Mid August, 2006

Audition No. 2 - After a couple of weeks in Europe (where they had played concerts and done more auditioning), the guys return to L.A. and hold another round of formal auditions. The featured piece in this round is the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 by Franz Lizst. This is a much larger scale work (about 8 minutes) than the pieces in the first audition. The Lizst is a fairly exhaustive audition piece. It has everything: singing melodies, fast arpeggios and scales, intricate ensemble challenges, and a wide range of moods. (I have really grown to love this piece. I must confess that at first I couldn't get the cartoons out of my head - parts of this piece are featured in 'toons by Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, etc. But it is really a profoundly expressive gem.)