Undergraduate Audition Repertoire

[boneil3774]

Hello everyone, I'm a junior in high school and I will need to have a college audition repertoire ready in a little under a year. I really have no idea what my chances are for different levels of universities, but I'm interested in places like USC, Peabody, U of Michigan, and U of Miami. I would greatly appreciate some suggestions on forming a successful repertoire.

Baroque - I've played the c minor prelude and fugue (book 1) but I really don't want to use that considering how overplayed it is - anything else I should consider?

Classical - I've played parts of Beethoven's Tempest sonata, Op.2 No.3 in c major, and the entire pathetique sonata - my teacher is considering Waldstein for me...

Romantic - Recently I took Chopin's third ballade to competitions with great success. I feel extremely comfortable playing it... should I plan on taking that?

20th century/Impressionistic - I'm at a bit of a loss here... I haven't studied these pieces in quite some time             Any suggestions?

Etude - I've worked on chopin 10/1 10/4 and 25/12 here and there. 10/1 and 10/4 still need significant technical work, and 25/12 just needs a little polishing. Not really sure which one to pursue...


Anyways thanks for the help!!!

[visitor]

It is more about the standard you are playing to. You will encounter various degrees of competitiveness depending On the school and program.  To consider are you for  bach mus music in performance? A bach of education ? A bach of arts in perdance?  

You are looking to show the panel you have the potential to successfully handle the load of their program so competence and musical creativity.  I believe for an audition the Waldstein and late sonatas could be a biting too much to chew for undergrad.  Might be better to stick with less difficult standards and really play them exceedingly well.  I would move towards early Beethoven were it me if I had to do Beethoven ( I successfully  auditioned with Mozart)

Honestly I would not pick or not pick on basis of how much the piece is played at this point any of the standard composer's work that is part of normal canon will be familiar to the jury.

But don't overlook handel.  There are nice fuges and dance excerpts to be found!

For romantic if you genuinely connect w the chopin and you have placed well in comps before against similarly adept pianists ( ie that is level similar to those you will aud against) then go for it

*will post some less common suggestions later

Étude , you have an opportunity to bring something they may not have heard if they do not limit you to specific composers. I *heart Serbian music , if you can find the score, perhaps this.

or something else by him,,there a lot


For impression is have a look at Joseph Marx.  The work is incredibly well crafted  , sounds amazing , fits the criteria, and is likely a breath do fresh air to some jurors. ( for these types of things It may perhaps be a good idea to juxtapose a both tried and true stds and some less common but worthy well composed works)
Ie here is a great Marx prelude

And here is an arabesque that I adore

Or if you are needing a shorty

[emill]

It is more about the standard you are playing to. You will encounter various degrees of competitiveness depending On the school and program.  To consider are you for  bach mus music in performance? A bach of education ? A bach of arts in perdance? 

You are looking to show the panel you have the potential to successfully handle the load of their program so competence and musical creativity.  I believe for an audition the Waldstein and to eat sonatas could be a biting for undergrad.  Might be better to stick with less difficult standards and really play them exceedingly well.  I would move towards early Beethoven were it me and I had to do Beethoven ( I successfully  auditioned with Mozart)   

Fully agree ! !  being a non-pianist, I would not be able to judge your current level so that my comment may not be appropriate since any suggested repertoire will really depend a lot on current level, skills and how well and how fast you can learn.  May I just say that if you are applying for BM in piano performance and if you can play the more difficult pieces EXCEEDINGLY well, then it would definitely be to your advantage.  The "Appassionata" and "Waldstein" are difficult pieces and would be a gamble if  not played exceedingly well .... it will surely be disastrous.

We also observed that the more difficult pieces were fairly commonly played in the schools my son applied to (Peabody, NEC, Eastman, etc.)  and perhaps that would also be the case at the U of Michigan and the other schools you would like to qualify.  If it were possible and time would permit, I would suggest that you play your audition repertoire in a public recital ... at least 2 public recitals or one competition. In that way you will overcome your nerves which is a very important aspect. Many excellent students do not make it as their nerves got the better of them.  If you can play a difficult repertoire very well and overcome your nerves, then you will be ready for the "Chinese and Koreans"  who are so dominating now-a-days in the "Name" music schools and conservatories.   

