Help ! My repertoire for my audition for Music College

[sammmue]

Hi guys !! New here !

I'm going to take a audition next year, it's diploma in Music Performance at Nan Yang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore.

My intention is to play quite difficult songs to be able to impress and get a scholarship but then to be honest the Ballade alone is already hard enough and tiring.

My repertoire (NOT CONFIRM):
Baroque- (have not decided)
classical- Beethoven "Pathetique" 3rd movement
romantic- Chopin Ballade No.1
21th century - (have not decided)


Please give me your advice and help !!!!!!!

[visitor]

how you play>what you play [within reason**]

it is best for your to seek out the list from the audition of requirements.
when in doubt, ask the school
play pieces you connect with personally and that showcase your strengths.
speak w/ current students, find out what they auditioned with and use that as your benchmark for piece types, difficulty, etc.
attend student performances by first year students, this will give you an idea of the standard you are striving for.

usually the boring formula works best, ie safe/conservative, but encourage you to insert one piece that may not be as  common and you express a unique musical sentiment and message/.

Baroque - almost everyone will play a JS Bach p/f; if you find any candidates that played Handel, i would encourage that. perhaps suite or exerpt (there are great Handel fugues too). Generally Handel is harder to pull off than Bach. Ok to also consider Rameau and Couperin

Classical - is probably fine.  You may want to look at a late Haydn or even Hummel (more a 'bridge composer' but may be acceptable) sonata movment

Romantic - seems fine, but the category is vast, , keep exploring, expecially if you are already 'tiring' on the Ballade, this can work against you. perhaps a shorter or less demanding work is a better way to proceed.

21st cent. - all over the place, consider a recent Kapustin, Rosenblatt, Tanaka, etc.

[visitor]

ie

take home message, the rep/lit is vast and varied, do lots of listening, self discovery, and align that w/ the needs of the performance (audience , past examples of success, etc)

[sammmue]

Hi, thanks for the help !

Clair de lune is it a grade 8 piece ? would you play it for a audition ?

[asiloti]

One of my complaints with pianists especially in contests is the emphasis on difficult technical pieces.
The most difficult pieces are very simple pieces that are extremely difficult to make musical (expressing emotions). A excellent example is the Bach-Siloti Prelude in b minor, very simple with many examples on YouTube but only a few that are truly musical.
Show your musicality, technique is only a tool to allows concentration on musical expression.

[pencilart3]

Clair de lune is it a grade 8 piece ? would you play it for a audition ?

I wouldn't. The notes are EXTREMELY EASY, almost like pathetique mov. 2, but the rhythm is SO easy to screw up. It almost depends on if the judges want to hear rubato or they want to hear it played correctly. I've played both pieces.

Isn't visitor great?! He always gives such good pieces and lots of them. Thanks visitor for the help you give to the members here!

[theholygideons]

Hi, thanks for the help !

Clair de lune is it a grade 8 piece ? would you play it for a audition ?

claire de lunatic? pshh. overplayed and unmusical. Pick something off the beaten track.

[outin]

Clair de lune is it a grade 8 piece ?

What does it matter? Just play it like this and I think you'll be ok:

[pencilart3]

What does it matter? Just play it like this and I think you'll be ok:

That could be easier said than done... 

[roncesvalles]

For the 21st century piece, it might be worthwhile to try Kaija Saariaho's Prelude or Ballade.  They are in a contemporary style that takes its lineage from Debussy, so while the music can be quite abstract and "modern" in sound, it still is quite expressive, allowing you to put a lot into the performance.

[dcstudio]

the Rosenblatt tango is awesome!!!

really cool piece...