<p>So, I'm a junior in high school right now, which doesn't leave me with all too much time to prepare for prescreening and auditions... One of the schools I'm looking at as of now is USC Thornton. Their repertoire requirements are fairly straightforward. There, however, is no stipulation, in regards to a "piece from the Romantic, Impressionistic or Contemporary repertoire," that such works must be necessarily substantial. My question is this: would Debussy's Prelude No. 1 from Suite Bergamasque satisfy the romantic/impressionistic/contemporary repertoire requirement, or is it considered to be too unsubstantial? Would I be better off with preparing a more large-scale romantic work, so as to guarantee that my repertoire satisfies other schools' requirements, as well?</p>
<p>(FYI, the other works I've selected are: Beethoven's Sonata in C minor, Op. 13, and Bach's Prelude & Fugue, No.2, from the Well-Tempered Clavier... I've yet to select an etude.)</p>
<p>Your teacher is always in the best position to give advice about repertoire choices. They know your playing better than anyone else and can make informed judgements about your strengths and weaknesses. </p>
<p>I always get concerned when a student brings repertoire questions to the forum here. If you don’t have the trust in your teacher to guide you in repertoire selections, then it is possible you lack the trust necessary for them to guide you in your musical education. If that is the case, it might be advisable to find a new teacher. (The other reason I get concerned about repertoire questions, is that, as I have often suspected, sometimes such students do not have a teacher at all.)</p>
<p>Is your Bach from book 1 or book 2? (Each has 24 Preludes and Fugues, one of each in each key). I suspect it is from Book 1 since that c minor Prelude and Fugue is by far the easiest of the 48 and the most commonly played (and your Beethoven is also the sonata most commonly played by adolescents). </p>
<p>Ultimately, repertoire choices are not nearly as important as how well you play. The repertoire must provide a vehicle for you to display the interpretive and technical skills that you have developed. If I had a student auditioning on piano for Thornton, I would certainly encourage a more substantial romantic/impressionist/contemporary piece than the Debussy Prelude if they were capable of playing something more substantial well. </p>
<p>If you want repertoire advice beyond that of your teacher’s, then I would encourage you to get a trial lesson with a piano instructor at a good conservatory or school of music. Someone from Thornton would be ideal if it is relatively close to you. Now would be a good time to try to arrange such a trial lesson. </p>
<p>Best of luck with your decisions and preparation.</p>
<p>Violindad is back!</p>
<p>Yes, welcome back @Violindad! Now to get @Violadad and @BassDad back too! We miss you guys!</p>
<p>Yes, and Binx and Cosmos…and…so many through the years! We need a reunion here!</p>
<p>Yes, come back to us @binx and @Cosmos! And so many others - I’d love to hear how everyone is doing!</p>
<p>It is great to come back and read the wise comments of all of you and also to hear about how well the progeny are doing! </p>
<p>Very happy to see you back, violindad! You were such a great help to us the last few years leading up to auditions. You always have such interesting and thoughtful things to say.</p>