Question on repertoire

[Fugue]

I am starting to prepare for my auditions for college, and I was wondering if these peices are suitable to learn.

Baroque: Prelude and Fugue in C major from (I believe) the well tempered clavichord.
Or a sinfonetta.

Classical: A Mozart Sonata (right now I am learning the C major K545, but I should be done with it soon, so I could probably learn another one).

Romantic: Either Chopin's Waltz in f minor (I believe op. 70 ?) or a suitable Chopin peice.

Modern: Either Debussy's "The sunken Cathedral (or whatever it is called, I can't spell it in French), Ravel's "Pavane", Villa-Lobos's "O Polchineo", or a Valse de sentimentales de nobles (again, probably not spelled right), or, if its on the list, the final peice from the mirrors suite, "The valley of the clocks." Can you tell that I really love Modern Music?

Anyway, feel free to suggest any suitable pieces. One final question, is the Ravel Prelude really a level 7? Is it the same 1 minute long one with the ambiguous tonality? Because if it is, I'll just do that one, since I learned it very quickly last month.

Thanks!!!

[lagin]

The Sunken Cathedral is diploma level in Canada, and O Polchinelo is only grade nine.  (There are 10 grades pluse diploma level here).  So I'd go with the Cathedral.  Besides, you can put much more musicallity into that one.  O Plochinelo is very flashy, but short and rather abrupt in my opinion.  I'm not familiar enough with you other pieces to comment.  But out of these two, I'd go for Debussy, provided you have something else to demonstrate you technique with.  One the other hand, Sunken Cathedral is very long, and could be considered boring by someone without your flare for modern stuff.  I don't know!

[Fugue]

Good point, but I must ask what is "Diploma level?" Also, What is a good level to be at when one is auditioning for college (I am not actually going to be a piano major, but a composition major, but they want me to show a proficency in piano)?

[nanabush]

The Waltz in F minor, unless he has another one is a great piece, but still also only grd. 9 in Canada... Try a more technical waltz like E minor op. posth.... that one is a good piece, and is Grd. 10 here.  Sunken Cathedral is an easier Diploma compared to others (gaspard de la nuit, feux d'artifice) and is very impressive.  What are the requirments for ur college audition?

[Fugue]

As far as I can tell

Baroque: an invention or fugue by bach.

Classical: a haydn, Beetoven (my God, I can't spell), or mozart sonata

Romantic: a peice of suitable difficulty

Modern: ditto.

In fact, I have no real idea what specific level they are looking for. I plan to e-mail them soon about it. But what is "Diploma level?" And is the op. 9 nocturne (chopin) a suitable piece?

[nanabush]

Diploma Level is Performer's ARCT to be more exact.  For List A you choose a piece by Bach from the syllabus including Preludes and Fugues, well a selection of them, and also includes Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue, several tocatas and others.  List B you choose a classical sonata for example Grieg Sonata, Moonlight, Appassionata, or others of similar difficulty.  List C is Romantic such as Fantaisie Impromptu, a Ballade, Petrarch Sonnet, Mephy Waltz, Fauré Nocturne... List D is early Modern, so impressionist, like Gaspard de la Nuit, Albeniz Leyenda, A debussy Preludes (like Cathderale Englouttie), and others, List E more modern, like Visions Fugitives, Prok. Toccata, and List F I think... Concert Etude like Chopin or Liszt etude, Debussy etude, Moszkowsky etude, and others.  So think about a piece around the level of the peices mentioned, and then you got a 'diploma level' or just find a syllabus it has the entire repertoire for performance ARCT.........

[ako]

In any competition/audition, demonstration of your different abilities is key. I agree with your choices and also the Debussy over Ravel. Ravel might look simple on the score but it's harder to pull off. You might also not want to play all super difficult pieces because you are already under pressure to perform and it's always less stressing to play something you know well. Remember, it's always better to play well than to play something super difficult but not do a good job on it.

Good luck!