The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

Fridays are usually extremely dull for me. For a person with a very inactive social life and a class that ends at 9:50 AM , Fridays are just another day of the week. But two weeks ago on October 12th, I saved myself from my own company by visiting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in my life.

I would have been stuck in the dorms all day if I had not been desperate to escape and go out somewhere or anywhere at that. I was surfing the internet as usual when in a stroke of genius I thought of going to see a show! Then one thing led to the next and I got myself a ticket to see the NY Phil within the hour. Yay me for being spontaneous!

I hadn’t ever been inside Lincoln center before so it was a bit unfamiliar but I managed to find my way around to my seat. I stupidly chose the worst seating available online when purchasing my ticket though (all the way at the top in the front corner) because I didn’t know all student rush tickets were the same price regardless of where you sat. So a tip for those looking to make a visit to the nyphil is just- make sure you choose the best seats available to you. Anyway, I settled down and was all jittery with excitement and then the music started.

The atmosphere in the concert hall was really tangible. I have always enjoyed listening to classical music because my mom listened to it a lot and influenced me but listening to the music live as opposed to listening to it through a CD or the radio was a hundred times better. Each note made by the musicians was clear and distinctive. They made me super jealous by playing so well and also made me regret not working  harder on my own piano practices.

What I found interesting while listening to and watching the musicians play was that every action was planned and rehearsed down to the page flipping of the music scores. There were special pauses in each piece just for page flipping and the conductor counted 1,2,3 with his baton and all the musicians flipped at the same time. It was pretty funny to see but it also made me realize how important timing is in performances like this.

Also, because the performance was musical and any sound made was amplified by a thousand times in the hall, everyone(the audience) was extremely silent, unlike in some other performances where people cough or blow their noses or whisper to their partners. It may sound like I’m exaggerating but really people even waited for the music to stop to even cough. I could tell because when the music stopped for the orchestra to flip pages dozens of people coughed at the same time. It was definitely amusing to see the audiences’ behavior along with those of the people on stage.

The concert wasn’t very long. Only three pieces were played which were Tchaikovsky’s Little Russian Symphony and Nielsen’s Flute and Violin Concertos. Each piece was roughly 12-20 minutes long and there was a short intermission in the middle so I was able to leave by 10:30 PM when the concert only started at 8:00 PM.

Overall, the music was great, the atmosphere was great and I definitely had a good time. If you’re interested in music, the NYPhil is definitely something to check out.

~Jackie

Here’s a sample of what I listened to that day 😀 click the smiley!

Inside Avery Fisher Hall with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra

Outside Lincoln Center

Panorama