On Saturday, February 22 the Illinois Symphony Orchestra performed their first program of their 2014 season at Sangamon Auditorium conducted by Alastair Willis. The program was called “Shimmering Shakespeare” because the second act was made up of movements from the ballet, Romeo and Juliet. The first half of the performance was a percussion concerto with a featured guest artist, Joseph Gramley. The performance used all of the traditional orchestra instruments but there were extra emphasis on the percussion ones. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra used a variety of classical music and collaborations with outside groups and organizations to create an entertaining and unique program.
The first piece was the prelude from Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy. This piece was in contrast with the others in the program because it is very soft and doesn’t have a defined form or beat. The flute was the featured instrument which created a light and beautiful piece of art. One of things that really stood out to me about this piece was how all the instruments worked together to complement the flut...
On Wednesday, June 14, 2017, I had the pleasure of watching the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125 by Ludwig Van Beethoven. The original performance was recorded and put on YouTube, May 7, 2015, in honor of its first premier 191 years before when Beethoven decided to share his 9th Symphony with the world even though he couldn’t hear it himself. The symphonic masterpiece was recorded at the beautiful Symphony Center Orchestra Hall in Chicago and conducted by Riccardo Muti. The performance was completely deserving of selling out every single seat for one hour and twenty-two minutes. In fact, the musicians did not disappoint, Stephen Williamson was in the first clarinet chair, alongside colleagues Mathieu
I was impressed by the range of the pieces that were performed as they were from 18th century classical symphony arrangements to contemporary techno pieces. However, the pieces that moved me most were Mozart’s Molto Allegro, Oaken Sky by Chris Rogerson and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. In hindsight, I am surprised that the two pieces from the Classical Era had such an impact on me. Perhaps, “classical” pieces were what I expected to hear at a Symphony. Oaken Sky evoked the most imagery for me and the conductor’s introduction of the piece was perhaps partly responsible for my ability to go from the earth to the sky in my mind’s eye. Oaken Sky was definitely a pleasant surprise and very pleasing to all of my senses. I was fully engaged in body, mind and soul with Rogerson’s composition. Cielito Lindo was interesting and the soloist really enhanced the piece with a stellar performance. Warehouse Medicine caused an incongruent stirring in me; perhaps I was not prepared for electronics to be added to the symphony. Ravel’s composition, Le Tombeau de Couperin, was a moving piece, but did not engage my senses, only my intellect. This work essentially left me feeling confused and although I appreciated the description of the dedication of the work by the composer, this was my least favorite piece. The “CPCC” soloist, Juan Caljero’s, rendition of Cileito Lindo was mesmerizing. Charlotte
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.
The majority of the pieces featured a rather slow steady beat, provided by the drum and the piano, while the other instruments (mainly the brass section) were used to play the main motif along with some minor ornamentations. The third song they played, one of my favorites, was simply a steady 4/4 tempo kept by the drum, with some minor variations. The saxophone and trumpets took turns drifting in and out to carry the melody. The saxophone player delivered an entertained solo which consisted of very light and amusing trills, this created a very soothing and relaxing
The concert I attended was the Liszt, Prokofiev, and Dvořák concert at the Chicago Symphony Center. Emmanuel Krivine is a French conductor who conducted the orchestra to play Liszt’s compositions Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3. Next was Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16 in the Andantino, Scherzo: Vivace, Moderato, Allegro tempestoso, the piano soloist was Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin who was accompanied by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Lastly was Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 was performed by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the four movements played was, Allegro con Brio, Adagio, Allegretto grazioso, and Allegro MA non troppo.
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
I have been to many different concerts throughout my life but this year I experienced two exceptionally unique ___ that I had never seen before. The first one was a spectacular chamber recital that took place at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed by pianist Yefim Bronfman and violist-violinist Pinchas Zukerman. The program included Schubert's Violin Sonatina No. 2 in A Minor, Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, and Brahms’ Viola Sonata No. 1 in F Minor. The second was a performance by the notable quartet “Anonymous 4” presented by the Universality of Chicago at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. The program included a series of medieval French motets from the 13th Century French polyphony, taken from the Montpellier Codex. The two performances were extremely different in nature and but at the same time very similar in what they were trying to achieve. For instance, while the first concert consisted entirely of an instrumental performance, the other was exclusively vocal. However, both were able to bring to life great examples of iconic artists from our past. I left both c...
...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.
Eastern Washington University Department of Music presented a program of Opera works by Giacomo Puccini, Aron Copland, W.A. Mozart, John Dowland, Franz Shubert, Maurice Ravel, and Robert Schumann on Friday, March 7, 6:30 p.m., in the Music Building, Recital Hall. These Opera works were sung by Senior Recitalist, Alexandra Rannow.
In readiness for the concert, I enjoyed a special dinner prepared for the audience. More specifically, LA Phil staffers introduced us to the evening classical concert amidst cheers from the audience. It was such a refreshing and joyous feeling to be part of this audience. The pianist and concert conductor, Christian Zacharias opened the Los Angeles Philharmonic Classical Music concert with a fascinating performance that left the audience in party mood and in happy feelings.
The first piece on Program A was Limon's The Unsung from 1970. This was Limon's tribute to legendary Native American chieftains. One of its most
The second piece, Paratum Cor Meum, was a much shorter piece with very few lyrics. It was interesting to hear a piece by Haydn, since we had discussed this composer in class. I was impressed by the choir members’ ability to remember words in another language, and I enjoyed the sounds of the piano accompaniment.
The first piece on the program was Polonaise from Eugene Onegin (1878). This piece is from the Romantic period composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikavosky (1840-1893). Very short piece probably around six minutes. The variations and the interesting theme made this piece the most interesting among the other compositions despite the length of this piece, but it was amusing. The piece started with trumpets playing short high notes as an introductory, with the accompaniment of violins playing quick short notes. It sounds like if it was played in a major key, very cheerful and very fast like if the tempo is Vivace. Moreover, trumpets throughout the piece reinforce the harmony. Throughout the piece varies styles were used such as legato (smooth connected style).The texture of this piece is homophonic ( one line of real interest with accompaniment). The rhythm of the piece is really catchy, pretty much predictable; most of the piece variations are centered on the main theme, but it is very pleasing to the ears (consonant).
Each piece was unique choreographed to commemorate different eras. All tied into the major theme in observation of the occasion to hone Mrs. Miller. The inaugurate piece Strict Love caught me by surprise. Before the performance music is played in the background.
Musical concerts are undoubtedly an incredible opportunity to experience a great aesthetic pleasure by listening to the musicians perform in front of your eyes. The power of music can hardly be overestimated – it can transfer a number of messages, thoughts and feelings through the performed sounds. Therefore the one can comprehend the music in the best possible way only when it is heard live. Musical concerts are often revelatory and highly impressive experiences to me. This essay thereby aims to provide my reflections and impressions of the concert of Gregory Porter & the Metropole Orchestra which I had the opportunity to attend in Nashville, TN.