In preparing for an violin audition that requires solo Bach what do people typically go for? Trying to decide and don't know whether to go with short or long movement or if there are any movements that are not advisable to play.

I suggest not overthinking it. Unless you're in the finals of a big orchestra, I doubt you're going to play more than 2 minutes.
Pick the one you can play the cleanest and the most in tune. I've heard mvmts of every one in auditions.

More important than the choice of movements is establishing in advance what the committee of that particular orchestra likes to hear in solo Bach. Do they want the whole nine yards - no vibrato, decaying bow strokes on longer notes, few slurs and much détaché playing, stresses on important notes in each bar? Or would they rather hear a more standard type of playing that shows your vibrato and ability to sustain a warmer sound?

This dilemna is why I am against having solo Bach in a string audition, unless the audition committee can agree among themselves to accept the stylistic framework the candidate has chosen, and judge only how well he or she plays within that chosen framework.

Otherwise, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you play in the latest politically correct baroque style, it may sound odd to, and turn off some of the committee members, especially the older ones. Or, if you play in a more modern style, the baroqueoholics on the committee may be terribly offended, as such people are notoriously opinionated and self righteous when it comes to the "correct" way to play early music.

If you're auditioning for an early music orchestra then what I've written doesn't apply. But for most orchestras, 95% or more of their repertoire was composed after 1750, and early music skills will be used only occasionally.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Feuermann,

quote:

Originally posted by Feuermann:
More important than the choice of movements is establishing in advance what the committee of that particular orchestra likes to hear in solo Bach. Do they want the whole nine yards - no vibrato, decaying bow strokes on longer notes, few slurs and much détaché playing, stresses on important notes in each bar? Or would they rather hear a more standard type of playing that shows your vibrato and ability to sustain a warmer sound?

Whatever one does, they will be wrong. It's hard to find 2 people who agree on how to play Bach, an entire committee will be about impossible.

Originally posted by Cygnus:
"Whatever one does, they will be wrong. It's hard to find 2 people who agree on how to play Bach, an entire committee will be about impossible."

My point exactly. It's why Bach should be avoided in auditions. With a Brahms or Dvorak excerpt, there isn't a great deal of dispute on "how it should be played." But with earlier music, there is.