Serebrier 9th Symphony

In this essay I will be discussing the extent that Dmitri Shostakovich adhered to and rebelled from the conventions and traditions that were normalized in classical music and I will offer varied examples of the many times Shostakovich has obeyed and dissented within music throughout his career. The career span of Shostakovich extends from 1926 when he presented his first major work, Symphony No.1 to 1970 when he presented Quartet No. 7.

The beginning of the piece reminds me of an urgent moment, with a great escape. The orchestra builds momentum as if something was frantically running through the woods trying to escape persecution. It gets faster and faster, then suddenly opens up to a calm field. The piece gets slower and much more calm as the prey stops to catch it’s breath and take in the moment. A victory which is short lived and speed quickly picks back up with the entrance of the cello

These types of reactions by inexperienced audiences make listening to or concentrating on great performances of beautiful music very difficult. Not only do these translate to distractions for the performers, but applause betwixt the movements can interrupt the flow of the work and thwart the intended effect that the composer and conductor wish to have on the audience. This audience reaction can also take away and distract from the atmosphere of the performance, which, in this case was a relatively small and intimate concert hall.

Every time I hear about famous composers, like Bach or Mozart, the names themselves put me to sleep quicker than any anesthesia ever could. So, it was no surprise that I absolutely dreaded the idea of seeing a piece written by any of these composers. I attended Mozart’s requiem at the Seattle symphony, I grunted at the idea of paying $38 for something I wasn’t even interested in. How dare they charge an absurd amount for something that was written before time itself? I took my seat and looked out at the sea of older retired couples and couldn’t believe this would be my fate someday. Ludovic Morlot was conducting for the evening, I have never heard the name in my life and only learned of it from the magazine I was handed before taking my seat. Morlot is French born musician, and currently the music director for the Seattle symphony.

On Sunday, May10 2015, a concert was held in The Broad Stage. The concert was played by Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra, whose conductor is Dr. James Martin. For this concert, I would identify myself as a referential listener at this concert. I say this because I am not an expert in music, therefore it would be hard for me to be a critical listener. I wouldn’t be able to tell what went wrong with a performance even if some incorrect notes were played. I was more of a referential listener because the music was soothing and brought my mind to peaceful thoughts. This essay will tells my experience of the concert in order to persuade my friend to  attend a classical music concert with you in the future.

Nickolai Myaskovsky’s symphonic output was quite prolific for a composer of his age. As a musical

The performance of the Symphony No.9 by Beethoven, conducted by Lenard Bernstein, was a magnificent piece that captured all the emotion of the people, from the sorrow of those lost in the war to the joy of the freedom they had just acquired. This piece was placed in Berlin to celebrate the uniting of East and West Germany. It was performed in the restored Schauspiel house, which had been completely destroyed during the war. It was restored to be one of the world’s finest concert halls. This performance was such a large, historic event that it was televised in over 20 different countries. Lenard Bernstein even took this event as seriously as to change the lyrics of the last movement from the German word for “joy” to the German word for “freedom” to commemorate the momentous occasion.

This overture is perhaps of the most hard work written by Beethoven. It's hard not just to listen, but also to play. The first time you listen Fidelio might be a little bit confused and bored; however, after two or three times, you start to understand how complex and delicate this overture is. Every time I listen to Fidelio I notice something new, and how can I not listen to something new in a story of personal sacrifice, heroism and triumph?! Perhaps Beethoven wrote it in a way to make the listener image different stories told by different people every time they listen.

Thesis: Wolfgang Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor has been admired and analyzed numerous times. Although it has been criticized by many, I believe deeply interpreting this piece will aid in a better understanding of the music during the Classical

On September 7th at 7:30pm, I attended the Chamber Music Trio Concert at Williams Hall. The three musicians were the cellist Dr. Martin Gueorguiev, the violinist David Harned Johnson, and the pianist Dr. Joanna Kim. In total, they performed four pieces, two duets and two trios, one of which was an original composition by David Johnson himself. Their pieces included a wide range of styles, from upbeat majors to dark, emotional minors and from standard classical to zesty tangos. Having played the piano since third grade and taken music theory, I felt that I was able to resonate better on an emotional and technical level.

Throughout the experience of hearing Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and the four movements apart of it, I was able to identify the performing talents of the different instruments and the way they impacted this

On April 11th, I went to the Faculty Artist Series at Wiedemann Hall here on campus. This concert was composed by Walter Mays, Dean Roush, and Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn. Prior to the concert, I was expecting to hear something like the psychedelic and futuristic music we were shown with the Martin Luther “Dream” piece, but man was I very wrong in what I was expecting. The concert hall we were in had the feel of a church and was a place where I felt like I had to be quiet and on my best behavior which is something that I hadn’t seen at a concert besides my elementary school Christmas recitals that were in a church. Other than that, the music wasn’t the greatest or most pleasing music I have ever heard, but I will note that the drums sounded awesome

Schubert produced a large number of works which included symphonies, operas, over 600 songs, overtures, masses, string quartets, quintets, piano sonatas, and choral works. ● Among his most famous works was Symphony No. 9 in C Major (aka Great C Major). ○ Schubert began this piece in the summer of 1825 and took two years to complete.

The overture begins with a fanfare in the brass, followed by a fast melody in the winds. The strings take up this melody and the piece reaches a climax with a four-note motif. Suddenly, the music reaches a more lyrical melody in the horns and cellos, although the tempo remains the same. Then the brass take the finally with a high-spirited and lively ending with the focus on the trumpets. This piece is marvellous because it fits right into the symphony of big bold brass. In the beginning and the end of the piece, the brass stole the show with cheerful and up lifting sections. The imagery in my head when I listen to this piece is a war. In the beginning, the fanfare in the brass represents the armies preparing to go to war. Then when the strings and horns take the melody, it represents the war occurring with the use of staccatos and accents to show the armies clashing together and the troops falling. The ending with the brass exhibits one army winning the war and celebrating the

Inspiration, idealistic, caustic, unorthodox, assertive, ambiguous, Gustav Mahler has astonished the world with symphonies ranging in violence to tenderness throughout the 20th century. During an era of musical progression in fin-de-siécle, an anxious mood, Mahler, a conductor and composer, took an inherent stance in composition. Even though much of his musical works weren’t popular until 40 years after his death, the discovery of his ingenious talents were unparalleled to other composers of that time. His role in war and revolutionary music has led to advancements in orchestral repertoire in his career as an opera conductor across Vienna. A unique sound in his nine full symphonies of various forms of Romanticism made him a pioneer of compositional techniques that refined music and influenced Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten, Dmitry Shostakovich, and other artists that have contributed to revolutionary music.