{Susan L. Nigro, members of IDRS who attended the 1975 Annual Meeting at Evanston will recall, is the young bassoonist who assisted our host Wilbur Simpson in so many little ways (such as maps, annotated restaurant list and many personal assists). She is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Music where she studied with Mr. Simpson. Having performed the Hummel Concerto with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and {in 1974) the contra solo in a performance of Henk Badings' "Concerto for Bassoon, Contrabassoon, and Wind Orchestra" Susan is already a rising artist. At present her concentration is directed to the contrabassoon, with which instrument she "specialized" at Tanglewood Music Festival this summer.
As a special research project at Northwestern, Susan initiated a survey of North American and European orchestra bassoonists on the subject of Bassoon Audition Excerpts. This study, packed with many valuable insights into audition procedures, experiences and points of view, can be considered of "gold mine" importance to the many fine bassoonists who make the audition rounds each season looking for "experience", "a job", the long-planned career.
Although space limitations keep me from reproducing Susan's study in full, I have attempted to take from it the most instructive and meaningful points. There should be many who would like to assess the entire Study - perhaps the most outstanding aspect of which is the inclusion of each and every musical example cited (some of which are not to be found in any orchestral passage book). These excerpts alone, according to Susan, fill 6 3-ring notebook binders and contain 988 pages in length. Anyone wishing to obtain further access to more of this well-planned and important study should write to Ms. Susan L. Nigro, 2515 West 109th Place, Chicago, IL 60655, U.S.A.
Ms. Nigro was assisted valuably during this project by Professor Wilbur Simpson, bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The following is an edited transcription of the Study.)
The Bassoon Audition Excerpt Study contains:
The purpose of this independent study was twofold:
To collect the information necessary for compiling the list of audition excerpts, a letter and questionnaire (which will be found in the following pages) was sent out to the first chair bassoonists in 52 orchestras. Of these, the following 19 responded:
UNITED STATES:
CANADA:
EUROPE:
It is on the responses of these 19 bassoonists that the results of this study are based.
Having compiled the list of some 84 excerpts, the parts to these works were secured and duplicated, and are collected in a 6-volume set.
THANK YOU!!!
A listing of the excerpts in order of their popularity; i.e., how often they were mentioned in the questionnaires (in cases of ties, the list is in alphabetical order within each category.)
22 - Beethoven - Symphony No. 4
20 - Stravinsky - Sacre du
Printemps
18 - Mozart, W.A. - Bassoon Concerto
13 - Tchaikovsky -
Symphony No. 4
12 - Ravel - Bolero
11 - Mozart, W.A. - Marriage of
Figaro - Overture
11 - Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
11 -
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5
10 - Stravinsky - Fire Bird
10 -
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6
9 - Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
9 -
Strauss, R. - Tell Eulenspiegel
8 - Ravel - Rapsodie Espagnole
7 -
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9
6 - Beethoven - Symphony No. 5
5 -
Beethoven - Lenora Overture No. 3
5 - Strauss, R. - Don Quixote
4
- Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
4 - Brahms - Violin Concerto
4 -
Ravel - Ma Mere L'oye
4 - Strauss, R. - Salome
3 - Berlioz -
Fantastic Symphony
3 - Brahms - Symphony No. 4
3 - Haydn -
Symphony No. 103
3 - Mahler - Song of the Earth
3 - Ravel -
Pianoforte Concerto for the Left Hand
3 - Shostakovich - Symphony No. 9
3 - Strauss, R. - Don Juan
3 - Strauss, R. - Tod und Verklarung
3
- Stravinsky - Chant du Rossignol
3 - Stravinsky - Histoire du Soldat
3 - Stravinsky - Pulcinella
3 - Wagner - Tannhauser Overture
An index of 8 representative excerpt books, with respect to excerpts mentioned in the questionnaires.
Abbreviation key to the excerpt books:
AL - Wagner Orchestral Excerpts from Operas and Concert Works
(International Music Company)
BO - Strauss Orchestral Excerpts from Symphonic Works (International
Music Company)
GW - Orchestral Studies for all instruments (8 vols.) (Verlag Friedrich
Hofmeister)
PI - Teaching of the Double Bassoon (Alphonse Leduc)
RI - Il Fagotto in Orchestra (Edizione a cura dell'Autore. . .)(Allegro
Woodwind Supply, U.S.A. ed.)
