Orchestral Excerpts for the Clarinet
a teaching guide
by
Sean Osborn
Orchestral Excerpts for the Clarinet: a teaching guide
Introduction
Orchestral excerpts are among the most important things to teach the career-minded
clarinet student because one of the most common way to make a living as a clarinettist today is
by playing in an orchestra. In order to be hired, one must first posses the ability to play the
instrument well, and the most common choice of music at an orchestral audition to demonstrate
this is orchestral excerpts.
When teaching orchestral excerpts to clarinet students it is important to teach from two
distinct angles: how to play the excerpts in an orchestral rehearsal or performance, and how to
play the excerpts at an audition. Often one will play them the same in both situations, but
occasionally one must tailor one's performance to the situation.
In the summaries that follow I will attempt to point out ways to assist the student in
performing the pieces from both a technical and musical standpoint, discuss the current
performance practice of these pieces, and highlight trouble spots, common pitfalls, and passages
of particular interest to an audition committee.
I believe that the order in which one teaches the excerpts should be tailored to the
individual situation and student, but for the purposes of this paper, I will assume that one is
teaching an undergraduate freshman at a university whom one expects to have for the next four
years. Freshman are unlikely to grasp the complete musical significance of Beethoven and
Brahms right away. However, I recommend starting with the most common pieces to be
performed in a quasi-chronological order. When the student is older and preparing for an
audition, teachers will be re-visiting many of the pieces already studied. The student should then
have the musical sophistication to understand the music, and will already be fundamentally
familiar with the pieces. While the excerpts are initially listed by commonalty with relation to
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their appearance on auditions, I recommend that for the long-term, one teaches the excerpts in
the order in which they are discussed.
Finally, listening to the pieces is of utmost importance to proper performance either in the
orchestra or at an audition, and whenever possible orchestral parts should be used for study
instead of excerpt books.
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Most common first clarinet parts asked for auditions
Key:
t = technical
tt = technically difficult
ttt = technically very difficult
m = musical (slower, phrasing more important)
mm = musically difficult
mmm = musically very difficult
Class #1 - On virtually every audition
Beethoven: Symphony #6 - mvmt. 1 (t, mmm), 2 (m) , 3 (tt)
Beethoven: Symphony #8 - mvmt. 3 (mmm)
Brahms: Symphony #3 - mvmt. 1 (mm), 2 (m)
Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream - Scherzo (tt)
Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 - mvmt. 2 (mm)
Respighi: Pines of Rome - mvmt. 3 (mmm)
Class #2 - On almost every audition
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2 - ttt
Beethoven: Symphony #4 - mvmt. 2 (mm) (less common - mvmt. 4 - tt)
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919) - Variation of the Firebird - ttt (less common the
Infernal Dance - ttt+)
Prokoviev: Peter and the Wolf - Cadenza (ttt)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Opening Solo (t)
Schubert: Symphony #8 (Unfinished) - mvmt. 2 (mm)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol - mvmt. 1 (tt), 3 (tt), 4 (tt)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6 - mvmt. 1 (m)
Brahms: Symphony #4 - mvmt. 2 (m)
Mendelssohn: Symphony #3 (Scotch) - mvmt. 3 (t)
Sibelius: Symphony #1 - mvmt. 1 (m), 3 (tt)
Kodaly: Dances of Galanta - page 1 (m, t) (less common - last page (t, mm))
Class #3 - Common
Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique - mvmt. 3 (mm) (less common - mvmt. 2 (t,m), 4 (m))
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel (tt)
Strauss: Don Juan (m)
Shostakovich: Symphony #9 - mvmt. 2 (mmm), 3 (ttt) (less common - mvmt. 1 - t)
Shostakovich: Symphony #1 - mvmt. 1 (t), 2 (t), 4 (ttt)
Rossini: Semiramide Overture (t)
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Bartok: Miraculous Mandarin - first two calls (ttt) (less common - third call - ttt)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #5 - mvmt. 1 (m) (less common - mvmt. 2 (m), 3 (t))
Brahms: Symphony #1 - mvmt. 2 (m) (less common - mvmt. 3 (m))
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade - mvmt 2 (tt, mmm), 3 (tt), 4 (tt)(less common - mvmt. 1 (t))
Class #4 - Less Common, but should be known by all
Borodin: Polovetsian Dances (tt)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #4 - mvmt. 3 (ttt)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Coq d'Or Suite - mvmt. 1 (ttt)
Beethoven: all symphonies (varies - mm to tt)
Brahms: all symphonies (#2 = m,t)
Dvorak: Symphony #9 - mvmt. 3 (mm)(less common - mvmt. 4 (m))
Ginastera: Variations Concertantes for Orchestra - clarinet variation (ttt+)
Rossini: Figaro's Aria from "The Barber of Seville" (tt)
Shostakovich: Symphony #5 - mvmt. 1(m), 3(mm)
Smetana: Bartered Bride Overture (tt in "c")
Tchaikovsky: Franchesca da Rimini (m)
Class #5 - Occasional, Important to know
Stravinsky: L'Historie du Soldat, Petroushka (tt, m)
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra (t, m)
Debussy: Nocturnes (tt)
Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice (ttt)
Mahler: Symphonies #6 (mm), 7 (tt/mm), and 1 (m)
Mendelssohn: Fingal's Cave Overture (m), Symphony #4 (tt)
Mozart: Symphony #39 (trio of mvmt. 3) (m)
Moussorgsky: A Night on Bald Mountain (m)
Puccini: Tosca - Act III tenor aria (mm)
Rachimaninoff: Piano Concerto #2 (mm)
Ravel: Rhapsodie Espagnole (mm,tt)
Rossini: Barber of Seville Overture (t)
Shostakovich: Symphony #10 (tt)
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite (t, m), Suite #4 "Mozartiana" (tt in "c")
Verdi: La Forza del Destino Overture (m)
Weber: Der Freischutz Overture (m)
Second Clarinet - in order of comminality
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Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream - Scherzo (tt)
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2 (ttt)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #5 - mvmt. 1 (m)
Ravel: Rhapsodie Espagnole (tt)
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra (t)
Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique (t)
Smetana: Moldau (t)
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919) (ttt)
Eb Clarinet -in order of comminality
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel (ttt)
Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique (tt)
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2 (ttt)
Ravel: Bolero (m)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (m, t)
Shostakovich: Symphony #5 (t)
Shostakovich: Symphony #6 (ttt)
Copeland: El Salon Mexico (t)
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G (tt)
Prokoviev: Symphony #5 (t)
Bass Clarinet
Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite (tt)
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2 (ttt)
Strauss: Don Quixote (t,m)
Ravel: La Valse (m)
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel (tt)
Wagner: Tristan and Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod (mm)
William Schuman: Symphony #3 (ttt)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (tt)
Mozart - Symphony No. 39 in Eb major K. 543
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This symphony is an excellent introduction to orchestral excerpts for many reasons: most
clarinet students are already familiar with Mozart because of the concerto, it is neither technically
nor musical difficult, and it is a common audition and performance piece - especially for
orchestras made up of younger players. While only the trio of the menuetto is ever asked for at
auditions, I recommend studying the entire piece because it is engaging, and it provides proper
perspective on the solo. The eight bar phrase that comprises the clarinet solo in the trio is a
simple question and answer. Play elegant and expressive skips (especially the C - Bb) while
keeping the tempo. The phrasing should not be too complex: I recommend moving to the third
bar of each four bar sub-phrase, then away. You may vary this to your taste to make it more
interesting.
Beethoven
All of Beethoven's symphonies are staples of the repertoire, appearing in concerts by
professional as well as student groups. Many different ideas exist about interpretation in
Beethoven. After studying Beethoven with many people (in particular, conductor Otto-Werner
Müller), I am a strong believer in a few things. First, Beethoven's dynamic scheme consisted of
only four levels: f, p, ff, and pp - mp and mf do not exist in Beethoven symphonies! You should
therefore divide the dynamic scale you can achieve on your instrument into four equal parts. This
means there is a lot more dynamic range to a Beethoven piano or forte, then to a Mahler piano or
forte, and you can add considerable expression to each phrase without going outside of the
marked dynamic. This also means that forte is exactly halfway between piano and fortissimo,
and should be played accordingly, and not too strongly, unless of course the music (or conductor)
demands it. This leads to: Second, Beethoven often writes f before the climax of a phrase is
reached - therefore you should not stop your crescendo just because you see the marking. Third,
Beethoven sometimes abbreviated sforzando with sf and sometimes with only f. Some of the best
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examples of this can be seen in the second movement of the ninth symphony after letter "A"
where you have a f at the beginning of each of sixteen bars in a row. Familiarity with
Beethoven's works will make it obvious whether f indicates a forte or a sforzando. Lastly,
Beethoven has provided us with metronome markings for all the pieces, and these are almost
universally followed by all ensembles.
Symphony No. 1 in C major Op. 21
This symphony, and Beethoven's 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th symphonies almost always
appear on auditions only when included in the requirement to prepare "all Beethoven
Symphonies". The first symphony contains no solos of note for the clarinet. However, there are
a few passages to study more closely. There is the short solo after E in the first movement - listen
to how the grace note (which is usually played on the beat) has been played up until then and
imitate it. Discussion with the conductor may change the way you play it. In the third movement
Trio, second strain, the clarinet is at the top of the chord. Be sure to start strongly enough to
allow for a suitable decrescendo. In the last movement, insert slurs over two notes as needed to
be able to play the articulated runs as fast as the strings. The best place for the slurs is on the 4th5th notes of the run.
Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 36
The second movement of this symphony contains quite a bit of exposed clarinet solos,
including the primary statement of the theme. The trill should be done tastefully and with only 5
or 7 notes. The crescendo should also be tasteful, and should near a f before the subito p. Keep
in mind Beethoven's dynamic scheme and things will be expressive without being blatant or
gross. Intonation with the Bassoon is very important in this movement, and should be checked
before the first rehearsal. The sforzandos should be played as pressure accents rather than as
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stingers (as they often are in the faster movements). The other movements of this symphony
have very little that is exposed or difficult for the clarinet.
Symphony No. 3 in Eb major "Eroica" op. 55
Beethoven balanced his orchestrations very well for the orchestras that played his music.
Today it is common practice to play with a full string section, which is four times the size of
Beethoven's, and not double the winds. This creates obvious balance problems, which are
particularly troublesome in "Eroica". In this symphony, like the first, the clarinet has little of
major importance. The solos are fleeting and not difficult, the first of which is at the beginning
of the Allegro con brio. This solo is in octaves with the horn and flute, and is the second
statement of the main theme. There is much to play as part of a woodwind trio or quartet in this
piece, and sometimes the clarinet line may be easily lost in the texture due to register. Do your
best to avoid this. A good example is mvmt. 1 measures 57-61. One tricky spot to be ready for
is when the whole orchestra drops out in mvmt. 2, measure 47 leaving you alone for two beats.
Another spot of near-aloneness is the beginning of the coda of the scherzo. In the last
movement, after letter C, you will have to play this passage as loudly as possible - it is basically
the clarinets against the rest of the orchestra. The accompaniment figure in measures 367-74
should be played slightly separated and bouncy - you are the only one playing this figure. Later,
the second clarinet has a similar solo.
Symphony No. 4 in Bb major Op. 60
The fourth symphony of Beethoven has many long exposed passages for the clarinet and
the second movement solos occur on nearly every audition. The first movement finds solos at
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letter C and after H that are thematically the same. Follow the general line of the phrase up and
down dynamically, and avoid having the downward 7th in the fourth bar of the recap. solo wreck
this line. Play the legato lines as legato as possible and the short notes very short. This seems
self-evident, but this movement is an exercise in contrasting note lengths and playing extremes
here is better.
The second movement's first solo is really a duet in octaves with the flute beginning in
measure 10. The meandering line of the phrase is continuous for the next seven bars, and if one
weren't playing a clarinet, one wouldn't breath at all. Try to mask your breaths, and play the
seven measures as if they were one phrase (as they are). I recommend breathing after the bottom
E in bar 12, and again two bars later after the long G. If you need another breath, take it after the
E in the next bar. Discuss breathing and phrasing with the flute player prior to the first rehearsal
if possible. You may stagger your breaths or phrase them together - neither is more correct.
Letter B is a true solo, over the top of pizzicato strings. The phrasing is more or less the same as
letter F, which is the main audition passage (because it is higher and therefore more difficult), so
I will discuss only letter F.
Start the solo at letter F very softly, even though it is only p, because you will be heard no
matter how softly you play over the strings, and you will then be able to make more expressive
crescendos. Cantabile is the key word for this passage. Drive toward the Bb in measure 2, make
it expressive (possibly with a subtle <>) come away dolce on the sixteenth notes and fade out on
the down beat. Do not play the C overly long! If the conductor is sensitive, you will be able to
add a little retinuto for the sixteenth notes. If you would like to do the same rubato in an
audition, you risk the possibility of the committee thinking the rest that follows is either too long
or too short. If you don't do the rubato, you run the risk of sounding boring. Often, secondguessing a committee is a lose-lose situation: do what you want. Slur into the C in measure 3,
and play the Db with the two side keys. The strings have a regular rhythm at this point, so no
more rubato is allowed, and you must NOT be late on your entrances. In an audition, the whole
committee will be subdividing in their heads to see if you can count rests - so be precise. Take a
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small breath or none at all before the next passage, so as to disturb your body as little as possible.
