Conservatory Audition Repertoire

[1234_life_1234]

Hi guys,
I'm going to be applying for piano to a few undergraduate conservatories and I had a few questions. I'll be auditioning in 2012 so I still have one year. First of all, for the 20th/21st century work that most require, if I were to play a sonata, would I have to play the entire sonata or would one movement suffice? Also, would any of you be willing to help me figure out what repertoire I should play? I want to play everything solidly because my target school is the New England Conservatory, so I don't want so many large works that I won't be able to play any of them well. This is what I have currently:


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 suggestions

Virtuosic 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.)


Thanks in advance!!

[bachbrahmsschubert]

For conservatory admissions, I can't stress the importance of a private teacher. If you have a private teacher, you should be working out repertoire for auditions with him/her.

Also keep in mind that NEC is one of the most competitive conservatories in the United States. I don't recommend learning all new repertoire with the fact that you only have one year (not a very long time at all for something this important).

I can't stress enough the importance of variety. I do not recommend auditioning with Beethoven's Pathetique, Appassionata, Tempest, or Moonlight Sonatas. Even the Waldstein would be pushing it. These are overplayed. A brilliant Haydn or solid Schubert would be better. Schools like NEC get a lot of applicants, "something different" can only help you.

For the romantic work/virtuosic etude, you seem to be able to handle something by Charles Alkan. Look him up. I do not recommend playing Chopin's Op. 10 No. 1, it's one of the most difficult etudes in piano repertoire and one year is simply not enough time. You can add No. 2 in A minor to that list as well...too difficult. I'm a huge fan of Op. 10 No. 8. It can be extremely impressive when played well.

For your 20th century question, CALL AND ASK OR SEND THEM AN EMAIL! DO NOT TAKE SOMETHING THAT IMPORTANT FROM STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET.

As far as pieces to play, there are many many things to choose from. I personally would avoid Bartok's allegro barbaro for the same reason as the aforementioned Beethoven sonatas. Just pick what you like. Early Prokofiev sonata would be nice.

Ultimately it boils down to this: It doesn't matter WHAT you play as long as you play it extremely well. With that in mind, you still want to stay away from the music that is overplayed.

They only need 5 minutes to know the full capabilities of a student. Stress less on the repertoire and more on learning it.

Best wishes,

[pianisten1989]

I have nothing to add. My thoughts exactly!

[1234_life_1234]

Any specific Haydn sonatas I should stay away from because they're overplayed, etc?

[pianisten1989]

Try not to pick the very late c major or e-flat major. They are the ones you hear everywhere.

[1234_life_1234]

the last Eb or the earlier Eb one?

[pianisten1989]

the last one

[bachbrahmsschubert]

One more thing you might want to be aware of:

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.

Enjoy your studies.

Best wishes,

[1234_life_1234]

Thanks! I didn't know that. I checked the website for NEC... I don't think it says anything about sight singing, so hopefully I'll be alright

[quantum]

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.

Once you learn how to sight sing, you'll wonder how you ever got around without the skill.  No more going to the piano to find out "what does this sound like."  When you know how to sight sing its all there in your head, as soon as you open the score.  

It is especially important for pianists, who tend to concentrate more on their limbs and much less with making music using the core of their body.

If you don't already know how to sight sing, you most likely will learn the skill in you first year of uni.

[gerryjay]

Dear 1234,
the first reply says it all. Nevertheless, I'd like to comment a couple of points.

1. An audition is about standing out the crowd. Two things to consider:
 a. you must have a solid performance of whatever you play, and here you must face that you don't have "still one year" but you do have "only one year". Preparation for some auditions usually takes two or even more years, but I'm not saying you must not enter. Do it, but know you have just the right time to perfect a new work that is right on your current possibilities. A step above and you will regret.
 b. you are not playing for yourself, but for a jury that has been listening to all sort of auditions in the last decade, sometimes the last half of century. So, all the stress on "don't go with the pathetique, etc" is not enough. Don't even think about playing that. Schubert is a remarkable good idea. The same applies to the study: there is a vast literature of virtuosic studies. Chopin is the most conservative and overplayed choice possible.

2. Choose as many pieces you already play as possible. You have five points, and as far I did understand you have only two prepared works (Bach and Liszt). So, you must play from scratch a complete Classical sonata, a 20th/21st piece, and an etude. It feels like an impossible task, but let's assume you don't have any options. If that is the situation, don't go with another sonata or large work for the 20th century. Pick up a single piece from 5 to 8 minutes long, and call it a day.

