On April 30, 2014, I attended a symphony orchestra at CSU. This is my first time attending a symphony concert; going into the concert I did not think that I would like the concert and the environment also I did not think that there was going to be a lot of people coming. At the beginning of the concert the conductor introduced himself and the symphony and talked about the history of it and played a little bit of each of the four movements and explained everything about them. The Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major by Anton Bruckner was about 2 hours long it consisted of four movements. The setting of the room was very professional the orchestra was on the stage divided into groups according to their interments and the conductor facing them all and behind the conductor there was the audience sitting behind him. The was a wide variety of instruments being used such as first violin, second violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, piano, and percussion.
The first piece was the Adagio- Allegro it was written in a fast tempo, but it has a slow introduction. It first starts with a rising and the falling of the pizzicato line from the cello and bass section, in which they pluck rather than bow the strings. The introduction gives a great contrast in texture and tonal centers, moving from B flat major to G flat major and back again to the same thing. The powerful chords heard from the winds provide a texture not possible on Bruckner’s organ due to the articulation marked with very specific weighting. These include marcato, martele and staccatissmo. The dynamics of the first movement varied between fortissimo and pianissimo it was hard to tell when it was going to change from soft to very loud. B...
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... the difference between adagio and allegro, not just in terms of absolute speed, but also in terms of rhythm and phrasing. Overall I thought the symphony made me feel different emotions with the first piece I felt very excited and eager to hear what is coming next the surprise of the dynamics and the tempo gave it a great touch to keep the audience interested. Also with the second move I felt very relaxed and like I was taking a break from a long bumpy ride because it was so slow comparing to the first movement. But then the third movement introduced with a loud and a fast note that made me feel thrilled and awake and I think the purpose of that is to keep the audience engaged and interested in what they’re listening to. And I thought Bruckner did a great job, with the wide use of the tempo and the dynamics because it reached the goal it was supposed to accomplish.
The first movement felt as though it was the beginning of a riddle sure to be solved later in the symphony. It began with a sense of suspense with all basic elements of music: tonality, melody, and rhythm. The entire first movement was of an established sonata, between all instruments. However, what caught my attention was the mumble of the low strings which erupted into violins. I was on the edge of my seat for what was to come.
A sinfonia (Italian for symphony) broadly refers to a number of instrumental works from the Baroque period, including symphonies, sonatas, canzonas, concerti, and Italian opera overtures. Even J.S. Bach titles his “three-part” inventions for harpsichord “Sinfonia”. Torelli’s Sinfonia in D (G.8) is a four-movement “concerto” for trumpet, strings and harpsichord continuo. Unlike a concerto grosso, where a main theme is presented and then reappears in fragments, the main themes of Sinfonia in D are developed rather freely. The second movement (Adagio) is a very short, slow, interlude without trumpet that introduces the third movement (Allegro). Hence, the program shows these two movements as “adagio-allegro” joined together.
One of the pieces the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra performed was Carnival Overture, op. 92, composed by Antonin Dvorak. The conductor at this concert was Christian Baldini and the main violinist was Shawyon Malek-Salehi. This piece was made in the Romantic era with an orchestra instrumentation. The genre for this piece is concert overture and has a sonata form in a similar formate to other sonata forms from the Romantic era, making it sound dramatic compared to the Classical era’s sonata era. The live performance was true to Dvorak’s original score, which took the traditional sonata form of the classical era and changed it to incorporate a common Romantic era sonata form. Although the live performance focused on the first violinist, it still maintained the dramatic atmosphere from the original piece by keeping the sonata form, rhythm, texture, and instrumentation.
This time, there was vocal accompaniment to the second piece, which clearly made it much different than the other works that I listened to. The Lord Nelson Mass was one that I enjoyed more and I feel that is because of the choir that performed. Although it is not the type of music that I usually listen to, it still has some more similarities than the symphony by Mozart. The Lord Nelson Mass, composed by Haydn, was my favorite performance of the evening.
