Essay On Symphony Orchestra

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On April 30, 2014, I attended a symphony orchestra at CSU. This is my first time attending a symphony concert; going into the concert I did not think that I would like the concert and the environment also I did not think that there was going to be a lot of people coming. At the beginning of the concert the conductor introduced himself and the symphony and talked about the history of it and played a little bit of each of the four movements and explained everything about them. The Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major by Anton Bruckner was about 2 hours long it consisted of four movements. The setting of the room was very professional the orchestra was on the stage divided into groups according to their interments and the conductor facing them all and behind the conductor there was the audience sitting behind him. The was a wide variety of instruments being used such as first violin, second violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, piano, and percussion.

The first piece was the Adagio- Allegro it was written in a fast tempo, but it has a slow introduction. It first starts with a rising and the falling of the pizzicato line from the cello and bass section, in which they pluck rather than bow the strings. The introduction gives a great contrast in texture and tonal centers, moving from B flat major to G flat major and back again to the same thing. The powerful chords heard from the winds provide a texture not possible on Bruckner’s organ due to the articulation marked with very specific weighting. These include marcato, martele and staccatissmo. The dynamics of the first movement varied between fortissimo and pianissimo it was hard to tell when it was going to change from soft to very loud. B...

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... the difference between adagio and allegro, not just in terms of absolute speed, but also in terms of rhythm and phrasing. Overall I thought the symphony made me feel different emotions with the first piece I felt very excited and eager to hear what is coming next the surprise of the dynamics and the tempo gave it a great touch to keep the audience interested. Also with the second move I felt very relaxed and like I was taking a break from a long bumpy ride because it was so slow comparing to the first movement. But then the third movement introduced with a loud and a fast note that made me feel thrilled and awake and I think the purpose of that is to keep the audience engaged and interested in what they’re listening to. And I thought Bruckner did a great job, with the wide use of the tempo and the dynamics because it reached the goal it was supposed to accomplish.

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