Re: Re: Re: Re: New York Philharmonic prelim


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Posted by David on October 11, 2003 at 04:58:48:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: New York Philharmonic prelim posted by Just Wondering on October 10, 2003 at 23:52:57:

The previous post was well thought out.

I played in a small orchestra, a ballet company for 18 years, that acted small most of the time but tried the "ringer" auditions a few times. There is a difference in the way the ringers sound, confidence mostly, but they are not nearly as exciting as the fresh, young auditionees.

Major corporations don't go out and do a cattle call. This, the music audition, is one of the few venues where a veritable unknown still has the "chance" to become a big name overnight. Major orchestras are, for all intents and purposes, big corporations. While the tuba position is not the same as the Artistic Director, it is still an important position.

Recent auditions that looked, and felt, really fair have been: San Francisco, Ft. Worth (until the final round that looked funny with the winner keeping his job and the runner-up staying), NSO, and hopefully the New York Phil. Many auditions get good players from known players. The unions have required the cattle calls. Once the audition is completed, for union purposes, the orchestra has the right, I didn't say fair, to hire whomever they want. And do!

Any time an orchestra uses a "fill-in" for an entire year, there is room for the comment that this will not be a fair audition. Human nature at work again.

I have been to some of the more fairly run auditions and have been to the union required cattle call ones where a "known" player was the eventual winner. Most of them have been good players, just maybe not the best player.

Getting to major auditions is a feat in itself. Playing well for the audition committee is a major undertaking and a separate skill. Playing well in an orchestra day after day is another skill. There are many more players that outplay daily the orchestral players than we know. The skills needed to become an orchestral player are not in the daily playing but in the getting there ones. Freelancers can play rings around the orchestral guys but don't have the skills necessary to get them to the orchestra.

Fair is still in the eye of the beholder. Some are, some aren't.....


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