This helps you to maintain the placement of high notes in your mouth, mind, lips etc., and eases
the entrance of the D. Try to enter on the D both softly and solidly - this note is the whole reason
for this exerpt to even be on an audition. Play the motive expressively - this is also important to
show the committee that you are not scared by the passage, but are comfortable with it. Take a
huge breath and play the next motive in answer to the previous, but land on the A very softly to
make the crescendo. The C can be stretched and G shortened ever so slightly, but do NOT be
late to the A. I recommend a small dim. and tenuto on the C with a little dip in the phrase going
to the G. This creates a loop effect in the phrasing of the motive. All of this intricacy on two
notes contrasts nicely with a slow, steady crescendo on the A. During the crescendo, think not of
getting louder, but of getting nearer or bigger to about the level of a Beethoven f. This will help
you keep your tone even as you change dynamics. The subito piano comes on the downbeat of
the next measure, not on the G. This subito may be used to create another "loop" phrasing to turn
the musical direction around. If you absolutely must, take a quick breath after the F. Play a real
32nd-note at the end of this measure ,neither a sixteenth nor a 64th. Diminuendo to the 32nd-note
C and play as softly as you can. This crescendo should be quite large. You are joined gradually
by the rest of the orchestra during this note, so be sure you are still heard as the primary voice as
they enter. You may breathe after the downbeat of the next measure. Play graceful and legato
triplets. After leading to the Bb from the A play a slight dim. at the very end of the measure
leading to the p marked on the F in the next measure. Play a full (but not longer) 8th note and
release. Adhere to Beethoven's tempo and do not to play too slowly at an audition.
Letter E is a reprise of the opening duet, with a variation. Be precise with your rhythm on
the triplets, and make the sf as pressure accents. G is another reprise followed by arpeggios
traveling through the orchestra. Follow the line of notes dynamically and pretend to play the first
note of the flute's (after your last note) - this will help you to hand off your line well.
The Scherzo presents little solos with no problems. The last movement, on the other
hand, has some quite difficult passages. At letter A, the alberti accompaniment solo must be
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played loudly enough to be clearly heard, and staccato. The sixteenth note solo is an excellent
reason to learn to double tongue. While not marked with a dynamic, a Beethoven p is
appropriate. In an audition, you may play the passage as slow as 152 to the quarter-note, if you
can tongue it all. Otherwise, add a slur or two (or three or four) for two notes and play it at 160.
The first place to add a slur is from the C before the grace note to the D after it. This slur is
extremely well masked by the grace note. The next place to add is preferable at the end of the
passage, going from D to C in the final measure. It is likely that you will be able to start at tempo
and tire as the passage progresses, so adding slurs at the end is preferable. Doing this enables
you to remove them at the last instant in performance if you don't need them. Other good spots
are from the C to the B at the beginning of the second measure, and from the top A to G in the
third measure. Be sure to play the pp as a subito, and the ff as well. In auditions, the excerpt
usually ends after the first note of the ff.
Symphony No. 5 in c minor Op. 67
This most well known of Beethoven's symphonies has a few nice clarinet parts, but finds
its way to auditions rarely. The first clarinet solo is at measure 67 in mvmt. 1. Do not drag or be
late. The cadence is on the D in measure 70, so a nice little cresc. leading to it is appropriate, as
well as a little dim. away from it. In measure 130, the two clarinets are alone for this motive, and
should be in perfect time. The entrance is easy to be late on, and it's often hard to play the right
dynamic, articulation and intonation here. Do not try to play overly soft unless asked to, and it
will be easier.
The second movement finds the bassoon and clarinet in often in octaves for many little
solos once more. The solo 7 measures before A is thematically important. Play the 32nd-note
metrically correctly, and do not play the two Bbs as a unit - between them is where the phrase
breaks a little, the second note leading towards the quarter note. The same applies to the motive
whenever presented again in this piece. The solo after A is a great place to show how many
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different colors you can make on one note. Start with a healthy f. You may choose to start the
note with only air and no tongue to avoid a hard attack, but do not ease into it or be late. As you
approach piano, you can take all color out of your tone, and gradually add it back over the next
three bars - this allows you to be expressive without crescendoing. The real cresc. starts as you
move into the F#. Play legato intervals and drive to the suspended downbeat of measure 55.
Break slightly after the G and re-attack the F. If you absolutely need a breath, it can be taken
here. The rest of the woodwinds join you at the f. Be sure to make a nice subito surprise at the
end of the phrase on the D. At measure 107 try to match the articulation the bassoon does, unless
you have strong feelings about the way it should go (conductors usually do about this passage).
If you do, discuss it with the bassoonist ahead of time. A variety of lengths can be used here, and
all have their merits. During the solo/sectional passages after the fermata it is important to not
play to vertically - make space after the eighth-notes, but do not let it destroy the line. In
measure 166, you and the bassoon have to play short notes in a long line without rushing or
dragging - this is difficult but important to do. Play the eighth and quarter-notes very long almost out of time, and the short notes very short. Think the meter in a slow one, and you will
keep the proper line in your phrasing. Play measures 177-79 very legato, even when you rearticulate the B in 178. 185 is another balance problem, and you must play as loudly as possible.
The coda solo in beginning in 229 should be played pp and very dolce - you will be heard. A
little loop and dim. on the last dotted 16th/32nd up to the high Bb is quite nice to do, and it sets
you up to make a huge cresc over the next 9 measures.
It is good to have the beginning of the scherzo memorized so that you may watch the
conductor and play the solo with him. This is a hard spot for them, and they will be quite upset if
they don't see your eyes and/or you are not together with them. The short As that you play at the
end of the movement should be as short and soft as possible. Play them a little louder if you have
to, rather than longer. It's OK to sound pecky here - you're imitating a very short pizzicato. The
only thing of importance in the last movement is the reprise of the scherzo where the clarinets
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play a duet. Be bold, and don't shy away from the dissonance. Imitate the phrasing this passage
had in the scherzo when played by the f horns.
Symphony No. 6 in F major Op. 68
This is the most popular piece to have on any clarinet audition and presents new
challenges to every clarinettist each time they refine their ability and standards. In the first
movement, you have a few little solos before the main audition one. Despite not being the
melody, some conductors will insist that you play loudly in the 8 bars leading up to B. If you can
get away with it, defer to the 'cello melody in this passage. Four bars before D should be played
sprightly. Legato slurred notes, short staccatos, a general <> for the two bar motive, and a slight
accent on the D all help this passage come alive. Take a cue from the oboe for phrasing, as they
play similar thing many times in this piece before you do. During the solo that begins in measure
426, it is good to play dolce for most of the time. A wonderful exception is to make the skip of a
6th and the three notes that follow it in measure 429 espressivo with a little swell upwards
through the triplet and more legato notes. You may even be able to stretch them slightly, because
you can steal time from the longer G. Hand off to the oboe well at the end of this passage.
The solo that starts at letter K is on almost every audition, and sometimes they want you
to play the two measures before K to set the tempo - I prefer this. The embellished stepwise
sequence up (B, C, D) should be followed dynamically, without destroying the subito f. Play
each motive with identical nuance, and be absolutely precise about the placement of the
sixteenth-notes. It is a common error to play them too quickly an the eighth too long. You may
lead into the f with the last two notes before it. The whole orchestra plays the next arpeggio with
you every time, and in performance, you may drop out here to catch a breath if you need to. Play
all the triplets fairly short and bouncy. Show the phrase in measures 480-2, by making the
second note of each measure a new beginning leading towards the next measure. The next few
measures should be played the same way, but are easier because they are f. Play each repetition
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more strongly than the last, and reach your climax in measure 488, where you immediately start a
dim. The main thing the committee listens for in this passage (aside from absolute precision) is a
real dim to a real pp without getting slower or playing longer notes. This is difficult and requires
much practice, but is worth the effort. Little accents on the low B each time can help. In
performance conductors may slow down or even do this whole passage in a slower tempo. You
cannot anticipate this preference at an audition and I recommend playing it at the written tempo
of 126.
The solo at the end of the second movement is even more common on auditions then the
first movement solo. The solo in bar 7 is in octaves with the bassoon, and the phrasing is similar
to the last solo. The one difference of note is the fp in bar 12: crescendo up to the f and play a
very sudden p without sounding harsh. The solo at letter D is often heard on auditions with the
bar before D, so that you may more directly indicate your tempo to the committee. Make a nice
swell in this bar - up and back, with the Bb as the high point. This solo is heard primarily to
catch you not counting your rests in the proper tempo. Subdivision is extremely important. In a
way, listening for that makes no sense, because in performance, with the conductor beating and
the strings playing running sixteenth-notes, it is very hard to play too early or late. Each of the
three entrances bordered by rests should be done with a little swell surrounding the appogatura
eighth-note. Try to keep the line through the rests if you can. Do not hold the quarter note overly
long - fade it out exactly in time (this helps you stay accurate during the rests). The grace notes
can be played a few ways, but I recommend against articulating them. I prefer to play the last
two sixteenth-notes preceding them and the three grace-notes as a unit of 5 notes. I also play this
unit slightly across the bar line, so that I am a little late to the down beat. This is OK, because
you can make up the time on the long notes, and as long as you end in time, you will not destroy
the line. Playing them this way gives you a little more time to play them gracefully. If you prefer,
you may play all 5 more quickly and reach the eighth-note F on time. The pick ups to measure 73
are the last in the sequence of four entrances, and the harmony finally moves to a cadence. Help
show this by a nice blossoming crescendo to the C. Come down dynamically on the arpeggio,
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and play the following phrase (which is an embellishment of what you've just played) similarly,
ending at a nice piano. The grace notes should be played at the approximate speed of triplet
sixteenth-notes (comprising the length of an eighth-note in total), a little faster is OK, but not too
fast or they are ungraceful. Take a huge breath before the grace-note in bar 74 (it's the last you
may have in the excerpt), play the grace-note barely shorter than a sixteenth-note, and start this
all piano. Cresc. through the next bar to the subito in the bar after. During this bar of 24
sixteenth-notes, a little nuance/rubato can be done during the half-step from B to Bb. Try to
show the relationship over the bar of C to B to Bb to A at the top of the arpeggios. It is common
to slow down at the end of the last arpeggio, but by no means is it necessary. Reach the lower
end of a Beethoven f by the end, and play a nice piano in the next bar. You may be more
contrasting at an audition, because you are not trying to cut through a thick orchestration. Watch
out for rushing in this bar, as the articulation makes you want to move ahead. At the subito, a
little phrasing to follow the line is nice, or to go contrary is nice. If you can play a nice pp high D,
do the contrasting. Hesitating after the D slightly is a nice effect. The eighth-notes should be
shortish, but not pecky (but not mooshy either), with lots of space between them. If you need a
breath here, take one after the lower D, and play the spaces between the notes large enough, so
that your breath space is no larger. You may slow down and slightly lengthen on the last two
notes a little to set up the trill. I like to begin long trills like this slowly and accelerate the trill.
Others like to play them all fast. Be true to yourself, because you will be bound to offend
someone on the committee no matter what you do (and I believe this is a good approach to all
such decisions regarding an audition - don't try to second-guess a committee unless you are
certain that the conductor is there and insists on hearing a particular passage a particular way.)
However you play the trill, crescendo through it and stay heard over the thickening orchestra.
Pretend to play the resolution, but do not, and you will phrase the end properly. The rest of the
movement is not heard at auditions, but the Coo-coo bird motive in bar 131 should be played
very short and pecky, and in perfect time with the oboe.
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The third movement is rarely heard at auditions. The solo starts with three notes out of
the blue answering the oboe in measure 114. Play dolce and with a dim up to and through the D.
Measure 122 is played in the same vein, but starting with the second beat of bar 123, you are in a
new statement of the theme. There is no time to make a break with tempo, so you must set this
new phrase apart from the previous one with dynamics. Play the four notes previous to this p,
and abruptly start the new phrase (on the D) with a healthy mp. Accent the tied notes over the
next three barlines for a nice swing - remember, this is peasant music. Climb dynamically to the
long note, but still save a lot for the monster cresc that follows. Drive all the way to the bottom,
and then play a big subito p. The G must be soft, but loud enough to be heard - especially at an
audition. If you are playing in a boomy hall during you audition, you will not have the usual
acoustical padding of an audience and may have to tailor your performances a bit to suit. This
subito p is a good case. You may have to play it louder to be heard in a boomy hall that is still
reverberating from your crescendo to ff. Play the tempo indicated if you can articulate all the
notes, or maybe as slow as 100. Otherwise, add a slur somewhere - I recommend form the A to
the F# in bar 132. The solo at letter B is never on auditions. Play it in a nice meandering,
peasant dolce - you've heard this theme a number of times at this point - play it in a similar
fashion. Accent the tied Gs a bit to show the syncopation.
The last two movements are also never on auditions. The short pleading solo of mvmt. 4
is a chance to put as much expression as you can into only three notes. I like to play the second
set of three both piu pp and piu espressivo - this avoids a cheesy echo effect. You may play the
second entrance more strongly if you like. The clarinet opens the fifth movement (after the
storm). Play simply. Drive to the bar line at the beginning of bar four and back away from it.
