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I will be auditioning a while from now at a few places (namely Curtis) and I have most of my repertoire picked out, except for a 20th century work. My pieces are:

1) Prelude and fugue #4 in c sharp minor from the Well Tempered Clavier(Baroque - Bach)
2) Piano sonata 14 in c minor k.457 (Classical - Mozart)
3a) Prelude op.28 no.15(Slow Chopin Work)
3b) One of Chopin's Ballades - still unsure
4) unsure - "a major solo work (at least ten minutes long) of the applicant’s choosing"

A few other questions:
how do you like the Bach piece?
A lot of people choose Beethoven, but i really don't see why Mozart doesn't work just as well.
Would a Prelude be acceptable for a "slow" work for Chopin
Finally, I was thinking about a Prokofiev sonata for the final selection, to try to get a 20th century piece in, but any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Any other suggestions in general would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

I assume you're doing the P&F from Book 1? Stick with the Mozart sonata, in a way it's actually less risky than playing Beethoven. Which Prokofiev sonata were you thinking of doing?

I think for the slow Chopin, you'd be better off playing one of the slower Etudes, the Barcarolle, or Berceuse ...

I really like his 6th, but his 7th is also very good

hmmm, i think the idea is to have a more lyrical playing, and the berceuse isn't really slow, but which etudes were you thinking of?

I just looked at the audition requirements at Curtis and they want a fast and a slow Chopin piece.. do you really consider a Ballade to be either of those? They have both fast and slow sections. If anything, I'd think that would fall into the major solo work category, although having 3 Chopin works would be overkill.

Don't they want something like a virtuosic etude for the fast piece and then something like the barcarolle, berceuse, or a hard nocturne for the slow? ... the slow etudes btw are 10.3, 10.6, and 25.7

I don't know. I'm not an expert on audition programming for college entrance, so maybe others can clarify.

I'm still a bit amused that Curtis still does that weird fast/slow Chopin requirement. I ended up playing the 2nd sonata and 25/6 etude just to cover all the bases.

Interesting questions from a Curtis applicant. Just sayin'.

If you want to play a Prokofiev sonata, I'd go with No. 6. It shows off a lot of different types of technique and presents some interpretational difficulties as well.

IMO the Bach piece is rather overplayed and I would play a larger work by Bach like a partita or french or english suite.

A suggestion for slow/fast Chopin could be the last two movements of the B Minor Sonata??? otherwise I'd play the Barcarolle, bercuese, or an etude.

I guess, pick repertoire that fits you best and showcases your best abilities. Curtis is a highly competitive school (my piano teacher has had students accepted there) and you want to pick repertoire that showcases what makes you special from the rest of the pack.

What other conservatories are you thinking of?

boo: I suppose you're right, about the ballade, and I actually was thinking of doing op.10 no.3, but my only concern was the tempo is 100, but most people play it much slower. The only problem i see with the other faster etudes is they are only 1-2 minutes in length(most of them).

Chobee: Yea I'm starting to lean towards Prokofiev's 6th sonata. For the Bach piece do you think they would be generally looking for counterpoint, because a fugue would be the greatest example of counterpoint

Thracozaag: Yea the 2nd sonata would be good, but then i would end up playing 3 sonatas

If you played the 2nd Partita that would be great! The Sinfonia has about everything contrapuntal, counterpoint, etc... you could possible ask for. One of my friends auditioned for Curtis and Julliard using that as her Bach piece.

btw the other conservatories i probably will try out for are NEC, and possibly Julliard, or something like Eastman

What does your repertoire look like now, if I may ask?

stores: I'm still organizing it but,

Bach: either WTC book 1 #4 p&f in c sharp minor or a partita
Classical: Mozart sonata no.14 in c minor
Chopin(romantic): etude op 10 no. 3 and 11, or possibly the raindrop prelude
Modern: Prokofiev sonata no.6

and I'll probably change it again eventually

I'll advise against playing either op.10 no.3 or the raindrop - they're simply overplayed and not challenging enough compared to what else you can choose. Unless you really have something new and fresh you have to say, then you should probably look elsewhere. Maybe a less-often played nocturne would work, like op.55 no.2 or op.62 no.2.

I don't mean your choices for audition material! I mean your repertoire!

It's gonna be a long day isn't it?

I wouldn't count op10no11 as a "fast piece"
Also are these all new repertoire or old? When you audition, you kind of want to pick things you know how to do well.

Stores: well considering how this thread is about repertoire for an audition, cut me a break. anyways:

Bach:P&F no.1 in c major, 4 in c sharp minor
Mozart:fantasia, sonata 14, rondo alla turka, 1st movement of k.545
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in c sharp minor
Chopin: etude op.10 no.3, prelude no.4,15, 20, 23
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov:Flight of the bumblebee
Schumann: op.15 no.7
Albeniz: op.165 no. 2
Beethoven: "Moonlight Sonata" sonata 14
Carl Kolling: op.147 no.2


And I am working on a few others

Chobee: yea you are right about the etude. i know the Mozart sonata and Bach pieces pretty well, but most of the others are new

I'm surprised you're thinking of auditioning to Curtis with only that repertoire. Do you have a recording of your playing we could watch?? How long have you been playing?

I was suprised that no one asked what his playing level is. Now that he had listed some repertoire I'll give him some realistic advice. Judging from your repertoire, I wouldn't say you can't get into Curtis, but I can say it would be extremely difficult to get in. Your repertoire seems as if you're good at the piano, but not exact the best of the best which is essentially what Curtis is for. The technical and musical qualities they look for is very high, and even very talented artist get rejected. In fact, Curtis has the LOWEST acceptance rate out of any school in the US including ivy leagues like Harvard. Also, piano is one the most competitive parts of Curtis. This doesn't mean you can't go to music school, but I think you should rethink your options to places like a state university music school. Remember, music school is not about the school, but the teacher! So find out about teachers you would like to work with and rethink of schools to go to. Also, I'm not saying you shouldn't audition to Curtis, but rethink it.