The Chicago Symphony Orchestra 's Presentation Of Rachmaninov ' Piano Concerto No. 1 And Schostakovich 's Symphony No

For the second and final concert report, I listened to the performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, as played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven lived in Germany during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was an influential figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in western music. The performance requires a large number of instruments, with woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, and even a choir during the 4th movement.

​In his derogatory passage, Igor Stravinsky discusses the common views and reputation of orchestra conductors; he argues that conductors are not musical gods but rather destroyers of musical compositions and the glory that they are meant to receive. Because Stravinsky is a composer himself, he has firsthand experience with the relationship between composer and conductor and has dealt with conductors that have conducted his compositions. Stravinsky’s purpose in writing this passage is to convince the reader of the false perspective they possess of conductors. He wants to correct these pretenses and expose the façade of conducting in order for the reader to disassociate the conductor with being the star of the performance and help them focus

The video Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no.2 op.18 by Anna Fedorova was composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, who was a composer, conductor and also among the top pianists and was considered a great representative of Idealization in classical music in Russia. The piece made him famous as a concerto composer as it is among the most favorite pieces. This artist tirelessly worked hard before producing this piece of work as he knew how original and strong the Symphony work was. He made daily visits to Dr. Nicolai Dahl, who was an excellent violist and cellist and also travelled to Italy and Crimea, from where he brought with him sketches for this piano concerto. Anna Fedorova, the Ukrainian pianist, then performed it with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie with Martin Panteleev as the conductor.

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.

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.

As a member of the orchestra, Stephen distinguished himself by his solid musicianship, dependability, and leadership. Always on time for rehearsals with his music well prepared, Stephen’s supportive attitude and musical skill inspired his fellow performers. Greatly respected by members of the orchestra, he was appointed concertmaster in his freshman year, a rare accomplishment. In 2005 he won the orchestra concerto competion, and soloed with the orchestra, performing Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen. I have engaged him to solo again with

On the 5th of December, I attended my second concert in Cypress Recital Hall. It was an amazing experience. I got to fully appreciate the sounds of the violin and the piano. Erika Salas, played the Violin accompanied by Yoko Mizuno, Doris Wang and Michael Cooper each individually performed a different piece on the piano. The first song was Sonata in D major HWV 371 by George Frideric Handel and performed by Erika Salis and Yoko Mizuno. The structure of this sonata was made up of four movements. Affetuoso feeling, tenderly, Allegro lively, fast, Larghetto slowly, steadily, and Allegro energetic, fast. Each section had a specific form the first movement reminds one of a slow symphony. The Allegro is written in a fugue, polyphonic style. The

The first composer was Liliya Ugay. Before the performance ugay talked about the number of expressions she wanted to bring out before the piece was played. From the start the main thing I noticed was the dynamic contrast.

piano by playing in a serious, commanding manner as though she were playing a Russian piano

On April 14, 2016 I attended the Dvorak Cello Concerto at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee. The instruments that were being played were made up of the whole symphony orchestra. In addition, the instrument that was featured was the cello. The reasoning for this is because there was a special guest musician, Susie Yang who was performing with the orchestra and she played the cello. The structure of the performance consisted of three different main pieces of music with different sections within them. In addition, this was the first time I had been to the Tennessee Theatre. The theatre was very intriguing because of the elegance that came with it. The décor was very nice and looked expensive. It is exactly what I imagined when I thought of the setting for a symphony. It was well lit with beautiful crown molding in the celling. In addition, there were lovely curtains blocking an area that looked to be a balcony beside the stage. In addition, there was back drop lights on the walls highlighting pieces that looked to be Grecian Urns.

On November 3rd, 2016 I had a pleasure of attending James Levine’s symphony at Chicago Symphony Orchestra. James Levine is an American pianist and conductor, mainly known for being a music director of the Metropolitan Opera. He suffered many health conditions that have put his conducting aside. At the end of 2015, he left his position as a director to become an emeritus of the Metropolitan Opera. One of the interesting facts about Mr. Levine is that many of the sources do not mention is his disability. Mr. Levine is in a wheelchair and needs assistance in order to get to the podium, but his conducting is not effected by this in fact his efforts and dedication put audience into tears every time. On November 3rd, James Levine conducted Mozart’s

Leonard Slatkin, born September 1, 1944, is an accomplished conductor who has stood behind the podium of many orchestra’s.1 Slatkin’s parents Felix Slatkin, violinist-conductor, and cellist Eleanor Aller were both prominent musicians who took pride in their talents.2 Also, his maternal great uncle was Modest Altschuler, cellist and conductor for the Russian Symphony Orchestra in the early 1900’s.3 Due to his musically inclined family, Slatkin began his musical training at an early age; his initial instrument was violin, until his father taught him the basics of conducting.4 Slatkin went on to Aspen and Julliard to pursue a career in conducting. Later, in the year 2000, Slatkin became the eleventh Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.5

On Monday afternoon, January 23rd, I tuned into NPR and classical radio for the 3-4 pm hour of classical music. The radio host was Gigi Yellen who was very knowledgeable about the pieces she had in the playlist for that afternoon. In between pieces she would usually make a comment or two about some extra-musical fact regarding the piece or composer. It was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour of listening. There was not an expressed theme or organization to the playlist when I tuned in, so I had no preparation for the pieces that were to come. I actually enjoyed this position of surprise and anticipation because it left me with a completely open mind without

Entering the Chicago Symphony Center my face must have looked completely memorized as I gazed at the design and architecture structure that was before me. The amount of intricate detail that was on the ceilings and trim work must have taken months to complete with a construction army. As I walked through the hall and stepped into the elevator the smell of fresh clean red carpets filled the air with a slight scent of floral. Before I entered the venue a punch size bowl of cough drops was to my left. The usher grabbed my ticket and escorted me to my seat right in front on the third level. The entire venue was covered with three basic colors gold, cream, and red. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1904, consists of three levels with the

The general plan of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies includes a very 'pessimistic' first movement, a sad, peaceful second movement, an allegro movement (often in dance form) and a fourth movement full of vigor.  His 6th symphony, the Pathetique, is an exception.  The themes are broad, decorative, and striking. The orchestration is rich - but without any attempt at spectacular effects.  The last movement is slow and mournful, and recent research reveals the reason.  The Pathetique was only partly finished when news spread of a homosexual 'encounter' Tchaikovsky had with a fellow student. Some believe that the composer finished the symphony as a farewell to life. The scoring is for the standard symphonic orchestra with winds, brass, strings, timpani, and other percussion instruments. It was premiered in St. Petersburg with Tchaikovsky himself leading the orchestra.