You may be able to push and pull the tempo ever so slightly along with the dynamic - I think this
helps the phrasing.
Symphony No. 7 in A major Op. 92
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This symphony again has little of importance for the clarinet. The rhythmic cell of the
first movement (dotted-eighth, sixteenth, eighth) is important to learn correctly. Practice playing
the passages without the sixteenth-note first, and get the eighth-note in its proper metrical place.
Then add the sixteenth-note without changing the placement of the eighth. It is common to play
the sixteenth and eighth too early, ending up with a duple-like rhythm instead. Be sure to play
the difference when the dotted-eighth-note is changed to an eighth-note with a sixteenth-note
rest.
The second movement has nice solo after letter D 16 bars. This is another balance
problem spot. Try to play a Beethoven p while still being heard soaring over top of the orchestra.
The staccato markings on the triplets should not be taken too seriously - play separate but not
short. The woodwinds join you on the long G, so take any breath you need after one of these and
hide it in the orchestration. 11 measures before the double bar is a solo again. Come out of the
texture at a nice Beethoven f, and dim. in one bar to the p where you continue your dim. up to the
E. Change direction on the E and begin a new cresc. rapidly to the next long G at a nice
Beethoven f. This helps all the new instruments entering sound a little less sudden. Keep
growing through the end of your line, and pretend to play the note on the down beat of 4 before
the double bar. Throughout this movement, there is the motive quarter, eighth, eighth. The
strings play the theme and two variations of it before you get to. Listen to their stroke and try to
imitate it. You will have to play it exposed at the end.
The only thing difficult about the scherzo is playing the rhythm in the trio. Be precise
with the eighth-note, and you should have no trouble. There is nothing of note in the last
movement, but study it anyway because you will play this piece often.
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
On nearly every audition, the eighth symphony is smaller in scope than any other
symphony since the second and is full of important clarinet material. The first movement is
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either in a fast three or a slow one - often both, depending upon the music. The first solo is in the
fifth bar of the piece, and is the "answer" phrase to the phrase of the first four bars. The high
point of the phrase is the A half-note, and its stressing should be followed by a slight dim. Do not
clip the D in measure 7, as you think might be stylistically correct In most cases like this, we are
taught to play the last note of a two note slur clipped, but the common performance practice these
days is to play these figures longer in this piece only. I'm not sure why that is, but it is very
important to remember, especially in the Trio when taking auditions. The next big first
movement solo comes 8 bars after letter D. It is the opening phrases again, but this time all in
the clarinet solo. Again, don't clip the end of the two-note slur. Of course if you have not been
told one way or the other, it is always safe to imitate what you have heard the rest of the orchestra
do up to that point.
In measure 244 begins another small solo, in answer to the previous tutti version. Begin at
a healthy p level with a slight pressing accent on the syncopation tie. After the A in 246, a tiny
break and a small stress on the D is nice to illustrate the skewed rhythm of the passage. The next
two bars contain suspensions and the resolving notes (C# and B respectively) should not be
rushed through and perhaps even stretched a little to give the listener a chance to hear the
resolution before moving on to the subsequent figuration. The second of these two bars, the one
with the ritard. in it, should be felt in 3 and played with a slight echo in dynamics as well.
The big solo of this movement is 4 measures after letter G. In a flatter key, it is again the
primary motive. Do not try to play pp, and be smooth with all of your connections. Make sure
the articulation in bar 307 between the two Ds is heard. Putting a slight accent on the second D
and following it with a small crescendo upwards is good. Doing the same in the next two bars
helps the modulation along.
The second movement is never asked on auditions, but is difficult to play correctly. This
movement is Beethoven's homage to the metronome, and the soft, short, light notes in the
woodwinds, aside from being very difficult to play soft, short, light, and together, are meant to
represent a metronome. Play them as steadily as you can. If you have to make a choice, play
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shorter rather than softer. If you take smaller breaths and don't have as much pressure behind
each note, they may come out easier. Remember to stop each note with your tongue for
maximum shortness.
The third movement is a return to the conservative Menuetto that Beethoven began
rejecting with his second symphony, and the trio is a huge clarinet solo that is on virtually every
audition. It is often on the first round of auditions because it illustrates many things about a
players ability all at once. It demonstrates intonation in every register, rhythm, nuance, legato and
above all: control. In spite of the staccato markings, NO note in this passage is to be played
short. This seems contradictory, but it is just never done. Don't bounce, don't clip.
The first strain of the trio is easy and is quite a nice warm up for the difficult second
strain. As with every excerpt, be in time and at the correct tempo, but committees are very fussy
about the speed and rhythm in this excerpt and will be merciless if you are off at all. The pickups
to measure 49 should be very dolce and simple. Play an exact triplet in the next bar, neither
rushed or stretched, but very smooth. Do not emphasize the notes, or play them with less volume
as you might other figuration. Maintain the cresc. line through them. The two Bs at the end of the
bar are fairly legato and lead to the next bar. After the dotted-quarter note B, you may dip a little
in nuance to let the last three eighths of the bar lead to the next. In measure 51, move through the
first two beats with increasing expression, and make a real jump back to p on the third beat.
Again here be very careful not to distort your rhythm in the slightest degree. Helpful in making
the subito sound more dramatic but not gross is to play the first two beats as if they were marked
espressivo and the last again dolce. Filling up the second beat in time as much as you can
without distortion also helps this affect. Unless instructed not to, play the repeat and count all
the measures rest religiously. Some people like to hear repeats the same, but I prefer to play
repeats with heightened contrast.
Measure 55 starts the high passage. Begin at about mp with long but articulated eighths
and play bar 57 as an echo. 58 should start at 57's level but cresc. through the bar to a higher
level than you had in 55. A true forte is required in 60, because you are playing above the entire
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orchestra, and you need the contrast so that you can play the next passage in a healthy p and still
sound soft by comparison. Measure 61 should be phrased identically to measure 49. Do not take
time in 62, but be as smooth as you can with the big skips. Half-holing on the second D of the
measure will help it come out without popping or being too soft. Crescendoing through this
measure is both a help and a hindrance, but it must be done or it will be too boring. Committees
like this piece to see how well you can phrase. Beethoven is not as juicy as Tchaikovsky or
Ravel, but here is your chance to be expressive. The cresc. makes it harder to play the skips, but
you also don't have to play a p high D at the end of the bar. Keep the cresc. right up to the bar
line, and then fall back to a very dolce p in bar 63. Find a fingering for the high G that does not
fail and stick with it. I use the overblown B (thumb/reg. LH-1, RH-fork and Ab/Eb key) and then
"yodel" down to the B. The change in registers provides a little break of its own that nicely
mimics legato articulation there so I don't have to tongue the B and break up the line. In any case,
all articulation in this passage should be legato. Measure 66 is easy to rush in an audition - be
careful. The D is the down pulse and the Gs are the embellishment of it. Do not bounce on the
Gs. The G in 67 belongs to the others, and not to the eighth-notes that follow, so flow downward
with phrasing beginning on the F#. This is the model for measures 71 and 73. 70 can be played
with a little more cresc. on the Gs than in 66. The articulation should be one of a flat rock
skipping across a pond. Articulate with only a little separation (NOT short) through the line and
don't let the tonguing break it up. Play even crescendos in bars 72 and 74 making sure that the B
is louder than the high D arriving at a Beethoven f by the end of the bar. Do not take time on the
subito p, and be careful of rushing throughout measures 69-75. Measure 75 has a slight dim. Be
sure to start loud enough in the next bar to get good contrast from your pp in the penultimate bar.
In this bar the phrase breaks between the 3rd and 4th eighth-note with the latter belonging to the
last bar. You can show this phrase-break with a slight cresc. through the last 3 eighths which will
also help you by giving you a higher dynamic in which to play the last bar. The last bar is usually
played with a rit. and always with a dim. up to the high G. My favorite fingering for this G is:
Thumb/Reg. LH-1,3 RH-1,2 Ab/Eb. Whichever fingering you find, make sure it's infallible and
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in tune! If you are out of tune on this note, it will hang in the air until the orchestra starts up again
or you play your next audition excerpt. Of course, it doesn't have to be the same fingering as in
measure 63.
The last movement is not asked on auditions, but it doesn't hurt to be ready to play it. The
biggest solo happens twice pretty much in the same manner (measures 236 and letter I). Without
bouncing, make sure the articulation is audible between the two Es and As. The quarter-notes in
measure 239 should again be played along the line and not too short (the skipping rock again).
The last four bars can be more expressive than the first four or less, or completely different. Just
don't be boring and play it the same.
Symphony No. 9 in d minor, Op. 125
An unqualified masterpiece, Beethoven's ninth symphony has great passages for
everyone. It is long and the clarinets play nearly continuously throughout. If possible, play this
piece with assistants. They will help with volume where needed and give you ample recovery
time for your solos. This symphony is full of more contrast than the others and the changes turn
on a dime sometimes. Be alert, and be brave.
The first movement has no true solos of more than a few notes, but much to play in
octaves and thirds with the rest of the woodwinds. Play real sixteenth and 32nd notes wherever
marked and do not confuse the two.
The scherzo's problems are confined to playing articulated descending octaves quickly
without squeaking and getting the dotted-quarter/eighth/quarter motive rhythmically accurate (as
in the seventh symphony). The trio, however begins with the clarinet playing the same theme
four times in a row. It's a short passage and it goes quickly. While one could tire of hearing the
same four bars four times with the same phrasing, do not try to vary it too much - it goes by too
quickly. One fun phrasing to do is to poke lightly or heavily (or both at different times) the
syncopated D that connects the sub-phrases.
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Depending on the tempo, the third movement can either be torture for breathing or no
problem. Try to work out with your section where to breathe. I recommend staggering when you
can. If you have assistants you can even use them sometimes to help you. There are many small
clarinet duets throughout the movement, and all are basically the same in that they require
maximum expression and legato. Again, do not confuse p and pp.
The beginning of the last movement is sometimes at a speed requiring the insertion of a
few slurs. It is loud enough that no one will hear if you need to add some. Another option is
leaving out a not here or there. Be careful of all the sudden tempo changes. Motives from the
previous movements are inserted in the introduction. The 6/8 variation of "Ode to Joy" should be
quite cute and bouncy. Play pp and beware of getting lost because beat 2 increasingly sounds like
the down beat as the passage continues. There are pitfalls which are rather obvious in this
movement such as playing smoothly and quietly up to the high D fermata after letter R when at
this point in the piece you are exhausted. Another is the fast light articulation to be had in the
following passage. If all the woodwinds play as short as they can, the ensemble, which is usually
quite difficult, will be better.
Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 8 in b minor (Unfinished)
Another mainstay of the audition repertoire, this little jewel of a piece has many pitfalls in
and out of the solo passages. In the first movement, the first theme is stated beginning in
measure 13 by the clarinet and oboe in unison. It is usually best to get together with the oboist
before hand to go over intonation. When playing this with the strings, it is often difficult to find
the beat in their repeated 16th notes. If the conductor does not help keep you and the oboist
together, particularly on the eighth-notes, ask the oboist to nod a little and follow them. Try to
keep expression to a minimum until the hairpin, where you can really wail. Measure 29 should be
played a little louder than p so that the clarinets are heard above the clearing fp and the sustaining
instruments. The syncopations after A are difficult to play soft enough and without dragging.
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Playing each first note a little louder followed by a small dim. will help, and will phrase nicely.
If you are on time with the first note, the rest should follow quite easily. Beware of the string
rubato and go with it. Sing a little on the suspensions such as in bar 52. Get VERY soft during
the decresc. and take it all the way to niente. The sf in this piece are with more pressure than
striking. Play them deeply. As with Beethoven, modern performance practice lends itself to
certain balance problems. One such problem is 6 before D - play as loudly as you can. At the end
of the movement, you and the oboe play a stripped down first motive in measure 352 with a
HUGE cresc. up to f and back. Here the difficulty is making the change without going out of tune
(be careful not to go flat), or changing the tone color or balance between you at all. Beforehand
practice will also help this.
The second movement is what is asked on most auditions. Recent performances have
reversed the trend of playing this movement too slowly. It is marked Andante con moto, and
should really go at about an eighth-note=96. At this tempo, you may even be able to play the
long solo in one breath!, but be ready for a wide variety of tempos for this movement. The big
solo beginning in measure 66 is over syncopated strings. Be sure to enter and move on time.
Precise conducting here helps, but you can't always count on it. There are little sfz in the strings,
and sometimes the conductor will stretch to accommodate them, leaving you in the learch. Be
ready for anything during this solo. This solo is beautiful in it's architecture and is a great
opportunity to show what you and the clarinet can do. Color is key. Take a huge breath and start
as softly as you can, but with a precise attack. Do not cresc. on the E. Press into the G at a subito
higher dynamic, using breath only for the change. I find it helpful to move my body for this a
little too. Fade the hairpin all the way through the bar and to the F# where you are again pp and
rather colorless. Play the A similarly to the G, but with ever so slightly more expression remember, you have a long way to go. This contrast between the desolation of the unaccented
notes and the dispair of the accented ones can be quite beautiful. Before the 5th bar of the solo is
the least obtrusive place for a breath. Though you've just started to play, if you grab a quick
breath here, you may not need another one at all. You now have two bars to play a shortened
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version of your previous expression and get from pp to f. The arrival of f is in measure 72 and
that C should be louder than it was when accented in 71. This forte should be glorious, soaring,
exultant, and big but NOT loud (i.e. crass, harsh, etc.). Do not press on the f here. Almost
immediately, you must return, in two bars, to pp. During your dim., you can also drain all color
from the sound and arrive below pp by the end of bar 73. You can then change direction when
you get to bar 74, add a little expression and move the phrasing forward. The chord changes there
can help you. Also adding the expression can give you a slightly higher dynamic from which to
make the final dim. Play from here seemlessly, practically glissing from note to note with your
legato. Beginning in 77, play each repeat of the E-G softer, fading away in color and dynamic.
