On Wednesday’s class, we began by discussing our recent adventure to go see Turandot. One particular aspect of this discussion that interested me was the purpose of Liu. At first, I was unsure of why she was a part of the play, but then it made sense when we talked about it. Liu’s purpose was to be an example of what true love really was, and she melted the heart of Turandot so that Turandot and Calaf could live happily ever after. We also discussed the stereotypes in music. Certain types of music can be labeled as “Chinese” which is racist. I admit that when I listen to certain types of music, I relate them to different nationalities, which is wrong and ignorant of me to do.

Professor Sirotta came in to talk to us about music. Professor Sirotta is a well-known composer who just created his first symphonic orchestra piece that will very shortly be given its world premiere. The symphony is called Fantasia Pripetshok. In class he discussed with us his inspiration for his work, which I found very interesting. His inspiration was the first piece of music that he ever heard called OYFN PriPetshok, a Jewish folk song. He described to us how one day he played this piece and it reminded him of his first childhood memory of hearing music. I think that is an amazing feat to remember ones first memory of music and after putting some thought into it, I am disappointed to know that I can not think of a very first time that I heard music.

Just before class ended, Professor Sirotta played a small piece from his symphony. This was a fantastic piece. When I listened to it, I felt like I was going on a journey as the music underwent many transitions. I was very impressed by his piece and it made me more interested in going to see the Philharmonic on Sunday.