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Topic: University Audition Pieces? (Read 1879 times)

kawwai

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 6

Hello everybody, I am a late starter (started at 13 1/2 years old, am now 15 1/3 years old in my freshman year) I really fell in love with the piano last spring and decided I wanted to do a double major. My technique is I'd say decent, I do a lot of technique work (Hanon, scales, arpeggios, octaves, etc.) Right now and for this summer I am learning Beethoven sonata Op. 13 "Pathetique" (2nd movement done and polished for a few months, 2 pages learned for 1st mvt.), Schubert Impromptu Op. 142 no 4, Liszt Gnomenreigen, Mozart sonata k331 first movement, Chopin etude op 10 no 3, as well as a few duet pieces. For auditions, my teacher chose Haydn Sonata Hob 23. I'm looking for suggestions for contemporary, romantic, and baroque. I'm better with slower, more lyrical pieces, but I am open to any suggestions.

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rachlover23

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 8

Re: University Audition Pieces?

Reply #1 on: April 02, 2020, 03:39:15 AM

Hi Kawwai.
i have suggestions for 2 of the time periods

for baroque, WTC book II prelude and fugue in d major (prelude is quiet lovely to play and the counterpoint in the fugue is magnificent.

for Romantic, Rach prelude in b minor op 32 no. 10 (Very Beautiful mournful melody, to really perform this piece a mature musicianship is needed)

hope this helped

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kawwai

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 6

Re: University Audition Pieces?

Reply #2 on: April 06, 2020, 01:49:07 PM

hank you, Rach. Do you think the prelude would be virtuosic enough? I'm mainly aiming for priate schools in Texas, but I'm also applying for some harder schools, such as Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern. I'll look at the bach p&f though.

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chrismaninoff

PS Silver Member
Jr. Member
Posts: 42

Re: University Audition Pieces?

Reply #3 on: April 06, 2020, 09:54:32 PM

Hi Kawwai,

I'm currently finishing my Bachelor's Degree at McGill University in Montreal. One thing I'll tell you before offering suggestions is that at the Bachelor's level especially, unless you are applying to schools like Julliard or Rice, you will likely be accepted everywhere you apply so long as you play whatever repertoire you choose very cleanly and with musicality. For example, the Chopin Etude you are playing is one of the easier ones, but if you play it well, and nail the 'technical section' in the middle, it's much more likely that you'll be accepted than if you had played the double thirds etude at a virtuosic tempo but missed half the notes or let your musicality go out the window to struggle through it. Of course, if you can play one piece that would be considered virtuosic, such as gnomenreigen for instance, and play it well, that will help your chances for sure!

Anyways, for something baroque, it would be ideal to play a prelude and fugue by Bach. Choose any one at all, and if you can bring out the polyphony in the fugue, you will please the jury. The D major would be a good choice if you haven't done one before, or the C minor from book 1. If you really don't like either of those, look at perhaps playing the gigue from the French Suite in G major and one other movement from that suite.
For a Romantic option, since you already have the Chopin Etude I won't suggest Chopin. If you can play the first Novelette by Schumann, that would be good; juries love Schumann!
Finally for a 'modern' piece, if you can find something really weird by Stockhausen or something, they would probably be super impressed at your repertoire--anything by someone you've never heard of that sounds like a car crash on a piano. Just make sure to spend as much time researching it as practicing it so that you can get into it and sound knowledgeable if they ask you questions about it. If you can't stomach that, there are lots of short but cool things by bartok--I'm not super familiar with his music but if you hunt around on google you can probably find something that you'll like!

Sorry for the long response, I hope that that was helpful!

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Accompanist and private piano teacher, poetry hobbyist, aspiring gourmet porridge chef.

www.christopherknopppianist.com

pianoannieq

PS Silver Member
Jr. Member
Posts: 41

Re: University Audition Pieces?

Reply #4 on: May 11, 2020, 10:10:47 PM

Hi Kawwai,

Wow the progress you've made in a few years is impressive! I'm really glad that you're enjoying piano.

Many colleges usually ask for these requirements: a work by Bach, a classical sonata, a romantic piece, a twentieth century piece, and an etude. The last three really depend on the school, some require all three and others only require one or two.

I think a prelude and fugue by Bach is pretty substantial, most college applicants use that as their Bach requirement. Haydn seems like a good choice, his sonatas are not as popular as Beethoven's and you could stand out if you did a really good job with it. However, if you prefer to do Beethoven, I probably would not do Pathetique since it's very popular, but there are many other sonatas to choose from, and you have plenty of time! Liszt and Chopin are both great etude selections, but I would personally go with the Liszt. As for romantic, Schumann is a great choice, why don't you take a listen to his Abegg variations? Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso is very beautiful and has many lyrical parts. If the schools you're interested in require a contemporary piece, definitely take some time to listen to some pieces. My favourites are Prokofiev and Liebermann, but there's so many different textures and styles of contemporary music. So if you find something you enjoy, go for it since you'll be more motivated and the experience will be more gratifying

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I hate music (and sarcasm)

Beethoven Sonata 18
Liszt Rhapsodie Espagnole
Prokofiev Sonata 4 op.29
Scriabin Piano Concerto

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