Hi all- my daughter is going for an audition in a couple of months time and I am wondering if anyone could recommend any nice pieces for around grade 5 level- her instrument is the violin.
Thanks!!

A few thoughts - maybe find them on naxos to listen to

Dvorak Humoresque (can't remember who did a violin arrangement but there is one which is grade 5 ish)
Sicilienne either the Faure or von Paradis one
Shostakovich Romance from The Gadfly
Tchaikovsky Barcarolle (part of Les Saisons piano pieces, can't remember who did violin arrangement)

These are all a bit similar and "Romantic" - does she need just one piece or two contrasting? You might prefer a Baroque or Classical style Allegro either as the one piece or as a contrast but my brain has gone blank and I can't think of one at the right level at the moment. Could do Kuchler Concertino (Op 15?) but that might be a bit easy or I seem to remember you were looking to get Vivaldi Aminor concerto a couple of weeks ago but that might be a bit hard to get to audition level it's probably more grade 6ish. There are some pieces by Senaille or Seitz you could consider I think.

The thing about auditions is that they are not usually very grade level aware so better to play something easier very well than play somthing which is a bit too hard not very well.

It is difficult to recommend pieces without knowing what the audition is for - music scholarship? local orchestra? The important thing is that you choose pieces to "show off" your ability. Assuming you require two pieces, it would be good idea to choose contrasting pieces - a Baroque, a Classical, a Romantic, a Modern etc. So here are some examples...

two movements (slow & fast) from a sonata - by Handel or Corelli (or similar Baroque composer)
Romantic piece such as Chanson de Matin or Salute d'amour by Elgar
Menuett by Beethoven
Hungarian Dance by Brahms
Bartok Roumanian Dance no.1
Carl Bohm's Spanish Dance
Hubay Bolero

Wishing your daughter well in her audition.
hero

Hm... she could probably try the Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate, or Tzigane by Ravel, I think. Both are lovely pieces.

Oh very funny, the Sarasate is probably LRSM level and the Ravel much harder still.

The audition is for the NCO. In complete honesty, I do not think that she will have a chance this year because of the competition and the number of violinsts auditioning and she is possibly not that high level yet but her music teacher thinks that it will be a good experience for her as she might have a good chance next year. So we decided to go for it. Thank you for all your recommendations. She has been playing the Minuet by Beethoven (sonatina in G and septet op 20- or something like that from the Classical and Romantic pieces book)- it looks like a hard piece. She likes 'soulful and slow, haunting music' (in her own words) best and can really express herself in such music so I would like to find one piece that really fits that bill. She has been enjoying playing the Rieding Concerto In B minor Op.35 but that is probably not suitable for the audition.

I think NCO really look for the quality of playing rather than the difficulty of the piece - and sight reading is very important.

It also depends on her age and what orchestra she is auditioning for. Although saying that there is a huge range of ability. In this year's Main Orchestra (for under 14s) I think there are children who have reached Grade 5 right through to some who have already got Grade 8 and even Diploma!

I would recommend her to have a go and just enjoy performing - they are very kind and will put her at ease.

Good Luck!

Surely the real version of The Gadfly is more than G5?? Or am I just a coward when it comes to double stopping??

I'd also suspect that the quality of playing will be more important than exact grade levels

Rieding Concerto - I think this is quite suitable as long as you play the 1st movement. To go with it, either Elgar pieces I mentioned earlier would be nice... If your daughter particularly enjoys "slow, soulful music", she could always play pieces such as theme from Sindler's List.

A fast piece such as concerto shows off the technique; a slow piece would show off how lovely the tone is as well as control. I think you should choose pieces you know very well...

Best of Luck with your audition.
hero

My daughter auditioned for NCO last year for under 12's. She played Silver Tears of the Moon from her grade 5 ABRSM book and also Fiocco Allegro. Although she did not get in, she was one of the five reserved violinists chosen because of her playing ability. She got a distinction for her grade 5 ABRSM exam, so standard is quite high, but one suggestion I would make is that, you are given one of your sight reading pieces to prepare for 5 minutes and depending on your age it is suggested where you should play up to, as the same piece is used for all ages. They do however say that if you feel you can play the whole piece, then feel free to do so. The piece gets harder as it goes on and goes up to about 4th position I think. Although my daughter could play it all the way through, she chose to only play up to the position recommended for her age in the piece. As she was a reserve, this may have possibly cost her a place, as obviously someone of the same standard as her that had successfully played this sight reading piece all the way through would have gained extra marks. She has not auditioned this year, but might try out for the main orchestra next year when she has developed a little more as a player. I think even if your daughter does not get in, the experience will bring her playing on. Good Luck!!

There's a Dvorak humoresque in the Suzuki volume three book.
Or you can do Czardas No 3 from Hungarian Sketches Op 23 by Gustav Hille
Album Leaf, no 7 from Lyric Pieces Op 12 by Grieg, arranged by Josef Gingold

Well those two are my favourites for Grade 5 anyway.

Thak you all for your suggestions and recommendations and good wishes! It is very useful to hear of your own experiences from the NCO auditions. We'll see how it goes- at times my daughter starts questioning what is the point of her going for it if she knows that she will not get through this year. I am trying to keep her spirits high and we'll be looking at it as a fun day out! She is at the moment in between teachers because of our recent move so that makes this a little difficult too.

She has started looking at salut d'amour recently and we both really like the piece- it is lovely! Even if it is not ready in time for this particular audition, it will be a great piece for her to learn and play one day.

Whenever we've done NCO auditions for our kids (5 kids, auditions over the last uh...16 years) I've learned that as well as having contrasting pieces in terms of style (ie one fast and one slow) it's good if they are in different keys or tonalities and good to show (if you're auditioning on violin) that you LOVE flats!

Also demonstrating that you are really competant with shifting helps!

Almost everyone will have good pieces prepared so yes, the SIGHT READING matters enormously.


It IS a good day out and feedback is very positive too which is nice.

If that piece is grade 5, then how can the Vivaldi concerto in A minor (suzuki book 4) be grade 5?(not the music, just the notes)...

I find the concerto in Aminor much more difficult technicaly and musicaly.

Or is it to do with the print being smaller, making it look more difficult?

There isn't a direct correlation between Suzuki book number and AB Grades. There are pieces in Suzuki Book 1 that are on the AB Grade 3 list for example.

I <think> the Humoresque that was on AB Grade 5 is in a different key to the Suzuki one...the Suzuki one is in D which is easier, seem to recall the AB was in G and the original in Gb...