Rhapsody In Blue Analysis

Imagine you are a play fanatic in 1957, clutching your ticket, waiting to enter a magnificent theater, to see the opening of West Side Story. You loved the choreography Jerome Robbins always created, and watching his pervious plays, Peter Pan, Fiddler on the Roof, and Gypsy .You could not be more thrilled to see the musical West Side Story, which he choreographed and directed. Leonard Bernstein has grown to become one of you favorite composers, and you can barely contain your anticipation to listen to the music he created for West Side Story. As the musical ends, you begin to think about how authentic its music is.

The five movements of the suite cover the period of the famous Paris museum’s development during the Renaissance. Each of the themes utilized by Dello Joio are by composers and compositions of the time period. The composer invites the audience to place themselves in the ambiance of the museum’s transformation, and experience the splendor of each setting of what is known as The Louvre.

At this time, Gershwin's career skyrocketed. He was hired by George White to compose for the Scandals series. He continued doing this for four years. During this time, Gershwin composed his first operetta, Blue Monday. It impressed Paul Whiteman, a famous bandleader, so much that he asked Gershwin to compose a symphonic jazz piece. At this time, however, Gershwin was still busy composing for White and forgot to compose for Whiteman until only one month before the scheduled performance. During this rushed creation, Gershwin found inspiration to create his most famous individual piece, Rhapsody in Blue. At its first performance, the piece was loved by the audience so much that they gave it a standing ovation.

When the concert first began, the three instrumentalists walked with energy despite their age. The first song, “Sonata I in G-Major Op. 2, Nr. 1” by Michel Blavet, was a Baroque Sonata. There were five movements and was played by the harpsichord, flute, and cello. All movements of the song were polyphonic because of the three instruments that had different parts and equal importance. In the first movement, I noticed that the flute tended to rise in pitch. In the second movement, I noticed that the melodies often repeated. Throughout the rest of the song the tempo changed from fast to slow and the flute would usually take the lead. On the last movement, the cello and the harpsichord

I attended the Baylor University Concert Jazz Ensemble directed by Alex Parker on Tuesday, November 10th. This ensemble consisted of saxes, trombones, trumpets, drums, a piano, and bass. The concert showcased many individual talents by including solo’s or duet’s in every song. The program consisted of seven songs with no intermission. The pieces I selected were “Big Dipper” by Thad Jones and “Undecided” by Frank Mantooth.

The first movement began with a very strong texture as the music reflected a very powerful theme. It began with the heavy instrumentation from the strings including cellos, violins, and basses. The tempo was also relatively fast and generally upbeat. About a minute and half in there was a very noticeable solo by the violins which was a bit softer in terms of the texture. The melody seemed to be very upbeat and cheerful. Lasting the form of the movement was very well structured and the instruments backed each other up smoothly.

The next work that the Nashville symphony performed was George Gershwin's, "Rhapsody in Blue." This rhapsody combines classical music with some jazz infuences. The score for this calls for one flute, one oboe, one clarinet in E-flat, one clarinet in B- flat, one bass clarinet in B-flat, one heckelphone, one sporanino saxaphone in E-flat, one soprano saxaphone in B-flat, one alto saxaphone in E-flat, one tenor saxaphone in B-flat, and one baratone saxaphone in E-flat for the woodwins. For the brass, it called for two horns, two trumpets, two flugelhorns,euphonium, three trombones, and one tuba. On percussion it called for, one set of drums, one timpani set, and a trap set. Keyboards called for, two painos, one celesta, and one accordian. Finally, on strings, a banjo, violins, and string basses were played. Rhapsody in Blue is considered one of the top one hundred most influencial songs. The song paints a picture of a busy, fast paced city, which many people can relate to in today's society. Still today Rhapsody in Blue is one of the top twenty five most played songs. George Gershwin created a timeless piece that will be performed around the world for many years to come.

The concert started off at a quick and stimulating pace with Brahms’s Sonata for Two Pianos in F Minor. The piece starts with descending arpeggios echoing a sensation of distress or confusion. There are frequent slight pauses, creating a sense of suspense for what is to follow and building on the emotions

This piece has a different theme than the other songs that I am reviewing today. Built to give thanks for the Russian victory over the French in 1812, the “1812 Overture” gives off a very strong and heroic feeling. The “1812 Overture” was introduced with a forte entrance with the help from the brassier, deeper instruments like the trumpets and trombones. The tempo of the song juggled back and forth between slow and fast paces to set the theme of the song. The “1812 Overture” started more at a homophonic texture followed by some imitative polyphony when the flutes were introduced. The flutes accented the song with their mesmerizing high pitch tones creating the audience to picture a scene where bells were ringing. The accompaniment of the flutes with the brassier instruments really intrigued the audience and left them wanting to hear

I attended a Senior Recital performed by Travis Hogue-Smith. This concert took place at Barry University’s chapel on March 28, 2017 at 7:30 PM. The instruments used in this concert are a clarinet, played by Travis Hogue-Smith, and a piano, play Dr. Beverly Coulter. Music from both Romantic and Classical genres were played in this concert.

On November 14th, the Lawrence University Jazz Workshop, under the direction of José Encarnación, played a concert of five tunes in Harper Hall. This ensemble consisted of a full rhythm section, six saxophones, a trombone and a cello making up the trombone section, and four trumpets. The purpose of this concert was to demonstrate what the Jazz Workshop had been working on throughout fall term as well as function as a final exam. Over the course of about 40 minutes, they played five pieces of different styles that featured and challenged different parts of the ensemble.

After peaking though my program to better understand what to expect throughout the concert, I realized there were going to be two performances with 2 different ensembles as well as directors. Promptly at 7:30 pm, the band of Jazz Ensemble II came out, gathered their places on stage, and began to play “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” by Mercer Ellington. I immediately recognized the stereotypical jazz setup such as the primary melodic instruments: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, as well as the piano, bass and

On Saturday, December 12th, the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed a variety of fascinating pieces. They were directed by Professor Edward Kawakami from Carthage College. The region orchestra began the concert with “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 op. 39” by Edward Elgar. The next piece that the orchestras performed was “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy. The last piece that the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed was “Samson and Dalila Dance Bacchanale op. 47” by Camille Saint-Saens.

Saint Louis Brass began their set with a harmonious, traditional 1600s tune. I was amazed at how well all the sounds from the brass instruments melded together. Before hand, when I thought of brass instruments, especially trumpets, I thought of the sharp notes often played in jazz; however, the smooth sounds from the five instruments infiltrated the room, completely filling my body with a calm peace. The musicians sat, fully engaged in the music that buzzed from their lips. I really enjoy this antiquated piece of music far more than I anticipated.

The next composition was “Next Exit” written by Scott Martin. At the beginning, played piano, guitar, bass, and two percussions. After several seconds, joined the brasses and a violin. The tempo was played at medium, in my opinion. At the middle of the piece, one of the brass had improvisation after which the audience applauded very loudly. It was very nice to watch each of the musicians. Especially, I liked the end of the composition as they stopped all in an instant. It was just awesome!