You may slur to the final B, as you will be playing so softly no one will notice, and articulation
here may destroy the line. You may choose to make more expression out of the final interval of a
fifth, or to continue the fade. Either is acceptable and both are beautiful in their own way. If you
absolutely must, you may breath before the final G, but do not be late. Fade out on the B as only
a clarinet can, arriving at a nearly inaudible level by the beginning of the final bar. Do not hold
over the written value, because the Oboe enters in the next bar.
After playing ff and then resting for nearly 27 bars, you must play measure 138 as
Schubert wrote it: ppp on a high note with an expressive accent. Do not be late. Have some air
moving through your instrument in the bars preceding it and take time during the rests to imagine
what it feels like to play the Bb. Anyone can play this warm, but you must practice playing it
after sitting there for 3 minutes.
The second big solo is merely a restatement of the Oboe's first solo. You will be able to
play it in one breath no matter how slowly. Instead of being desolate and dispairing, you are now
in major mode and can be a little more cheerful in your expression. The cresc. here leads to the
glorious return of the motive of bar 231 followed by its docissimo echo. Try to play an exact
32nd note without being flippant. Everything here must be very smooth as well. Play a nice
cresc. with the Flute in 263 without pressing. The solo beginning in measure 276 can be with
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much expression and a relaxing of dynamic into the tonic of 280. Six bars later you will be able
to play a true ppp without being covered, so take advantage of it. Just don't be late entering.
Gioacchino Rossini - Overture to Semiramide
Rossini Operas are mainstays of the repertoire, as are their orchestral overtures. The chief
demands placed on the clarinet in all of Rossini's music are to play lightly and quickly. The
overture to Semiramide is typical of this. While the main solo asked on auditions is in the
middle of the Allegro, there are a few other pitfalls to point out. The figure at letter A at first
looks difficult, but with practice can be played as fast as needed and with the proper rhythm.
Accenting the staccato note a bit helps play the off beats without rushing. Letter A begins a
typical "Rossini" crescendo - widespread in all of his works. Always save a bit of volume for the
final push at the end of the long crescendo passages.
The first difficult spot for the clarinet comes in the Allegro, 6 measures after letter G.
The woodwinds all toss around this figure and it is important not to be late. Usually played quite
swiftly (a quarter note equal to as much as 152), you may insert a slur from the fourth to fifth
notes in the run if you need to. Don't be late, and don't rush the figure. In performance it is OK,
even preferable for the first note of the run to pop out, but in audition this is not as kosher.
Thinking of the first three notes as a pickup to the fourth beat of the bar helps you to enter at the
top in p. Beginning 4 bars before H the passage is now easier, and you are in octaves with the
flute. Don't forget to crescendo into H. The rest of the orchestra will be getting quite loud at this
point and you still need to be heard. Also be careful not to slow down and/or get heavier as you
get louder.
The passage usually asked for on auditions begins after K. This solo is over pizzicato
quarter notes in the strings. While it is fast, it needs to sound relaxed and unhurried. Play the
first bar with the grace notes close to the quarters, and play the quarters on the long but separated
side - not short. The hairpin in the first bar should go all the way to a Rossini forte, which is
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close to a Beethoven f, and come all the way back to p by the fourth beat of the second bar. From
here on out there are generally two schools of playing this solo. One is to be fairly simple and let
the line speak for itself, the other to play with dynamics and color as much as possible in the
short figures of the solo. While the latter can border on trite and contrived if overdone, this is
opera and I prefer it to the former. Having said that, you may think of the first bar as quarters
leading all to a rather bold G which retreats in dynamic and color to a dolce p. The next four
notes can be quite cute in the following manner: A small hairpin down is played over all four
notes; give a little poke accent the F to make light of the fact that the figure is played on the weak
beat; clip the D, but do not play it early; play a short E and a soft and short C. Repeat the figure
in the same manner but piu p. For the third time play louder than the other two and start a small
cresc. that continues through the C major arpeggio up to the high C. Play this C reminiscent of
the G in measure 2 of the solo. This illustrates the architecture of the solo nicely. Repeat the BD-C-A figure as you did the earlier triplets: p, piu p, meno p/cresc. leading to the D. Following
the long high D the next 5 notes really belong in to the phrase that continues in the next bar, so
make a bracket in your mind between the D and the A in the 10th bar after K. This will of course
be easier if you again have phrasing reminiscent of the G in the second bar of the solo and start
the triplets again p. Playfully move through the next bar careful to keep all twelve note in even
rhythm without crushing the two that are slurred. A slight poke accent on the articulated beats is
both playful and reminds one of the figure at letter A. A small cresc. through this bar is good,
but save for a much bigger cresc. in the next bar. In 12 after K, you can stretch slightly the
octave leap for dramatic and charming effect. It is from the top D that you should begin a large
cresc. through the whole bar. Arriving f at the G in the next bar, play each beat-long cell softer
than the one preceding it and still with the accent on the articulated beat that this figure gets.
Counting 5-4-3-2-1 to yourself while you play this bar and the final note in the next is a perfect
way to illustrate the attitude with which this dim. should be played. This is an awful lot of
discussion for a 10 bar solo that should sound like an unconcerned walk in the park, but a little
nuance goes a long way with this cute and refreshing piece. Of course, this solo can be played
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with a wide variety of acceptable phrasing as long as it does not contradict the character of the
piece.
The rest of the overture is merely a recap of themes already played. When the Allegro
triplet solo comes back, you are playing the lower-octave line, which drops out after a few bars.
Barber of Seville Overture and Figaro's Aria
Currently Rossini's most popular Opera, The Barber of Seville is widely adored in and out
of Warner Brothers' cartoons. The beginning of the overture is always in 8, but the length of the
pickup sixteenth-notes are rarely agreed upon. Some conductors prefer them played as 32ndnotes because of the slow tempo. Be ready for anything.
This Overture, even more than Semiramide, is about short and light notes! Beginning in
the 11th bar of the Allegro play short, almost pecky notes. Play the 32nds in the next bar very
quickly and with little accents so they don't sound like pickups. Clip the dotted-eighth-notes
almost in half. All of this is played with the Flute and Violins. After letter E, you have the
answer part of the B theme. Do not drag, and play all the notes very short. Crescendo through the
bar of Gs and press into the G#. Play the same phrasing two bars later, but about a half step up in
dynamics. In bar 100 play very short quarters, and don't be afraid of the gaping silence you are
adding and use that as an excuse to rush - these quarters must be unhurried. Fall off of the halfnote dynamically, and play a very sprightly ending. The three note cell in measure 102 should be
as follows: a long first note, clipped second and soft third. This nuance gives a nice shape to the
cell as you dim. through the bar like as if you were sliding down a banister to the final note in bar
103. Following this, you play the same thing again up an octave.
After switching to the A clarinet, you get to play the entire second theme in a solo
beginning after letter I. I think it is important to provide as much contrast between the motives
that make up this theme as possible, in the same way that the characters each display a different
mood with different music often simultaneously during the opera. In that light, play the second
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and third bars after I very dolce and legato, with the accent as a stress rather than a punch. Sort
of like Bartolo's awkward love answered by Figaro's scheming. The rest of the solo is the same
as before - even the fingerings, though in a new key.
Figaro's first Aria of the opera is the one with the famous "Figaro, figaro, figaro......". The
aria is about how Figaro is so in demand as a confidant and problem solver that he gets no rest.
The line above is his mimicking of all the people constantly calling on him. Baritones like to
sing this one FAST so be ready to play up to a dotted-quarter note equal to 184, though at an
audition a crisp 168 is acceptable. The key in an audition, of course, is to be a clean, clear, crisp
and short as you can. The difficult and exposed part begins in measure 17 (sometimes letter A),
and is a perfect imitation of people chattering away. Play the grace note before the beat, but as
close to it as possible, and make sure the beat gets a little accent. If you don't do both of these
things, the figure will come out sounding like six even sixteenth notes. Clip the eighth at the end
of the first beat, and don't rush to beat two. The Gs should be very short and even, as should the
bars with only six eighth-notes in them. This whole passage is another "Rossini crescendo" so by
the time you get to the high notes you can play them at a comfortable mf. Save a lot for a big final
push in the last six bars making your cresc. all the way to the last high C. Keep the volume
increasing through the last three notes - it makes for a lot of bravura.
Felix Mendelssohn - Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
This piece is a mainstay of both principal and second clarinet auditions. Though I will
mostly address the only the first part, what I say can quite easily be applied to the second. What
the committee is usually looking for in this excerpt is how cleanly one can articulate a fast
passage, not how fast one can articulate. True, if you play it too slowly, they will think that you
cannot articulate quickly, but first prize does not go to whoever tongues the fastest in this piece.
The Scherzo has been performed and recorded at a dotted-quarter-note equal to anywhere from
69 to 96, but 88 is the best speed to prepare cleanly. This is quickly enough to show your speed,
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but not so quick as to be frantic. It also has the virtue of being a speed nearly everyone can
handle, and one where if the adrenaline of an audition makes you play faster, you'll still be able
to make it. The mood in this piece in performance and in audition is light, quick, capricious,
sparkling, sprightly - nothing heavy, difficult or pushed. Remember at all times the character of
the piece is a representation of some rogue fairies.
General pitfalls of this excerpt are playing the group of four 16th notes crushed together
in time, playing too softly and not having some notes speak, not playing the full value of rests,
and notes popping out - particularly when going over the break. I find it much easier to play this
whole piece without lungs full of air. You don't need a lot of air except in a few spots, and the
less pressure behind each articulated note, the easier it comes out evenly in piano. Something
else I have tried is playing with very little jaw pressure. Depending on your reed, this can be quite
effective. The danger there is scooping the pitch on notes in the clarinet register. Generally, I
think that a forward tongue and a rock-solid embochure on a responsive reed sending a thin and
very focused stream of air aimed right at the reed is best. Lots of embochure and tongue support
with little diaphragm support works best for me.
The beginning is marked p, and only p. Do not try to play pp. Remember that you are
under the flute melody, and do not over-power them. In the first bar is the primary rhythmic cell
of the piece and the hardest one to play correctly. Do not crush the 16th notes. Practice this
slowly with the metronome on 8th notes, making sure each 16th is in the right place. It is
remarkable, even fast, how much time you really have to play these 16th notes. It's more than you
really need. Playing them correctly in rhythm has the added bonus of giving you the time to play
them shortly. Playing them short adds to the sprightly nature of the piece and just sounds better.
Play the notes in bar 2 exactly alike and very short. I recommend playing the B in the clarinet
register rather than "on the side". Properly supported, the difference in color is negligible and it
will ultimately sound better than the weak upper chalumeau notes. Just be careful not to accent
the B. I usually play the whole bar with my right hand down and already fingering the B on the
right. The passage at L requires the B on the left because of what follows it though. The accents
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in bars 6 and 7 should be quite sharp and a little accent in the same place in bar 5 is appropriate.
Bar 10 and 12 should be very short with a nice falling off shape. Bar 15 is the first time the
clarinets have the melody. Start at a healthy mf and play a very even dim. Play the first note of
this run secure, but not accented. The C at the top should be a soft p, and the notes of the next
bar should be at the same dynamic level. Follow the same character through letter A. Letter A is
the motive on only one pitch and therefore is much easier to rush - be extra careful here. Again a
sharp accent 5 and 7 bars after A. Start the cresc. at the low end of p, and follow it through the
next 6 bars until the bar of rest. The 16th note bar needs an added hairpin up in dynamic to the
top C within the overall cresc. The hemiola trill bars that follow should be as jaunty and
sprightly as possible. Short notes and at least 5 note trills with little accents to bring out the
hemiola. The last two notes before B should also be short and cute. In an audition, this is where
you will skip to letter D to keep playing. However, I recommend practicing the passage at letter
C because it is difficult, and learning it is helpful for playing the audition passages better.
