Classical Music Report

Introduction

I have always enjoyed classical music. Both of my parents love classical music and over time, the genre has grown on me since I was not always a fan of the music. Growing up, I listened to a lot of popular music and missed other interesting genres. However, on November 15, I attended the NDR Symphony Orchestra concert that was held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. When I walked into the concert, I did not expect to be impressed. I was simply looking for new experiences since I did not have much to do on that particular day. The orchestra looked impressive. Apart from being diverse, they also had a variety of instruments. The men looked sharp in their tuxedos while the women looked smart in their black pants. As is tradition, the show started with the concertmaster tuning the orchestra and after a short while, the conductor arrived and began explaining the pieces that were about to be played.

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Even though there were only two musical pieces that were to be performed, I was excited to listen. The opening piece was the Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was written in D major Op. 35 and featured Midori who played the violin. I had previously read about Midori but had never gotten the chance to listen to the artist's musical pieces. It was therefore an exciting moment for me. The performance was organized into three movements. The first one was the Allegro moderato. The orchestra opened the concert by playing a crescendo until when the soloist arrived. The soloist greatly helped in presenting the principle themes and brought about a good variation of textures. The monophonic variations of the violin and the homophony created by the full orchestra created an exciting mix. It was thrilling to watch the performers create music that sounded great. I knew I would be attending more live classical music concerts.

The stage aided the performance by projecting a full sound. The melodic violin sound cut through the mix and could be heard more clearly than the other instruments. The violin melody was also echoed by the other instruments that brought about huge contrasts in the dynamics and tempo even though the dominant tempo was allegro. One of the most exciting moments during the performance was when the other violins started playing staccato notes in the background. The notes came just after the solo violin had returned. The solo violinist was extremely gifted. At some point during the first movement, there was an extremely high pitch in pianissimo that was then slowed down to an almost static pace. The movement was sustained for some time and ended when the full orchestra played fortissimo on a strong beat.

The next movement was quite different from the first. It started with a legato melody that was punctuated by a single note that was played by the horns. It was largely somber and only had a few periods of excitement. During these periods of excitement, the orchestra played at an active pace. The violins added more excitement due to their descending scales of pizzicato notes. The performance was however switched up after a while. It was turned into a legato solo that started in the oboe but passed down to the basses. The violin was widely used during the performance. The violin solo for instance, started adagio but then increased the pace for the whole orchestra. The most exciting moment of the performance came when the two accelerating crescendos were mixed up with ritardando decrescendos. At this point, every person in the hall was excited and was eagerly waiting for the next piece.

The next piece that was performed was Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1. It was called "titan" and was written in the key of D major. This piece was different from the previous one. First, it was longer in length. It was also unique in that it utilized sounds that most people were not used to hearing in musical pieces. It incorporated bulge calls, bird songs and even dance tunes. These unique sounds added to the greatness of the piece as they added more tone colors. During the onset of the piece, the strings were providing a thickly textured undertone. There was also a two-note "hunting call" that could be heard in the woodwinds and was sustained through the entire piece. The trumpets also created a bright and exciting fanfare that was accompanied by a descending melody. The full orchestra that created a very rich sound performed the light melody. After completion of this movement, the performance was switched and the instruments played on a strong fortissimo beat. The switch created the much-needed tension and ended beautifully with a muted trumpet solo. During the last part of the movement, the strings dominated. They were accompanied by a strong legato melody that was passed to the violins and the basses.

During the third movement, the drums gained more significance. They were used to steer the orchestra in a clear duple meter. Their dominance was however short-lived as the woodwinds carried the light melody after the ritardando. This third movement heavily utilized imitative polyphony. The other instruments were imitating the melody that had been generated in the woodwinds. This portion of the performance carried a dark and slightly somber tone unlike the other parts. It thus brought more excitement to the piece. I, however, felt like the drums should have also been included in this part, as I could not help but notice that the beat had become weak. During the finale, there was a restatement of parts that had been in the opening movement. There was also a brass fanfare with various cymbal crashes that helped build strong multiple crescendos. During this point, most people in the audience were anticipating the end of the performance only for the orchestra to restart the process. It was a nice twist of events that left the whole audience excited. The piece ended with a crescendo but also used a two-note "hunting call" that was punctuated by descending notes.

Every person in the concert hall was amazed at how the performers had been able to perform the two contrasting pieces with so much skill and precision. I had previously heard of orchestras that experienced difficulties performing with solo artists. The NDR Symphony of Hamburg was however, well prepared and experienced no challenges performing with the solo artist. The genius responsible for the opening piece was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky is one of the most respected composers in history. He was one of the few Russian composers whose music left an impression throughout the world. His melodies have been able to stand out due to his careful use of harmonies orchestration. Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 to a mining engineer (Predota n.p). He has always been resources since a young age and was even able to read French and German by the time he turned six. He took up piano lessons at a young age even though his family wanted him to pursue formal employment. This saw him take up a job as clerk working in the ministry of justice.

Conclusion

Even though his music was popular throughout the world, critical opinion regarding his art was mixed. The Russian creative for instance, felt like he did not represent their native musical values (BBC n.p). He died in 1893 at the height of his musical success. Gustav Mahler is another well-respected composer. He was born in a family of 14 children and was the second son. He was born to a German-speaking family who lucky enough, took note of his musical talent and decided to nurture it. He took up piano lessons when he was only six and when he reached 15, he was admitted to the Vienna Conservatoire where he perfected his talents. Mahler is regarded as one of the greatest German symphonists to have ever lived. He is widely known and respected for his ability to freely interconnect his musical works. Other composers struggle with it but he has perfected the skill. The concert players were able to employ this skill during the performance that added a lot of excitement and uniqueness to the performance. Even though this was my first classical concert, I had a lot of fun and plan on attending more. I want to experience the styles and talents of different composers and performers.

Works Cited

BBC. "Gustav Mahler - Concerts, Biography & News Music." BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/8d610e51-64b4-4654-b8df-064b0fb7a9d9. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

Predota, Georg. "Tchaikovsky: His Passionate Life." Interlude.hk, 2 Oct. 2018, www.interlude.hk/front/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.