preparing for this will be reward enough, and if you focus on the music, it really doesn't matter whether your panel decides you should attend Curtis.

You shouldn't worry about timings too much.  The jury likely will not hear whole pieces.

[dnephi]

A Liszt TE #2 would be good I suppose if you could learn and pull it off. 
Short, showy.
Would Prokofiev Suggestion Diabolique or Toccata be good? Corigliano Etude Fantasy - #4 "Ornaments."?

[cygnusdei]

A Liszt TE #2 would be good I suppose if you could learn and pull it off. 
Short, showy.

That would be way short of the 10 minute requirement!

[pianowelsh]

I sense you are a little put out by my post??? I dont mean to say you shouldnt be considering the Curtis atall. Quite the opposite. Im not trying to portray you as some crass insensitive technical boffin either - so my apologies if thats ehat you took from the post. i was merely sayting that Scherzo 2 and Hungarian Rhapsody 2 are more overtly technical than musical challenges. To impress at one of the best schools you need to show a more rounded approach to repertoire and generally its a good idea not to play all the most well known pieces (they think thats all you know!). Something which shows a particular leaning or particularly fine aspect of your playing is what you need - to stand out from all the other well played and polished scherzos ballades and I dare say sonatas of Chopin and Rhapsodies of Liszt. Really to choose less well known rep is an incredible advantage - it can be tedious to hear 10 performances of the same work and maybe hear 2 good ones! im sure yours would be the good one BUT you stand a chance of a less jaded and responsive jury with something a bit more thought provoking and origional.

Your teacher will guide you. I would hope they are experienced at putting college students to places like Julliard Curtis et al.  In which case really their opinion is far more valueable than anything you'll get on pianostreet.

[cygnusdei]

Im not trying to portray you as some crass insensitive technical boffin either

You mean Clang Clang? 

[journeyyourmind]

Oh it's fine I'm not taking offense, just trying to clarify my message i guess, sorry for sounding defensive and such :p. But today at my lesson my teacher completely changed from idea, deciding that we would try primarily for Julliard, and all the schools in the new york area such as eastman and manhattan school, so we know how insanely hard Curtis is really. She has experience, judge international/national competitions, especially in Romania, she'll go back during the summer to judge them. I can't say she has an abundance of experience with the top American schools but shes definitely more than qualified. I had to leave my old teacher to study with her 2 years ago because I wasn't getting quite what I needed from my teacher, considering how far I want to take classical music in my life.
 Now we've considered a number of things. We took out Les Adieux because of commonality, we decided on op 10. no 3. It's bold she says, and will be good and I will love it. As for Scherzo we are keeping it since it's ripened with me over the past few years. As for Liszt, we don't know for sure, it's going to depend on my progress, she wants the Liszt because she thinks it will be ripe, but I have a feeling I won't end up playing it. Oh and since Julliard makes undergraduates do a fugue, we decided on C minor. Yes extremely common, but Bach played well, will do wonders(and they really don't have all day to listen to me apparantly), and she want the judges to be able to be extra critical with the baroque piece, to emphasize my strength for it. To be honest though, I again have a slight feeling this one might not go through. But well see I guess, theres still another year to go.

Just to clarify I of course trust my teacher as my guide, but like to hear lots of opinions, and then ask my teacher about it, and what she makes of it. Definitely I value my teachers experience very much, and trust her judgement.

[pianowelsh]

I see.  op10/3 is a great choice. The scherzo in context should be ok as long as you 'perform' it. Cmin fugue will contrast with op10/3 nicely as you say as long as its done well it'llbe fine...i would really try hard for an origional piece to contrast with all these now to make you stand out.

[jepoy]

Hi, journeyyourmind. I think this post may help you:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2057.0.html

[Pumkinhead]

Hey guys, here's my tentative program for Curtis.

Bach - Prelude and Fugue in C# Major, WTC II
Beethoven - Sonata in E major, Op. 109
Chopin - Barcarolle Op 60
Chopin - Etude in E minor, Op. 25 No. 5
Prokofiev - Sonata No. in Bb Major, Op 83

Can you guys give an honest opinion whether it is diverse/difficult enough for the Curtis Standard? Thanks so much, guys!

Drew

[cygnusdei]

Hey guys, here's my tentative program for Curtis.

Bach - Prelude and Fugue in C# Major, WTC II
Beethoven - Sonata in E major, Op. 109
Chopin - Barcarolle Op 60
Chopin - Etude in E minor, Op. 25 No. 5
Prokofiev - Sonata No. in Bb Major, Op 83

Can you guys give an honest opinion whether it is diverse/difficult enough for the Curtis Standard? Thanks so much, guys!

Drew

I thought the 2 Chopin pieces must have contrasting tempos?

[Pumkinhead]

To be honest, I think that they are completely different tempos and moods of Chopin. There are more tempos than simply slow and fast.

[iumonito]

Hey guys, here's my tentative program for Curtis.

Bach - Prelude and Fugue in C# Major, WTC II
Beethoven - Sonata in E major, Op. 109
Chopin - Barcarolle Op 60
Chopin - Etude in E minor, Op. 25 No. 5
Prokofiev - Sonata No. in Bb Major, Op 83

Can you guys give an honest opinion whether it is diverse/difficult enough for the Curtis Standard? Thanks so much, guys!

Drew

Sounds excellent to me.  A program for a musician pianist.

[jabbz]

My worry would be the Beethoven. I think it's probably too close in spirit to the Romantic than Classical. An earlier piece might be more appropriate, assuming you need something from the classical at all?

[kriskicksass]

My worry would be the Beethoven. I think it's probably too close in spirit to the Romantic than Classical. An earlier piece might be more appropriate, assuming you need something from the classical at all?

I had that same discussion with my teacher when I was considering that sonata for a Juilliard audition (I never applied though - tendinitis). He said that the highly contrapuntal nature of Beethoven's late style makes that sonata more than acceptable for an audition. It's also formally and texturally very classical.

It looks like a great audition program. I was going to play that same etude, too. I wish you the best of luck, Pumpkinhead!

[pita bread]

Sounds excellent to me.  A program for a musician pianist.

Hahaha, oh if only you knew Drew.

[cygnusdei]

He said that the highly contrapuntal nature of Beethoven's late style makes that sonata more than acceptable for an audition.

If it weren't acceptable wouldn't they have excluded it, as they do for Op. 49?

[bflatminor24]

Haha.

"Clang Clang."

I thought he was "Bang Bang" but perhaps he's just a really ernest Chinese dude and he has to exaggerate himself to stand out.

WHOAOAOOH! COCAINE!

[cygnusdei]

Hmm ... I just realized that Haydn isn't getting any love at Curtis.