Several conservatories are taking more consideration in a student's sight singing ability as well. No matter what you're auditioning as (Eastman is one of these schools), they feel if you can sight sing anything, it's the easiest path to being a great overall musician. Yes, I mean sight sing and not sight read. I can't say I agree with that philosophy, but it doesn't matter. Just something to keep in mind.
Baroque - Bach prelude & fugue #12 WTC 1 (already learned this)Complete Classical Sonata - Beethoven Sonata #27 or Pathetique Sonata (haven't learned #27, know the notes to Pathetique)Substantial Romantic Work - either Liszt Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase or Chopin Scherzo or Chopin Fantasie Op. 49 or Chopin Ballade no. 1 (ideas? the Liszt and Scherzo I already know how to play, the other two I would have to learn but I have already learned about half the notes to them)20th/21st Century - undecided, completely open to suggestionsVirtuosic Etude - Chopin op. 10 no. 1 (maybe... not really sure about this one either. haven't played it at all yet. I'm open to suggestions also.)
what i find pretty amusing is that if the threadstarter is thinking of doing Chopin Op10/1 and his scherzos or his f minor fantasy for his audition, why pick Beethoven's Moonlight or Pathetique? Maybe Mozart's 533/494, or 576 instead?
a few thoughts:play beethoven if you want, just play it well. it would be better to play a beethoven sonata convincingly than a schubert sonata less convincingly, if you're just playing it for the sake of being different. and though it's true they hear a lot of beethoven, they might be more impressed by a very good op. 90 than a very good haydn sonata. for an audition, there's a lot to be said for demonstrating command of the standard repertoire, especially at a school like NEC where the faculty is largely pretty conservative. however, of the things you listed, i would really strongly recommend that you NOT play pathetique or the first ballade. my graduate auditions required complete works, but it may not be the same for undergraduate. it would be best to ask before making any assumptions – or, just plan on preparing complete works.
with the musical dept and the level of technique required in chopin's f minor fantasy or his op10/1 respectively, surely the threadstarter can come up with something more challenging for a classical sonata..
Then again, one year is not enough time to learn a fresh, full sonata by either Beethoven or Schubert (especially since the OP has to consider the pre-screening recording)
Why not? Some of my studiomates did that sort of thing in a week or two. I took longer to learn, but I started my audition repertoire between February and May of my junior year of high school, and had the rep prepared well in advance, with several successful performances under my belt. There's no reason that you can't learn a Beethoven or Schubert sonata in a year.
Considering the OP, at the bare minimum, would also need to *master* not *learn* a virtuosic etude and a 20th century work on top of the sonata
, I don't think it wise.
There is no time to waste, so if there's any sort of skepticism, it's better just to avoid it.
Worst thing that happens is the OP spends 2-3 months on something then realizes it's not going to happen, well, now what?
Let's not pick nits . . . when I used the word "learn," I meant to imply mastery to the degree necessary for a successful performance/audition.On what grounds?Who is skeptical?I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. In any case, I still do not have an answer to my question -- why is it not possible to prepare a Beethoven or Schubert sonata in a year's time? Notes for a movement under the fingers in a week, memorized in two, move on to next movement while polishing last movement.It depends entirely on how you organize yourself and how you practice. There is no reason why "OP" cannot play the audition with repertoire as listed above, in a year's time.Mike
Perhaps my words were too general, and, reading back on my posts, they were. Because I do not know the OP's learning curve or practice habits, it was my recommendation that he/she avoids trying to master a Beethoven or Schubert sonata on top of his/her other material in a years time for conservatory admissions. I did not mean to say "no one can ever do it", which is wrong. You are correct.I don't agree with that practice schedule of a major classical sonata. But that's neither here nor there and off the original topic.
I was thinking of possibly doing two works from Rach's Romeo and Juliet. What do you all think?
Please understand that I don't mean to bicker; but I would like to underline the point that neither you nor I know OP's "learning curve" nor OP's "practice habits." What I am interested in, however, is the idea of developing practice habits that can make it possible to assimilate a major classical sonata in a year's time (or less!). It may seem tangential at first glance to discuss these things, but I think it is quite related to the feasibility of these repertoire choices.Also, please allow me a clarification: I was not setting a practice schedule, but drawing a sketch of the process. This is not an exact timeline, but then again, it is probably not terribly far off . . . depending on the HOW.Let's continue this discussion -- I am interested to hear your thoughts on how to prepare this repertoire in a thorough, yet expedient manner; if you think it is not to be done, I am curious to hear the reasons why not.All the best,Mike
Hey everyone,Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I actually could technically learn Haydn's later Eb Sonata as I already know about 1.5 movements of it, but as someone said above, it is also pretty overplayed. As for my learning curve, I believe a year for an etude and a full classical sonata is possible with hard work, but as I still haven't been able to choose a 20th century work, I'm not sure how to judge what I'll be learning so far. I was thinking of possibly doing two works from Rach's Romeo and Juliet. What do you all think?