Saxophone Forum


by Rachael
(13 posts)
20 years ago

Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

I'm kinda new to this, but my private instructor recently gave me the piece concertino da camera to work on on for my senior year of solo and ensemble. I know that this piece is well known but how good of a piece is it for this event?

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  1. by musicalthatsme
    (1 post)

    19 years ago

    Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

    I am personally very fond of that piece. It is gorgeous when played correctly. It's generally too technically difficult for most high school students though. I attempted it my freshman year and failed miserably. If you are having problems with it, I would suggest trying an easier piece. "Prelude et Saltarelle" by Planel is a favorite of mine. (it was my fall back piece freshman year hehe)

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  2. by SaxMan
    (559 posts)

    20 years ago

    Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

    excellent as long as you can play it right. tecnical ability is one thing - an unimportant thing. I only know of 3 high school players that can play it right. me, a person who I played in an ensemble with that graduated a couple years ago and another person who was highly commended for his performance at solo and ensemble last year - I assume that he played it right. contrary to popular beleif, the second movement is much more challenging for most younger musicians the expressions are hard...

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    1. by wesmiller
      (55 posts)

      20 years ago

      Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

      The Ibert is one of the most challenging works in the older classical sax rep. As a learning experience it can be great for younger players. Most simply can't pull it off. You may be one of those people that can do it, if so go for it. You should be able to tell if its over your head. By the way, one point you may want to consider: if you need to ask the question whether something is appropriate perform, that in itself may provide the answer. Talk this over with your teacher. This is connected to your other post concerning auditions. If the piece is too difficult. The prof. will know it in the first 5 seonds or less. Don't shoot yourself in the foot to try and impress with a challenging piece.

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      1. by SaxMan
        (559 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

        I don't know man - I would say that the glaz is harder than the ibert, and the original version of thge dahl I would say is probably THE hardest piece that has ever been written for saxophone - as far as I know, only sigurd rascher could play it.

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        1. by Stogiphone
          (3 posts)

          19 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          I agree the Dahl is harder than either of those two, but I also believe the Ibert is significantly more difficult than the glaz. Also, when I played the Dahl for my senior recital I played the old version, sanz osia passages. I also knew several people in high school that played the hell out of the Ibert and won many competitions with it.

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        2. by phathorn
          (165 posts)

          19 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          Regarding the Dahl, it's a piece I enjoyed playing very much and no, Rascher is not the only one who could play it. Many of us prefer to take down some of the altissimo parts because they sound far more lyrical down an octave( and , quite frankly, sound like they are SUPPOSED to be there). You'll find that many of the works done for Rascher , the Brant Concerto being another example, included passages for him to basically show off...unfortunately, this sometimes was done at the cost of musicality

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        3. by Classical
          (1 post)

          11 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          I admit that the Glazunov Concerto is challenging, but the Concertino is a piece that is very technically and musically challenging. The Concertino challenges the instrumenets range,  from the low registers to the high altissimo ranges. And the Dahl is challenging as well, but i don't know which is more complicated, both the Dahl and the Ibert have both challenged my technique and musicality.

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        4. by Bibimbop
          (53 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          Concertino da Camera is an extremely difficult work to perform for saxophone. On the Leduc rating scale it's the only work with a rating of 9. Glazunov, Denisov, and other difficult works are 8's. I completely agree with wes. Don't play the piece just because it's difficult. Musicality should be the first and foremost objective when playing repertoire. I have seen high school students play this work techniclly well, but the Ibert is a very mature work musically. Read Londeix's article about the Ibert, it gives great insights to the true nature of the work. I would never suggest spending for than 2 months on a single piece of repertoire. If it takes more than that amount of time for technical and musical proficiency than I believe the work is too hard for the student. It's not about if you can play the hardest piece you can, it's about how musical you can be.

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        5. by Rachael
          (13 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          My Private instructor is the one who decided I should play this piece, and I really like the way it sounds and I think I can pull it off. Apparently he does also. I got it so soon because I am planning on auditioning for the international exchange program at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in a couple of weeks. I'm not playing it just because its difficult, I really like the piece and I plan to work my butt off and rock out at all my auditions(I hope) Anyway.. Thanks for the tips, I'll keep everything in mind.

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        6. by wesmiller
          (55 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          Rachael: Good luck with the piece, and have fun at Blue Lake! Wes

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        7. by saxycat26
          (1 post)

          20 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          Where can I find Londeix's article about the Ibert?

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        8. by Bibimbop
          (53 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          It's in a book titled "Jean Marie Londeix: Master of the Modern Saxophone" by Dr. James Umble of Youngstown State University. It's a very interesting book that accounts Londeix's saxophone career, and near the end there are essays on many different works including: Glazunouv, Debussy, Hindemith, Milhaud, Descenclos, and Ibert (and many more). The articles give great insight to the works, and the book is pretty entertaingin as well.

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        9. by Jessiewigg
          (2 posts)

          19 years ago

          Re: Is Concertino Da Camera a decent piece to play for solo and ensemble?

          This is a little off topic but does anyone know where you can hear a recording of this piece on the internet before you buy it because I am planning on using it for All-State Lions band.

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