6 bars after letter D begins a short recap., the main difference being the arpeggios. They
should be played with a secure but unaccented bottom note followed by a dim. to the top B. Do
not accent when going over the break. For these bars only, more diaphragm support helps. Play 3
before E softer than 4 before, and 2 before softer than 3 before. Think of the phrase during these
bars as if you were sustaining the notes, but play them very short. Lead into E with a small cresc.
in the bar before, coming up to p at E. Grab a big breath and start the sustained notes making
sure not to be sharp on the first low B, as is easy to do. Play the crescendo evenly heading all the
way to the sf note. Where ff is written is NOT the high point of the cresc. - the sf is. To the
overall smooth cresc. it is nice to add a bit of "terracing" or small accents each time you change
pitch. By the time you reach the dotted-quarter-notes, you can play them with real pressure
accents that are sharp, but not stinging, with each note louder than the one before. At the ff you
can be a little heavy, but don't slow down and be sure to save some volume to make a big
difference on the sf. Play this note short, so the sound can clear and the flute be heard. The
clarinet answer phrase will be easier to play if you don't breathe during the rest. You've taken a
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huge breath for the cresc. so you don't need the air, and you don't want a lot of pressure from
your lungs so you can play nice and light. I even exhale a little through the rest. You can breath
after the 16th notes. At an audition, it's best to hear the flute 16th in your head during the rests so
that you come in at exactly the right time and in perfect rhythm. Continue to dim. through your
16ths. You may accent every fourth note a little to help with the phrasing and rhythm - this also
usually prevents rushing. F is pretty much the same except that you start the dim. this time in
stead of the flute. Be sure to still play the sf and short 16ths, even though you are starting ff.
Most auditions end either the bar before G or four bars before that.
Other important passages are the very exposed duet 12 bars before K, which must be light
as always, and has a tendency to sound either late or behind in performance. L is the same as the
opening but you should be fingering the B on the right so that you can play the different scale in
the 8th bar of L. Follow the same phrasing pattern here, and make the accents at M quite sharp
and quickly back to p. There is a short solo after O with the Flute. Decide ahead of time weather
to play the grace notes before the beat or on it. They are more commonly played just before the
beat, and are always played very quickly. The last exposed passage for the clarinets is 7 bars
from the end where they answer the Flutes and have the melody in the first clarinet. This is the
first time you have the motive in pp. Be sure to make that difference. 5 and 4 before the end
should be even softer as you have only harmony. The last three notes are extremely short, and
without ritardando.
Symphony No. 3 in a minor, Op. 56 (Scotch)
Both this symphony and the "Hebrides" overture were written about a trip Mendelssohn
took to Scotland. Everywhere you turn in this piece there are exposed clarinet passages, though
usually only the second movement is asked for on auditions.
The solos begin right at the beginning of the Allegro of the first movement with the
clarinet an octave below the first violins. I recommend using your sound to color the violins
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rather than drawing attention to yourself. Be present with your sound, but don't hog the music.
There were reportedly rough seas during Mendelssohn's trip, and they are depicted marvelously
in this movement. Play with maximum expression and make all the sudden changes quite
dramatic. A good example of a place where you can be very expressive is after letter C. The
hairpin should be dramatic, but save a little to make the next hairpin even more dramatic. The
second statement of the motive is higher and with a cresc. Attention to these details is of
paramount importance.
The second movement is a dance. The strings are playing repeated sixteenth notes on the
same pitches, and it is impossible to find the beat. If the conductor is good he will understand
this and be clear for you, but try your best to be on time. It is easy to rush this solo in general,
and particularly easy during the dotted-eighth/sixteenth rhythm - be steady. It is Vivace, but also
non troppo and the metronome marking is correct and not terribly fast. The first two notes of the
solo are very important and the basis of the whole theme. Practice the ascending fourth alone for
a while to get the proper feeling and to be aware that the seven notes that follow the G are merely
an embellishment of it. This will also help you to play a true sixteenth-note pickup instead of
something shorter, which is a tendency. The musical motion in this solo should always be
forward (but not rushing forward). Crescendo slightly through the first four bars of the solo as
you head to the cadence in the fifth bar. Accent the D in the fifth bar since it is the arrival, not the
B. With nuance, follow the contours of the line in these 5 bars and the next 4 a bit, making
subtle differences in each sixteenth/dotted-eighth note group. Space of about a sixteenth note
between them will help the nuance while not destroying the over-all line. The second phrase can
of course get higher in volume as you go up to a B now. Also be sure to make a clear articulation
between the two Ds at the end of this phrase so they don't run together. When starting the third
phrase, it is a good idea to start in a smaller p than you even began the solo with. The strings
have pizzicatto moving toward the cadence of this phrase and crescendoing with them is nice.
The fourth phrase can be more triumphant, and will lead to the longer passage that follow better
if you cresc. nearly up to the f at the end of 9 bars before letter A.
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This passage must be heard above all of the business going on below you, so play a meaty
f. It begins with that ascending fourth again, so make the listener aware of it by being bold with
your pickup and arrival note. The hairpins should be big, and the indications for dim. and cresc.
dramatic and strictly adhered to. It is easy to lose count during the long notes. The second
statement of this theme (beginning 8 bars after A) needs to be even louder. Observe the sf and
make bigger hairpins and sail your ff above the whole orchestra. This is where about half of the
auditions stop you, but not where the difficulties end.
Four measures later, you have a rather tricky passage in unison with the 'cellos. Be careful
not to rush the pickup notes, and save some volume for the piu f, and the end of the passage.
Following that, you have a full 16 measures to agonize over your next entrance. Here again, it is
easy to get lost. Like the passage in the Midsummer's Scherzo, it is best to play this p entrance
with very little air in your lungs. This will allow you to float into the mix at a true pp and very
short. The accents are sharp and very important and every note not slurred must be short, nearly
pecky. The second and third bars of C need to be brought up above the rest for just a bit, and
accordingly, have been marked p. 6 bars after C be careful of rushing over the next 7 or 8 bars.
No auditions ever go beyond this point.
D is merely a test of your tongue's endurance. E is little excerpts of the dance coming in
and out of the texture. Here it is of particular importance to be exactly in time and not to rush the
pickup note. 10 after E is a little duet for clarinets. Be sure to leave enough space to make your
grace notes heard even though you should play them as quickly as you can. A little accent on the
grace-notes will help them pop out better. You end the movement with a recollection of the
theme that should be very sweet and simple, but still with all the markings observed (sf and
accents).
The third movement gives great opportunities for expression, such as in 9 bars before D
when the orchestra cuts out leaving you and the second clarinet to play a lovely arpeggio dim.
Stretch this as much as the conductor will let you. Beginning in the sixth bar after F you have
two little solos in counterpoint to the rest of the orchestra that must be heard. Sneak in on the G
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and grow quickly out of the texture before you make an expressive interval to the high C and
continue your cresc. downward. Don't get lost in the texture as you descend. The same goes for
the next two bars.
The last movement is more sudden dynamic changes and shocks - be observant. The
sixteenth notes should be played quite close to the dotted-eighths, which should be a little short.
The double dotted quarters should always be long. The motive in 10 before G is best done with a
pressure accent and a crying or wailing sound. The last page of the piece starts with a long and
very exposed duet with the Bassoon. Be expressive and sad. You and the bassoon will alternate
melody and harmony in the latter half of the duet, melody being indicated by measures with
hairpins in them. Yield to the bassoon when you have the harmony, and base the level of your pp
ending on proper balance with their pp (though it is nice when you can both fade to nothing by
the end).
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 (Italian)
Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony is more common on Second clarinet auditions, but is
rare on either. The first movement doesn't have much difficult or exposed. There are lots of
passages for a few woodwinds together and the clarinet can be heard in the texture. One place to
be aware of is the dove-tailing you will do with the flute starting 31 measures before E. Play
without accents as much as you can and match the flute sound. Nuance following the line is quite
nice to play with. After E is a theme in minor mode that should be played short and creepy.
Most of what the clarinets play in the second movement is soli. The first should really dominate
where it is marked "Solo". This is the Major variation of the theme. It is harder to project when
it returns in a lower register so you may have to play louder than p.
The third movement is pretty basic, and the big clarinet solo is the tail end of the first
section and every time that motive comes back. The last movement is what is asked for on the
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few auditions that have this piece on their lists. It is very fast - up to 100 for the half-note,
though 90 is more likely. At an audition, play it as fast as you can play it cleanly, and easily. You
must not make this excerpt sound difficult. The second clarinet has a harder part with some
particularly tricky fingerings and crossing of registers to deal with. The first exposed passage
begins in bar 14 and is exposed until the ff in bar 30. Needless to say, the notes must be light,
very short and pp! Do not play even as loud as p. If you can play this passage very fast, you may
want to audition on it a notch slower so that you may actually play short notes. This could
impress the committee more than plowing through at top speed. A little accent on the trill is
common, and it should be played with as many notes as you can. Lay back during the wholenotes to let the other lines through. Make a huge cresc. and start it where it is written, instead of
later which is done sometimes. This is usually the end of the audition passage for either clarinet
part. Seven bars before letter C comes a fun little passage. Play the run very smoothly and the
eighth-notes like 1/32 notes with rests. The hair-pins at C should be big, but try to blend with the
prevailing size of hairpin in the orchestra. The last important thing you have is 10 bars from the
end and is marked "Solo". It is easy to be early or late with these as they come in the off beat, but
you must be precise. A little hairpin dim. through the triplet makes for a nice shape to the
motive, but start the cresc. and move through the notes when it's marked.
Hector Berlioz - Symphony Fantatique
An absolute masterpiece, Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique has a fascinating history. It is
one of the first instrumental works to tell a detailed story. It is about a composer who is in love
with an actress who won't give him the time of day. In his dispair, the composer decides to
commit suicide by overdosing on opium. He doesn't take enough, however, and he proceeds to
have wild visions of himself and his beloved. Berlioz wrote this piece to get the attention of an
Irish actress named Henrietta Smithson that he was in love with who wouldn't have anything to
do with him. The piece so impressed her, that they began seeing each other and eventually had a
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short and tempestuous marriage. Attention to detail is particularly important in this piece and
Berlioz was very particular about his markings.
In the introduction, most of the passages are for tutti woodwinds, and the clarinets are
often in octaves with the flutes. In the main part of the movement at number 11, you have the
main theme of the piece, or idee fixe, in octaves with the flute. This is the theme that represents
the hero's beloved, and it is transformed throughout the piece. It is impossible to play this
passage with too much passion, so pour on the expression. There are sudden and extreme
dynamic changes that need to be done. The sfs before 12 are as sharp as you can make them
without being stung. This is the passion of a young man hopelessly in love.
The Ball opens with our hero moving through a crowd at a dance party. He hears the
music, and sees his beloved at number 26. Here again is the idee fixe. The main solo for the
clarinet is a fragment of the main theme beginning at 35. The rfz should be quite dramatic,
bordered by extreme hairpins up and down. Beginning in measure 11 of the solo, back off of the
dynamic up to the high C, very dolce. Breathe, then come in with the second clarinet dolcissimo
for the final 5 bars of the solo.
"In the country" finds our hero listening to shepherds playing their pipes to each other.
The clarinet's first entrance is very delicate. Stay relatively soft so you give way to the more
interesting lines happening elsewhere. After a while, our hero sees his beloved, and takes her in
his arms. The passage from 41 to 43 is the only depiction of a complete sexual climax that I
know of, the high point being the ff four bars after 42. With that in mind, much of the expression
of the movement comes into focus. In the tender moments of afterglow, the clarinet, representing
our hero, sings a tender love song to his beloved beginning in the third bar of 43. Start with a
real mf, but dolce. This gives you plenty of space for a dramatic, whispered pppp echo. Berlioz
was a master orchestrator, and he knew only the clarinet could achieve such an echo. The
accompaniment is pp pizzicato strings, so play as softly as possible and you will still be heard.
Start the poco f a little softer than you were in the mf. Each of the next three bars is a gesture,
self-contained, and restated more passionately each time. When that figure can no longer contain
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the mounting passion, Berlioz gives us more notes in 3 before 44. Don't be afraid of big, weighty
sfs. 2 before 44 is six individual pulses that lead forward in a terrace effect, like climbing stairs.
The measure before 44 should be at least f at the beginning. The E is definitely the high point and
all of the sixteenth-notes should have much bravado. Diminuendo only to mf by 44, and from
there decay. This solo is usually the only thing heard on auditions from this piece. Committees
want to hear how expressively you can play - you must not be timid or boring. The restatement
that follows is with the other woodwinds. At the end of the movement, we hear again one
shepherd, but the other is not responding - perhaps he is busy with our hero's beloved. Has she
been unfaithful? An approaching storm heralds disaster.
The fourth movement has our hero being lead to the Guillotine, not the Stake, for
murdering his beloved in a jealous rage. The passage at 56 is tricky, but not exposed. Just before
our hero's head is cut off, he has a vision of his beloved in the clarinet solo after 56. Make huge
hairpins - this is the last moment of his life. The downbeat of seven after 56 is the blade of the
Guillotine cutting his head off. The pizzicati that follow represent his head bouncing down the
steps of the platform, followed by the cheers of the crowd.
The fifth movement - A witch's Sabbath - has the first clarinet switching to Eb, but in
modern practice the principal clarinet will play the second part and someone else will play the Eb
part. There are still passages of note for the "first" clarinet in this movement. The story for this
movement is that our dead hero is being haunted in hell by his dead beloved, now a witch.
Measure 21 is a foreshadowing of the arrival of the witches, led by the composer's beloved. This
is a fragment of the idee fixe in distorted rhythm. Play very softly at the beginning. Leave the
hamming to the Eb when they come in with the complete theme. You just have one cresc. - make
it a big one. There are lots of tricky things in the fugues that make up the bulk of the movement,
and being on time is very important. Beginning in 447 is difficult passages that is even on some
principal clarinet auditions. Play the fastest trills you can. The trills that fall on the first note of
the triplets should be played on the beat. Leggiero is the key for the p passage that follows. The
rest is fairly straight forward.
