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Originally Posted by rowuk  Is it conceivable that any one player would be suitable for all of the positions available. Is the playing so "interchangeable"? |
Not necessairily, but it's hard to know which orchestra you're the best fit for until they hire you. I know you can hear my teacher in my playing, but I don't sound exactly like him, and I will have at least one more serious, long term teacher, before I'm ready to consider taking any of these auditions. I don't see the same person being hired for all three positions, though Tom here did win Houston and Atlanta, but I definitely see people taking all three (not me, mind you). If you're qualified to win one, you're qualified to win all three, and it just comes down to which orchestra your artistic statement meshes with the best.
On another hand, orchestral playing has become much more standardized to my ears. I have a few older recordings and am amazed at how different they sound, not only from each other but also from the recordings now. Even still though, I can still hear differences between different orchestras, a good chunk of which is due to the MDs decisions about interpretation.
I've gotten some advice both on these boards and from teachers: "Don't play like you think they want it to sound, play it like you think it has to sound. Eventually someone will agree with you." I think perhaps a really good player will go put it on the line at all three auditions and all three committes will say "He sounded great!" But maybe only one of them will say "He's exactly what we're looking for!" This is easily evidenced in the SFSO/MTT, um, situation.
Stuart