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
The dynamic levels at the beginning were in piano, but it did not stay that way, there were changes in the sound there were crescendos and decrescendos but mostly toward the end. The harmony was very polyphonic it had many sounds play at one and the texture was also thick it had many layers of sounds because of the number of instruments and the variety of instruments playing simultaneously. The instruments played in this composition were strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion like, cello, flute, French horn, and timpani and they for the tone color the instruments did have a high pitch range. The form for this was theme and variation because he had a theme and variation he took the melody and used it over and over and over again by changing different elements. Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16 rhythm was a medium walking pace and the steady beat was recognizable. For dynamics, the composition started off mezzo and had changed where it was forte and had crescendos. The melody seemed to be in minor scale
The first song played was from a genre that I had previously taken a test on, Sonata. The musicians played the song by the book. There were three movements and polyphonic texture. It was even fast and jerky. Nonetheless, this is the part where my rollercoaster was going down. In my opinion it was boring. Although very well played, the song itself did not interest me. I did not like the roadrunner, coyote essence of the song. The piano accompaniment would sometimes play the melody and let the clarinet follow and then they would switch. This to me seemed force instead of like the Sonatas that I listened to in class. However, apart from the musical aspect of the first piece there was a certain intensity expressed by the performers. I had never seen a
Music is virtually everywhere we go, no matter if it is background noise in a coffee shop or singing along while shopping for groceries, we can find music somewhere. The event I attended was the Flint Symphony Orchestra on October 8, 2016. I have never attended a symphony before so I was excited to go, especially since I had invited my friend to attend with me. For this event, I was already informed by my teacher that the symphony will be formal so we needed to look the part since others will be dressed fancy. This made me curious how this event will turn out. Walking past the ticket area and through the doors to the lobby made me feel instantly memorized at how grand it was on the inside. I went downstairs and there were a vast
...xcited to have this experience. Part of the drama of the concert at first is felt when the musicians come in and sit down and begin tuning up their instruments. I would not be able to comment on the performance of the orchestra. During the performance, I seen the audience were moving with the music, but I felt like that everyone seems knows more music than what I learned throughout this semester. After I went home and did some of the research on these music I finally understand why these people like to attend the orchestra concerto, it was because that every piece of music has a history behind it. The Los Angeles audience seemed to me to be people who know music and who will listen to something new in a respectful way. All the same, when the more familiar sounds of the last piece were heard, I could feel a little sense of relaxation and fun coming into the room.
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, composed by the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven, is one of the most famous orchestral musical compositions done by the German-born composer. The symphony is broken down into four movements. The symphony has such a profound effect on so many people because of its use drama by introducing sudden and powerful chords which quickly grabs the audience’s attention as well as creating a variety of musical ideas through his use of excitement by way of fast and slow tempos. The first movement, Allegro con brio, which utilizes the Sonata form, contains an opening sequence or Exposition, which initially compels my attention during its first 6 seconds due to its powerful entry and introduction of the basic four-note motive (short-short-short-long) of the piece. The quick repetition in a lower step using strings in unison keeps me engaged due to its energy, as it sort of
I attended Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on October 14, at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Southwestern Seminary Oratorio Chorus, directed by C. David Keith, performed it. Ludwig Van Beethoven composed the work. He composed it between 1811-1824. Beethoven composed the work in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”). His Ninth Symphony was his last symphony to compose. It was preceded by eight other symphonies. I was attracted to this work because it was the first symphony to include a choral. I found it astonishing that Beethoven was completely deaf when he finished this work.
The unique characteristics of movements can be clearly heard. The second movement played within the concertos seemed to heavily contrasts the other movements, while the other two movements were more similar to one another with a faster tempo and a livelier mood. The dynamics kept changing within a movement. At times the movement is played softly perhaps around a piano level, building my anticipation for what comes next. Soon enough, the dynamics changes where each performer plays loudly around the level of forte.
Personal. An insightful analysis and understanding of a piece of music could lead me to play it with the emotions that the composer wants to express. As I may do a grade 10 RCM examination in two years, I chose to analyse this piece from the syllabus because it is among the best violin concertos and the most representative work of its composer. Also, as a member of the Westmount Youth Orchestra, I have played the tutti part of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64 and I find it very beautiful. As these two concertos are so much related (same country and same musical period), Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 arouses my curiosity.
Introduction The symphonies of Anton Bruckner have been known to be majestically spiritual having ‘cathedrals in sound’. Giving a brief background of the musician and composer, Anton Bruckner was born in Ansfelden. Anton’s father was a school master who did not want that his son be a musician. However, against his father’s will, Anton studied music at St. Florian monastery and became an organ player in the year 1851. Anton was much impressed by the music of Richard Wagner and extensively studied his music and after completing his studies he wrote "Mass in D Minor". At Vienna Conservatory, he was appointed as a music teacher in 1868 and from then on he was all the more the symphonies’ musician. Nevertheless, the symphonies he created did not receive a positive response and were thought about at being "wild" and "nonsensical" (Adante). His music was dominated by Eduard Hanslick. While Anton’s symphonies were most popular, he also wrote Masses, Motets and Chorals, while his symphonies were the most romantic his chorals were both conventional and contrapuntal in technique. About His Symphonies Symphony No. 1: Anton’s first symphony was composed and completed in 1866. In 1868, Anton performed this symphony in Linz, and afterwards left from Vienna where he spent his remaining life. Critics were not favorable towards his first symphony as the audience considered it as rough and too unconventional. Accepting this criticism, Anton revised his first symphony a year after its creation and called the new version of his first symphony as the Linz Version. Ever since, the Linz Version is the most famous and the most performed symphony of Anton. And it is the version mostly performed now. Dr. Carragan prepared a reconstructed version of the...
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.