Category Archives: music
Digital Archive Project: Jazz in NYC
Jazz in NYC I understand if you can’t help but to dance to the music. – Enjoy!
Digital Archive Project: The Rap Attack in the Bronx
Hey wassup everybody! Check out my first archive project, which focuses on the rap movement that started in the Bronx. Enjoy! The Rap Attack in The Bronx
Art in Times Square
We have all seen the performances in subways stations. Whether or not we want to, we just can’t help but at least glance at the performers or pay attention to the performance for a minute. Sometimes you will find it to be a nuisance, but other times, you will be fascinated.
A few weeks ago, I witnessed a performer in the Times Square train station. I honestly do not know what type of music or instruments he was playing, but it was captivating. It is a unique sound you don’t hear anywhere else. It’s somewhat energetic and sure to keep you awake. It sounds like a foreign dance song or a song at a festival. One thing I noticed was that almost everyone who walked by stopped for a few seconds just to stare. IT seemed to brighten up some of the people’s days. This music is certainly something worth listening to and trying to figure out its origins. However, it wasn’t only the music that caught my attention though.
His choice of location was almost perfect. He was surrounded by several works of art. One work behind him seemed to show normal New Yorkers walking by. Many seem slightly rushed. Some of the people in the artwork look as if they were also watching him perform. The picture on the wall seemed to mimic the people in real life, rushing to go somewhere but still sopping to stare at the man and his performance. In the wall across from him, there is a work depicting the recording of some sort of show. They are entering the subway station in this picture. One idea we can gather from this image is that there are shows worth seeing and recording in the subway stations, such as this. It might have been the music or it could have been the pictures, but these two combined certainly caught my eye. I wonder if the man thought about his location in terms of his surroundings before setting his act up.
It’s interesting to me that we can see art in New York City in real life, while also standing in front of something depicting the arts in New York City.
What do you think about subway performances, or this performance and his location? Do you think it was on purpose?
Times Square Performance
Art work in Times Square
Henry “Sax” Young – NYC Street Performer
About half a year ago I was standing at W4 Street Station at 11 o’clock, extremely exhausted and stressed out about life, when I heard some beautiful saxophone music playing down the station. Despite having to be in the front of the train, I walked towards the music at the back of the platform and came across this man: Henry Sax. He had an amplifier with a distinct blue “on” light and a microphone that was attached by a rope to hover over the saxophone’s opening, delivering the perfect volume of music for the crowd. And my god did this man have a crowd – there was at least 20 people there and perhaps a dozen more sheepishly grinning from the sides. I was unaware of the mellow hip-hop tune that he was playing but managed to alleviate my worries for the five minutes that I stood there in total trance. I vowed to give him a dollar once he was done performing but unfortunately had no cash (although I would’ve happily given him my debit card, that’s how good he was). He had a container of business cards that just said “Henry Sax”, and after a furious two week quest of finding out more about this man, I gave up – only to find new videos of him on Youtube from the past 2 months. These videos are below!
Brooklyn College’s Conservatory Orchestra 9/28/13 Performance
I learned to play the violin when I was in the third grade. Ever since, I was fond of music and always enjoyed playing an instrument, but over time, I just could not find the time to do so. I managed to play in my school orchestra all the way through high school but I gradually became less and less skillful and decided to stop in college. However, I still enjoy watching a live orchestra and listen to the production-free music.
On Saturday night (September 28th), that’s exactly what I did. I took a bus down to Brooklyn College and watched the school’s Conservatory Orchestra perform. George Rothman, a man with an extraordinary list of credentials, conducted the orchestra. This performance did not disappoint. The lighting in the auditorium was perfect. Performers were dressed very well and the set up was flawless; making the stage look angelic. After watching many high school performances, this just seems ten times fancier. The music was great and the conductor was full of energy. At times, the movements of the conductor was actually more interesting than the orchestra.
They started off by playing Vltava by Smetana. While listening to this song, I felt like I was watching a very happy romance movie. Perhaps there was about to be a wedding. According to the program notes, “Smetana uses tone painting throughout the piece, a technique that is meant to evoke the sounds of the river.” I can easily imagine a river flowing from this song. This was performed flawlessly and definitely kept you on your toes. When the song was meant to be soft, they could barely be heard. When they were supposed to be loud, they made sure you heard!
Next, they played Fatum by Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately, the version played is a version reconstructed from surviving parts. The original was actually burned by Tchaikovsky himself because his mentor harshly criticized the work. It was only performed once in his lifetime, but many times after. This song was more exciting. It begins with a more scary movie feel. Imagine Jaws, but played in a fancy way. A few times during the song, I almost applauded because it was a great performance and the performers stopped. If only I knew that was part of the song. The song continues to be fast paced, sounding more and more like a car chase. It is enough to keep people awake so they have enough energy to listen to their last piece.
Their last song was actually Symphony No. 1 in C Major by Beethoven. The setup of the stage was changed for this to reflect the setup Beethoven used when he performed it. Half the orchestra left and the violins and cellos shifted around. The audience was warned that some parts of this song was going to be played in the “wrong” key. It was the genius of Beethoven and made the piece more interesting. I started by listening and waiting to hear that wrong key, mostly to test my musical abilities. I ended up being hypnotized and forgot to even listen for the key change. This song was a mix of excitement and happy, so it was a great song to tie up the performance.
This is certainly an orchestra to see.
Brooklyn College Conservatory Orchestra
Welcome to Seminar I: The Arts in New York City!!
Hello Everyone! You are one of the VIPs in our seminar in which we will not just talk about seeing, hearing, and thinking about art, but we’ll also explore it. And we’ll do it together. This blog is our virtual community. Please use it to express yourself and your thinking about what we’re doing in the classroom, and about what you see when we go into the City together. You can also use this blog as your point of reference–the syllabus, contact information, updates, and supplemental reading and resources are all here.
After formal introductions, we’ll spend some time during our first class session discussing Jay-Z’s performance art video, “Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film” (dir. Mark Romanek). What does it mean that he understands himself as a Picasso, and as Picasso?
