Carnegie Hall

I may not be an expert in the field of classical music, but I know I heard brilliance at Carnegie Hall. It was truly amazing, watching some of the world’s greatest instrumentalists come together to perform compositions of Vivaldi. Since I’m not familiar with classical music at all, it was difficult for me to know when the pieces were finished. It was also difficult to determine what season corresponded to each part in the third performance. However, the use of chords and chordal progressions helped me to figure out the emotions that were trying to be evoked by each instrumentalist.

I didn’t really enjoy the harpsichord solos. To me they seemed to be misplaced, or just unnecessary. It reminded me of how a child sometimes enters an intense scene of adults. The adults are extremely tense and something serious is about to happen. But then, a child somehow manages to come in between the adults and just causes some more problems. I thought the harpsichord could have been done away with. It wasn’t absolutely necessary. It broke the bond that was created by the virtuosi during the performance.

What was truly amazing was the movements that came with the people playing the stringed instruments. Each person had a distinct movement, but each distinct movement was similar to everyone’s around that person. This made it seem like a performance as well. It contributed to the mood and tempo of the pieces. When things got tense, fast, sharp movements were done. When things got playful, bouncy movements were done. And when things were soothing, large strokes by the bow were used, soothing the audience. I truly enjoyed this trip mainly for the way the violinists were able to create such a different atmosphere in the hall. They essentially created an illusion, bringing us into the worlds of some of the greatest composers of all time.