JAVS Spring 2001

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ORCHESTRA REPERTOIRE LISTS: A SAMPLING FROM ACROSS THE U.S.

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I trust that seeing these lists will be of use to you and your students. I hope that ]AVS will be able to print more of these lists in future Orchestra Forums. All lists are given as they appeared on each original list obtained. I be lieve that it is important to see the various ways in which an excerpt or work can be listed; some lists are clearer than others. When in doubt about any listed composer, work, movement or excerpt indication, it is best to contact the personnel manager as soon as possible and clarify any doubt that you may have- never assume anything. Thank you to all of the orchestra personnel managers and violists who helped me obtain these lists and who allowed them to be published. CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Section Viola (obtained from the CSO web site at www.cso.org) I. Solo Works (both works) A. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, 1st and 2nd movements (with cadenzas) B. 1st movement of one of the following: 1) Bartok Concerto 2) Hindemith Der Schwanendreher 3) Walton Concerto

As a teacher of orchestral repertoire and audi tion preparation I find that it is important to stay abreast of the current "trends" in orches tral repertoire. These trends can only be dis covered when a prospective auditioner sees many lists from a cross-section of orchestras around the United States. (Foreign orchestras tend to have much different audition reper toire requirements than U.S. orchestras.) I thought that it might be helpful to publish a sampling of lists for those who may not have access to current repertoire lists. Included are the most recent lists for auditions for section, principal, and assistant principal positions from: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra; The Dallas Symphony; the Nashville Symphony; The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; The Pittsburgh Symphony; The Minnesota Orchestra; The San Francisco Symphony; and the Boston Symphony. I tried to include lists from orchestras across the country, ranging from regional to major orchestras, in an effort to emphasize the differences and similarities in each orchestra's requirements. It was not surprising to see the same works popping up over and over again. These works were the same when I was audi tioning for orchestras over ten years ago, and I doubt that they will change any time soon. It was also interesting to see some new and not often-seen works starting to make their way into the audition repertoire, works such as Copland's Appalachian Spring (Minnesota Orchestra); Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich, Symphony No. 8 (Dallas Symphony); and Bach, Wachet auf (San Francisco Symphony). I was also not surprised to see more and more orchestras requiring more and more Strauss-not just Don juan. This is a trend worth noting, since it takes many months of laborious practice to learn any one of the tone poems.

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II. Excerpts Required ofEach Player: A. Beethoven

Symphony No. 9, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movements Variations on a Theme by Haydn, variations V, VII, and VIII

B. Brahms

C. Bruckner

Symphony No. 4, 2nd movement

D. Mahler Symphony No. 10 E. Mendelssohn Scherzo from Midsummer Night's Dream F. Mozart Symphony No. 35, 1st and 4th movements