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Johannes Brahms
Primarily a chamber music composer, Brahms only wrote four symphonies (and only 9
other works for orchestra), but all are staples of the repertoire of every orchestra from the
youngest youth symphony to world-class orchestras. While classical in form, the pieces contain
expressive marks on par with Brahms' main rival - Richard Wagner. Rhythmically, Brahms was
decades ahead of his contemporaries. Often a particular line in one voice can be interpreted two
different ways rhythmically, and through much of his work there are different meters in the music
occurring simultaneously. Hemiolas and shifting the meter by one beat in the bar are favorite
techniques of his. It is easy to get lost in some places even when you know the piece well, so
counting is of paramount importance. Sometimes you will have to count the meter written in
your head while you play the meter of the music or phrase through your instrument. Two general
phrasing points to remember about Brahms are: upbeats almost always belong to the note
following them and should be played expressively, and dolce in Brahms is his cue to warm the
sound and play expressively - it is almost as if he uses dolce where other composers use
espressivo.
Symphony No. 1
Brahms took 20 years to write this piece, and went through many revisions before it was
premiered. The first movement is fairly straightforward, and has nothing of real importance for
the clarinet. The second movement is the movement usually asked for on auditions. The big
solo begins in measure 42, and is much easier to play if you use your Bb clarinet and transpose.
Sneak in on the F under the Oboe, and only gradually make the listener aware of your presence
by a cresc. to p that arrives at the end of measure 43. Stretch the first two sixteenth-notes as
much as you can in the tempo (you might want to start them early to give yourself time), and
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when you reach the A continue in tempo. Articulate the repeated notes enough to be heard in the
hall so that they don't sound like syncopated eighths. A little two-note pulse or hairpin will help
this so that you don't have to over articulate. From here you have two options for phrasing the
next two measures: what I will illustrate, or a variation of the exact opposite. Play measure 45
with an expressive hairpin leading to the Ds straddling beat 2 and then back away from the leap
of an augmented 5th. Playing the G# softer than the low notes allows you to stretch them a little
creating the illusion of suspending them in time like a swing reaching its apex. Of course you can
do the opposite and make the large leap the expressive one making the G#s higher in volume.
The same phrasing should be used in measure 46, but trail off at the end of the bar since that will
enable you to start low enough in bar 47 for a huge cresc. Without taking any time, make the
most of every interval in bar 47 - as if your fingers were incased in goo. The cresc. should go all
the way to f with the B as the high point. Transposing this on the Bb makes the awkward skip of
E-C# into the easy Eb-C. As long as you're careful not to spread on the less resistant C you can
make quite a cresc. through this interval. This bar is like a flower unfolding to the sun and should
be as glorious as you can make it. Up until this bar, you've basically been going nowhere as you
hover in static rhythm around a few pitches - make the most of the difference. Bar 48 needs a
graceful dim. down to the resolution on the E. The reason for this solo being chosen over the
larger solo in the third movement is its expression. Show the committee and/or orchestra what
you can do here. In measure 100 you begin an accompaniment figure that should be heard in the
texture of the orchestra. Though marked with dots, these triplets should be played separated, not
short. Don't forget the cresc. Measure 120 is a typical figure that makes Brahms so difficult. It is
easy to psychoanalyze this figure to death, but if you just play exactly the values of notes written,
you will do fine. If you and your colleagues and/or conductor work out a way to slightly distort
the rhythm for music's sake, just make sure you all do it together. This is a particularly good
motive to learn to play expressive, but articulated intervals.
The third movement begins with the clarinet stating all of the primary theme. Play
semplice and as beautifully as possible. Don't get too expressive until the hairpin. In hairpins of
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this type, it is good to remember that it is the latter half of the hairpin where most of the
expression takes place. The first half is merely there to provide you with enough volume to make
an expressive color change and dim. The hairpin up in measure 7 and 8 comes a little early and
works better if you delay it a bit, making the most expression on the first half of measure 9. The
whole woodwind section joins you in measure 11. This is another case of something seeming so
simple that you feel you must make something of it - don't. Just play a beautiful descending
scale without extra pulsing or any rhythmic distortion. Here is one of the rare exceptions where
the sixteenth at the end of the bar does not belong to the note that follows it. Start the scale in bar
13 as a new phrase and do not try to make an expressive connection between them. Adding a
little hairpin up in 16 and down in 17 is a nice touch. Cut the last F short to grab a breath before
letter A. The triplets at A need to cut through the orchestra while still staying p. The notes should
be played the length they are marked - separated legato. Follow the line dynamically for the first
three bars, but continue moving through measure 22 making the C the high point, followed by a
dim. At B comes the first spot in the whole movement for dramatic expression. You are now in
minor mode, and it's up to the clarinet alone to lead the music into a new mood. Sigh, cry, wail,
but make maximum expression, and keep the cresc. up to the last sixteenth note in measure 47.
Letter C is only difficult because of the many quick hairpins that follow. They may seem
awkward, but they are in the right place. Practice making them, and making them work logically
in your mind. D is only awkward because of the rest at the beginning of the triplets. Subdividing
ahead of time will help you be neither early or late. Use only enough articulation to make them
apparent as different notes in the audience. Letter E is a pleasant return, again solo. The triplets
in bar 120-124 should be done with little descending hairpins. Measure 125 should be
expressive and will need to be louder than p to be heard. Make sure the first note is not late, and
is present enough to draw the ear to you right away. 126 is the same simple phrasing as before.
The monumental last movement has very little for the clarinet, but there are some pitfalls.
Count like a demon in the Adagio introduction, as it is easy to get lost. There are some balance
problems in this movement in particular, especially where you have sixteenth notes in the
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Allegro. While Brahms' orchestras were not so small as Beethoven's, they were not as large as
what we have today. Doublers are not a bad idea when you can get them, and if you feel you're
line should come through in a tutti f but isn't - play as strongly as you can.
Symphony No. 2
This symphony has very little for the clarinet and is on few auditions. What it does have
is many clear examples of Brahms' tricky rhythms. In the first movement at letter E the first note
should sound like a pickup and the second note as a down beat of a 5/4 bar with another pickup
at the end of it, then you're back in 3 for two bars. After that he shifts the 3/4 by one beat in 124
and 125 with an extension in 126 to get you cadencing the music with the meter in 127. This
kind of metric shifting, and music in meters not given in the time signature happen all of the time
in Brahms, and can make for some tricky counting. One easy place to get lost it in the
accompaniment figure the clarinets have starting in bar 135. While the figure is hard enough to
play correctly and for that long, the real problem is keeping count in 3/4 while around you
motives are happening in shifted 3/4, 2/4, and 4/4. Pick some landmarks in the music to listen
for, count like a demon, or even beat your body in a small 3/4 pattern to stay on track. If you can
divide your mind into several sections, you'll be able to count and listen to the music around you
without getting lost.
The second movement is more of the same with rhythmic shifts and 2 on 3 everywhere.
There is one small clarinet duet starting in the second bar of letter B. Play it as if it were made up
of dotted-quarters on the beat - do NOT accent the beats of the meter here (the quarters that are
tied into). At the very end of the movement the clarinet has a bar alone. Cresc. through the thirdto-last bar and really stress the C# in the penultimate bar, then back away towards the D.
The third movement is a brilliant example of rhythmic variation, but set in a menuet/trio
form. The big part is for the Oboe and you must support them with a soft tone. The accents in
this piece are of paramount importance. The accents at the beginning are merely to show that you
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should move to the third beat in those bars and stress the quarter. The accents in the prestos,
however, are quite sharp and should be extreme without being gross.
The last movement, like most of the others is made up of woodwind textures that involve
lots of octave doublings for the Clarinet, and only one real solo. 5 measures after B on the
second beat of the bar, most of the orchestra drops out and the ones who are left are subito p.
You should remain f and sail over the orchestra. Take the hairpin down with a grain of salt - only
use it to get a little softer so that you may make a big hairpin up in the bar with the eighth-notes.
After you reach the Eb, give way to the second clarinet a bit as they answer you with a
descending arpeggio. Letter E is marked solo, but it is soli for most of the wind section. It is cute
and meanders. Follow the line up and down for dynamic nuance. I is not a solo, but is an
interesting rhythmic effect. It is a hemiola as if the pulse were 3 to a bar - do not accent the halfbar beat here. Measure 216 is with the bassoon and is easier to enter if you play your C# on the
side. Don't be late off your ties. 255 is again cute - play with little accents for that bar, and in the
next be very quick jumping down the 10th, but don't rush after you've made it.
Symphony No. 3
On virtually every clarinet audition, the F major Symphony of Brahms is packed with
juicy clarinet solos and rhythmic trickiness. Beginning at letter B in the first movement is a
passage often heard on auditions. Leading the woodwinds, the clarinet must play expressive
hairpins within an overall cresc., and the subito p in measure 26. Add a little push beyond the
long hairpin going into bar 25, and again a little push towards the second C#. The true solo
begins on the G at the end of measure 25, and should be where the subito p is played. However,
this is where you need to project even more. In the orchestra the problem is easily solved by
playing approximately the same dynamic, and in an audition you don't have anyone to project
over - so you can play a real subito p. Bar 26 can be a simple hairpin up and down, but it is much
nicer if you make something of the high notes. A nice thing to do is sort of a loop in your
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phrasing where you back off a little in volume just at the high end as you slow down ever so
slightly. This is like a roller coaster that slows down as it reaches the top of it's loop and seems to
hover before it falls back down. This is, of course, a move that happens in the blink of an eye,
and is subtle; but it will be apparent, and make the moment quite special. Slurring the entire bar
is often done, which makes the line smoother. You may play your high Eb with Thumb - Register
Key and throat A key if it's not too flat - this keeps everything in the same partial. The next four
bars are at accompaniment dynamics, and there is a soli in measure 32 which usually has a placed
sixth beat and downbeat of bar 33. Then quickly switch to your A clarinet for the major solo of
the movement.
The A solo is ambiguously marked mezzo voce, grazioso, and 9/4 time. Use an easy,
almost mellow tone without pressure, and have a moderate dance feeling. Make your
articulations light so that they don't wreck the line. Some people even slur from the second beat
in bar 36 to the first beat in bar 37, where the first sub-phrase break is. The same pattern can be
done in measure 37, slurring from the second note to the bar-line. Phrasing in the first bar is nice
if you drive gracefully to the E, hang suspended for a tiny moment, backing away through the
eighth-notes down to the A in bar 37. Start the second beat of 37 with a tiny rf, and drive the
same way, but keep moving through the eighth notes rising above p before you make the subito
pp. Still within the new dynamic, stress the A and back away to the G, and follow the pattern as
before, mimicking bar 36. Measure 39 begins with an extension-development of the eighth-note
cell in a hemiola. This means the beats of the music in measure 39 are three half notes followed
by a dotted half note. Make an expressive hairpin through the quarter-notes. The first four
measure phrase ends with the downbeat of bar 40 and you rise back to p on the start of the new
phrase on the second beat. Separating this phrase with a breath if you need it is OK, but be sure
not to connect them in any case. With the new phrase, the woodwinds join you for two bars.
Measure 41 has the same musical-rhythmic pattern as measure 39. Stress the F at the end of the
bar and back away to the coming pp. The dynamic quandary in measure 42 can be solved as it
was in measure 26, depending on your performance situation. If you like, you may structure the
44
rhythm as follows in this bar: dotted-half, dotted-quarter, dotted-quarter, dotted-half. Some of
the enduring beauty of Brahms is his rhythmic ambiguity. This measure is equally beautiful with
a plain 3 pulse. 43 has a clear hemiola at the beginning, however, and a slightly delayed
placement of the separated notes that form the cadence at the end of the bar. C is an Oboe solo
that you answer exactly in the following bar. The rhythmic structure of measure 45 and 46 are a
dotted-quarter note followed by a hemiola. Attacking the high D is easier if you prepare mentally
and physically in the bar before and play p, not pp. Just play simply and it will be beautiful. The
separated quarter notes of bar 46 (in hemiola) are usually done with a small rit. It is here that
most auditions leave the first movement.
The music is back in 2 by measure 49, but by the time the clarinet comes back in, the
pulse has been shifted by a quarter note with the phrased downbeat feeling coming on 3 and 6 of
each bar. The pulse narrows to a half-note in length two bars before D, and is again shifted by the
end of bar 60. This kind of rhythmic trickiness continues, and is easy to spot with a little
attention to the part and the music around you. The next big solo, again on A clarinet, is a re-cap
of the second theme, starting at bar 149. The main differences start in bar 152 with the snap
rhythm on the 7th quarter-note. Play it exactly as it's marked: quickly and short - anything else
would be clumsy. Brighten the mood as you play the new phrase in measure 153 and make a
smooth ascent to the E without taking time. Half-holing the E may help you here. Drop your
dynamic during the long tone in 154 and play the rest as before. This solo is sometimes asked on
auditions too.
