Graduate Audition Requirements- Piano

Graduate Piano

Coordinator: Prof. Gilles Vonsattel, gvonsatt@admin.umass.edu
Other faculty: Steven Beck, ssbeck@umass.edu, Collaborative Piano

MM-PIANO PERFORMANCE - Audition Requirements

Pre-Screening
For Graduate MM-Piano Performance applicants: Pre-screening materials are required.

Pre-screening videos should be accessible via weblink (e.g. YouTube). Please copy and paste the link in the Music Application when prompted.

Pre-screening video audition requirements:

1. A complete Classical sonata (e.g. music by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, or others)

2. A substantial Romantic work (e.g. music by Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn, or others)

Please have your pre-screening video(s) submitted at least 3 weeks prior to your requested audition date for review. You will then be notified as to whether the faculty would like you to perform a live audition.

Final Audition
Applicants invited to the final round of auditions are recommended to prepare 3 pieces using the following guidelines. Appropriate substitutions are accepted.

1. Bach (i.e. French or English Suite, Partita, Toccata, Italian Concerto or Prelude & Fugue with four-part Fugue) OR a complete Classical Sonata by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven

2. A representative Romantic work by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt or Rachmaninoff

3. A representative work from the Twentieth Century or Contemporary work by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Scriabin, Prokofieff, Shostakovich, Bartók, Stravinsky, Ligeti, Copland or Ginastera

 

MM-COLLABORATIVE PIANO - Audition Requirements
Prospects for the graduate collaborative piano program are encouraged to contact the faculty listed above during the application process.

Collaborative Piano applicants should prepare the following (suggested repertoire; appropriate substitutions are accepted):

1. A movement from a Sonata, Piano Trio, Quartet or Quintet
2. One or two songs from the French Art Song repertoire
3. Two songs from the German Lied repertoire (i.e. Schubert, Schumann, Brahms & Strauss)
4. One technically difficult Opera Aria or piece from the Oratorio literature