My apologies to Professor Drabik for being delinquent in posting until this time.
This was my second time seeing an orchestra perform at Carnegie Hall. The first time I attended such a concert I was 12 years old. I went as a favor to my dad, who was going to see one of his students perform. To a 12 year old, the idea of seeing classical music live may not be overly thrilling, but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the performance.
So, six years later, I again find myself, once again seeing a classical performance. I found the most captivating piece in this concert to be “The Tempest.” I feel every movement was perfectly executed by the orchestra. I think the contrast within the piece itself between the movements also contributed to my profound enjoyment of it. I will definitely be open to attending more concerts of this nature in the future.
The performance we saw on Thursday was incredibly memorable and engaging.
First off: Carnegie Hall. Amazing! The building was beautiful, the interior was beautiful and the hall gave off an intense vibe of culture. It was simply a joy to be there and moreso to see a performance there. As soon as I saw the hall, I could not help but snap a picture.
Onto the performance: all of the pieces were fairly great. They were all perfectly complemented by the mesmerizing conducting of Pablo Heras-Casado, who gave a whole other level of energy to the performance. That was the moment I realized how truly integral a good conductor is to a good performance. One piece in particular etched itself into my mind: Mendelssohn’s “Die erste Walpurgisnacht” (The First Walpurgis Night). The narrative involved with this piece made me look forward to it even before the show had started. When the orchestra played it and the singers sang with their powerful voices, I was absolutely mesmerized. The innate story of the piece also appealed to me deeply: an oppressed group winning out against the majority. The ending of the piece was also, by far, my favorite part of the entire night.
Afterwards, an evening spent at the diner with the rest of the class made for an extremely memorable night.
For me, listening to the wonderfully spectacular classical music was only 90% of the performance. The other 10% came from actually looking at the musicians play their instruments. While looking at the orchestra as a whole, one cannot help but notice how animated it is. You have the violin player gracefully moving her bow to and fro. You have the cello player tapping his feet to keep the rhythm. You have the percussionist, every now and then, getting out of his chair, reaching for his cymbals and preparing for his grand moment. Each and every musician in the orchestra was animated in some manner. I wondered to myself why this was. I questioned it in my mind. Surely, they have played these pieces numerous times. I doubt that it has the same awe-inspiring effect as it does to the audience.
Then it hit me! It all came down to one word: Passion. To these musicians, playing Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest or Purcell’s Suite from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is something much more than a simple gig at Carnegie Hall. To them, it is a part of their passion. Playing a crisp, clean note, rising and falling perfectly to crescendos and decrescendos, and ignoring the disturbance of syncopation is part of who they are. Playing the piece of music perfectly is their goal for that night. Perfection, in fact, is their goal in life. Their passion takes control of them, both mentally and physically. A musician, truly engulfed by his or her passion, cannot help but physically feel the music. One notices the swaying to the pace of the music, and the sharp leans and head turns as the music makes sudden changes. You can only imagine that the musicians are seconds away from jumping out of their chairs with excitement! Even the conductor himself, who is in charge of guiding these talented musicians, is under the influence of his own passion. You cannot help but notice him bump and two-step to the music, or should I say his and the orchestra’s music.
I was anticipating that this night would be a great night. It definitely was. Like Pun, this is my first time stepping into the Carnegie Hall. I couldn’t stop looking around at the architecture of the place. The architecture was simple, everything was very smooth and rounded, and surprisingly I didn’t see a fancy chandelier hanging down from the middle of the hall. This all adds up and concurs with the fact that Carnegie Hall has one of best acoustics of any halls. It was probably one of the nicest halls I’ve seen as well. Even with seats up in the balcony everything sounded very crystal clear 🙂
On to the pieces: I think all the performances were executed very well, though I personally preferred the first half of the performance prior to the intermission.