A difficult tutti passage that is on some auditions begins in measure 173. Remember the
pulse has been shifted back a quarter-note. The missing beat is recovered in measure 177. Try to
play ff without screeching in the high register, and be as smooth as possible. I prefer to play my
high G like an overblown B above the staff to stay in the same partial - just make sure you're not
flat. You may stretch very slightly around the high G to make it nice, but only in auditions.
Whatever the conductor wants in the orchestra is what you give him/her. When heard, this
passage usually stops in bar 178.
45
The first 23 bars of the second movement are a clarinet solo, and encompass the entire
main theme. It is marked Andante, not Adagio, and should be nearly 80 to the quarter. Though it
has been done as slow as 60, that is no longer the fashion. Listen to many different recordings to
pick your tempo. Make sure you project over the string without rising above p. There is the
seemingly contradictory marking of espressivo semplice. You can do much with nuance on a
small level and make the big moments big without contradicting either of those markings.
Articulation should be very slight, but there. Do not let it wreck the line. There are also many
instances of one note being both the end of one phrase (or sub-phrase) and the beginning of
another. The first bar is such a case. The first four notes are very simple and just an
embellishment of the D. The A, however, is both the end of the complete motivic cell of the first
measure and the beginning of the A-B alteration. There are many gradations of interpretation that
can be done with the A: It clearly belongs to the notes before it (and is even under the same slur)
and you can play it just that way; it also clearly belongs to the notes after it and you can play it
that way; alternatively, you can make a very quick and subtle phrase-direction change during the
A merely by switching the way you think about it while you're playing it. In any case, there
should certainly be a small hairpin down when you descend from the D to the A. The A-B
alteration is again semplice and the A at the end of bar 2 is again part of two sub-phrases. After
you approach it like just another of the alternations, you then should lead with it through the
eighth-notes toward the next bar. The down beat of bar 3 is again part of the descending eighths
before it and part of the cell that follows. Bar 3 has another of Brahms' rhythms that can be
psychoanalyzed to death. I believe it sounds good if each of the dotted-eighth/sixteenth cells is
done with ascending terraced dynamics. Also put a subtle stress accent on the eighth and/or dip at
the end of it. This created tiny nuance loops leading as you terrace up to the E. The E should be
played with the hairpin down leading to a very soft D, and can be done creating another small
loop at the end. The D should be wistful in it's dolce expression. It is important for the
architecture of the whole solo that you set up this kind of a resolution now to match the more
expressive ones later.
46
Measure 5 is like measure 1 except the A leads a lot more to the next bar and you should
make the 6th very expressive and rise to the top limit of p by the time you get to the F#. This
enables you to fall off with the nice hairpin, especially on the descending 5th. Given the pitches
and articulation in bar 6 it is clear there is a phrase break between the 3rd and 4th beats. Bar 7
must be more expressive than bar 3 so that you can pull back further on the hairpin down,
because bar 8 is a deceptive cadence requiring even more bittersweetness. Measures 9 and 10 are
like 5 and 6 only even more expressive because of the octave leap now and the additional note in
bar 10. A clear sub-phrase break exists before the dotted eighth/sixteenth cell which is
developed in bar 11. Play the second one with a mood and color echo, and try to avoid the
cheaper idea of a dynamic echo. Measure 12 are the biggest hairpins of the solo, rising above p
and again resolving to a deceptive cadence. The oboe takes over for two very beautiful measures,
and letter A should be played simply for two measures. When you descend the 5th at the end of
bar 16, go all the way down to a colorless, sotto voce pp. You can be very soft in an audition, but
make sure you still project (without pressure) in the orchestra. These 8 beats are to be done
without expression at all. This contrast makes all the other expression seem more meaningful.
You may also think of these eight notes as two shifted 4/4 bars. Immediately rise back to p in
dynamic with color and expression at the end of bar 18. A moderate sized hairpin is now
appropriate - remember you're setting up the expression in bar 21 here. The pickups to 21 should
be healthy and signal right away that this is the final end of the solo (and the first complete
cadence). A big hairpin up, hanging suspended on the F# with a little hairpin down, and more
hairpin down to the cadence closes out the solo nicely.
None of the other solos from this movement are on auditions, but there is plenty left for
the solo clarinet in this piece. Letter C is a solo to be played mysterioso. Place the eighth-notes in
measure 42 slightly, and move the down hairpin in bar 44 to the last beat of the bar, driving to it.
You may do a little rit. at the end of 54 after your ornament. The final statement of the main
theme is for you alone again. Measure 122 starts a long chain of cells connected by notes
belonging both to the phrases before and after them. Turn the direction of the note around with
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little swells down then up, and make a lot of expression in the augmentation bar 127. You should
be able to go until the first beat of 129 without a breath, and you can take one there. If you can't,
sneak a little one at the end of 126. There is a little lift after the first beat of 130, and the
woodwinds join you for the rest of the bar.
The clarinet has some lovely counter-melodies to the main theme in the third movement,
the first being at letter B and led into by a clarinet duet. Make sure to take the same dynamic and
tempo the second gives you, so that you sound like one. Let the high D evaporate naturally. At
B, have a little pulse on your syncopations and lead up to the high note, then fall away on the
sixteenth-notes. This passage is very expressive. After G you have another dramatic
counterpoint. The sixteenth-note after the tie should not be rushed and is the most expressive
note, a slight stretching of it is good, but steal time from the other notes or the whole passage will
drag. Make the most expression of the wide intervals. 130 should be a little calmer and softer,
while 132 is more expressive. After that, follow the line dynamically. Make a little break before
the pickups to 136 and play these four notes very expressively. The notes that follow should be
more emotional echo than dynamic, but do play slightly softer too.
The last movement begins with strings playing sotto voce, flautando, and very smooth.
When you take over the theme, do the same. The accents at the end of the passage are very quick
pressure accents, like the sob of a jilted lover. Do not be harsh with them. The pickup to 34 can
be played in the above mentioned 3rd partial fingering for an easier entrance if it's not too flat.
Just be sure to be pp, and not late! A huge cresc. follows. There are some tricky technical things
in the tutti passages, but the rest is self-evident.
Symphony No. 4
The fourth symphony has much for the clarinets to do, and is on many first and second
clarinet auditions. The texture of the first movement is expressive but thin enough that the
clarinets are heard quite often in the woodwind passages. Be legato at letter A. Play the second
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theme boldly and marcato (which does not mean short), four bars before C. The only passage
ever asked on auditions from this movement is after letter H, and only because it is so awkward.
It is with other woodwinds in unison and octaves. Play with a colorless sotto voce tone, and if
you slur from the third bar of the solo to the fourth, it will be easier. The only lengthy exposed
passage for clarinets is the duet 14 after I. This is part of a long transitional dim., but is generally
very simple. Before letter O is a duet with the flute straight out of the first symphony, third
movement. Play in a similar fashion.
The second movement finds the clarinets again stating the entire theme. Some auditions
go all the way to letter B, but it is more common to stop before letter A. Sneak in on your
entrance. By the first full bar it is just the clarinets and pizz. strings. The strings have the true
rhythm of the motive, while the clarinets are sustained. It has been suggested that the clarinets
are not the melody, but merely a sustained color to fill in the pizz. I do not believe this is so,
mostly based on what follows, but be prepared for the conductor to want you quite pp. In any
case, you should have no trouble projecting at pp in either an audition or over pizz. strings.
Legato is good advice from Brahms. As before, be exact with your rhythm. Play quite simply,
but make warm expression out of the change to the flat chord by moving towards the F-natural
and away from it. Don't go above pp while you do it though. Play the pickups to measure 9 of
the movement and the downbeat as a self-contained gesture. Repeat the same way right away,
but after you arrive on the A, you may then start moving the direction of the phrasing forward.
This is again changing phrase direction on only one note. Make a little separation between the C
and E in bar 10, and wherever this sub-phrase break occurs in the piece. Starting in bar 11 you
have three motivic steps to the climax on the F# in 12. At the climax, make most of your mood
change on the long note, leaving a little nuance only for the last three notes. Letter A is f and
must be bold. It is still a solo with occasional woodwind doublings. Your chief problem here is
projection. You may mask your breaths by steeling them from the ends of the long notes, while
others are still playing. It is easy to rush this passage in an audition, if only because you need the
air to finish, but stay steady. Five after A begins a long solo and dim. with nowhere to breath. Be
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ready, be steady and pace your dim. well. Highlight a little the rhythmic shift, to a pulse to every
three notes now, without destroying the line. When you reach the pp, you are now subservient to
the horn solo. The next few bars have the two of you weaving in and out of the string pizz.
texture. Four before B has a repeat of the end of the first phrase. This one is bigger because of
the added notes, and the marking of f at the climax. Also, there is once again a motive that can
be done one of two ways or a combination. The repeated As in four before B can be separated to
delineate the sub-phrases, played legato to indicate them as a unit moving forward, or some
combination of the two. It is up to you. Again, the D before letter B can be used to make most of
the remaining dynamic and mood change.
There are a few little solos and solis before the big one at letter F. Of note is the one in
octaves with the flute at 14 after C. Tuning beforehand may be prudent. D is a nice counterpoint,
but don't distract too much from the main line. After F, you again have a long dim. to lead, but
this time only from p down. Start with big p and you'll have more to work with. Then you begin
the sequence back up. I prefer to play the first three notes dolce and put a lot of legato and
expression into the last three stepwise notes. After the break, play dolce, and save the espressivo
for the hairpinned arpeggio. Save some dim. for the last three notes (B, A, G)
The third movement is the only orchestral example of a true Scherzo by Brahms. Quick
with sudden changes and fast runs, the movement is interesting and should be studied. There is
nothing of particular importance to the clarinets though, as is the case with the last movement.
The last movement has a woodwind passage right after the opening that begins with
unison clarinet and oboe. Here the pulse has been shifted a quarter-note so that the second beat
sounds like the down beat. Letter B is awkward, but is also in unison with the sustained notes
through which the clarinet moves. The movement should be quite self-evident to you after all the
Brahms you've studied up to this point.
Giuseppe Verdi - La Forza del Destino Overture
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Verdi's Opera's are considered among the finest ever composed, and are still popular. The
overtures appear occasionally in concert performances as well. "La Forza del Destino" is, like
much of Verdi, extremely tragic. There are two major clarinet solos in the Overture. The first
begins at Andantino (sometimes letter B). Here the clarinet is quite alone and can play with
much rubato. It is important to highlight the architecture of the solo: three sub-phrases moving
towards the seventh bar of the solo, then going away followed by a more intense repeat. I
recommend playing the first one simply, as if you were distracted by something on your mind
while talking to a friend. In the second cell, start to get more expressive. Make the third cell the
most expressive and put a lot of weight on the note with the "hat" accent on it. This is not a sharp
accent, but one to put maximum expression, weight, and tension on that note. When you hit the
G in the next bar, use it alone to change all of the mood and dynamic back to distracted regret
and p. The second phrase is done in a similar fashion, but with a bigger climax. In the last cell,
play very softly and with a huge rit. and dim. on the last four notes. Fade out to nothing at the end
of the final bar, but do not make your last note sound like the end. The end is the note that is
missing - make that apparent to the listener.
The second big solo, and the more common one on auditions is at the Allegro brilliante
(sometimes letter G). It is quite fast, with a half-note equal to approximately 84-92. This is the
one moment of hope in the piece and represents the young woman who will inevitably die. The
expressions happen very fast and must be quite large. The accent in the third bar of this solo
needs to be sudden. Play all the hairpins as they are, though some look strange. Breath every
chance you get, because your last breath will be in bar 8. If you need another, take it quickly
between the octave Bs. Do not take a breath in bar 12, and make the hairpin big. The high D two
bars before the end of the solo should be at ff, but the end back to p. Make all of the eighth-note
pickups metrically accurate, but un-accented. This is very different from Brahms, and accenting
of pickups will only destroy the line.
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Smetana - Overture to the Bartered Bride
A good exercise in transposing, articulation and pentatonic scales is this overture. It is
very fast, up to 168 to the quarter, though 152 is more common. Add two note slurs wherever
you need them to keep up with the orchestra. In an audition, you should play as fast as you can
articulate everything, unless that is slower than 144. In that case, add some slurs. There is really
only one tiny solo, but you may be asked any of the woodwind tutti parts, most of which center
around the same sort of passage as found at the beginning of the piece. The solo, after letter B,
can usually be played faster without slurs than the tutti passages. Play big hairpins and sharp
accents. In the orchestra, make sure you project and don't slow down.
Antonin Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)
Largely based on American Indain and Negro Spiritual songs, the New World Symphony
remains Dvorak's most popular work in America. While there are lots of little solos and long
passages for woodwinds, there is little in the first movement that bears discussion here. Bar 19
in the second movement is the first of four times you will play the last fragment of the main
theme. Be wistful and nostalgic, as you are often just the recollection of the complete theme. The
accompaniment figure at number 3 must be very smooth and facile. The passage after number 4
is awkward and exposed for two clarinets. It is quite a workout for your left wrist. Do not clip
the triplets before the rest more than is metrically correct. The fourth bar after 4 is unimportant,
but you need to project in the fifth bar.
Most auditions will only include the high solo from the Trio of the third movement.
