Macaulay Honors College, Fall 2014

Author: kerengoldberger

A Symphony of Strings

Violins, violas, cellos, double basses and a harpsichord. That is  my kind of concert.

When the concert started, I just wanted the notes to surround me and suck me in. At some points it did, but at others I felt like an outsider to the music. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, but I just wanted to be sitting on the stage in the middle of the orchestra. I wanted to be closer to the music.

I want to see how it is to sit right in front of the stage. To feel the vibrations of the strings.

But, don’t we all?

Open Mic

There is something about the passion of a  performer that draws you in even if the actual content of the performance is not the best. This is what I saw at the English department’s open mike. Yes, some pieces were better then others, but the passion I felt in each performance was consistent.

I especially liked this piece a performer wrote about his mother. He performed it so seamlessly, and with so much feeling, I could see every line he read coming to life in front of me. He ended his piece with a brilliant haunting line:

” Why would you want to wake up from your nightmares when the person haunting your dreams is still alive in them?”

The Velvet Underground

Even though the American rock band, The Velvet Underground, only sold 30,000 copies, it is still it is considered the most influential rock group until today. Formed in New York City by Lou Reed and John Cale, the inception of Rock music began when The Velvet Underground recorded their first song. They set the foundation for that perverse, pessimistic rock which eventually turned into ‘punk.’ The velvet underground got its name from the novel by Michael Leigh, which was about the sexual subculture of the 1960’s.

In 1965 Andy Warhol became the bands manager, where they became part of his show “The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” As per Warhol’s suggestion the band recorded a few songs with Nico in their debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. This album ‘’featured their song- I’ll Be Your Mirror, a tender and slow song sung by Nico. I’ll be your mirror contrasts greatly with a lot of the velvet undergrounds other dark, more perverse music. The Velvet underground was greatly under appreciated in the era they lived in. They were “a black stain on the prevailing flower power, all-you-need-is-love era.”[1] Patti Smith inducted The Velvet Underground into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

1. Kot, Greg. “The Velvet Underground: As Influential as the Beatles?” BBC, BBC (25 Nov. 2013)

 

Peony Pavilion

 

 

I didn’t understand the whole story, but different aspects of the performance really gave me a feeling of what was going on. Firstly, I loved the music. It fit each moment in the dance, and was never too overbearing. Each note made me feel the dancer’s sadness, fear, and love. In addition to the music, the dancers’ expressions were so real. I especially liked the main male lead who looked so pained and sad. Even if you didn’t know what the story was beforehand, you would get it from the loss in his eyes; even from the mezzanine.

I liked the different costumes: gold encrusted dresses and gowns. The Chinese style is extremely fine and beautiful. This performance was classical ballet. I am astounded at what these dancers can do. From the jumping and spinning down to the basic standing on point- it was all done so effortlessly, yet with so much passion. Honestly, I didn’t really understand the explosion of peonies above an empty chair, but I did get it was dramatic and beautiful, but not happy. The empty chair symbolized a loss.

After all the peonies finally settled, all that was left was an empty chair

 

The Soprano Voices of The Magic Flute

There were many differences between the soprano voices in The Magic Flute.

The three ladies all had shrill, and I dear say, annoying voices. They were always bickering so it totally suited them.

The Queen of the Night had a high shrieky voice which sounded evil. What surprise me was how I couldn’t hear her voice so well by the opera. She hit all the notes, but it was not as strong as I thought it would be.

Pamina had the classic lyrical soprano voice, with a high but rich and clear tone. This gives Pamina an air of innocence.

The three boy ‘spirit guides had high voices, but they were thin and sounded very pure.

 

 

The valley of Astonishment: The Acting

Before the actors even started to speak they looked all around the theater making eye contact with as many audience members as possible. There were three actors. At first, what struck me were the different accents that each actor had: French, English, and South African. They all have different voice tones. The main actor who played ‘Sammy’ always had intense expressions whenever she spoke as if the words were coming from somewhere deep inside her.

There were a spare amount of props, so the actors had to mime many props-they acted with nothing. Since there were only three actors, they played different roles, and they sort of tricked the audience members. I believed they were one character, and then the actor switches to a different character and I believed he was that character too.

I also liked how the piano player came up as an actor. Then, for the rest of the show I felt more of a connection with the music, because I felt like I knew the piano player a little bit more.

The actors used a lot of gesticulations, and they were very useful for visualizing what they were saying. Throughout the play the actors spoke to the audience and then went back to the story. This gave the audience insight into the story, and a more intimate connection with the characters.

At one point in the play, an actor mimes painting a picture, and although it was acted well, I would have loved to see the painting. Now that I think about it, I guess this allows the audience to imagine the painting for themselves, because with imagination there are no limits.

In a few parts in the show the actors went into the audience, and called up people from the audience. They acted so seamlessly that, for that moment I forgot I was at a play.

Art is History / Art is Futuristic

 

Art is History

Art is History

Built in the 1930’s, High Line enabled the removal of precarious train traffic in Manhattan.

Instead of tearing the track down completely it was preserved in history.

 

Art is Futuristic

   Art is Futuristic

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High Line  is a historic walkway,  placed within  an ever moving, and changing city. A city with edifices shaped like spaceships about to take off, and buildings made out of legos.

A city whose  people never stop thinking of ways to create a more whimsical, vibrant, and fun future.

 

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I think this connects history and future. The fact that ‘ok Google’ is so new and up -and -coming,  and   the transcontinental railroad is a part of history.

New ‘futuristic’ advances in technology give us easier and faster ways to access history.