Moszkowski Op. 72/2 or Liszt S.136/12

[rtheunissen]

Dear people of Pianostreet,

I'm once again struggling with audition repertoire but have narrowed the choice down to two etudes, my teacher is letting me choose myself but I don't know which of the two I want. Which will the jury at a conservatory audition appreciate more, Moszkowski etude Op. 72/2 or Liszt etude S. 136/12?

[thorn]

I'd imagine the Moszkowski as it's a mature/completed piece (can't find the right word, you know what I mean) vs. the Liszt which is the earliest of three versions.

[lelle]

I'd agree with thorn but honestly I don't really know. I think the Moszkowski is a more expressive piece; the Liszt is cool but a little bland.

[rachorascho]

I do not know, what would the jury appreciate more, but I would definitely appreciate more the Liszt's 136/12. But the choice depends on what is your other repertoir for the competition and which of those two very different etudes is more suitable for it.

[rtheunissen]

My other repertoire is, if it doesn't change (which it might, depending on how much time I have to learn and replace pieces);
Baroque: Bach - Invention No. 8
Classical: Beethoven - Sonata No. 5, Mvt. 1
Romantic: Chopin - Nocturne No. 15
Post-Romantic: Debussy - Prelude (Book 1) No. 8
However, I'm thinking of maybe changing the Debussy prelude to No. 10 of the same set. And if I have even more time to study before the audition I might want to step it up in one of the eras, so I'll perhaps choose a Prelude and Fugue for the Baroque era, a Schubert sonata or Chopin ballade for the Romantic era or perhaps Debussy's "Reflections dans l'Eau".

Hopefully this gives you somewhat of a decent idea of my audition repertoire...

[bwl_13]

And if I have even more time to study before the audition I might want to step it up in one of the eras, so I'll perhaps choose a Prelude and Fugue for the Baroque era, a Schubert sonata or Chopin ballade for the Romantic era or perhaps Debussy's "Reflections dans l'Eau".

Best go with the Prelude and Fugue, and one of the easier ones at that. You don't want to audition with a Chopin Ballade or "Reflections dans l'Eau" (unless your audition is a few years away) since these are pieces a lot more difficult than what you are playing and it's better to audition slightly below your peak rather than above. I think the invention is the easiest piece in your program and it's a good idea to have a solid Bach piece, so a Prelude and Fugue works well. I recommend E Flat in Book 1.

Also, I'd go with the Moszkowski.

[rtheunissen]

Thanks for the reply, well said. The only reason why I think I could maybe learn one of these more difficult pieces is because the progress I've made so far has all been made in about half a year (even with school and finals which I take very seriously) which, according to my teacher, is quite fast. In a month I'm done with school and I can put in way more time for practice. The auditions are also not for another year or so. It's a good idea to switch the invention, it was also the first piece out of this bunch that I learned (and the first serious piece I ever learned in general) so it makes sense that it is not very diffilcut. Do you have any other suggestions for things I could change, because I don't want a very "overplayed" list of pieces.

[brogers70]

Thanks for the reply, well said. The only reason why I think I could maybe learn one of these more difficult pieces is because the progress I've made so far has all been made in about half a year (even with school and finals which I take very seriously) which, according to my teacher, is quite fast. In a month I'm done with school and I can put in way more time for practice. The auditions are also not for another year or so. It's a good idea to switch the invention, it was also the first piece out of this bunch that I learned (and the first serious piece I ever learned in general) so it makes sense that it is not very diffilcut. Do you have any other suggestions for things I could change, because I don't want a very "overplayed" list of pieces.

What about one of the movements from Janacek's "In the Mist" ? They are all beautiful and each can stand alone.

[bwl_13]

Thanks for the reply, well said. The only reason why I think I could maybe learn one of these more difficult pieces is because the progress I've made so far has all been made in about half a year (even with school and finals which I take very seriously) which, according to my teacher, is quite fast. In a month I'm done with school and I can put in way more time for practice. The auditions are also not for another year or so. It's a good idea to switch the invention, it was also the first piece out of this bunch that I learned (and the first serious piece I ever learned in general) so it makes sense that it is not very diffilcut. Do you have any other suggestions for things I could change, because I don't want a very "overplayed" list of pieces.

