Rita Lammers: Violin
Mozart violin concerto #5

I have attached the exposition of Mozart Violin Concerto #5, mvt 1.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit my audio materials for your critique.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MyAuditions,

Rita_Lammers,_violin_-_Mozart_Cto_no._5,_mvt_1_Adagio-Allegro_Aperto_(exposition).mp3 (3,034 Kb, 150 downloads) Mozart vln cto #5

Well, I'll go first in commenting. Feels like a real audition, hearing Mozart #5 at 8:49 a.m.!

I must say that I don't put a tremendous amount of stock in required concerti for auditions, with the following caveats: a great concerto rendition can help one's audition in a limited way, but a poorly performed concerto can kill an audition. If a concerto selection is played to a reasonable standard, however, it can provide clues as to what I'm going to hear in the excerpts portion of the audition.

Rita, this was quite well played - I don't think that it would be a detriment to any audition you'd be thinking of taking these days. Your basic sound is good, and you have a good, basic sense of Mozart style. There are a few flags which went up when listening to your performance:

1. be careful that your longer note values which are slurred together are truly legato (e.g. the end of the introduction), and not just with the bow - make sure that your vibrato is seamless and that you really carry the long line.

2. be careful about your ornaments. they tend to be a bit frantic and sometimes they interrupt the melodic rhythm.

3. intonation is quite good, but it really has to be spot-on for the Mozart, as it's so transparent. watch the very high 16ths in one of the cadential passages (sorry, don't have a score with me) in the Allegro aperto. There was also an octave (?) coming up from the g-string which was not pure.

Overall, this was a nice performance. More broadly speaking, in musical terms, I might have wished for more fire to the beginning of the Allegro, and for a more "timeless" quality to the Adagio introduction.

Thanks for submitting this performance to the committee.

I agree with Mr Noble, this feels like a regular audition early in the morning.

I will make some general comments along with some specific (more critical) statements but want to say, first and foremost, that overall you've played the Mozart very well and you would, certainly, not be eliminated based on this performance. We have held a number of auditions (in the past few years) where the Concerto might not be heard in the preliminary round. I, personally, still like to come into an audition and play a familiar piece that you should be absolutely secure with. Plus it helps to relax and adjust to the acoustics of the room. I will mention a few things that caught my ear.

1. I am a stickler for rhythmic accuracy. Whatever tempo you choose, please stay accurate. Immediately get into this piece from the very first notes. Make sure that you hear the orchestra entrance (with the legato 32nd notes) in the first measure. This will help your rhythm and lyrical phrasing. Be careful to avoid letting the rest in the 2nd and 3rd measures slow you down. Hearing those 32nds will help. Continuing to the Allegro aperto; once again, whatever tempo you choose (I like quarter = 126) be careful in the steadiness of your rhythm.

2. I agree with Mr Noble that you get a little bogged down with your ornaments. For instance, measures 47 and 48, keep the tempo going and have the ornaments fit inside the strong beats of those measures. Also, the tempo you finish with at measure 60 should be the same as your entrance at measure 62. You've chosen a slightly slower tempo here.

3. Measures 85, 87 and 88, be sure to vibrate the 8th notes here. This is very important because it stands out a bit without.

4. In measures 91 and 95, be careful not to throw away the 16th notes so they don't become more like 32nds and too harsh. Maybe a little more graceful and lilting into the following measure.

Lastly, make sure you take special care in the endings of your phrases in that they don't get thrown flippantly away. This shows your complete care. The ending is very nicely executed. Once again, eventhough I've made some critical comments, you have represented this piece very well.

Robert Schumitzky
Associate Concertmaster
Opera Pacific Orchestra

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Robert Schumitzky,

Hi Rita,
Your playing is very good. I enjoyed listening to the excerpt. Just a couple of things to consider from a critical standpoint:
In the opening Adagio, you might want to strive for a rounder sound. I find the vibrato to be a bit narrow, and I would love to hear more colors as you play.
Throughout the excerpt, you might want to pay particular attention to the inner rhythm. Often, in the longer notes, i don't feel they are quite sustained to their full value. Maintaining that inner pulse could help you, particualrly when you are playing without an accompaniment.
Perhaps there could be a greater dynamic range...hard to tell by recording, but I suspect this to be the case.
And finally, check out the facsimile to the manuscript. It will be very helpful for your articulations, bowings, phrasing, etc.
All of this said, your playing is very good. Keep up the fine work and good luck to you!
Michael Ludwig

Overall, lovely playing – a pleasure to listen to…

I want to boil this down to the essentials, trying to mostly just wear my conductor hat rather than my violinist hat. If this had been a real audition and I had not passed you on to the next round, here’s why it would have been:

1. Facility/intonation issues: The trills and nachschlagen hurt you the most in this respect, as they were often a bit awkward. I remember from personal experience in learning this concerto how devilish they can be, but they need to be 110% secure for you – work on that. Also focus on nailing the arpeggio up to the high A around 1:37.

2. Musicality: you did some nice things and good shaping, but the Allegro (until towards the end) somewhat lacked the sparkle and brilliance that would set you apart from the crowd. I think your tempo may have had a little to do with this, as it seemed a hair on the slow, safe side. Only you can judge exactly how fast you can play it without risking disaster, but if you can bump it up a notch, I think that would be helpful. The other thing is articulation – a little lighter, more articulate approach in the Allegro would help it to sparkle more.

There were also occasional small tempo fluctuations, but honestly, that doesn’t bug me that much in listening to the concerto, unless it’s drastic or strange. It’s in the excerpts, on the other hand, that I will be merciless about rhythm and tempo. In the concerto I look mostly for technical brilliance and musical personality. However, still work on it with metronome, because there will be people on audition committees who will care more than I do about that :-)

Hope that helps – you sound very good already!

Sean Newhouse
Music Director & Conductor
Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra