Critiquing Amadeus by Peter Shaffer
I believe that there are two ways to critique Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.
The first, and the easiest for me, is as an artistic work only.
As an artistic endeavor, Amadeus is a triumph. Particularly stunning is
F. Murray Abraham's performance as the tortured Court Composer Antonio
Salieri. Abraham portrays a talented yet mediocre musician who, having
revered God all his life, shows us clearly that "pride goeth before the
fall". It is Salieri's greed for fame, and pride in his own "moral
goodness" that lead him to denounce Mozart as a "fiend". When God
continues to shower favor upon mozart, Salieri renounces God, and vows
that he will be the instrument to thwart God. Salieri's Fall from Grace
is brilliantly documented, and Abraham's performance utterly believable.
Tom Hulce does a splendid job portraying Shaffer's Mozart. His wild
antics and child-like behavior are charming, his laugh infectious and
singular, and his mannerisms unique. However, it is the moments when a
different Mozart is glimpsed -- the tender father, the infuriated court
composer, and the dying genius -- that Hulce's talent shines through.
To play a buffoon well is one thing, and to show a serious side to that
buffoon another. To do it all convincingly is the key to the range of
Hulce's abilities.
Additionally, the film is beautifully shot, the costumes enchanting and
the set design marvelously detailed. The lighting in the final scene
(depicted above), with its contrasting dark shadows and harsh glare, is
especially creative. This Academy Award-winning film was crafted with
great skill, and is worthy of the acclaim it received.
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...oung music student, hearing Salieri describe the beauty
of this piece -- the clarity of the oboe, and the lovely tune of the
clarinet -- and becoming just as entranced myself by its long,
mesmerizing journey to a final cadence.
Also impressive is the inclusion of the Requiem, K. 626, in its
entirety. The death-bed composition scene in Amadeus may be a bit
unbelievable, but the use of various movements to accompany Mozart's
dying, Constanze's return, and Salieri's passion is clever.
The movie begins with the furious Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183,
and ends with the deceptively simple Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466,
2nd movement. So begins and ends Mozart's life, in Peter Shaffer's
Amadeus, and perhaps so begin and end we all: starting off in a fury of
noise and vigor, and in the end, slipping away quietly with time-taking
ease.
...re the flute returns accompanied by a string sequence. The tonality alternates between major and minor continually. The strings play an arpeggio melody, in major, as the oboe plays a descending chromatic scale with a diminuendo and perfect cadence
In the first part of this recital the vivaldi, contained a string Quartet. After the first intermission, I looked down at the podium and noticed that the precussions were added which included the timpani, bass drum, tylophone, and cymbals. In this recital Nancy Menk was the conductor, Judith Von Houser was the soprano which played a high note, and Mary Nessinger was the Mezzo-soprano which played a slight softer note. This part of the concert was divided into four pieces. First there was the Magnificant by M. Haydn (the orchestra accompaniment was edited from the composer's manuscript by Mark Nabholz). This piece consisted of strings without violas, two french horns, and an organ.
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
...res a jump-start--a massive jolt of terror-inspired impulses. Ignatius now reaches such a moment when his life is charged by this powerful psychological and physiological impetus.
"The End of the Beginning." The End of the Beginning. The Churchill Centre, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia combines science with social concerns and principles, exploring the universe’s influence in our everyday lives and destiny through the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, and the certainty of knowledge. With Thomasina Coverly and Hannah Jarvis, the two are from different eras but are very much similar. They believe that romantic feelings would distract people from their work and both are very much a classical character. Therefore, I pointed out Stoppard’s shift between the two eras to help the audience understand that clues from our past are evidence how we can use it to interpret the present. In my program introduction I wanted my audience to be intrigued by the periods centuries apar
is a tale of loneliness and greed caused by the sin of preceding generations. The opening
Countless dozens of Ph.D theses must be written about Mozart's The Magic Flute and yet it is so lively with elements of fantasy and free-flying imagination that it is often the first opera to which children are taken. It has a plot of such complexity that it takes several viewings for all but the most studious opera buffs to sort out the characters and follow the ins and outs of the multilevel story. At the same time it has so much easily accessible charm and so many glorious Mozart tunes that even the novice will be captivated.
The brass plays an ascending sequence, followed by pizzicato notes played by the strings, and an ascending and descending scale on the harp. Strings and oboe play the rhythmic melody, whilst the trumpet plays fanfares in syncopation. The oboe is then replaced by the flute. There is an ascending scale played by the strings, then the brass section repeats the string and oboe melody with cymbal crashes at cadence points. The orchestra then plays a loud melody with cymbal crashes and drum rolls. There is an interrupted cadence, followed by crescendo with cymbal crashes and a brass ostinato. The piece ends with a perfect cadence.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was his last and longest symphony he composed. While listening to this breathtaking piece of music, one specific aspect of this piece stood out to me; this being the instrumentation. In this symphony, many different instruments were used. While listening, I recognized many of them. A flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings make up this famous piece that is known world-wide by millions of people.
...se on both the tenor and alto flute, one an octave higher than the other. While the return of the verse and the flute’s soothing sound give this ending a vague happy feeling, the contrast between the flutes’ pitches and timbres cannot help but leave the listener with a feeling of tension and apprehension over what will ensue.
...chestral introduction with an imperfect cadence. A strong rhythmic ¾ allegro passage, with sequences and descending scales is played by the orchestra, with timpani and cymbals. The music modulates, and a short, quiet woodwind passage is then alternated with an orchestral passage with dotted rhythms, creating a `terraced dynamics' effect. Part B begins with a major clarinet melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. A minor flute sequence follows, and is followed by a repetition of the oboe melody. A string sequence is then played, imitated by the oboe. There is a crescendo, then the rhythmic orchestral melody returns, alternated with a short flute passage. There are suspensions, descending scales and a crescendo, followed by a strong rhythmic passage with the timpani playing on the beat. Imperfect cadences are played, before the piece finishes with a perfect cadence.
40 is an effective composition that allows one’s mind to imagine vivid pictures. While listening to the piece by Mozart, I felt a sense of urgency throughout the piece while eliciting strong emotions of passion and grief. Composers like Richard Wagner and Peter Tchaikovsky were greatly influenced by Mozart’s musical capabilities of conveying intense feelings. The listener is affected by the different measures of commonalties between the musical periods, the composers of those periods and the pieces they compose. Mozart’s music pulled away from the norms and constraints of period style music. This composition enhances my knowledge because he has created compositions that employ the sonata, rondo, aria as well as other forms to exude strength, beauty, and grace with every
Heffernan's definition stems in part from his dissatisfaction with Murray Krieger's interpretation of ekphrasis 1 and Michael Davidson's ideas about the painterly poem.2 On Krieger, Heffernan writes: 'While Krieger's theory of ekphrasis seems to give this moribund term a new lease of life, it actually stretches ekphrasis to the breaking point . . . where it no longer serves to contain any particular body of literature and merely becomes a new name for formalism' (Museum, 2). And on Davidson he writes: 'Having replaced Krieger's ekphrastic principle with a diachronic polarity between classical and contemporary ekphrasis, he leaves us with no coherent sense of the synchronic mode that might contain them both' (Museum, 3). Furthermore, Heffernan
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.