Falcone Competition 2009

[JVickers]

So lately I've been hard at work preparing Gordon Jacobs' Fantasia for the Falcone Competition. With about a week or so before I make my recording, does anyone have any last-minute tips for this piece? I've listened to many recordings and I feel surprisingly well-prepared, I was just wondering if anyone has any experiences with this piece they would like to share.

Thanks!

[clez89]

The most important thing I can think of is to pay a ridiculous amount of attention to the composer's markings. Jacob knows the instrument, knows exactly what he wants from it, and has written it all out for you. Since this is a recording make sure you communicate every articulation and dynamic marking as accurately as possible. You might also try getting a hold of the article Brian Bowman wrote in a recent issue of the ITEA Journal correcting some mistakes in the score (anyone know what issue that was?). The corrections are really minor ones so you might be able to add those in if its not too much of a hassle.

Good luck with your recording!

-Chris

[fsung]

Corrections in Standard Euphonium Solos appears in ITEA Journal vol. 35, no. 4 (Summer 2008).

If you are using the uncorrected published score, I would NOT recommend deviating from the published score unless the adjudicators specifically call for the corrections.

As Dr. Bowman observes,

After over 25 years of hearing a high D and G instead of the D-flat and E-flat the first hearing seems a little strange or almost wrong.

If the adjudicators are expecting to hear the published uncorrected version, they will hear the corrections as mistakes.

[pgiampi1]

Dr. Bowman is the music coordinator for the euphonium artist division, and he plans on providing the cadenza corrections as optional, so the judging panel will be aware of this.

[JVickers]

Thanks for the info guys! I've been practicing the cadenza as written, so I'll probably be performing it that way as well.