Music Tastes - Assignment Example

Music    Topic:  concert report below is the guidelines please refer to last paragraph for reference of the concert. please read guidelines thoroughly Instructions: Concert Report Guidelines  Rough draft is due November 7, 2011 at the beginning of class.  Final draft is due December 5, 2011 at the beginning of class.  Listening to live performances is an essential part of learning to appreciate and understand music. You are required to attend a live performance and then write a concert report. Here are some general guidelines to help you listen, think, and write about a concert.  Choose a concert to attend, according to the following guidelines.  - The concert must feature either instruments or voices performing classical, not popular, repertoire.  - High school performances are not to be used.  - Concerts in which you participate are not eligible.  - Concert Dates: the concert discussed must occur less than two months prior to the due date.  ***Basic information to include:  When/Where did the concert take place? How long did it last?  How many pieces were performed? What were they called and how many movements were in each? Who composed each piece?  Who were the performers (name of ensemble and/or soloists)? If there was a conductor, what was his/her name? What were the names of the principal performers?  What types of instruments were played and/or what types of voice parts were featured?  Was there any special purpose to the concert? If so, explain.  ***General questions to keep in mind:  What was your general reaction to the concert? How did the performance sound to you? Was the music performed well? (e.g., Were the musicians rhythmically “together”; were they playing/singing in tune; did any instruments/voices stick out? How would you rate the musicians’ technical ability and the “energy” of their performance? Did the musicians seem well prepared for the concert?)  Which composition did you like best? Why? (e.g., what specifically did you like about the piece itself or the way it was performed?)  Which composition did you like least? Why?  Did any of the compositions trigger an emotional response from you? What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music?  Is this type of concert experience new to you? How do you think that might influence your perceptions of what you heard and observed?  What makes a performance an artistic event?  ***Specific items to consider: Make sure to focus part of your discussion and analysis of the concert on one or more of the following items:  Describe what you heard and observed using the following musical terms, elements, and concepts discussed in class:  • Genre (e.g., symphony, concerto, string quartet, etc.)  • Stylistic period (e.g., classical, baroque, etc.)  • Mood (e.g., emotion conveyed by the music/performers)  • Pitch To what extent does pitch vary throughout the piece? How do changes in pitch reflect changes in mood?  • Rhythm (e.g., beat, accent, tempo, meter, syncopation) How were these elements of rhythm used to create “special” or interesting musical effects?  • Dynamics (e.g., level of sound) Identify changes in dynamics and discuss the effect these changes create.  • Tone Color (e.g., bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.)  • Mode (e.g. major, minor)  • Harmony/Melody Discuss the balance (or lack of it) between the melody and its “accompaniment.” Did you hear consonance, dissonance, or a combination of both?  • Motives/Themes Identify and note where individual motives and themes are first introduced and subsequently reappear in each piece.  • Texture (e.g., monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.)  • Form (e.g., sonata form, A B A, theme and variations, etc.)  Other discussion points:  ***Using the musical terminology and concepts covered in class, discuss the most interesting musical elements/features of the pieces that were performed.  ***Compare the pieces from this performance with other compositions you have studied in class, noting similarities and differences. (Note: In selecting a composition from class, you may want to look for a piece by the same composer, from the same style period, or of the same genre as the piece(s) from the performance.)  ***Describe the behavior of the performers and the audience. What, if any, interaction occurred between the two? What kind of behavioral expectations do performers and audiences bring to the concert? How are these expectations satisfied or frustrated?  Length: Two-to-three full pages, double-spaced using 12-point font.  Attachments: Attach the printed concert program to your report, if one was provided. If no printed program was provided, attach the ticket you purchased. If you received neither a printed program nor a ticket, provide the address and telephone number of the performance venue.  Grading guidelines:  Content/25 points  10 points for length  10 points for grammar  5 points for attaching program  (-5/day for late papers)  Sample concert report:  On October 15, I attended a concert by the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The performance consisted of only two pieces, yet both were met with enthusiastic applause and praise. 
  The first piece performed was the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, by Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, with the violinist Midori as the featured soloist. The piece was divided into three movements, the first being Allegro moderato. The Concerto opened with the orchestra playing a crescendo until the appearance of the soloist, who presented the principle themes. From this point, the texture varied between the monophony of the solo violin and the homophony heard from the full orchestra. The melody introduced by the violin was then repeated in various instruments with large contrasts in dynamics and tempo, although the predominating tempo was allegro. When the solo violin returned it was accompanied by the other violins playing a background of staccato notes. The high point of the first movement occurred when the solo violin produced an extremely high pitch in pianissimo and slowed down to a static pace, demonstrating her ability on the instrument. This movement ended with the entire orchestra playing fortissimo with a strong beat. 
  The next movement of the Concerto began in the woodwinds  with a legato melody punctuated by one note played by the horns. Overall, this movement remained somber with periods of excitement, indicated by the orchestra playing at an active pace. The violins contributed by adding descending scales of pizzicato notes. The melody then became a legato solo, which commenced in the oboe and was passed to the basses. The solo then returned to the violin, starting adagio and then increasing the pace for the entire orchestra. The finale occurred when two accelerating crescendos alternated with two ritardando decrescendos. 
  Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, “Titan,” was performed next. It was much longer in duration than the first piece. It showed uniqueness in that it incorporated everyday sounds into the music, such as bulge calls, bird songs, and dance tunes, which provided for a very wide variety of tone colors. The symphony began with a thick-textured undertone in the strings and a two-note “hunting call” in the woodwinds, which persisted throughout the piece. Also present was a bright fanfare in the trumpets, followed by a light descending melody played by the entire orchestra. After this movement, all the instruments began playing a strong fortissimo beat, which gradually increased the tension, leading up to a muted trumpet solo. The strings dominated the remainder of the movement, with a strong legato melody passed from the ’cellos to the violins, and, finally, to the basses. 