Below was the repertoire prepared by my son for his 9-school audition in 2012. The Beethoven Sonata, the Chopin Scherzo and the Bach P&F were required to be played in most of the schools he applied to.  The Liszt etude in 2 schools; one school required a Chopin Nocturne (slow) and an Etude (fast).   

May I wish you the BEST!!
 

1. Beethoven - Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op 57, No. 23 - "Appassionata"
2. Chopin - Etude Op.25, No.11, "Winter Wind"
3. Bartok- Two Rumanian Danses Op. 8a
4. Chopin - Scherzo No.3 in C sharp minor, Op. 39
5. Bach - Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892
6. Liszt - Paganini Etude No. 6
7. Chopin - Nocturne Op 9 No 1 in B flat Minor

 

[pianoman1349]

I agree with everything that has been said so far.

My only comment is that since you are applying to mainly competitive US schools, is to have ONE work that you feel a very strong personal connection and feel confident to make an artistic performance.  For myself, that work was the fourth Chopin Ballade.  Generally speaking, most audition panels will ask you to choose the first work you play in you audition ... this is where you can really make a strong impression.

---

Impressionistic/20th Century suggestions: 
Ravel -- Alborada del Gracioso (may not be appropriate for your strengths and current level)
Debussy -- Toccata (Pour le piano)
Prokofiev -- Diabolical Suggestion, Op. 4 #4  (short but effective)
Prokofiev -- Sonata no 3 (more substantial work -- quite effective for stuff like auditions)

Baroque:
I personally would stick to Bach (especially preludes and fugues) -- some will disagree with me on this one. 

WTC 1:  C-sharp major, e flat major, e major, g major, a flat major
WTC 2: c-sharp minor, f-sharp minor, g-sharp minor, a minor

Best of Luck!!!

[j_menz]

Impressionistic/20th Century suggestions: 

The twentieth century seems to have ended rather early (1905, 1901, 1908 and 1917). Are you related to the Romanovs?

[visitor]

The twentieth century seems to have ended rather early (1905, 1901, 1908 and 1917). Are you related to the Romanovs?

the century did not end but musical time stood still.  There was no music composition after 1920. Nothing.  Not a single note.  And composers just vanished mysteriously just like some dinosaurs or the Inca.  It's true. Just read the audition an competition requirements for modern music selections.  I read this in the internetz so I know thi to be certain .

[j_menz]

the century did not end but musical time stood still.  There was no music composition after 1920. Nothing.  Not a single note.  And composers just vanished mysteriously just like some dinosaurs or the Inca.  It's true. Just read the audition an competition requirements for modern music selections.  I read this in the internetz so I know thi to be certain .

That explains everything except several shelves of my music collection.

[visitor]

That explains everything except several shelves of my music collection.

no doubt, empty space where music like this, if it existed, would be found (again this isn't real, since nothing worth listening to, playing, or exploring came after the first quarter of the previous century)

for more, be on lookout this August for

i'm very interested in those four fugues (that do not exist of course)

[j_menz]

i'm very interested in those four fugues (that do not exist of course)

I have the blank pages where the score would be, should it exist, for the Sonatina, the Variations on a Slovak Folksong and Three Etudes.

Those Four Fugues, however, seem to have a more extensive existential crisis.

[pianoman1349]

A small clarification on my previous post:

For college auditions/competitions, I generally prefer to avoid anything too avant-garde or obscure as past experiences have shown that the listening panels tend to rate unfavorably anyone who brings works that are fairly obscure to the table.

This is because the point of an undergraduate audition is to determine the potential of the student to rapidly progress through the degree program so that by the end of the degree, the student will have demonstrated an understanding and ability to play virtually any work from the STANDARD repertoire.  Especially with the schools mentioned such as USC and Peabody, faculty members want to observe and evaluate a potential candidate's musical understanding of the western idiom, something that is significantly harder to do if the applicant is bringing an unknown work from the land of obscurity.

The idea here is this: A mastery of traditional repertoire is required before one can start mastering the obscure.  If anyone says I am too stuck in the past, so be it.  However, please note that my own repertoire includes many works written within the last 30 years, in addition to composers that are heard less frequently in concert such as Dohnanyi and Rabl.