The Piano Critique : Music A La Carte

The title of the first song is “Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9” , preformed by the Youtube Symphony Orchestra and written by Hector Berlioz. It is a classical piece composed by Michael Tilson Thomas. The tempo for this song was all over the place. It starts off as a crescendo, then towards the end of the crescendo it becomes a mezzo-forte allegro. Suddenly it drops down to a pianissimo largo. It goes on like that for a few more steady beats then turns into a piano. As more instruments join in, it becomes a mezzo-piano adagio. When the chorus comes on it turns into an allegro. Throughout most of it, it is legato. There were many times in the beginning and end that it was an accelerando, but through most of the middle it is a ritardando. I could not tell what the meter was for this song because it seemed like it was all over the place. For rhythm, I noticed that there were a few parts that were repeated, but there was not any syncopation. The melody was predominantly conjunct and it seemed to be very tuneful. The harmony became a little dissonant in the beginning, but during most of it, it was consonant. The texture was homophonic because there were many instruments playing for most of it. The only time it was monophonic was at the start when there was a solo. The concert section that was an allegro, put me in thrilled mood. The decrescendo largo part was so moving that it made me want to cry. Overall, I liked it, it was very consonant, which made it pleasing to listen to. It was very good because the temp was vivace for a good amount of the song. This music made me picture a relationship between a man and a woman. Throughout parts they fight and during other parts they don’t, but no matter what they do, they are very passionate throughout it all.

The piano, created by Bartolomeo Christofori in 1709, has impacted our society by becoming a popular instrument and a popular medium for musicians to create musical masterpieces. Also called the pianoforte, the piano is one of the most beautiful sounding instruments that can range in sound from as low as a gust of wind, to as high as the shrill sound of a bird. It has evolved over time and become an amazing instrument. The piano was accepted very well in history and it has generated many changes in the music industry. The piano was also used a lot in society and has had many applications grow from it. Without it, many classical masterpieces as well as modern songs wouldn’t have been possible.

The first song, Kyrie, I have actually heard before because one of the choirs in my high school sang it for one of there songs. The song has a very nice flow to it and seems like a song that is sung in a church somewhere. I looked up what the word Kyrie means and found from dictionary.com that it means, “Lord, have mercy”.(SDFAS) The second song ,Gloria, was also a very smooth flowing song. With all of the different parts in it, it makes it sound very good. Palestrina did very well on both of the pieces.

During a later part of Scene Two when the cast is dancing the movements match the music, they appeared to be doing the Waltz, so the music had abrupt changes. In Scene Three: Cadiz, the orchestra plays some sad and somber music at the beginning. As the scene progresses the music goes from dark and dismal to happy and cheerful. During one of the songs of Scene Four: Paris the Old Lady, Cunegonde and Candide were discussing a flight and the music being played by the orchestra matched the lyrics bringing the idea of a flight to life. The Old Lady has a mezzo soprano voice she executes all of her notes well in the song. At the end of scene three Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Lady leave to go to a new place and in the song they sing there are rounds, which were well executed. It helped change the mood again which brightened up the audience.

‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further

The Piano Lesson is a masterpiece in itself, earning a Pulitzer Prize in 1990. However, this particular play has elements not typical of modern plays. It has the quintessential plot that encompasses a conflict. On the surface, the conflict is between Boy Willie and his sister, Bernice. However, beneath that conflict, lies the symbolism of the characters. Boy Willie symbolizes the American way or the white man's culture. Bernice is the African-American way, staying true to her roots and not parting with the heritage. Although she finds this painful, she will not part with her heritage. Her heritage is tangible in the presence of the piano itself. Within the presence of the piano, August Wilson

The first piece was called Ballad unto. The concert had 3 acts and this piece was the first act. I really love how they started off the concert very classical. Dwight used Bach music which already put me in the mind set of classical ballet. Even though the music had my mind, the movement otherwise was something different. The women were on point but keep to that contemporary taste that Dwight Rhoden likes.

Both pianist performed very well together. I noticed that they would give each other nonverbal cues like nods or glances to indicate when they were finishing their part or when the other should respond. This communication served really well, as both pianists complimented each other and timed their playing near perfectly.

Closely resembled the first performance leading me the conclusion it was from the Romantic era. The rhythmic diversity of this performance made it very interesting to watch making it much easier to reflect on the ideas we have discussed in class. This act seemed to be mostly homophonic, but also included polyphony. The only downfall of this performance was due to the fact the only instrument played was the piano, if other instruments were included I feel as if the there would be a much stronger emotional sense.

The fourth song that was played was “Fan Theory.” This song is another very lively song that may be one of my favorites that they played the whole night. Overall “Fan Theory” had a lot of the same similarities to “You Would Know by Now” in terms to meter and tempo. Both of these songs contain a tempo of allegro and a meter of ¾. However what catches the listener’s of “Fan Theory” is the aggressiveness of all the instruments right from the first

The composer I listened to was Karl Jenkins. The piece of music I listen to is “Palladio” written in 1915. Karl Jenkins attended different universities such as University of Wales, Royal academy of music and Cardiff University. Palladio is a composition for string orchestra. The form of this piece is Concerto Grosso, duration of 16 minutes published in 1996 London. Karl Jenkins was born in February 17, 1944. Jenkins composed a variety of movies and music pieces throughout his years. The piece of work is in three movements in the form of concerto Grosso. Jenkins’s inspiration was Andrea Palladio, a sixteenth century Italian architect who work embodies the renaissance celebration of harmony and order. This piece was a great choice and I really

The first work was played was called Suite: 3 Airs, composed by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1666-1729) from the Baroque period. This piece had a very stepwise and conjunct melody. The key was mostly bright and major. The harmony was a bit resolving and consonant. The polyphonic texture was recognizable because of the multiple melodies playing together. The tempo of this piece was very constant and remained allegretto throughout. The dynamics was mezzo forte or moderately loud. The formal structure was in the ternary form in which the main idea of the piece was repeating after a small contrast in the middle. Overall, this piece seemed quite unique to me because it was my first time listening to the organ.

There were a total of four music pieces performed. They were “Overture from the Singspiel”, “Concerto in e minor”, “Concerto on b minor,opus 104”, and “Symphony#2 in b minor, opus 5”. I think pieces were performed belong to classical style.

For his third song, he began playing before the piano joined him. Between him and the pianist, they passed around melodies and harmonies. I noticed that his arm would hang over his bass when he shifted up. He had continuous vibrato and the music itself sounded dark. Perhaps it was in a minor key? The fourth song was happy and exciting to listen to. His music switched between major and minor a few times. He was always listening carefully to check for intonation.

The beautiful sound of piano music has captured the hearts of people since the early eighteenth century. Since then, many musicians have dedicated their lives to this instrument. Some players even play piano so well that it may seem that this instrument is easy to play. However, to be able to play the piano well isn’t easy; it takes a lot of skill. To become a good piano player, one must love music very much, have good finger techniques, and body flexibility.