Oy. Which Concerto?

August 24, 2011 at 5:45 AM

Which Concerto would you choose for the San Diego Symphony audition? Any 18th, 19th, or 20th century major concerto is permissible.

Sibelius. I love this concerto, though I've never worked on it before.
Saint-Saens No. 3. I played this one for my graduate recital.
Bruch No. 1. I played this one for my college senior recital.
Mozart 5. I think this would be most playable, though least virtuosic.
Other? Please comment!

From Emily Grossman
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 6:36 AM

When's the audition?

From Tom Holzman
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:44 PM

As I said before, play something with which you are comfortable so you can show your interpretive abilities in addition to your technical abilities. It sounds from your post as if you are concerned that if you choose the Mozart, the judges will downgrade you because it may be technically the easiest. However, as Buri would be glad to tell you, playing Mozart well is quite an interpretive challenge. I am not an expert on auditions, but it seems to me that for this one, interpretive abilities may be as important, if not more, than pure virtuosic technical abilities. Good luck!

From Tasha Miner
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 3:07 PM

Emily: The audition is early January.

Tom: Good points all.

From Tom Holzman
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 4:39 PM

Tasha - Oy is spelled "oy" or "oi" but not "oye" (lol).

From Tasha Miner
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 7:18 PM

Tom - Thanks for letting me know. I just don't care how a sound-word is spelled. LOL :P

From Tom Holzman
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 8:21 PM

We Jews are very protective of our Yiddish!

From Tasha Miner
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 11:17 PM

It's Yiddish? News to me! Didn't mean any disrespect...

From Tom Holzman
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:37 AM

Sure is, but at this point, like lots of Yiddish words, e.g., schmuck, chutzpah, it has made its way into the American vernacular.

From Thomas Cooper
Posted on August 30, 2011 at 1:32 AM

Play something that best shows your ability. Ideally, a piece that you have not played is probably not the best idea. Most big orchestras require a Mozart concerto because they are the most transparent in terms of your technical ability. I would play the Mozart.

Unless you can play the Sibelius really well, that is in general not a great audition piece. Saint-Saens concerto is interesting. Should you play it, play the third movement. Bruch is always a good choice, but its a tough piece. Make sure you play it well should you choose it.

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Oy. Which Concerto?

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