That's all?
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I was just looking over the audition requirements for Principal Trumpet in Berlin. Guess what?...there are only two pieces listed. Haydn Concerto and Hindemith Sonata are on the ticket. No excerpts of any kind.
Something tells me that the small repertoire list makes it even harder. Naturally, I assume it must be memorized. Do they not even want to see your transposition abilities?
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/vacant-positions/principal-trumpet/
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I see they ask for a German Bb Trumpet, does this mean a rotary valve trumpet?
Regards, Stuart.
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@stumac said in That's all?:
I see they ask for a German Bb Trumpet, does this mean a rotary valve trumpet?
Regards, Stuart.
Yes. In "B" (traditionally, in Germany H is used for what we call B and B is really Bb).
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The auditioners are, perhaps, so skilled at what they do that these two pieces show them all they need. Plus, they may be auditioning for a specific seat, which has requirements specific to that position.
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Actually, it is customary not to mention the orchestral excerpts because the will be announced at short notice without any preparation time whatsoever. They are still an integral part of the audition process. In addition, the audition process at German orchestras usually is a multi-stage one, with only the requirements for the first stage being publicised. As the audition for a solo viola player showed... the orchestra were quite pleased at what the candidate presented, but, having been burnt before, they asked the candidate to play the fast demisemiquaver passage from "the Bartered Bride". And the viola candidate readily agreed, saying, "well, yes, if you've got enough time for that..."
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@barliman2001 said in That's all?:
Actually, it is customary not to mention the orchestral excerpts because the will be announced at short notice without any preparation time whatsoever. They are still an integral part of the audition process. In addition, the audition process at German orchestras usually is a multi-stage one, with only the requirements for the first stage being publicised. As the audition for a solo viola player showed... the orchestra were quite pleased at what the candidate presented, but, having been burnt before, they asked the candidate to play the fast demisemiquaver passage from "the Bartered Bride". And the viola candidate readily agreed, saying, "well, yes, if you've got enough time for that..."
Thanks for the clarification. That sounds crazy.
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As an afterthought, I suppose an auditioner, if perverse enough, could always say, "Now play the Hindemith in F#".
I can second the comment from barliman on the lengthy process. Once, I auditioned for a newly formed wind ensemble at one of Germany's Hochschule fur Musik and got to wondering why the results were so long in coming. I found out that, unlike in America where an application would be handled within the school itself, in Germany they sent the application packages around to each of the schools of music for their input.
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@barliman2001 exactly. You get the list when you get the invitation.
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Believe me, they do not even invite people without practical experience in other professional orchestras. Their choice of excerpts will be used to define how "all round" the candidate is. Even if they win the audition, they will have 6-12 months "Probezeit" after which they get a permanent contract. The big orchestras are not making very many mistakes in the audition process.
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Is the BPO one of the groups where every member has to "vote" you in?
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@administrator Yes... But it doesn't matter so much.
The hard part (so much different to other countries) is really to be invited.