Facing the Maestro:
A Musician's Guide to
Orchestral Audition Repertoire
Compiled and edited by Katherine Akos, Marshall Burlingame, and Jack Wellbaum
ML128.O5 F3 1983
Bibliography Presentation by Sarah Jane Young
About this book:
- It is a publication of the American Symphony Orchestra League
- The repertoire was supplied by 34 Orchestras, including Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Florida Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, etc.
- The purpose is to provide a list for every instrument of excerpts that are asked for in auditions for Symphony Orchestras.
- There are over 300 orchestral works within the book.
Organization within the book:
There are four sections within the book:
- Section 1: Audition Repertoire by Instrument and Frequency of Request
Within this section, each instrument is listed starting with violin and ending with harp, and beneath each instrument is a list of excerpts in the order of most commonly asked for to the least. For example, under Flute the first excerpt is Debussy Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun. Next to this excerpt is the number 15. This excerpt is the most commonly asked for excerpt. This section is helpful in determining which excerpts to spend the most time on, and to have a list of excerpts to use for practicing.
- Section 2: Audition Repertoire by Composer and Instrument
Within this section, each composer is listed with the instrument underneath in and the pieces by that composer. For example, under the composer Ippolitov there is only one excerpt used by him for piccolo, the Procession of the Sardar. Next to the piece is the ratio 1/7, which means that this excerpt is asked once out of the seven orchestras that responded to the survey with works for the piccolo. This section is helpful to see the ratio, but its also great to see the other works listed for different instruments.
- Section 3: Composer Index
This section just lists all of the composers and all of their pieces within the book. For example, the only piece used in this book by Dukas is The Sorcerer's Apprentice. This is one of my favorite sections because it is like having a list of suggested listening materials. Also, if, for example, I was working on Beethoven's Leonore No. 3, I could use this section as a guide to other works by Beethoven that Orchestras do ask for in auditions, just not neccessarily for my instrument.
- Section 4: Music Source
Listed in this helpful section are the composer names and titles for each work within the book, but with the addition of the name of the publisher. So if you were in need of a part for anything by Brahms, for example, you would go to Kalmus, which is abreviated KAL and with the address of: Edwin F. Kalmus P.O. Box 1007 Opa-Locka, FL 33054.
Problems with this book:
I think the biggest problem with a book like this is that it constantly needs to be updated. This book was published in 1983, and the study was conducted in 1980. So the addresses to publishing companies may not be applicable any more, some of the publishing companies may or may not carry the particular part any longer, and Orchestras may or may not ask for the same exact excerpts they used to or as often as they used to. In short, this book is a great way to gain an idea of what you need to work on, so long as you are aware that it is outdated.