Flute - Mozart Concerto in G, exposition.

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VOC034.MP3 (880 Kb, 60 downloads) Mozart Concerto G

Hello Amanda

Thank you for submitting your excerpt. You are doing some very nice things in general. I will picky here because you will play this piece in almost every audition.

The general feeling for me throughout is that it is rushed, more in feeling than in tempo. I like that you are trying to keep a good allegro feel with forward motion but you often have a little more time than you think to bring out the subtle nuances in the phrases. Don't forget about the maestoso part of the tempo indication.

The tempo on the other hand varies, for example it seems slower when you come in at mm46. Also be very careful in counting your rests. You are shortening them. Make sure that you can sing/hear the orchestral part in your head.

Vibrato is a TAD hyper at times especially at the ends of notes and at the ends of some phrases. Work to control the vibrato so that you can use it to aid the musical line, not hinder it. You want the vibrato to reflect the style of the music, not the style of your playing.

Have more direction in your phrases, for example in the opening statements, I would give slightly more attention to the downbeat d's in the 2nd and 6th measures of this section. The reapeted d's lead into this and the high d's are the highest points of the phrase. Also, I would crescendo through both half note c’s without breaking before the 4th beats. And at m 38. Start this sequence softer and grow to the trill. Here, also remember that starting on the 4th beat is a pickup and the G is a downbeat, which should get the emphasis resulting in the trill.

At m46 your choice of a long appogiatura is ok but keep the forward motion through it and make the downbeat of 47 your goal.

You have a tendency to cheat your long notes a bit. m 68 3rd beat, beginning of m71.

Make the nachschlag apart of your final trill. Here you separated slightly. I would crescendo all the way into the nachschlag and through to the resolution. This is how you bring in the orchestra tutti.

For me your articulation, specifically your note attacks and tonguing could be slightly clearer as well. Remember that you will probably be playing this in a big hall or live room amd you don’t want it to be mushy. It doesn’t have to be real short or pecky, just slightly more pointed at the front part of the articulation for clarity.

Again, you have a very good foundation with this piece that you will work on probably for the rest of your flute life. Work with a pianist on it if you can, and that should help the tempo issues as well. Play along with a recording just to get a sense of the orchestral parts. Thanks again for submitting and best to you. Keep up the good work!

NE

Well done, Amanda.

The things that stood out to me in your Mozart were:

The low register doesn't sound clearly. First of all, I wonder if your instrument is sealing perfectly. It may be worthwhile to check it out.

The mechanics aside, you need to keep the air moving in the low register just as you do in the higher registers. It sounds swallowed often.

The way you finish your ornaments needs attention. Particularly the nachschlag, or termination of your trills. They often end phrases, so you want to leave your listeners with a positive impression of your playing. Polished through every note.

Keep thinking about maintaining long phrases, even when the ideas within the phrase make that difficult. Sometimes your lines get broken into pieces and don't make sense as a musical statement. That helps this (lovely) war-horse never sound like an "excerpt".

Best wishes,
Maria Harding