College Audition Repertoire

[haydnseek]

This year, I will be entering my Junior year, and so I'm thinking about college auditions. I am considering UT's Butler, Baylor, Rice's Shepherd, USC, UCLA, Northwestern, Oberlin, and Peabody.

I am most concerned about having a memorable audition, and am worried about the Romantic and Contemporary Requirements. Any comments or advice? (For reference I just finished playing Beethoven Op 31 no 3, Chopin's Ballade 3, Brahms Op 119, Khachaturian Toccata, Liszt Un Sospiro, and Rachmaninoff Op 23 no 6 and 32 no. 10.)

Per the typical repertoire requirements

Bach WTC a minor bk1 or WTC gmin bk 2 (I can play the heck out of the gmin fugue, but worried about the prelude's boring and bland reputation)

Beethoven Op 31 no 1 sonata in G maj.

Romantic - Thinking about either the Variations serieuses or a Brahms sonata (specifically Brahms 2)

20th Century - I really wanted to play Scriabins 9th sonata, but concerned about some thinking it's too Romantic, so I also am considering Messiaen, Rzewski, or Liegti.

[nanabush]

Ligeti would be sweet... a couple etudes?

Rzewski any of the North American Ballades...'down by the riverside' is such a cool piece. (sorry if I butchered/paraphrased the title).  He has a TON of output though... in a keyboard lit class two years ago there was a guest speaker on Rzewzki... I had NO idea that he had written that much stuff...

[le_poete_mourant]

Romantic - Thinking about either the Variations serieuses or a Brahms sonata (specifically Brahms 2)

Start now! If your audition is in January or February, you're going to need the time for those. However, I would recommend that you avoid Brahms sonatas for the time, because those tend to be extremely difficult to play effectively; by which I mean, in a way that will impress the piano faculty. Also, they're just massive pieces. They're not going to expect you to play such large works at this point in your studies. And trust me, they know how to evaluate you -- they've heard just about everything, I'm guessing. These aren't people who are going to be impressed by pyrotechnics or an attempt to play a huge work.

In fact, I would recommend just sticking with something along the lines of a Chopin ballade. As a high school student auditioning for college at any of these places, they're not looking for you to blow them away with a Brahms Sonata or Mendelssohn. It's more about the potential they see in you rather than what you can do right now.

I'm actually in grad school at USC right now and in talking to a lot of the faculty, what makes an audition memorable is often the bad things and glaring mistakes... so, truthfully, I would suggest just "playing it safe" and sticking to what you know you can showcase solidly. The rest will speak for itself. If this were a competition, I would have different advice for you.

20th century -- Yes, they're probably going to want something more modern. Ligeti would be a good choice. Also check out the Liebermann gargoyles. They're a very nice set, and just one would suffice for your audition.

Bach WTC a minor bk1 or WTC gmin bk 2 (I can play the heck out of the gmin fugue, but worried about the prelude's boring and bland reputation)

Anyone who's evaluating your jury will most likely love Bach and won't think it's boring and bland at all unless you play it that way!! It's all what you make of it.

Good luck! If you end up auditioning at USC, message me and I can answer any questions you may have.

[pianoman53]

I've played quite many auditions. What I've learned is:

the pieces should start right away - Long introductions are beautiful, but it wont show as much as you would wish. The G minor ballad is one of those pieces you should avoid. Brahms is also, usually, pieces to avoid on auditions.

Don't take too big pieces - I played the symphonic etudes, but didn't come far before the time was up.

Don't take too difficult pieces - You don't have to show That much to be accepted. If you are able to play Liszt B minor, you can take a private lesson for one of the teachers, but not on the audition. It will show much more if you take a piece you're comfortable in, than something that's on the edge of what you can do.

You will most probably screw something up - Also another reason to take things you've known for some time.

Don't think of what the jury would like to listen to. If they would have some requierments, they would have written it. Just try to stay away from the most overplayed pieces in the repertoire.

[asuhayda]

My Audition pieces were (many years ago):

Baroque: Bach - French Suite No. 5 (Gigue)
Classical: - Beethoven - Pathetique Sonata 1st Mvmt
Romantic: - Chopin - Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
20th Century: Khachaturian - Toccata

These were not the most difficult songs I could play at the time.. my teacher advised me well on this.  Be careful not to pick music that is too hard.  You do not want to give the impression that you have nowhere to go.  Your future professors will be looking for "potential", and will not necessarily focus on the difficulty of what you are playing.  That is a factor, of course, but not the bulk of what they are looking for.  They want to see clarity and musicality. Also, they want to see that you understand what it is that you a playing.  And above all, a genuine love for the instrument.

Just like in a competition, the harder the music, the harder the judges will hit you for your mistakes.

PLUS!  If you play music that is skirting the top level, your first year will be HELL!  They will slam you with accompaniments in addition to your jury music.  This happend to me, in spite of my audition music... my first year was rough.  I was a scholarship student, and there's fine print with that.. you usually have to work harder than non-scholarship students.  Not, that you shouldn't go for a scholarship!  Go for it! Just be careful not to be too ambitious with your audition music.  If you are good, the professors will see it regardless of the difficulty of your music.

Best of luck to you! 

Oh ya, and get started NOW!

[imbetter]

This is what I will be doing:

Bach: P&F in b-flat minor from WTC book II
Beethoven: Sonata op.110
Liszt: Dante Sonata
Rachmaninoff: Etude-Tableau op.39 no.1
Prokofiev: Sonata no.7

I started these last February (I'm entering my senior year) and I do wish I started earlier so get busy!

[starstruck5]

I have been wondering about this. If the College don't specify a list of pieces to choose from -then would you be rejected if you played the following pieces sublimely well -for example:

Beethoven ---Fur Elise
Mozart -      -Sonata in C (Facile)
Chopin ------Prelude in E minor
Philip Glass ----Metamorphosis 1-3

 

[asuhayda]

I have been wondering about this. If the College don't specify a list of pieces to choose from -then would you be rejected if you played the following pieces sublimely well -for example:

Beethoven ---Fur Elise
Mozart -      -Sonata in C (Facile)
Chopin ------Prelude in E minor
Philip Glass ----Metamorphosis 1-3

 

Haha.. probably

[jhein]

Keep in mind that John Perry is no longer at USC.