Intonation is very important here, and you are in octaves with the second clarinet. Sometimes the
second part will appear on second clarinet auditions to be played with the principal. Don't play
as if you are afraid of the passage. Try to float. Don't try to play too softly. Cresc. through the
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first D and fall through the triplets. It is a common mistake to rush the following eighth-notes be careful. Fade nicely to p at the end of the duet. The passage after 5 is tricky and requires
attention beforehand.
Seven measures after 2 in the last movement is an awkward passage that while in a tutti,
is quite audible. The big solo for the clarinet starts before number 3, but oddly, is only on a few
auditions. You must soar above the orchestra until number 4, with wide fluctuations in
dynamics. Make as much contrast as you can without being covered. Again, in an audition you
may play real pianos. Follow Dvorak's markings well, and you will be fine. There is a another
big solo 19 measures after 9 full of expression. 15 after 12, the clarinets have a duet recalling the
main theme of the movement. Make a huge dim. and fade out completely at the end.
Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4
While not as common as the 5th and 6th symphony on auditions, the 4th is played a lot
and has some nice passages for the clarinet. The introduction to the first movement ends with the
Bassoon and Clarinet in octaves transforming the opening theme into the main motive of the first
movement. Playing in tune is of course important, and you'll want to go over this with the
Bassoonist in advance, but also pay careful attention to the balance. The Bassoon should
dominate, and the clarinet be like an overtone. The Bassoon will also determine how much dim.
to do since they cannot usually play as softly as clarinets can. Play the last two notes like a sigh.
The main part of the movement begins with a string phrase repeated by the woodwinds with the
clarinet and flute on the melody line. The rhythmic pulse of the music is not the standard 9/8, but
more like 3/4 + 3/8, and should be played in 4 with the pulse equal to quarter, quarter, quarter,
dotted-quarter. Later, Tchaikovsky builds very complex rhythmic counterpoint from this.
Stravinsky's rhythms in "Le Sacre du Printemps" were influenced by this movement.
Throughout the transition, you have many little solos interspersed with the other woodwinds,
such as 11 after A. Keep the rhythm of the music in mind, and really go for the end of the solo
53
with your cresc. A big solo at the end of the transition to the second theme starts with the pickup
to letter E. You may have to delay the pickup a bit while the noise of the whole orchestra ff clears
the hall. The conductor will usually indicate how much delay to you. The third bar after E should
be a little different from the first. There is now an accent on the Bb and I like to make more
cresc. to it and make a lot of the hemiola here. The clarinet starts the second theme with its
pickups to Moderato assai, quasi andantino. Most conductors like to slow the rit. that precedes
it to slower than the Moderato tempo. If this is the case, you can make nice juicy rit. into the
Moderato and then snap immediately back into the new tempo. Do not bounce on the
32nd/dotted 16th rhythm, but try to separate the cells a bit - it shouldn't be completely legato. The
separation also allows you to make little color changes and nuance with every two-note cell if
you want. Lead into the first Db, then back down to the Bb. The first two Bbs should be backed
away from, the third leads to the short 32nd-note run, which is played with a small stress and
tenuto on the first of the five notes. Do the same in the repeat, and the six 32nd-notes are almost
always faster than you think they are. Subdivide, play quickly and smoothly, and you'll be get to
the Eb on time. After the key change, you are on the top of the woodwinds leading the cresc. and
mood changes back to the new tempo. Don't let yourself be covered, but also remember you have
a long way to go and the first 11 bars of this cresc. are only from pp to p.
In the development you can see the shifted pulse and all the interesting rhythms derived
from the 3/4 + 3/8 meter. The second and fourth bars of M are the usual pattern reversed - now
3/8 + 3/4. After Q things get very confused and in the 10th bar the strings have a number of
quarter-note pulses in a row. It is probably best to ignore them the first time through, or you may
enter early in the 11th bar ff. After you've heard it a few times it will sound clearer to you. The
rest of the movement is the same, except for the coda beginning at V. You are in octaves with the
flute, and have to play loud enough to be heard over a thick accompaniment. If you can play this
phrase in one breath - do. Otherwise, work out with the flute player where to breath.
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The second movement has a clarinet descant in bar 22, and a woodwind soli after B. Play
the notes after B separate, but not bouncy. The phrase is long and the direction unwaveringly
forward until the final bar. Within that, you should make some nuance to show the smaller cells.
The first cell is the first four notes, and after the note on each beat the notes that follow lead to
the next beat. Contour the dynamics with the line, except for the last bar which should be a
down hairpin as the line evaporates chromatically upwards. The clarinets lead the piu mosso
section in unison, and can be rustic and a dance-like. The little solos that occur immediately after
the Tempo I are reminiscent of the little solos in the secondary theme of the first movement and
should be played similarly. It is easy to get lost here, so count carefully. 15 bars after that
section, the clarinet has a proper solo. Play a healthy mf. Each entrance comes with more
expression, volume and agitation than the last, leading to the final Abs. Do not slow down too
much on them, as the Oboe continues the line for you. The same can be said for the end of the
movement: You are alone pp at the end, but the Bassoon has the final say, and he must be able to
be more expressive than you. Play simply and resigned - no fancy rubato here.
The third movement is the only thing that is ever asked for at auditions. E is awkward for
2 bars, and there is really no way around it other than practicing. F is very fast - as much as 168
to the quarter. Though you are tempted, do not play the 32nds early, or accented, or stretched.
The accent must fall where it's marked, and the notes must be in perfect time or they will sound
sloppy. Don't forget the dim. to p and to restart the second phrase mf. The last movement has a
lot of technical tutti passages and not much for solo clarinet.
Symphony No. 5
The opening of Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony is for two unison clarinets accompanied by
the strings. Consequently it is on many principal clarinet auditions and every second clarinet
audition - where it is usually played in the final round with the principal clarinettist. If you are
auditioning for second clarinet and are playing this with the first clarinettist, disregard everything
55
I recommend for phrasing and follow the other player. If you're playing alone at an audition for
either position there are some things you need to do. This passage is very well marked with
dynamic changes and expressions. If you follow them all exactly, you will do well. Throughout
the whole duet try to think of the expansiveness of Russia, and a barren Siberian plain. This will
help you get into the proper depressed state of mind this passage calls for. Other good depressing
things that could be relevant are: unrequited love, sparse landscapes, winter, or exhausted serfs
marching. The opening motive is very important to be played rhythmically correctly. There is
little room for rubato in this passage and the relentlessness of the rhythm is in part how the
proper mood is achieved. The mf at the end of bar 6 is subito (after falling to p at the end of the
Bb), as are all related places. Imagine playing the cresc. in measure 10 through the entire bar. A
little rubato is allowed beginning in the pickup to the second bar before A. You may stretch the
pickup a little and fall away from it. Play the last sixteenth notes a little slower. This is where all
hope should drain from your expression and the passage at A be played without any hope at all in a much harder emotional atmosphere. The sfs that follow are very big pressure accents that
have long and large decays. Play with absolutely no expression on the last C-D figure. In the
Allegro, the hairpins are a source of major expression - make the most of them emotionally as
well as dynamically. You are the main voice in the 15th bar of G, and should play brightly and
bell-like.
At letter A in the second movement, you have a counter-melody accompaniment to the
horn. The big solo for you is before D. Be very expressive. Play nine notes where indicated - you
may stretch the beginning if you like. It is common practice to play the last bar of the solo as an
echo of the penultimate bar. The contrast has been as much as from f to pp, though no such
dynamic marking exists in the score. This echo is OK, but a better idea is to make a big
emotional echo with a smaller dynamic echo. This solo is also sometimes on auditions. There is
another counter-melody for the clarinet at G. The movement ends with a clarinet solo that you
can start as softly as you want. The last figure should be one of resignation.
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A beautiful waltz is the third movement with the clarinet having the theme alone before
letter B. Try not to go flat in your effort to project in the low register. Be sure to play the faster
figures in time, it is easy to get off. The last movement has very little that is important for the
clarinet.
Symphony No. 6
An audition favorite, the Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony has much for the clarinet. The
first difficult part, and one that is sometimes on auditions, begins 5 bars after B. In the orchestra,
it is easier to play this because you don't really need a true pp. You can play as loud as p and still
sound soft over the rest of the orchestra. It is more important to be on time than it is to try to
make a very high note on the clarinet sound "dark". If you prepare yourself mentally, you should
have no trouble coming in on time with a good attack. Play the notes as shortly as you can. In an
audition it is pure torture play this entrance out of the blue. Here mental imagery goes a long way
to preparing the proper attack. At an audition, you must be pp, and make the difference between
pp and p. Fortunately, the hairpins up start right away, so you don't have to remain soft for long.
The hairpins should be quite large and expressive. Three measures before E begins a counter
melody in the woodwinds, and the clarinets are prominent. I have seen this passage (up to the
Andante 12/8) on at least one audition. The first big clarinet solo begins in the eighth bar after G.
Again Tchaikovsky is very specific about his markings and if you follow them you will do fine.
Play extremely legato intervals, and with a very sweet sound. Work out with the bassoonist
ahead of time how softly you will be at the end of your solo when you hand off to them. Do not
play lower than they can go. You may add a little hairpin up on the last four notes if you like, but
I prefer not to. This passage is almost never on auditions. 10 after M is a technical passage that is
not solo, but it appears on some auditions anyway. T is the solo that is always heard at auditions.
Stretching the first note (ppp!) is a good idea, and can be accomplished better by coming in a
little early rather than by distorting the rhythm too much. You begin this solo alone, and can be
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somewhat free throughout. The fifth bar of T is slightly faster, and has a question/answer phrase.
Play the answer a little slower, more sweetly, and a little softer. Dolcissimo is the key word here,
and following his explicit dynamics are very important. The rit. in the seventh bar of T continues
until the Andante. The quasi adagio bar is quite slow, as is the sixteenth-note at the end of the
bar.
The second movement is a waltz in 5/4 with little exposed for the clarinet. It is easy to get
lost on the long notes at first, so count carefully. The third movement begins with notes to be
played as shortly as you can. The clarinets lead the new theme at H. Play short notes and quick
grace-notes. Follow the dynamics exactly in the bar before I, getting very loud by the third beat,
but not spreading or going out of tune. The rest of the movement is self-explanatory and fun, and
there is nothing important for the clarinets in the last movement.
Suite No. 3 "Mozartiana"
The Mozartiana suite contains a very difficult clarinet cadenza for the C clarinet in the
10th variation of the fourth movement. While it is of course preferable to play this on the C
clarinet, transposed on the Bb clarinet it becomes a very difficult A major. It is often done on the
A clarinet, and may be easier for you that way. This is a very good imitation of a classical
cadenza, and you should be as virtuosic as you can. I encourage you to put your own ideas into
the cadenza, but I will now tell you what is common. Start a little slowly and play each tiny unit a
little faster than before. When you hit the running sixteenth-notes, pause just a tiny bit and accel.
to the triplets. From there, stretch the beats ever so slightly and start another accel. from slow.
Get very fast by the time you reach the D and fall down to the low register. From here, make
another accel., getting very fast. Play each two-note group as a step unto itself, but also within
the line. Play the whole thing as cutely as possible. The end should come with a short fermata on
the C and a very broad ritenuto from there to the other holds. Very rarely will the first variation
be asked on auditions, and only because it is so awkward. Usually, just the cadenza is requested.
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Francesca di Rimini Overture
A lot of tutti technical passages border the big clarinet solo in this piece. It is good to
know them, though they are rarely on auditions. The fast parts are very tempestuous, mirroring
the lovers passion, and the state in which Dante found them in hell - being blown forever in a
hurricane-force wind. The big solo begins 9 bars before the Andante cantabile section, and has a
page turn right in the middle of it. Make a photo copy. Though marked mf, start in a slightly
lower dynamic state, and in a much lower emotional state. You are like a flower unfolding and
reaching towards the sun. The initial cresc. drives toward the Eb four bars before Andante. From
there, you have the contradictory dim. e. rall. followed by a hairpin up. Fortunately, you also
have ad libitum written, which gives you considerable freedom. You are basically the only thing
happening before Andante, and can play freely. The syncopations should be played with a slight
pulsing accent. I think it is preferable to dim. away from the Eb down to a very focused pp, and
grow dynamically as you lead in the last few notes toward the Andante. The pickup to the
Andante should be in the new tempo and lead to the G. This p is full. Breathe your first breath in
seven bars after the B half-note, and play quite a large piu f to give you lots of room to dim. If
you need another breath, the best place is after the third beat of the fifth bar of the Andante. The
p is not subito, but the arrival of the dim. The pp, however, is subito, and an excellent place for
an emotional echo. You can play as softly as you want here, and the more decay and softer - the
better.
second year:
Alexander Borodin - Polovetsian Dances
Niccolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol
Suite from Le Coq d'Or
Scheherezade
Richard Strauss - Till Eulenspigel
Don Juan
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Paul Dukas -The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2
Orotino Resphigi - The Pines of Rome
Jean Sibelius - Symphony No. 1
Igor Stravinsky - Suite from The Firebird (1919)
Petroushka
L'Historie du Soldat
Maurice Ravel - Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2
Debussy - Nocturns
Afternoon of a Faun
Sergei Prokoviev - Peter and the Wolf
Dimitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 9
Zoltan Kodaly - The Dances of Galanta
George Gershwin - Rhapsodie in Blue
Bela Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin
Alberto Ginastera - Variations Concertantes
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