Hi all,

I'm preparing for some concert band auditions coming up. I plan on playing the Rondo of the Mozart Concerto, and the first movement of the Telemann Sonata. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments about these pieces? Thank you,

-AJ

Try playing the right notes at the right time.

I know it's been a couple of weeks since you posted this, so hopefully you haven't had your audition yet. I'm more an oboist than a bassoonist, but I do know both of these pieces pretty well. Here's my advice, for whatever it's worth:

For the Telemann, it's not as technically difficult as some, so you need to put a lot of expression into it. Intonation is very important, since it's slower and there's more time to hear if individual notes are out of tune. It might be a good idea to practice with an electronic tuner. Also practice with a metronome--slower pieces sometimes have more rhythm problems than faster pieces, especially as you start working on expression. Pay attention to the dynamics and articulation written, but remember that this is a Baroque piece, and Baroque composers didn't usually write in dynamics or articulation. This was all left to the interpretation of the player. Any dynamic or articulation markings you see were probably put there by the editor as guidelines. It's definitely better to follow what's on the page than to do nothing at all, but feel free to change things or add your own as well.

For the Mozart, technique is important. You want to make sure you have all of the notes in your fingers as well. If your score doesn't have any dynamics, make sure to add them. Even though it's fast, you still need to give it expression and direction. A computer could play all the right notes, possibly better than you can--it's up to you to give it your own interpretation, and make the music say something. Watch out for the long C in measures 33-36. If you're playing without an accompanist, you will want to be extra careful to make sure you don't just sit on it. Maybe add a crescendo and diminuendo or two, add some vibrato, whatever you can do to make it interesting to the listener. If you're playing with an accompanist, you still want to make it interesting, but kind of float over the accompaniment--let the accompanist shine for a minute, but still play musically.

I wish I had more to say about the two pieces, but I hope the few pointers I gave can help. Good luck on your audition, if you haven't done it already!

Thank you for your reply! Unlike the person above you, what you had to say was helpful. Actually, I decided not to do the audition. The ensemble I was going to audition for actually did not work out with my school scheduling, work schedule, etc. But I will definitely keep your comments in mind, as I do plan to audition next semester coming, and I will probably use those pieces.