SC - 20th Century Orchestra Studies (G. Schirmer, Inc.)
ST - Difficult Passages and 'Solos' (Ricordi)
WE - Orchestral Studies (2 vols.) (Edition Breitkopf)
Bach, J.S.-Cantata 197 RI ST Bach, J.S.-Suite I Bartok-Concerto for Orchestra RI Beethoven-Lenora Overture #3 GW RI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #2 GW RI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #3 GW RI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #4 GW RI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #5 GWPIRI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #6 GW RI STWE Beethoven-Sym. #9 GWPIRI STWE Beethoven-Violin Conc. RI ST Berg-Wozzeck RI Berlioz-Fantastic Sym. RI Bizet-Carmen GW RI ST Brahms-Sym. #1 PIRI WE Brahms-Sym. #2 RI WE Brahms-Sym. #3 PIRI STWE Brahms-Sym. #4 RI Brahms-Variations PIRI STWE Brahms-Violin Concerto Britten-Young Person's Guide RI Chopin-Pianoforte Concerto RI Debussy-Nocturnes RI De Falla-Three Cornered Hat-Ballet Dukas-Sorcerer's Apprentice PIRI Dvorak-Sym. #8 Elgar-Enigma Variations Gliere-Ilya Mourometz Haydn-Sym. #103 RI Honneger-Sym. #5 Mahler-Song of the Earth Mahler-Sym. #9 RI Mendelssohn-Midsummer Night's Dream RI ST Mendelssohn-Sym. #4 GW Mozart, W.A.-Bassoon Conc. ST Mozart, W.A.-Magic Flute GW RI STWE Mozart, W.A.-Marr. of Figaro-Opera GW RI Mozart, W.A.-Marr. of Figaro-Over. GW RI STWE Mozart, W.A.-Pianoforte concerto RI ST Mozart, W.A.-Sym. #35 WE Mozart, W.A.-Sym. #38 GW RI STWE Mozart, W.A.-Sym. #40 RI STWE Mozart, W.A.-Sym. #41 GW RI STWE Prokofiev-Peter and the Wolf RISC Prokofiev-Symphonie Classique SC Rachmaninoff-Pianoforte Conc. Ravel-Bolero RI ST Ravel-Mother Goose PIRI Ravel-Piano Conc. for Left hand PIRI Ravel-Piano Concerto in G RI Ravel-Rapsodie Espagnole RI ST Respighi-Trittico Botticelliano RI ST Rimsky-Korsakov-Scheherazade RI ST Schoenberg-Chamber Sym. SC Schuman, Wm.-New England Triptych SC Schumann, R.-Sym. #1 RI STWE Shostakovich-Sym. #5 SC Shostakovich-Sym. #9 RISC Sibelius-Sym. #2 RI Smetana-Bartered Bride RI Strauss, R.-Also Sprach Zarathustra BO PIRI Strauss, R.-Don Juan BO PIRI Strauss, R.-Don Quixote BO RI Strauss, R.-Elektra PIRI Strauss, R.-Ein Heidenleben BO RI Strauss, R.-Salome PIRI Strauss, R.-Tell Eulenspiegel BO RI Strauss, R.-Death and Transfig. BO PIRI Stravinsky-Song of the Nightingale RI ST Stravinsky-Fire Bird RI ST Stravinsky-Histoire du Soldat Stravinsky-Petrouchka Stravinsky-Pulcinella RI ST Stravinsky-Sacre du Printemps RI ST Taylor-Through the Looking-Glass Tchaikovsky-Romeo and Juliet RI Tchaikovsky-Sym. #4 RI Tchaikovsky-Sym. #5 RI WE Tchaikovsky-Sym. #6 RI Verdi-Requiem GW RI ST Wagner-Mastersingers-Opera GW RI ST Wagner-Tannhauser GW RI ST Weber-Andante and Hungarian Rondo AL Weber-Bassoon Conc. AL GW