MahlerBrass

Mr. Laureano, I've always been told when practicing orchestral excerpts that one would play them differently in an audition then they would in a live performance. I suppose a good example of that would be that perhaps one would play Ein Heldenleben a little more louder and brighter in a performance than an audition. So my question is, how much of a difference is there from an audition to the "hot seat?" Would you not take some of the liberties you would do on Mahler 5 or Pines on an audition? That's just something that's been on my mind for quite some time, thanks a lot!!

Manny Laureano

What a great question!

It would be very easy to just say "Ah, just play it and pretend you're sitting in an orchestra".

Well, which orchestra? Which conductor? Which Hall?

I think your audition performance has to be just that, a performance. However, the portamento I do in a stage setting during Mahler 5 would be different from the one I'd do in an audition. An audition of excerpts is missing the thing that concerts have: context.

Lacking that context, you have to be judicious about how much you want to juice a given passage. You must be intelligent, tasteful, passionate when you play but you can't be pedantic, over-sensitive, and uncontrolled.

Wait until you get tenure for that.

Kidding!

Learn to dance on the line of interpretation so that you can separate daring from recklessness.

Hey... I'm going to change my signature quote as a result of this exchange.

ML