The Case Against Haydn: Suggestions for Fairer and More Balanced Trumpet Auditions, Part 1

| Jul 9, 2014 |

Many people involved in auditions are unhappy these days. Applicants feel that they don’t get a chance to show what they can really do and are quite upset with the fact that often a first audition produces no winner (and at times even a second audition), and on the other side of the screen the committee and conductor feel that the level of candidates is not as high as  they would like it to be.  There are many sides to this problem, and this blog discusses only one.  But it is an important aspect of auditions and I believe that it needs serious discussion. Thus far repertoire and the thinking behind repertoire seems to be taken for granted, and so my hope is that this will stimulate discussion which will lead to fairer and more successful auditions for all involved.

Imagine this scenario: you have been invited for a job interview at the largest bank in your city. At your interview you are asked to demonstrate your skills in operating a PC.   “But,” you say, “I thought that this bank works with a Mac, and although I can probably run a PC I am an expert with a Mac.”   “Yes,” comes the reply, “we do use Mac exclusively and you will never have to use a PC with us, but we still required that the first round of our interview be with a PC. Oh, and by the way, you will be asked to use software that will make the PC more difficult to operate.”   “But what does this actually have to do with my job, should I be lucky enough to get it?” you ask.   “Nothing at all” comes the reply. “It’s just our tradition.”

Let’s now step out of this imaginary job interview and put ourselves in an orchestral trumpet audition. Substitute the Haydn Trumpet Concerto for the PC, the standard orchestral repertoire for the Mac, and the German Bb trumpet for software. In a number of countries in Europe this is the scene of the first round of an orchestral trumpet audition. The candidate is asked to play a piece that he/she will never once play as part of the job description, and is asked to play this piece on an instrument which makes it more difficult to play. And to carry this scenario to its ultimate conclusion, the player is asked to perform in a style that often is out of character with the musical style of the piece.

Does this make sense? It sure doesn’t to me. But it is a tradition in Europe and tradition, no matter how illogical, dies hard. Because of this tradition I have seen so many qualified applicants eliminated without having had a chance to show their skills as orchestral players. I have seen so many talented players lose interest in having to take auditions, since they know that they will once again have to reduce a wonderful piece of music to a trial that they must endure and hopefully survive. And I have heard at least one player sarcastically express the opinion that the first round of an orchestral audition should be just one note – the high Eb. Make it and you go to the second round, miss it and you go home.

By now it must seem as though I’m mounting a campaign against the Haydn Trumpet Concerto. Actually, I’m only against the Haydn as an audition piece for the first round of an orchestral trumpet audition. I think it is a wonderful piece to include in a solo competition. After all, it is a Concerto and not an orchestral excerpt.

Since we’re talking about orchestral trumpet auditions I think it would be wise to consider what qualities a musical director and committee might like to hear. Here are a few: obviously a good sound is necessary, along with a stable sense of rhythm. In addition, lyrical playing is often required, and of course the technique necessary to master the many difficult passages that face an orchestral player. Finally, a sense of drama, power, and pacing of a phrase should also be considered.   I think it is important for a conductor and orchestra committee to realize exactly what kind of player they want for the position. This must be balanced with flexibility, of course, but having a good idea of the type of player they are seeking can help to encourage a successful audition. So many auditions that are held today end up being negative experiences for quite a number of players who are involved. The candidates feel as though they weren’t given a chance or that the audition wasn’t fair. In the case of the Haydn Concerto all too often a candidate will play well yet find that they were eliminated because they guessed the wrong way – did they play this classical piece too “big” and in an orchestral style, thereby giving the impression that they are not a refined player? Or did they play in a light and elegant style only to be eliminated because the committee felt that they didn’t have a big enough sound? That is quite a dilemma facing the candidate, and so I would like to suggest an alternative approach.