Clarinet audition cd repertoire?

Question

For my college app, I am asked to produce a 10 min cd demonstrating "contrasting examples of expression and technique." I can play the Mozart Clarinet concerto First mvt confidently for about the first 6 min, and the second mvt confidently. Would it be a good idea to use two movements from the same concerto to demonstrate contrasting technique and style?

Answer 1

First of all, stay away from the Mozart Concerto if you have a choice.  

Many colleges REQUIRE this piece, but if not, don't play it.  This piece is played by nearly everyone who auditions to ANY school, and the admissions people who listen to your audition will have heard it a 30 times THAT DAY... they will be tired of it and overly critical.  If you miss ONE note or have ONE breath too many, or they don't like your interpretation of the style or articulation- it's "Sorry Charlie, better luck next time"!

Instead, try to choose something along the same difficulty like Carl Maria Von Weber's Clarinet Concertino.  This one is also a "standard", but usually isn't graded so critically.  There is more room for interpretation, with the same demand of musicality and technical ability as the Mozart Concerto.  

In Weber's Concertino, the movements are divided by tempo, but they all segue into one another... the first is slow, then faster, then blazing fast!  You could do the first 2 sections in about 4 minutes and have time for something else... this is good.

Try to do something from a contrasting period.  Weber is from the early Romantic... so you could try doing some Baroque (maybe Tartini) because the styles contrast beautifully, or take it the other direction and play something 20th Century (like 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet by Igor Stravinsky- if you're up to it!).

Mostly, you want to show your versatility... so don't choose pieces from the same period if you can help it.

Also, a couple tips: worry about your musicality MORE than the technicallity... fingerings and articulations can be learned... expression and phrasing is harder.  Don't take this as "oh, I can be sloppy if I have good dynamics"... but missing a note or 2 is preferrable to you breaking the flow of a piece by breathing in the....... middle of a sentence.

And lastly, remember to have fun!  Auditions are stressful- even if you get to record and edit it... just don't forget that you love what you do!

Good luck!  :)

Answer 2

No.  That is not what they are looking for.   Find something by another composer, preferably from another period.   We came across that same issue not long ago.