The Arts in New York City
On that Saturday night in November, I remember staring at the clock impatiently as I held my ticket in my hands and waited for my father to return home from the synagogue. After he came home and recited Havdallah, a Jewish prayer that marks the symbolic end of the Sabbath, I was finally able to begin my way to 92nd street Y. However, as much as I tried to get there on time, I had arrived around ten minutes late and was told to watch the performance in the waiting area until the end of the first piece. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed listening to and watching the string quartet much more in the waiting area than in the auditorium. In the waiting area, I was able to see all four musicians up close and did not have to deal with the discomfort of sitting in a tightly packed auditorium. I was impressed at how the two violinists, the violist, and the cellist all moved in unison. Their arms swayed back and forth together, and they each paused and turned the page at the exact same time. I was especially amazed by how quickly the cellist moved his fingers as he played. Although seeing their movements allowed me to gain a better understanding of how talented and adept these musicians were, it was also a bit distracting. At times, I found myself focusing on the flapping of the violinist’s hair and on the movements of their arms more than I was focusing on the actual music. Looking back, I wish that I would have closed my eyes from time to time in order to be able to take in just the music.
In the string quartet, even though there were three different types of instruments being played at once, each sound was still distinguishable among the others. However, in the orchestra that we had attended, I often found myself not being able to tell which sound was coming from which of the instruments. There were just too many of them to keep track. Another difference between the string quartet and the orchestra was the presence of the conductor. Watching the conductor of the orchestra was extremely interesting; he looked as though he was performing a dance routine as he moved his entire body to the sounds of the music. At times, his twitch-like movements reminded me of some crazy mad scientist.
After attending both the string quartet and the orchestra, even though I have not yet fallen in love with classical music, my level of admiration for musicians has certainly increased. If I had to listen to classical music for over an hour straight, I would probably get bored within the first few minutes. However, being able to watch the musicians as they played the instruments not only made listening to the music bearable, but it also turned it into an enjoyable experience.
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At certain points in the show, I wondered if it would have been better to view the performance on a screen in a more comfortable setting. However, actually seeing the musicians did add an element to the music that is missing whenever I watch a televised performance. I agree that at many points, I focused more on the movements of the musicians than the music itself. I couldn’t stop myself from zoning out several times. The movements of their arms were very fluid and graceful, and though the music was beautiful, it couldn’t always hold my attention. I also noticed the movements of the musicians at Carnegie Hall. However, I did enjoy the music there a great deal more for one reason or another. I don’t think it was because of the greater variety of instruments. The style of the music was just much more ordered and full of emotion, at least to me.
It’s always fascinated to watch an orchestra playing. From the music, the performers to the conductors. Everything is combined into a great piece of entertainment.
I remembered the first time I came to the Great Hall in our city. They played Mozart’s concerto with big piano as well as other string quarlet. Although I don’t know much about these music, I still fall in love with them (maybe because the awesomeness of the whole orchestra)