Stylizing during auditions

[toneovertune]

I am going to be doing an audition soon but the excerpt is quite easy so I thought having some phrasing in it would be good. However, I worry that judges would only want the excerpts to be played exactly as they are on the page. Do judges typically prefer the player to play exactly what is on the page or for them to "make the piece their own", to add their own phrasing into it.

-This is my first post sorry if it is formatted weirdly

[GabrielRice]

Oh boy...this is a pretty big question, actually.

My answer is: Play the music. Understand the style. Play great phrases and communicate your musical intention. Demonstrate that you can play your instrument competently and that you have excellent time and pitch.

If by "phrasing" you mean rubato, then by all means do that IF it's appropriate to the piece. Generally speaking, we trombonists don't have room to make decisions about rubato, but in, for example, the Tuba Mirum from Mozart's Requiem you are truly a soloist and some subtle rubato is very appropriate.

If by "phrasing" you mean subtly shading the dynamics to make musical sense of the phrases then by all means do it. Nobody needs robots playing strings of notes with no shape whatsoever.

[harrisonreed]

Exactly what Gabe says ^

But! Be prepared to also play it the way the adjudicator asks, not just the way you think it should go. And if they ask for a different tempo, be ready. Etc. etc.

For example, on Tuba Mirum, I would be ready to play at both the slower more "traditional" approach, and the faster one that seems to be more common recently.

[GabrielRice]

But! Be prepared to also play it the way the adjudicator asks, not just the way you think it should go. And if they ask for a different tempo, be ready. Etc. etc.

Yes! I'm pretty sure that I won an audition for a job I still have - and love - because I was able to play Ride of the Valkyries essentially the opposite of the way I had played it initially, on request of the principal trumpet player.

[LeTromboniste]

Absolutely what Gabe and Harrison said!

I'd add that there is no such thing as excerpts (or any music) "played exactly as they are on the page". Written music has never, ever given the complete instructions for performance (and for most of history, has actually given very little instructions).

[toneovertune]

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE
I appreciate it all and will take it into account.
I have another question and might make another post if it does not get attention.
The audition is choice of two where the performer can choose one of the two pieces. The audition is in two weeks, short notice, and one piece is noticebaly harder than the other. Would it be better to play the harder piece and risk mistakes or play the easier one?

[CalgaryTbone]

Rather than "stylizing" I would instead use the words "in style". To me, the word stylizing implies inserting your own ideas into the process, rather than trying to show what you think are the composer's intentions. Anyone playing an orchestral audition has got to show the committee that is listening that they have a good understanding of the piece they are playing. The printed dynamics and articulations in Ein Heldenleben and the Kyrie from Mozart's Reqiiem look similar on paper, but they need to be very different. Both of those pieces, however, give you the melody at times. Show a difference between when your part is the melody and when it's a secondary line. Also, I think it's a good thing to show a bit of melodic shape (dynamically) when you are playing the moving lines, but realize that any rubato would be completely inappropriate in an actual performance unless the conductor was indicating it. There are some solos where real rubato is OK, but be careful to not use it in places where it would not work in the orchestra - Bolero for instance with the constant snare drum rhythm. I think it's always good to breathe in spots that work with the melody, but sometimes in some loud passages, you need an extra breath or two. I would still try to show a phrase in these spots if you can.

It's actually a really good question - I find that in the brass auditions I sit on, many of the players that are eliminated quickly either don't know the piece (or the composer/era) and play in an inappropriate style, or they get too stiff and don't bring out the musical lines. Of course, the usual advice to play with a great sound, and good rhythm & tuning also applies.

Jim Scott

[GabrielRice]

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE
I appreciate it all and will take it into account.
I have another question and might make another post if it does not get attention.
The audition is choice of two where the performer can choose one of the two pieces. The audition is in two weeks, short notice, and one piece is noticebaly harder than the other. Would it be better to play the harder piece and risk mistakes or play the easier one?

Play the easier one REALLY WELL.

Practice the harder one too.

[Doubler]

The interpretation must fit and relate to the piece played, as stated above.

Ages ago I won a competition against someone who played his piece letter/note-perfect because the judge said that I played with passion. Play what you hear in your head.