A view of the orchestra from my seat.

As a student, I have an option of spending around $40 on a concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or I can spend my lunch at a free Johannes Brahms concerto, hassle free. This past Thursday, I decided to take advantage of the Lefrak Concert Hall, as I sat in the Concert Hall with great expectation to be swept away with a splendid blend of cellos, violins, flutes, and other instruments. The heart of the performance was the Grand Piano, as the piece being played was Johannes Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-minor.

It was very interesting to listen to my second concerto, as the makeup of the concerto become more apparent after already witnessing one, and studying it in class.  Of the three motions, the second motion I found the most affinity to. The second motion was played adagio; the slow, almost quiet, moments, created an intimate feeling. The second motion definitely was emotional; there was at times an escalation in the music and then a return to the softness of the adagio, which brought out a certain fluctuation in emotion. A perfect accompaniment to the intended intimacy of the second motion was the perfect balance between the musing being loud and soft.

Throughout the performance there never seemed to have beeen a struggle for one instrument to outshine the others. Even the piano, the heart of this concerto, was played in the background to enrich the sound of the string instruments. At other times, the string instruments were played to accompany and enhance the sound of the piano.

The emotions felt throughout the concerto were only complemented by the powerful performance of the pianist. Instead of a stoic performance of just playing the proper keying at the proper time, the audience member were able to see the pianist throw his whole body into each key he struck, resonating the feeling meant for each note played.

Maybe its time for people to take advantage of what they have. Instead of making a trek all the way out to the city, maybe you can spend your lunch listening to some of the greatest classics right here on the Queens College campus.