Overature To Don Giovanni: The Merry Mozart Concert

On July 31st, 2015, at Lincoln Center: Avery Fisher Hall, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra: Mozart and Brahms took place. The performers for that evening were Jeremy Denk, the pianist and Louis Langrée as the conductor. The performances that were played that night were Chaconne in D minor for piano left hand by composer Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466 by composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Symphony No. 4 in E minor by composer Johannes Brahms. The symphony was excellent in my opinion. The first performance, Chaconne in D minor for piano left hand wasn’t my favorite one but the last two were spectacular. It was the first time I’ve been to a classical music concert and it was a different

The music played throughout all of the concerts adhered to be diverse. The instruments, the individuals performing, and the conductor all proved to be outstanding. The concerts proved to be interesting as I witnessed them, first hand.

Overall I actually enjoyed the piece more than I thought I would. It had a nice tempo that allowed listeners to be engaged and even when the volume dropped the violins played a softer texture as if they were inviting you to listen closer and pay more attention. Generally, the theme was also joyful which I took notice of and enjoyed. Lastly, I didn’t notice any musical mistakes, and thought the piece was well played.

My initial response to the concert was of much surprise. First, when I walked in I didn’t expect to see such a formal event. Thank goodness I showed up in my work clothes! My initial reaction to the music however was one of great surprise. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Lee’s Summit Symphony because honestly I didn’t even know they existed. Once the symphony began to play “Don Giovanni” my mood instantly changed. The symphony was incredible, and the music was not what I had expected at all. I was surprised by how much of the music I had actually heard before and just not realized it.

The choice of the “Three women of Don Giovanni” can give a good understanding of the type of music which was used to create an opera in the 18th century Italy. The opera buffa was a comic opera with a funny story line and light music. Mozart wrote at different levels.

Every time they finished the fourth or fifth movement, audience still enjoyed their music. However, when violinists uplifted their bows, all the audience would applaud. Also, the performers took a bow to the audience. After they went back, if the audiences were still applauding, they would come back to take a bow again. Also, for the interaction between the audience, in the performance, all the audience will keep quiet as much as possible. When they applaud, they should keep applauding until the musicians walked to the back. The most unique part that I think is different from the entire concert before is their additional improvising. They played an additional spring quartet to the audience with only one movement. However, Geoff explained their creative strategy to play the improvising performance by perfect interaction with each other. They also add the ground bass to make the sound colorful. Then, Geoff played as the major key of the music, while all other violinists added some bass or imitation to him.

For my Cultural Event I had the opportunity to attend the UTEP symphony orchestra concert. This concert took place at the fine arts center in UTEP. I choosed to attend this event for a variety of different reasons. First of all, it was a fine arts event, and secondly, I love listening to classical music that orchestras typically perform. I was in orchestra for a number of years during my elementary and middle school education. Unfortunately, I stopped playing in High School in which I regret drastically. I enjoy hearing all the instruments play different parts of the music piece and at the end they all create a beautiful master piece.

Overall, I enjoyed the performance; the chance to play such amazing pieces, the opportunity to bring a smile to the audience, and to continue to learn and push myself to better my style of playing. There is always something almost magical about staring out into the audience at the end of a performance; it always brings a smile to my face. As great as the concert turned out to be, there are a few things I wish would have been different, such as, having more room on the stage, having the auditorium be slightly cooler than it was, and performing Riders for the Flag

I noticed that the violins were doing a plucking sound with their instruments known as pizzacato. It was cool seeing each group play in sync. It was interesting how they can make different emotions whether it was scared, curious, etc. For the 2nd it sounded more romantic had more string in my opinion. The melody was somewhat intense. The 3rd which is considered the 4th sounded more classic. I loved the bell effect that they made it really did sound like snow bells. I couldn’t find the instrument that was sounding like the bells I assumed though it had to be like a tambourines or something like that

I feel that the fourteen members of chamber orchestra and the two vocalists did an outstanding job. This piece was well put together. I loved the harmony that was brought forth between the orchestra and the vocalists. The two vocalists a tenor known as Paul Groves and a soprano known as Anna Larson, did a beautiful job staying in tune. The way that their voices went back and forth in harmony was just beautiful.

He played a lot of soothing music compared to Prometheus, which I really liked. I thought it was also incredible that he had another performance with the quartet right afterwards and already played another show before he played at 3pm. Both guitarists made different types of sounds with their foot and guitar such as tapping the guitar to create a non-string sound. I thought that their stage presence was really good because they had me engaged the whole time and really listen to their performance. Additionally, I like how after every song the guitarists would talk a little bit about the history of the song and how it came to be. It was especially interesting to hear how certain songs were made and the inspiration behind them. Overall, I really enjoyed going to a classical guitar concert because I’ve never been to one and it was definitely a different and new experience for

The performance that I attended was of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra playing the Overture to The creatures of Prometheus, by Beethoven, the Concerto for Orchestra by Kodaly, and Harold in Italy, by Berlioz. The orchestra was conducted by David Currie, and I think that they played very well overall.

Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, known for his string of operas, concertos, symphonies and sonatas, he helped shape classical music as it is today. “Born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician capable of playing many instruments at age six. Over the years, Mozart aligned himself with a variety of European venues, composing hundreds of musical pieces including sonatas, symphonies, masses, concertos and operas” (Great Composers 2015). These works of art are known to be filled with much emotion to touch his audience.

In conclusion, this event is one the best events I have ever attended. I personally enjoyed it and benefited from it both mentally and psychologically, violin play was a language and a tool of communication between my hearts and the performant’s. Every single snap on the tendon meant something that I totally I understood. The violin was crying at moments. It was moaning and expressing feelings at others. It purified my mood. I was conscious with my neurons releasing endorphins to counteract stress and releasing anxiety and depression. I felt the sense of my nerves deporting negativity after every verse. I was piercing how my brain acts and reacts. The performance was so emotional and crying that stimulate my affection. I wanted a hug at event. It was warmly complex that

Mozart’s Haydn Quartets concert is a collection of string quartets that were made by Mozart. Two of the six of them were performed on January 26, 2009 in the tapestry room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by the Borromeo String Quartet. Mozart made these SONGS with Haydn’s music as the inspiration. The first quartet performed was Mozart: String Quartet No. 16 in E flat Major K. 428. The second quartet performed was Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465.