3. About the 20th century sonata, although BBS have an important advice (write to the institution), it is the most usual to prefer complete works. Some institutions are clearly against fragments: you simply can not play a work that is not complete, and it is write down somewhere. However, another institutions say nothing, but your jury will most likely kill yourself if you go with a single movement. So, a word of caution: never play incomplete works in such a situation. If you don't have the time to prepare a complete sonata, theme and variations, etc, do the simplest possible thing: choose a single movement work.

Best regards, and very good luck!
Jay.

[tsaij]

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.

[mike_lang]

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 suggestions

Virtuosic 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.)

Looks good to me.  Mine was Pathétique, BbM Prelude and Fugue, Black Keys étude, first Chopin scherzo, and a piece by Lowell Liebermann called "Gargoyles."  My late teacher, who was highly successful in preparing his students for their undergrad auditions (several were awarded full scholarship to attend Juilliard, and have gone on to become Gilmore Artists and contestants in major competitions such as V.C., etc.), advised me that (at least at the time) the schools liked to hear something by an American composer, thus, the Liebermann.

Cheers,
Mike

[lohshuhan]

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? 

[mike_lang]

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? 

Why do you say that?

[lohshuhan]

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.. 

[bachbrahmsschubert]

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.

I did not mean to exclude Beethoven altogether. I suggested that the OP stay away from those that I listed for the reasons that I stated. I apologize if this was misconstrued.

I do, however, feel that Haydn is severely overlooked when considering auditions. I have a biased opinion towards Schubert because he's one of my favorites, but I do feel a great interpretation of a Schubert sonata would be more beneficial than Beethoven. 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). Meh.

I think they should allow everyone to just audition with Bach.

Best wishes,

[mike_lang]

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.. 

Those two Beethoven sonatas are plenty challenging, and certainly have sufficient musical depth!  As for comparison with the Chopin, it's apples and oranges.

[lohshuhan]

oh wait its Beethoven #27 not opus 27..  that must be Opus 90..  i take my words back.. 

[mike_lang]

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.

[bachbrahmsschubert]

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?

Best wishes,

[mike_lang]

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

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.

, I don't think it wise.

On what grounds?

There is no time to waste, so if there's any sort of skepticism, it's better just to avoid it.

Who is skeptical?

Worst thing that happens is the OP spends 2-3 months on something then realizes it's not going to happen, well, now what?

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

[bachbrahmsschubert]

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

This debate really requires the OP to be included, as the two of us are trying to speak for him/her.

My intention was not to nit pick, only to stress the difference between "mastering" and "learning." The asterisks were not intended to provoke you in any way.

I don't understand your question on my thought of it being unwise for a student in high school to try and master 3 major works (including keeping up with his/her other repertoire, school work [job?]) in a year's time. "So and so did it" is not good enough for me, which is why the OP would need to be included in this debate.

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.

Best wishes,

Edit: And what I meant by "Worst thing that happens is the OP spends 2-3 months on something then realizes it's not going to happen, well, now what?" has to do with over confidence. Again, speaking too generally, as I do not know the OP's learning curve. My point was the OP attempting to master all of these works in time, then realizing that he/she can't sufficiently learn the chosen repertoire. Now what? Choose new repertoire? Give up? Keep working hard and hope for the best? Not a situation I would want anyone to be in working towards auditions.

[mike_lang]

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.

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

[1234_life_1234]

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?

[asiantraveller101]

I was thinking of possibly doing two works from Rach's Romeo and Juliet. What do you all think?

Are you sure it is not Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet?
IMHO, since your other pieces are fairly large, and you're auditioning for undergrad, choose something smaller for the 20th century. You already have a lot of new material to tackle. Every piece has to be convincing and totally "digested".
Best of luck in your preparation! 

[bachbrahmsschubert]

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

I somehow missed this post!

I am an undergraduate conservatory student. This was my audition repertoire:

Bach - Prelude and Fugue E flat major Bk. 2
Schubert - sonata D. 959
Clara Schumann - Scherzo no. 1 Op. 10
Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Leo Ornstein - A La Chinoise Op. 39 (This was an optional piece that they did not hear for the audition).

Out of all these works, Schubert was the most strenuous. It took me roughly 10 months to prepare the whole sonata, 3 more until I was ready to perform it. The way I work with sonatas is I never move on to the next movement until the one I started is perfected (I learned the 4th mvt. first). And to break that down, I never move past the sections I break. Example: unless the exposition is acceptable (I often times break the exposition into segments and work that way), there is no reason to move on to the development. For Rondos, I keep it simpler: until A is mastered, B patiently waits. This keeps me focused and I learn much faster. I recommend this style of practice to everyone, because no matter what level of proficiency you currently are, it works.

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?

No matter what you choose, be sure they will accept incomplete works. They may not want sections of a large piece, they may want the entire piece. As Michael mentioned before, they may like an American composer. Samuel Barber has some nice piano pieces.

Best wishes,