Indeed that is fast. However, progression slows the more advanced pieces you play. I've had periods of very fast growth, but then it'll slow down for a bit. Any of the ballades are leaps and bounds more difficult than the pieces you listed. It's good you'll have more practice time, and maybe you'll manage it. However, it's important to have lots of experience with different techniques and textures. Learning a ballade, especially if you haven't been incrementally working towards it, would require a lot of skills at a high level that you haven't had a chance to deal with before. The sorts of jumps in the first ballades coda or the climax of the third ballade are very demanding, but need to be well mastered in order to make them musically interesting. The panel will be more interested in your musicality than if you can play a technically impressive piece

[rtheunissen]

I get what you're saying and you're right. The ballades were only an example, do you have any other suggestions or advice because I feel that pieces like Debussy's prelude No. 8 and nocturnes are quite often played. Maybe there is something better in the list I made a while ago of pieces that I want to learn and feel somewhat confident in. I posted it before somewhere but I'll put it in again;

---Baroque---

Bach
Invention No. 13, 14
Sinfonia No. 5
WTC Book I, Prelude & Fugue in C Major, C Minor, C sharp Minor, E flat Minor, …
Italian Concerto
Goldberg Variations – Aria

Scarlatti
Sonata K. 380

---Classical---

Haydn
Sonata Hob: XVI:8, Hob: XVI:G1
Sonata Hob: XVI:24, Hob: XVI:37

Mozart
Fantasia in D Minor
Sonata K. 545, "Sonata Facile"

Beethoven
Bagatelle Op. 119 No. 11
Sonata No. 1, 3, 5, 19, 20, 25
Sonata No.  9, 10, …

---Romantic---

Schubert
Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3
Sonata D. 894, “Fantasie”
Sonata D. 960

Glinka
The Lark (arr. Balakirev)

Schumann
Kinderszenen No. 1, “Von fremden Ländern und Menschen“, No. 7, “Träumerei”
Waldszenen No. 1, “Eintritt“, No. 7, “Vogel als Prophet“
Widmung (arr. Liszt)

Chopin
Prélude No. 2, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, …
Waltz Op. 64 No. 2, Op. 69 No. 2
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1, 2, Op. 27 No. 2, Op. 72 No. 1, Op. Posth in C-Sharp Minor
Mazurka Op. 6 No. 1
Étude Op. 10 No. 3, 6, Op. 25 No. 7
Sonata No. 2 - III “Marche Funèbre”
Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1
Mazurka Op. 33 no. 4, Op. 68 No. 2
Étude Op. 10 No. 7, 9, Op. 25 No. 10, Trois Nouvelle Études No. 1
Ballade No. 3

Liszt
Consolation No. 3
Étude S.136 No. 12
Étude d’exécution Transcendante No. 3, “Paysage”
Liebestraum No. 3
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3
Études d’exécution Transcendante No. 11, “Harmonies du Soir”

Alkan
Prélude Op. 31 No. 8

Brahms
Intermezzo Op. 76 No. 7
Ballade Op. 10 No. 1

Tchaikovsky
The Seasons June, "Barcarolle"

Grieg
Lyric Pieces Op. 54 No. 4, "Notturno"
Piano Sonata Op. 7

Moszkowski
Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72 No. 2

---Post-Romantic---

Rachmaninoff
Prélude Op. 32 No. 10
Étude-tableau Op. 33 No. 8 (G minor), Op. 39 No. 2 (A minor), No. 7 (C minor)
Morceaux de Fantasie Op. 3 No. 2, Prelude
Prélude Op. 32 No. 12

Debussy
Rêverie
Prélude No. 10, "La Cathédrale Engloutie"
Children's Corner No. 4, "The Snow is Dancing"
Suite Bergamasque (- III “Clair de Lune”)
Image No. 1, “Reflets dans l’Eau”

Sibelius
Impromptu Op. 5 No. 1, 2, 4, 6
“The Trees” Op. 75 No. 5, “The Spruce”
13 pieces Op. 76 No. 3, “Carillon”
Impromptu Op. 5, No. 3, 5

Satie
Gnossienne No. 5

Scriabin
Étude Op. 2 No. 1
Étude Op. 8 No. 11
Étude Op. 8 No. 12

Ravel
Pavane pour une Infante Défunte
Gaspard de la nuit - II “Le Gibet”
Jeux d’eau

Shostakovich
Prélude & Fugue op.87 No. 4 in E minor

[bwl_13]

Why not the nouvelle etude as your etude? It seems right around your level and the level of the other two you asked about.

The Bach WTC in C are both good, or the fifth sinfonia. I really think you should have a 3-4 voice piece in your audition program.

A Brahms Ballade might be a better fit than a Chopin Ballade. Have you looked at Chopin's impromptus? They might be right up your ally and in the spirit of a romantic selection for an audition.

Depending on your romantic selection, you could contrast your rep with the Ravel Pavane? I haven't play that piece though I've messed around with it. It's got some really odd harmonies but is a really beautiful piece.

[nightwindsonata]

I was also going to suggest the Ravel Pavane. Additionally, I think the Grieg Notturno might be a good choice. You should also check out Liszt's Liebestraum No. 1 and Cantique d'Amour, both of those are very romantic and melodic, but with enough technical fireworks to make them challenging and impressive, without becoming musically inaccessible for you.