Liszt Totentanz Solo for Masters Audition?

[dicapriccioso]

I'm applying for masters, and previously posted a thread here a couple of weeks ago.

I'm a sophomore, so I have got plenty of time, but still would like to have some idea.

I was wondering if Totentanz is a big no-no for an audition, since I just love this piece and Dis Irae generally as well. I was a bit worried as it might not be as good for showing off your rubatos and phrasing and etc. for a romantic work.

The alternatives are:

Spanish Rhapsody
Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise

which I've learned for before. Spanish Rhapsody was in good shape, and ASGP was a bit meh, but I can re-learn it I guess.

From what others have previously suggested,
I can ask to learn

Hungarian Rhapsody 12 (just absolutely beautiful) or
Chopin Fantasy in F Minor (I have been much better at Liszt than Chopin so far, but I can try)

My question is, would Totentanz not be as good as others I've mentioned for the audition? I think it would make a great competition piece, but is that a piece that I should stay away from?

[liszt1022]

Var IV gives enough room for rubato. Phrasing is important everywhere. Anything that you can do well will be good for an audition. A bad Totentanz will just sound like technical exercises.

[quantum]

If the piece is one that shows your strengths, then go for it.  Better not to choose a "safe" selection that doesn't really fit in your strengths. 

An audition is more then just the single piece, so you have room to adjust your program.

[symphonicdance]

My silly opinion only.

I would prefer listening to the orchestral version of Totentanz to the solo version.  Since you said you are playing Liszt better than Chopin, then perhaps you can consider Après une lecture de Dante Fantasia Quasi Sonata (from Années de pèlerinage II Italie) or Mephisto Waltz No 1.

[jy_]

I like Totentanz, too, although the version for solo P rather irks me. But not many people can (or have bothered to) learn the version for solo P so I think it is rarely heard in auditions. Might impress the panel

On the other hand, you could try Vallee d'Obermann, which I think is wonderful and seems to be getting rarer at the conservatory level (I might be wrong about this...),  although some of my teachers are of the opinion that it isn't very good audition material because "you can't really tell anything about a person's playing in the first half of the piece"