Even though today was a Thesis day, I spent that hour and a half working on all-state music. The audition is in two weeks, and I feel pretty confident about it. All-State Orchestra is one of the highest levels of orchestral competition in Texas. If it sounds hard, it's because it is. I have spent the past six months getting ready for this competition. I have auditioned since sophomore year. I did not make it in that year, but I did make it past Round 1 last year. That means that I was the top 150 cellists that auditioned.
For All-State, they give you two etudes to learn and 4-6 excerpts to learn. They release the etudes in May. I remember right after my AP Chem exam, I ran downstairs to find out what etudes they picked. They were Popper #15 and Merk Op. 11 No. 16. For the Popper etude, I had to learn how to play all the subtle melodies and high-position double stops (playing two notes at the same time). For the Merk etude, the hard part was learning barred chords and play all the characters of the piece convincingly. Anyone can play all the notes, but can they play musically.
In July, they released the excerpts for the pieces that we would play in February or March. In the past couple years that I have been auditioning, the excerpts were from pieces that professional orchestra perform. The pieces are the Alpine Symphony and The Symphony Metamorphosis. This is going to be a long concert because the Alpine Symphony is 50 minutes! The other piece is roughly 20 minutes. They gave us 6 excerpts total from both pieces, usually the harder parts of them. Originally, cellos had 8 excerpts, one of them from the Organ Symphony. That excerpt and another excerpt from the Alpine Symphony were cut. I am impressed that Richard Strauss was able to compose such a large, beautiful symphony about climbing the Alps. Then again, a lot of composers write interpretations of human feats through music. Style is very important in both pieces. In a Strauss composition, everything is forte, rhythm is snappy, and everything must be clear. In the Hindemith composition, the excerpt from the first movement is played alongside the lower brass section, so clear rhythm and forte style characterizes it. The second movement is a little mysterious, and the excerpt from there mimics the flute melody at the beginning, except it is louder and involves more of the orchestra. I can go on and on about the intricate harmonies and techniques used in each excerpt, but then this blog post might be too long.
One thing to note about this competition is that I will be given cuts for the etudes and excerpts a couple days in advance. On Saturday, I will go into a room and record the cuts in the order that they give me. It's a little nerve-wracking to play everything on the first try. Although this is a large competition, the good news is that I get the results a few days after the audition. On November 4 and 5, I will get the results and see if I advance to State. I hope I make it past Round 2 this year.
This sounds like a lot of work. It is. This past Saturday, I auditioned for All-Region and I was talking to my friend about All-State. A girl complained to me about it, saying that it would "hinder her progress as a cellist if she did this competition." Yes, All-State is a hard competition. A lot of work must be put into it. But, my skills have improved exponentially through this whole process. The funny thing is that after learning this music, many orchestral pieces seem easy. I can play pieces that I was too afraid to touch freshman year. The best part about it is that I can transfer these new skills to concertos and other solo pieces I am learning and put my own interpretation to them because I now have the tools to do so.
Let me briefly describe what I accomplished today. I practiced starting the pieces and trying to get the sound that I want on the first run-through. I practiced the Merk etude and the first excerpt of the Alpine Symphony the most. I need to work on clarity, especially on the higher positions. Wish me luck on October 28!
Comments
Post a Comment