Auditions in Argentina and Brazil are quite different from those in the U.S. Usually, there are only a few candidates for each opening. Sometimes there is no candidate at all. However, auditions are quite long and demanding. Each player is heard in three different situations:
1. Playing a couple of movements of a concerto with piano accompaniment,
2. Sight reading orchestral parts,
3. Playing a couple of solos from the orchestral repertory with the orchestra. These solos are given to the candidates one hour before the test.
This kind of procedure varies from orchestra to orchestra, from city to city. Sometimes, there is a required piece for the test with piano; sometimes, the player can freely choose that piece. Sometimes, a list of excerpts is given in advance; sometimes, there is no list at all.
The oboe auditions for a job at the Orquestra Sinfonica de Parana (Curtitiba, Brazil), which my wife took and won, were quite special. There was one oboe opening, for the principal position. Candidates could apply for this one job in two different levels. For the highest level, they had to play R. Strauss' Concerto plus a freely chosen piece. For the next level, the required piece was Haydn's Concerto. If the winner had applied and played for the highest level, her/his salary would be higher than if she/he would have applied at the second level. This means, there were two possible salaries for the only job available. The rest of the audition was basically as described above, with no differences for the two levels.
Now, let me tell you my experience at the coprincipal bassoon audition at the Orquestra Sinfonica de Cordoba, Argentina. At the time when the audition was announced, my wife and I were playing under a temporary contract as principals in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
We were told that, at the Cordoba audition, we would not need a pianist, since the orchestra would accompany the candidates in the Concerto test. The bassoon position was for co-principal and contra-bassoon. (There are only three players in the section). The OSC does not own a contra; neither do I. The OSC was going to rent one from another city, but later they desisted from this idea, so there would not be any contra available for the audition. If some day the OSC buys one, the co-principal will have to deal with it.
We took one week off in Porto Alegre, and traveled to Cordoba, my wife's birthplace. Two days before the auditions the musicians of the OSC were told that they would have to accom-
pany the candidates during the auditions. They expressed their opposition so it was decided that the auditions would be with piano. The musicians were quite right: they had no obligation to play all that stuff. But we, candidates, had to find a pianist in less than 48 hours, rehearse and be ready to play. It was not easy. There were not that many good pianists, good sight readers, available to play with such short notice. And my wife and 1, coming from abroad, were in a more uncomfortable situation. Anyhow, we finally found a very competent accompanist.
In Cordoba, the orchestra tunes to A=442. All pianos are tuned the same pitch. In Porto Alegre, and in all other orchestras in Brazil where we had been playing, the tuning was A=440. So it was during our school days in Bloomington. This would not have been much of a problem in normal circumstances. But during the last few months I had been having trouble with my intonation: my middle Bb and A were flat. Playing with the Brazilian orchestras, where there was some flexibility and the tuning was A=440, the problem was not that serious. But I knew that with a piano tuned higher, things would be different. At the time, I was blaming the reeds, the travelling, the temperature and altitude changes. Here I must say that usually I don't have much reed problems. Those days, however, I could not get any reed that would play in tune. Bb and A were always below 440! I had never made so many reeds in such a short time. To worsen even more the situation, I think that my bassoon, a very fine Puchner, No. 8618, was made to play at A=440, and it is rather inflexible to go up.
The day of the audition came, and I was still flat. I played Mozart's Concerto squeezing and biting the reed to get the pitch. Of course, my sound suffered and my overall intonation too. Then, came the sight-reading. The first except was from "Death and Transfiguration," and it went all right. I had played that piece a couple of years before. I also sight-read a passage from Tchaikovsky's Fifth. But then the committee asked me to play the "Tannhauser's Overture" excerpt that goes up to High E. I knew the part; I had practiced it for some lesson during my Bloomington times. But that had been long ago. And the conductor wanted the sight-reading almost a tempo, with no time to mentally read and prepare it. Well, I did not do a very good job. The next piece they had for me was "Pini di Roma," with all its high-d passages. That one I had never played before. Maybe they saw my face becoming pale, because they did not even ask me to attempt it. ("Pini..." was one of the first pieces we played upon our return to Porto Alegre, after the Cordoba audition. Now I know it by heart). As you can imagine, I was feeling quite frustrated. On the other hand, my wife's audition had been magnificent. She won the co-principal oboe/english horn position, delighting the committee with her performance of "La Scala di Seta" and Brahms' Violin Concerto with the orchestra. I was proud and happy for her. But I was also depressed, and a bit jealous too. I had done my best, but I was having a problem that I was unable to solve. Next morning, I would still have to play with the orchestra. But I had the feeling that my chances had vanished. My wife suggested that I could talk to Mr. Garrefa, the principal bassoonist of the OSC, whom she knew from her student years in Cordoba. Maybe he could help me. She introduced me to him and to Gonzalo Brusco, the young and talented second bassoonist. I explained to them my problem; they were quite attentive and interested. I guess they had enjoyed some aspect of my playing, and they realized that I was really in trouble. We went to one of the camerinos, and spent some time testing and interchanging instruments, bocals, and reeds. After a while, we discovered that the problem was in my bassoon. Mr. Garrefa, playing my horn with his crook and reed, was getting a flat A and Bb. Myself, with my reed and bocal on Garrefa's and on Brusco's bassoons, was perfectly in tune. Then, what to do? We started by raising a bit the A and Bb keys, by removing a little of cork and felt. But it was not enough. So, Mr. Garrefa told me that I had to get a rat-tail file, and to file down the Bb holes, little by little, experimenting and testing constantly, until I get the right pitch. I did not like the idea too much, but I had no option. I went home, got the file, and spent several hours working at the damn hole. And, little by little, I got a higher pitched Bb and X. Late at night, I resolved that it was good enough.
Next morning, I went to the beautiful and centenary "Teatro del Libertador", with a bit of newly born hope. At 9:00 a.m. I was given the solo which I would have to play with the OSC an hour later. It was the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Fourth. Of course, the committee wanted to hear my sound and intonation, which had been my weakest points the day before. Mr. Garrefa arrived at 9:30, tested my bassoon, and noticed the improvement. "However" - he said-I would take a bit more wood off." So I did: fifteen minutes before the test, I was still filing the hole. But I got my reward: I felt inspired to play the solo, had no problems, and committee and public enjoyed it very much. I got the job; I was thankful to Mr. Garrefa and Mr. Brusco, who had helped me so much to solve a problem that had been bothering me so much.
I still wonder why this problem developed on my bassoon, which is such a fine instrument. It was picked at the factory by Klaus Thunemann, and was serviced by the great James Laslie of Indianapolis a couple of times. Its middle Bb had always been a bit flat, but not that much. And the A used to be fine. What happened? Could the travelling, the temperature, humidity, etc., changes affect the wood? Could the change of a few pads alter the intonation in such manner? Please, if any of you have any ideas, let me know. Would you have found another way of facing and solving the problem? Anyway, I don't wish such an experience to any of you. It was no fun!
Alejandro Aizenberg was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
where he studied the bassoon with Alberto Merenzon. He got his
BM and MM from Indiana University, studying with Sidney Rosenberg.
He played professionally and taught the bassoon in Brazil for
a couple of years, before going back to Argentina, where he is
now the co-principal of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Cordoba.