Hello!
I am going to audition for a good university orchestra in a couple of weeks time. The piece can last no more than 4 mins and last year they stopped me after just 2 or 3 mins. I am thinking of playing some of James Galway's variations on "carnival of venice". I can play most of the variations pretty competently but am concerned that there may not be enough slow playing (my weakness due to poor breathing). If I play the theme at the start and am careful to pick out the musicality of the faster passages, would that be enough? I hope that sight reading will give more opportunity for slower passage playing.

thanks in advance for your advice!
isla

I would be careful about selecting this piece for an audition, your ability to play a long slow phrase is just as important as virtuosity.

Several short movements from a good Baroque sonata would show just as much, or perhaps the Mozart Andante in C and Rondo in D...

One of the best audition pieces IMHO, is the Faure fanataisie as it is short and shows everything...

how about the first section of the first movement of prokofiev's flute sonata on flute then a v short bit (including the theme) of the carnival of venice on piccolo? would that show enough fast stuff on flute?
thank you for your advice!

please don't make the mistake of trying to dazzle the audition panel, they will be more impressed by what you can do with less, in other words, the ability to shape a simple phrase by Mozart shows more than anything..

that said, a smattering of viruosity is not a bad thing, but less is more...

http://www.patrickandfriends.com

why would you want to play only short clips of stuff in an audition. I don't think just playing the beginning of the Prokofiev would be impressive. I think the auditioners might think that that is the only section of the piece that you can play! Playing a few movements of Prokofiev well is much more impressive than Carnival of Venice..in fact, playing a Bach Sonata is much more impressive as well.

oh sorry..didn't see that it had to be only 4 minutes.. I would definitely say Bach or Faure than!

playing rep. standards for a college audition is more "appropriate" than playing a show piece.

stick to the major works for both flute and piccolo and save the show pieces for recitals and such.

Thank you all for your advice. Bearing in mind that i have 4mins max and could be stopped after just 2 minutes, which section(s) of the Faure fantasie or of any of the Prokofiev sonata would you recommend using? I was also considering Doppler's Fantasie Pastorale Hongroise - would that be appropriate?
thank you so much

Prokofiev is too long

I would also classify Doppler as a chow piece but I'll wait and see what others think of it

<Added>

Oh, since it is an orchestra audition what about som eof hte major orchestra excerpts?

hello,
as the audition time is so short, i figure i'm going to have to cut down whatever piece i choose. do you not think any of the prokofiev could be made to work?
which orchestral excerps were you thinking of? i've never played any on their own.
thanks

opening phrase of "Afternoon of a Faun" Debussy
big solo from Leonore Overture #3 by Beethoven
opening from Peter and the Wolf
solo from Midsummer Nights Dream by Mendelsohnn