Compiled by Henrik Wiese for his students at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, this single volume is a treasure trove of orchestral extracts for the flute. The chosen extracts are based on requirements for contemporary orchestral auditions, gathering data from a range of sources. Composers are listed in alphabetical order, making the book easy to navigate, and each extract is numbered. The extracts were also prepared with reference to the sources, with errors corrected and a practical range of metronome marks provided. Critical notes are provided for those interested in exploring the differences between editions, as well as a chronological list of extracts for contextual knowledge and suggestions for helpful alternative fingerings. The music is well presented, with carefully considered page turns, and the range of extracts provided makes this an ideal resource for students and amateur orchestral players keen to learn the repertoire, as well as for its intended purpose of audition preparation. While there are several books of orchestral extracts currently on the market, and this lacks the comprehensive approach of the two volumes of Wye (or the previously available nine volumes of Wummer), this is an excellent selection which is ideal for its purpose. Recommended.
Carla Rees
Henrik Wiese, the internationally renowned orchestral and solo flautist, has spent four years composing the final book. He was working with his own students in Salzburg as they engaged in auditions, as well as with other professional players and his teaching colleagues at the conservatory. He sourced repertoire lists from job advertisements past and present to other auditing lists. Considerable research has also been made in the differences between existing editions of the well-known pieces, surprisingly, from twentieth century composers such as Prokofiev and Stravinsky. "The Flute Audition" then looks at practical matters as well as turns and metronome markings. He comments, for example, that Hindemith's own recording takes a passage from "Symphonic Metamorphoses" markedly slower than in the score. The result of this painstaking research is the most comprehensive collection of international audition pieces published in a single volume.
Winner in the Flute Methods category of the Newly Published Music Competition at the 2019 NFA.
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