Henry Purcell’s Suite from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Appetizer! What a great way to start! The pieces were very hip and flow very nicely for me. It reminds me of the Bach Invention pieces. In those pieces, the right hand would usually play a part, and the left hand would play the same part after the right hand stopped while the right hand accompanied, and so on. It has a back and forth feel, and thats how I felt when I heard the Purcell piece. I especially like these two, i-I and ii-VII. Here is the full suite for the orchestra:
And here is ii-VII:
Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest, Op. 18: This piece was probably the main course! Tchaikovsky was extremely talented in creating this piece, and it was executed very well by our conductor Pablo Heras-Casado! I especially enjoyed the sudden soft and loudness of the piece, which makes me feel very calm one minute, while alert the next! I was especially attention to the violinist, who’s bow was flickering at the speed of light at one point in the piece. This piece reminded me another piece that I enjoy hearing as well, Robert W. Smith’s The Divine Comedy: I. Inferno. This piece is based on Dante’s Inferno, and creates a auditory stimuli through how Dante perceived hell was like. Here is a performance of the piece (this is played by a band, not an orchestra):
Luigi Dallapiccola’s Piccola Musica Notturna: I don’t really have much to say. The piece was executed fine, but I didn’t feel that this piece was as rich as the others, especially the first 2.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60: I don’t know how I feel about this piece. The sing along part was definitely a plus, plus the ending was probably the best part about this piece. I guess this piece was the long and fulfilling dessert the finished the course of dinner!
Ahh, how can we forget, crazy man in front of the hall.
Just when we thought the night was over, a random man, presumably drunk, approached us and started talking to me. No fear, the guy just was trying to make new friends, gave me a fist pound, and talk about the cops of Connecticut, some cause and affect, and murmured some other stuff. Thanks for the reassurance guys LOL
And then, diner after diner, time for some diner food! 😀
I never really listen to classical music or orchestral performances on my own, but this was a very enjoyable experience. This was certainly my favorite performance that we have seen for this class. The music was so relaxing that I could just sit back and let it happen. At other performances, I have always tried to analyze what is going on and what it could all mean, but with this performance I just sat back and enjoyed it. I think part of the reason why is that I knew I would not be able to really critique the music, but also because its was just a very relaxing performance. My favorite piece from the night was Tchaikovsky’s piece from The Tempest, as it was very engaging. The atmosphere at Carnegie Hall was also fantastic, as the building was amazing and despite having balcony seats, the stage was clear and the music was easy to hear. This is definitely a performance I would want to repeat.
I found it hard to sit still when I was watching this concert. In fact, I usually feel impulsive when I listen to fast paced music. That’s why I like to do something else while I listen to it. Commonly, I walk or run when I listen to energetic music, but I also like to listen to music that goes along with with something I watch, like a movie or music video. Since there was little for me to do, I decide to take a few notes during the performance.
I felt a shortage of space in my seat, but I notice a huge space in front of me in Carnegie hall. So even though it is a large building, the audience cannot access a lot of the extra space. I believe it was unfair that people who pay so much money for the performances have so little room, while the people working get to stand in the wide aisles. I think it would be better if all the chairs were removed to allow people to stand and watch the concert. In general, the building seemed poorly adapted to people’s comfort, but offered good acoustics because I could hear the music loud and clear.
The music in Carnegie hall varied from quiet and slow to loud and fast. The slow music made me feel bored because there was little energy in the music and nothing interesting in the performance to watch. However, I really enjoyed the fast paced and energetic music because I like to feel energized by music. Also, the prominent thing to watch was the conductor’s movements and orchestra’s playing, so when they played an energetic song, everyone looked like they were really focused and active. The conductor would give such grand motions that it seemed he would fly away. He would stand on his toes and hold his arms as high as possible. He seemed to possess enough energy to play all the instruments on his own to make that awesome music. What’s an orchestra without a conductor?
Most of you have not posted anything about this concert yet. Unlike the other performances where full attention was necessary, I could listen to this while taking look at how the audience is feeling. It seems some of my peers were focused on the concert, while several felt a little bored. (I was doing this at the intervals I felt bored so I guess that is what I should expect.) I noticed one delighted face, however, and that was the professor. No surprise she chose to come to this performance. It is good to share with others experiences you like.
I don’t know if it is just me, but I am really looking forward to the upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall.
Carnegie Hall is known for its prestigious nature in the classical music and performance world. I’ve never actually been there before, but as a pianist, I know that it is a place where all musicians strive to be and play one day.
Carnegie Hall was named after Andrew Carnegie, the steel guy who’s worth billions in the turn of the 20th century. He was a philanthropist who in turned gave money to build buildings like Carnegie Hall, raise money for universities like Carnegie Mellon University, and much more.
Fingers cross for this Thursday! Looking forward to it!
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Carnegie Hall is known for its prestigious nature in the classical music and performance world. I’ve never actually been there before, but as a pianist, I know that it is a place where all musicians strive to be and play one day.