  The third movement could be classified by the increasing significance of the drums, who moved the orchestra along in a clear duple meter. Their presence became less important after a ritardando, which brought back the light melody to the woodwinds. Throughout this movement, imitative polyphony was the predominant texture as the melody created in the woodwinds was echoed by various other instruments. This portion was characterized by its dark and somber tone. The absence of the drums heard earlier left a weak beat and a suppressed meter. 
The finale began with a restatement of parts of the opening movement, which moved to a brass fanfare and cymbal crashes that built to multiple crescendos. These often left me feeling that the orchestra was nearing the last notes of the symphony, only to hear another note start the process again. The true ending did come with a crescendo, but also incorporated the original two-note “hunting call” and descending notes in the horns. 
  Through the experience of hearing these two very different works, I was able to comprehend the talents of the NDR Symphony of Hamburg. This was evidenced by the contrasts between the two pieces and the orchestra’s ability to perform well with a solo artist.  Refer to this concert:  Concert choir  Conductor: lorie marie rios  piano: allen andrews  song 1 Lerchengesang by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)  song 2 Hark i hear the harps eternal by Traditional hymn (b 1925) arr. alice parker  song 3 Prelude to peace By Z. Randall Stroope (b 1953)  song 4 Wana Baraka by kenyan folk song Arr. Shawn L kirchner (1970)  Song 5 Blackbird BY john lennon and paul mcCartney arr. aryl Runswick Pasadena Symphony. Mei-Ann, conductor; James Ehnes, violin Huang: Saibei Dance (from Sabei Dance Suite No. 2); Korngold: Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 Saturday, October 29, 2011 • Ambassador Auditorium 131 St. John Ave. Pasadena, CA 91105. 629-793-7172 On October 29th I was invited to go to the opening matinee of the Pasadena Symphony season with Mei Ann Chen conducting. I had never seen a female conductor, so I was excited. The program was very nicely chosen, as the pieces matched very well, though they were an eclectic mix of Romanic Tchaikovsky and modern Chinese, Modern movie score music and patriotic. They played Donald Foster, clarinet, Gary Woodward, flute, and James Thatcher, horn The Star Spangled Banner Saibei Dance by An-Lun Huang with soloists Donald Foster on clarinet, Gary Woodward, on flute, and James Thatcher on French horn Violin Concerto by Korngold Fifth Symphony (Pathetique) by PIetrov Tchaikovsky with soloists Foster and Laura Wickes on oboe, Rose Corrigan and Woodward on bassoon. The concert began with a really dramatic version of the Star Spangled Banner as the little girl conductor walked on stage to the snare drum introduction. What a start! Then a little melody I never heard before called Saibei Dance An-Lun Huang with Donald Foster, clarinet, Gary Woodward, flute, and James Thatcher, horn all playing really nice solos. I never heard of this piece or the composer either before, but it was zippy, short and light. The Korngold Violin Concerto begins sweet and sad and is answered by plaintiff horns. Then it strengthens and the horns boom in reply. Then the fun begins. I have never heard this before, and I never heard of the composer. It sounds almost like the Huingarian Rhapsodies by Franz Lizt (I think that is the composer). The violinist, James Ehnes, made the instrument sing and I loved the double string bowing. This melody is wonderful wsith some notes so high I think they are nearly off the fingerboard. The flutes and horns provide background while the plucked strings set the rhythm. Then it booms into almost a storm of sound with four different melody lines blending until the string and horns take turns sounding the last part of the movement, culminating in low mellow horns and finally just the sweet violin in conversation with the horns and cellos. The second part begins so quietly you almost expect it to stay that way and then it moves into a lilting waltz-like passage. The harmony on the other strings and the horns makes a lead in for the really high violin phrases, until it grows to a light cresendo and moves again into lilting violin melody complemented by horns and cellos. The complex mixture of different melody lines is delightful. The third movement starts with a rich introduction for more double string bowing by this really talented violinist. This movement is a polyphonic conversation between the violin and the entire rest of the orchestra. So many different themes in this and changes of tempo that I wonder why it is not more popular. Maybe it is because it is so complex that people cannot hum it. I hope Perlman has recorded this one, although this violinist may be as good. He did not make even a single scratchy note.. It is wonderful to listen to. The audience, small as it was, also thought so. Really smooth oboe solos and bassoons began the first movement accompanied by cellos, after the first playing of the theme. Then the horns and strings joined and then it took off with the bassoons and the oboes in rich warm tones. Like a marching band of gypsies with butterflies flying along and the little conductor just danced on the podium. Her version is full of contrast and plenty peppy. The quiet phrases whisper and then the full orchestra explodes with sound. I loke the sound of the woodwinds in this movement. The second movement is my favorite. I guess I am just common, as it makes see ballet dancers. I think it was a popular song once, but I am not sure. I seem to remember hearing it was called None but the Lonely or something close, but it only used two parts of this beautiful movement. Tchaikovsky is always so rich and this conductor got full sound from the orchestra with mellow woodwinds and positively sparkling brass, rich sonorous strings and booming horns. I always like to watch the conductor and this one made me think of an old ad for Bankamericard I saw on line once. It was a little cartoon conductor and he wore himself out on the stage and collapsed. Well she didn’t collapse, but I might if I did all that. I really like the quiet string plucking part that precedes the string and woodwind weaving of the melody before the final rising wave of this movement. This symphony ended with a really rich strong sound and the audience loved the performance, including me. It finished with a rousing ending and a rousing applause too. I will try to see this conductor again. Read More