The Little Russian Symphony

"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor" (BrainyQuote.) The great deal of hardships in my life led me to be successful. I dealt with abandonment for much of my life. I failed at many thing in my life but writing was not one of them. I became famous after I failed many times. I am one of the most famous and controversial figures in contemporary American literature (DIScovering authors.) My non-fiction books, journals, and characters were greatly influenced by my lack of love as a child.

Furthermore, my many failures while soloing have taught me valuable lessons of resilience, adaptation and open-mindedness. I always have a musical idea ringing in my ear, begging to manifest itself through the horn of my trombone. Sometimes I successfully express the idea, but most of the time I fail. However, my failures guide me to a new and different concept, where I continue my pursuit of the fleeting essence of my first idea by adapting it with a mathematically infinite combination of notes, rhythms, dynamics, and tones. I have also learned to take inspiration from the daily, unprecedented encounters I have with music; the musical idea from the hip hop instrumental booming from the car next to me, or a phrase from an electronic dance tune might weave itself into my next

When I look at the word failure I didn’t see success. But that slowly changed as I read the book What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain Chapter four. Bain, for me and I’m sure many other, have changed our view point on failure being a bad thing. He instead expressed failure as an “opportunity to learn something.” (121) As infants we grow and develop, we learn to walk by falling down a couple hundred times, and we learn to speak by babbling. By trying to walk, and trying to talk, we may fail at first. As an infant, you cannot give up when you are face to face with failure. You must get up and try again to learn. In the book, What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain he uses people’s experiences and research to explain why failure is an opportunity to learn something new, rather than seeing failure as something bad. He asserts “people who become highly creative and productive learn to acknowledge failures, even to embrace them, and to explore and learn from them.” (100) Failure is important. If we did not get up and try again as infants, we would not be where we are today.

Failure is something that all people encounter in their lives. In some situations failure can break a person or make a person, meaning a person can fail at something and just simply give up. Others will fail and that failure can give them the inspiration to try harder to one day achieve their goal. I'm the type of person to fail and work harder until I am content. As my championship baseball coach would say "What’s our motto? Never give up!"

Failure can be a very difficult thing to cope with. It can be something that makes you or breaks you. I have learned that failure is what defines a person; it shows your motivation to bounce back when things get rough. I have learned from my failure instead of dwelling on it and making myself weaker.

What do you think when you think of failure? An “E” on a test? A person living in poverty? In John Carroll’s Failure is a Good Thing, he uses his family and experiences to show the importance of failure and the connection it has to life lessons. He expresses and adds to this idea in the passage through using life experiences as examples, implementing feelings to the reader, and through his voice.

One such piece was Yankee Doddle. Undoubtedly, the power of this piece was due, in no small part, to the concertmaster Zach De Pau. An excellent violinist, his fingers seemed to glide across his instrument, even in the most complex sections. His composure was thrilling and captivating. Dressed in a white polo and long khakis, his vapid attire camouflaged his spirited finger work and vivacious movements. I was enthralled. At every opportunity, De Pau made it his duty to display his virtuosity of the violin. His initial calm composure was quickly debunked during his many

Presently we have the gift of hearing music of the past through the formation of the concert hall and sheet music. We are able to hear the styles and structures of the past as well as the feelings and individual initiatives of composers in relation to the time period. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra provides an avenue for listeners from a wide range of backgrounds to hear and hopefully enjoy the sounds of the past. The two pieces preformed are styles notable from the modern era, both originating in Russia. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Rachmaninov’ s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Schostakovich’s symphony No. 8 gives insight to the composers and conductors, as well as personal reflection of what emotions these pieces evoke.

The subtitle Pathetique (infused with pathos, full of feelings) was suggested by the composer’s brother shortly after the symphony’s premiere. The last symphony by one of the greatest Russian composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky delved

When fifth Symphony was performed for the first time at Vienna, it did not attract the best reception. In fact there were many critics and negative reception. The orchestra failed to perform well and at some point the performance messed up and Beethoven had to start the song all over again (Robins, 1992). Critics such as Dionys Weber and others at the time described the song as a disappointment because the first movement began with what they regarded as discord. Others said it was absurd.

The word “failure”, by definition, is the condition of not achieving the desired end or ends. However, this standard definition does not come close to summing up the countless other meanings of failure. Every person, regardless of status, color, or sex, has had to deal with this issue at least once in their lifetime. Even so, each person’s definition of it can vary depending on their personal experiences. The interpretations of failure may differ, but failure itself involves not putting forth effort, being a disappointment, or not succeeding in a task.

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.

Failure is something that we cannot go through life without experiencing. The best thing about failure is that failure can be used as a great learning experience to improve upon things in our lives and career. Using failure as a learning tool is dependent upon the person and how they view it as well as how they use it. Failure is a matter of perspective and the lessons in failure are important aspects towards growth and development. If we did not experience failure there wouldn’t be opportunities for learning. Failure can teach us about ourselves as well as provide an understanding for our

Compare with the Prokofiev’s symphony no.4 and violin concerto no.2. The last piece Prokofiev’s symphony no.5 contained the strongest and certainly the most effectively and expressively played music of that evening. The lyrical theme with which the symphony open is cut from the same cloth of the film-score that Prokofiev had been working on just beforehand, the patriotic music in Ivan the Terrible. As in the octave-doubled opening theme, sung forth by flute and

Failure often times leads a person to feel helpless, disappointed and depressed. However,one should not allow this to set them back in trying to achieve the ultimate aim one has set out to do. Failure in the beginning can often be a powerful incentive to reassess one’s position in wanting to achieve the particular aims; to analyse whether the purpose is worth the trouble the person has to undergo and the whether the obstacles are surmountable.