Piano Forum

Hi y'all,
I'm a freshman physics major in uni right now, but I've had a change of heart and want to audition for a conservatory next year. I missed the audition cycle this year, so I would audition next year, meaning I still have a lot of time to learn different pieces, but this is what I'm currently thinking for my audition repertoire:
Baroque:
-Bach WTC G minor Book 2 (not learned yet)
Classical Sonata:
-Haydn C major Hob 50
Substantial Romantic Work:
-Chopin Sonata No. 3
20/21st Century:
-Gaspard de la Nuit
Virtuosic Etude: (Couple choices here, choose one or two)
-Chopin Op. 10 No. 4
-Godowsky-Chopin Op. 10 No. 4 (difficult to maintain)
-Liszt Transcendental Etude No. 1 (this would be the easiest)
-Rachmaninoff Op. 39 No. 1 (not learned yet)
Lyrical:
-Chopin Nocturne Op. 15 no. 1

I know it's hard to say anything substantial about it without hearing recordings, but most of them wouldn't be current recordings (I'm bringing back a lot of these pieces from years ago... herehttps://youtu.be/cFGpaJ-hANE is a WIP recording of the Godowsky from a couple months ago that I posted here... and herehttps://youtu.be/E0S-cfjevk8 is mvt 1 of chopin from some time ago), so I don't think it would accurately represent my abilities. I'd still love to hear any comments, ideas you might have on repertoire selection (i.e. Maybe it's too technique heavy? Is that bad? Is it well balanced? etc.)

Also, I'd love it if anyone could share some successful audition pre-screening tapes for the top conservatories so I can get an idea for what the competition is like. My teacher reckons I have a chance at Curtis, but she isn't too familiar with Curtis admissions, so I'm somewhat doubtful...

Sorry for this mess of a post, I suppose I'm just looking for some advice...

Some of this stuff is good to pull out, some not so good.

The Bach seems like a good choice, though I must warn you that fast Bach pieces are usually the hardest to pull off in any kind of performance set. Likewise, the Haydn is tricky, but appropriate.

I don't know if three Chopin pieces is really good to do, though. I would highly suggest doing something by Brahms (like both the Rhapsodies Op. 79 or the Op. 119 set), Schumann (perhaps the Fantasiestucke or Krieslerina), Liszt (not a Sonata, but maybe a lesser-played Hungarian Rhapsody like No. 5 or 13), or maybe one of Chopin's mature, less-played works, like the Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61. They will like it if you bring something that almost no one plays. Also consider perhaps doing something by Schubert or late Beethoven, like the Wanderer Fantasy or Beethoven's Op. 109. Just a thought.

For your etudes, I think you really should play something from the Rachmaninoff Op. 39. Personally I would pick number 5, but that's just because I love that piece so incredibly much! If you want to go with the Liszt, you should definitely play a more substantial, less-played etude, like Vision or Arpeggio.

But really, coming from someone who has been here almost exactly: if you play something that they all know by heart, any and all mistakes, even slight ones, will stick out in their heads. Rather, if you play something like, say, the Ginastra Sonata, they won't know every single note of it without even needing to look at the score. Also, I just have a feeling that if you play ANYTHING by Scriabin, that might make a bigger impression than if you play the Gaspard de la Nuit.

These are just my thoughts. I didn't audition to any top conservatories because none of my audition repertoire was even close to being ready by the deadline for application, so I didn't even bother. Instead I auditioned at a university with some well-known faculty, and am planning to pursue a bachelors, then get my masters at a top conservatory. I recommend keeping your options open in that way. If you take that route, you might even be able to pull a double major in music and physics, if you're insane enough.

These are just my thoughts.