Repertoire for Juilliard Audition?

[kris9]

I would love to audition for Juilliard next fall, but I'm having trouble deciding what to play. I don't want to choose songs that are overplayed or not difficult enough. Here is what I'm thinking so far...

Bach- Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue

For the sonata I had thought about doing Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, but I read on a forum here that it is very overplayed now I am leaning towards Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy

I love Chopin's Ballades 2 and 3, but I read that those were overplayed as well. I'm not sure what else I would pick for that.

Etudes:
Chopin Op. 25 No. 11
I don't know what to do for the other etude... any suggestions? Not a huge fan of Lizst, I was thinking maybe Debussy or Rachmaninoff?

For the substantial work/collection of works I think I want to do something contemporary because I heard that was good to do, but I really don't know that many contemporary music selections. If someone could give me some suggestions on those, that would be very helpful! Thank you so much!

[j_menz]

There are people here who would claim that Sorabji's Opus Archemagicum has been overplayed. Ignore such commentary and also that consideration.

I'd have thought Juilliard would expect its applicant to have both a passion for music and a broad exposure to it. Pick your repertoire to show that.

[werq34ac]

If you play an overplayed piece, the judges will either think "just another ballade" or "not just another ballade." In other words if you can impress the judges with an overplayed piece, it will reflect very positively on you and make you memorable. On the other hand, if your ballade is just "good" like the 50 other ballades they'll be hearing, that will be one strike in trying to stand out amongst their huge application pool. Remember that juillard has a lower acceptance rate than harvard.

[michaelpianist]

I would love to audition for Juilliard next fall, but I'm having trouble deciding what to play. I don't want to choose songs that are overplayed or not difficult enough. Here is what I'm thinking so far...

Bach- Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue

For the sonata I had thought about doing Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, but I read on a forum here that it is very overplayed now I am leaning towards Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy

I love Chopin's Ballades 2 and 3, but I read that those were overplayed as well. I'm not sure what else I would pick for that.

Etudes:
Chopin Op. 25 No. 11
I don't know what to do for the other etude... any suggestions? Not a huge fan of Lizst, I was thinking maybe Debussy or Rachmaninoff?

For the substantial work/collection of works I think I want to do something contemporary because I heard that was good to do, but I really don't know that many contemporary music selections. If someone could give me some suggestions on those, that would be very helpful! Thank you so much!

In my opinion, if you can play your repertoire exceptionally well, the fact that they are "overplayed" or not should not concern you At an audition, the adjudicators' decisions to accept you or not are based on the quailty of your performances, not your selection of repertoire.

I love the Waldstein sonata; it is my favorite Beethoven sonata. And it is not "overplayed" at all at auditions in my opinion. I auditioned for (pre-college) music schools (I'm going to Colburn Academy in Los Angeles this fall) a few months ago, and I must confess that I heard the Beethoven A-flat major sonata (Op. 110) the most. I recommend Emil Gilels' recording of the op. 53.

I love all four Chopin ballades. Nos. 2 and 3 are both very difficult to play well. The finale in the F major is extraordinarily difficult, as is the c-sharp minor section in the A-flat major. You will undoubtedly impress the judges if your performance of a Chopin ballade has something "special" in it.

As for an etude......if you love Debussy, there's no doubt that you'll love his etude nr. 11 pour les arpèges composés. It's gorgeous, but difficult to play well, especially if you have subpar arpeggio technique.
Ask yourself... "Am I good at arpeggios, octaves, repeated notes, rapid scales, trills, or etc.?" If you are good at octaves, playing an "octave etude" would be better than playing an etude with massive arpeggios

The following etudes are also good choices:
- Rachmaninoff Étude-Tableau in e-flat minor, Op. 39 no. 5
- Scriabin Etude in d-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 12
- Ligeti Etude for piano nr. 10 Der Zauberlehrling

If you want an idea, here was my audition program for my auditions:
- Bach, Prelude and Fugue in f-sharp minor, BWV 883
- Beethoven, Piano Sonata in f minor, Op. 57
- Chopin, Ballade in f minor, Op. 52
- Chopin, Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
- Schubert, Fantasie in C major, D. 760
- Ravel, Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs

I hope I helped! Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any more questions regarding auditions; they are fun but stressful!

[piano1mn]

I would love to audition for Juilliard next fall, but I'm having trouble deciding what to play. I don't want to choose songs that are overplayed or not difficult enough. Here is what I'm thinking so far...

Bach- Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue

For the sonata I had thought about doing Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, but I read on a forum here that it is very overplayed now I am leaning towards Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy

I love Chopin's Ballades 2 and 3, but I read that those were overplayed as well. I'm not sure what else I would pick for that.

Etudes:
Chopin Op. 25 No. 11
I don't know what to do for the other etude... any suggestions? Not a huge fan of Lizst, I was thinking maybe Debussy or Rachmaninoff?

For the substantial work/collection of works I think I want to do something contemporary because I heard that was good to do, but I really don't know that many contemporary music selections. If someone could give me some suggestions on those, that would be very helpful! Thank you so much!

This is what I choose, but you might not like it

 I would love to audition for Juilliard next fall, but I'm having trouble deciding what to play. I don't want to choose songs that are overplayed or not difficult enough. Here is what I'm thinking so far...

Bach- Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue

For the sonata I had thought about doing Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, but I read on a forum here that it is very overplayed now I am leaning towards Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy

I love Chopin's Ballades 2 and 3, but I read that those were overplayed as well. I'm not sure what else I would pick for that.

Etudes:
Chopin Op. 25 No. 11
I don't know what to do for the other etude... any suggestions? Not a huge fan of Lizst, I was thinking maybe Debussy or Rachmaninoff?

For the substantial work/collection of works I think I want to do something contemporary because I heard that was good to do, but I really don't know that many contemporary music selections. If someone could give me some suggestions on those, that would be very helpful! Thank you so much!
My suggestions:

Bach-  Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Goldberg Variations, or Italian Concerto(girl played, won competition) Partita no.1, 4, 5(played and won), 6   French Suite 5 (played and won); English Suite 4(learned)
Beethoven Appasionata; Tempest(boy played won international and state); Moonlight(boy played won 3rd place): Mozart- K 330-333 or 280 or d maj(played and won); Schubert D 664(learning); Wanderer; Haydn Hob XVI 20(played and won); Haydn HOB XVI either 52 or 62 in e b(played and won)
Chopin- Prelude 28-24; Etude cello(learned); fEtude  min left hand(learned); Etude24; BAllade 1 (boy won) 2;  Mazurka f min; Nocturne e min(learned); Nocturne c min
Etude- Un Sospiro(played and won); Alkan- Festin d'Esope; Liszt La Campanella(learning); PAganini Etude liszt 6(girl played won); Liszt Chasse neige(learning); Chopin 24; Concerto for solo piano(ALkan)

Extra: Paul de Senniville Concerto pour un juene fille nomme t'aime; Cour Tendresse






Chopin- Prelude O;.28 no.24(learning);   Ballade 1 or 2;   Etude 24; Etude Cello(learned); ETude f min left hand(kind of learned);
Mazurka f min; Nocturne c min; Nocturne e min(learned); Fantasie Impromptu(I played and won a competition with)

Etude-

Extra: