The University of South Alabama hosted a faculty recital where Robert Holm played the piano very beautifully. Mr. Holm played six different types of piece which you can read about on the program stapled to the back. Each composer was from the Classical era with the exception of Johann Bach. Each piece of music had a contrast of ranges, which created beautiful masterpieces. This recital was done extraordinarily well.
The first piece performed was French Suite No. 6 in E major by J.S. Bach. Mr. Holm’s feet I noticed, never touched the pedals, and he later told the audience that it was because it was written for the harpsichord. Also the French Suite has four dances ending with a Gigue, and is in binary form. When he began playing, the music was allegro, and very upbeat. I also felt like I could dance to it because the timbre was very lively and upbeat. Then suite switched to vivace and it lost the danceable tune, yet was still nice. Then as the new section started, I felt like it was more adagio. Throughout the piece there was a common pattern: after each slow movement there was an upbeat movement that followed.
The second piece was Rondo in D major by Wolfgang Mozart. It was in tonic and started in the key of D, went through five changes, and then ended in the key of G major. The music is almost like a child’s tune, and light. Childlike because the music had a happy lite timbre. The texture moves from vivace (not in the sense it moves fast, but it is a lively tune) to moderato momentarily and back to vivace. Also while the tempo is changing, the dynamics start to change, moving from mezzo forte to mezzo piano and back again. There was also a section where a contrast of the keys was played. The low tones at the contrasting section ...
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...jor scale. The dynamics were always changing from pianissimo to mezzo piano. The tempo changed very little from andante to moderato. Also, like all the other song there are moments of crescendos and diminuendos. In every movement, the use of all the different pitches is excellent.
This recital was the best I have been to. The use of different composers in it gave the listener the ability to hear the different style used. For example, Mozart’s piece was dramatic were as Debussy was flowing and dance like. Each piece also had excellent examples of how when the composers changed the texture and dynamics, it made the song very interesting. I was not a fan of classical music, but this solo recital helped me see the errors in my ways. Everyone should have to hear at least one classical concert in their life in order to appreciate the complex use of chords and melodies.
The concert I attended was a Junior piano recital held at The Florida State University College of Music in the Dohnanyi Recital Hall. The pianist was Kaisar Anvar. The pieces performed were:
The first Sonnet performed was a very light and airy piece. The second piece, The B minor Sonata is the largest single movement piano sonata ever composed. It is considered Liszt’s best work for piano. Sonata in B minor was very aggressive and it made me feel really uptight listening to it. I was waiting for the next note constantly. I thought for sure that this would be my favorite piece of the concert. I thought about it all through intermission. Some friends whom I saw a few seats over told me that the last piece was by far the best. I was eagerly anticipating that last composition.
Ludwig Van Beethoven and W.A. Mozart are the two most important musicians of their time. Their pieces are everlasting and will live on forever. Their styles are so unique and uplifting that they could never be matched. These masterminds played in the same time period but their lives differed tremendously. There are some similarities and many differences between these two but one fact will remain: They are the central and most vital part of all music.
This time, there was vocal accompaniment to the second piece, which clearly made it much different than the other works that I listened to. The Lord Nelson Mass was one that I enjoyed more and I feel that is because of the choir that performed. Although it is not the type of music that I usually listen to, it still has some more similarities than the symphony by Mozart. The Lord Nelson Mass, composed by Haydn, was my favorite performance of the evening.
The first song played was from a genre that I had previously taken a test on, Sonata. The musicians played the song by the book. There were three movements and polyphonic texture. It was even fast and jerky. Nonetheless, this is the part where my rollercoaster was going down. In my opinion it was boring. Although very well played, the song itself did not interest me. I did not like the roadrunner, coyote essence of the song. The piano accompaniment would sometimes play the melody and let the clarinet follow and then they would switch. This to me seemed force instead of like the Sonatas that I listened to in class. However, apart from the musical aspect of the first piece there was a certain intensity expressed by the performers. I had never seen a
In The Piano Lesson, written by August Wilson, Boy Willie devises a scheme for buying Sutter’s land. Boy Willie has one part of the money saved up. He will sell the watermelons for the second part. Then he will sell the piano for a third part. The only debating issue in Boy Willie’s scheme is the piano. Berniece does not want to sell the piano. This is the only reason for a defense in Boy Willie’s scheme. Therefore, I will defend Boy Willie’s issue of selling the piano and how that liberates him in reference to his scheme for buying Sutter’s land.
Boy Willie is the protagonist in the play The Piano Lesson, which is written by August Wilson. He is a foil character to his sister Berniece. He wants to sell the family piano. His biggest obstacle is his past, and his sister. Berniece wants to salvage the piano and keep it as a namesake. The quarrels revolving around legacies is the central conflict of the play. Boy Willie’s “Super-objective” contains two parts: fear and legacy resulting in memory.
In The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, Berniece and Boy Willie are siblings who both want the piano that belongs to their family. Berniece wants to keep the piano because it holds their family history and it reminds her of the hard work her mother put into the piano. However, Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to buy land from Sutter’s brother because to him the land, like the piano, are both a part of his family’s history and both represent being free from Sutter. Both siblings fight over who has more rights to the piano and deserves it. In August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, Berniece struggles with being able to embrace her past and acknowledge its importance. Which reveals that instead of hiding the past we should embrace it and let it help
The next work of the program, Courtly Airs and Dances, is a multi-movement work composed by Ron Nelson. The piece is split into six movements: Intrada, Basse Danse, Pavane, Saltarello, Sarabande, and Allemande. Each of these present distinct characteristics that separate it from each other movement, yet all are united by being a style of dance. The first movement, Intrada, presents a fanfare-like opening to the multi-movement work. The trumpets and brass section as a whole lead this, as they create a sense of nobility. The key is major and the tempo is one that could be described as allegretto—it is not a fast tempo, yet more brisk than an andante pace. The texture is homophonic, as there are different parts being performed by different
I enjoyed this concert. It was my first real experience with jazz music. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, but I left satisfied that I attended. However, there was one thing I did not enjoy. The narrator between songs was not very effective and actually took away somewhat from the concert. He failed numerous times at trying to be humorous and rambled on. My favorite piece was 88 Basie Street. It gave me that easy and relaxed feeling. This piece started softer, and then seemed to pick up with more energy. With my lack of knowledge of Jazz music, I certainly enjoyed this piece the best. I learned how exciting and fun listening to jazz being played live can actually be. I found it very interesting. Like I said earlier, the only thing I would change to make the concert more effective would be to have the narrator speak less.
The second piece, Paratum Cor Meum, was a much shorter piece with very few lyrics. It was interesting to hear a piece by Haydn, since we had discussed this composer in class. I was impressed by the choir members’ ability to remember words in another language, and I enjoyed the sounds of the piano accompaniment.
In conclusion, the concert was really interesting and I enjoyed myself. In my opinion the two pieces that I really like in this concert, are Sounden Horn and Polonaise from Engine Onegin, the shift between the melodic lines and the element of beauty is what made me like it. In the future I would recommend it to my friends and I will not mind to go with them at all. This kind of music is the best to me by far.
Johann Sebastian Bach was, is, and will forever be one of the most infamous and genius contributors to the world of Baroque music. His work in defining the various styles within the Baroque genres and composing has had a very pervading impact. As a pianist who has been studying classical music for over fourteen years, I, along with countless others, would certainly say that Bach holds a very highly regarded reputation as a composer.
...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.
At the movies, in stores, on the radio, many of the places you go to that have music playing have music that was written from the Classical Period. The Classical Period harbored famous and renowned composers and performers. Two composers who stand out are Mozart himself who composed many pieces including the famous piece Piano Concerto No. 22 and Ludwig van Beethoven who composed his astounding 5th Symphony. Through the centuries the Classical Period has still been honored and commemorated for its style beauty.