Thread: Audition help- Bassoon

In may I'm auditioning for a youth orchestra on bassoon, and cannot decide on what piece to prepare. I need to prepare 4 minutes of music that demonstrate my lyrical and technical abilities. I'm debating between the mozart concerto and the hummel concerto. can any bassoonists help me out?

I'm a fan of Mozart, but You can't really go wrong with either. The Hummel concerto may be more beneficial with its late classical/very early romantic melodies. I think theres more lyricism in the Hummel, and Possibly more technical ability. I'm by no means an amazingly talented bassoonist though. In reality choose your favorite, maybe even a Weissenborn etude. #39 and 26 could end up at around 4 minutes if played together and then you'd get a good showcase of each side. The concertos certainly don't fit in 4 minutes, and If you can play them that fast I'd be amazed to hear it.

How about Vivaldi's Bassoon Concerto in A Minor? (RV 498, I think.) The first movement is around four minutes, and is in my opinion much more interesting than the Mozart concerto, and still sounds good with backing (if it's absolutely necessary that you play solo.) It has both lyrical and technical passages, but might be a little advanced. I don't know how good you are so I can't really make a tailored suggestion, but consider it and good luck ith your audition.