Concert Report

Assignment Requirements

 

The instructions are attached in a file.

“Filmed Concert”: Students will watch a film of a concert. Follow the directions below but instead of number “3” (in which you are supposed to attach an image related to the live concert experience), just explain how/when you saw the film (e.g., rented from NetFlix, on PBS television, etc). Although we used to discourage YouTube clips because they were often incomplete and did not give you the audio experience of a real concert, we are ‘softening’ on that regulation and so if you are stuck and think you’ve found your best option on YouTube, we’ll accept it.  One film that I saw that I believe relates to all of the Music 2 classes since it integrates various culture’s ‘classical’ music is “Playing for Change: Songs Around The World.”  It is reasonably short (only 5 songs) but very powerful.

 

Choose concerts of “classical music” (preferably within the historical styles we study in this course) as that will help deepen your learning in this class.

 

For the concert report,

1. take notes on a concert (what you see, hear – details that will enable you to write your essay later – see model below) and submit these notes with your essay;
2. write a 500-word essay describing with some specificity what you did/heard/saw; and
3. attach an image of something that validates your attendance (e.g., scan your ticket, a photo of you at the concert hall, etc.). Use your “good student’ adult-level judgment on this, as we are simply trying to honor the efforts of the vast majority of honest students by preventing dishonest students from claiming attendance for something they didn’t attend. If we don’t receive reasonable verification of your attendance, we will question the validity of your essay and you will not receive credit.
4. You can supplement your report with appropriately cited information from program notes or other sources, but the report should be truly in your own words.  Directly copied information is considered a violation of academic honesty.

 

 

Model Report:  Some of you have asked for an example of an excellent concert report. Below are two examples written by students in this class. The first example was written by a student who had considerable music background, the second was written by a student who had less background and used regular vocabulary to describe what she heard.

 

Example One:

I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 conference of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) in San Mateo the weekend of February 17-19. The weekend brought inspiration in the form of lively seminars, master classes, competitions, recitals and concerts. The professional concert was chamber music by CENTRAL4, a piano quartet, consisting of Elizabeth Hedman, violin; Michael Lieberman, viola; Paula Fehrenback, cello; and Timothy Durkovic, piano. While they did not play specifically from the classical period (their earliest work was R. Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47), I will compare and contrast elements of pieces played in this concert to sonatas of the Classical period.

 

The first piece played was a by J. Turina (1882-1949), Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67. This piece was in three movements. Like sonatas written in the Classical period, the first and last movements were similar to one another. Unlike sonatas written in the Classical period, this piece was in three movements, with the first and last movements played at a slower tempo and the middle movement played at a faster tempo. The first opened with the strings introducing the piece, followed by the piano further developing this initial theme. The mood was anticipatory, as the piano built excitement then darkened. This seemed to be similar to piano sonatas written during the Classical period, as the strings opened the piece before the piano was highlighted as a primary instrument. The piano opened the second movement, but every player had a solo during this movement. The last movement (andante, allegretto) was in sonata form. It opened with a violin solo for the exposition, which was then further developed by the piano. Much modulation was heard throughout. Following this was a return to the main theme (recapitulation).

The next two pieces were in 4 movements each, similar to what would have been expected in Classical sonata literature. In contrast to Classical literature, Piano Quartet in d minor by William Walton (1902-1983) contained two movements at a fast tempo, followed by a dreamlike movement (Andante tranquillo), and ending with a swift allegro molto. This was definitely something that would not have been allowed in the Classical period! Al the movements were incredibly expressive, even more than Beethoven probably would have written (but may have embraces as changing—if only he would have accepted the music of anyone other than himself). The first movement did appear to be in the traditional Classical Sonata form, opening with an introduction by the strings into a pianistic fantasy that swept the audience away. Then, all four instruments developed with sequencing in a grand way.

The final piece was Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 47. This piece was in the Classical Sonata four movements, but with a “modern” twist. Since this piece was written just a couple of decades after the death of Beethoven, the Classical Sonata form would still have been fairly commonplace. The first movement was in Sonata form, opening with a slow, grand introduction that flowed into an allegro movement. The next movement was the twist: A lively scherzo. They laughed. They chased each other. They returned to the polyphony known well in the Baroque period, but developed a bit more on each repetition, often with dynamics. During the third, or trio, movement, there was a brief introduction (uncommon in Classical literature), followed by a minuet (common in Classical literature). The finale returned to a swift moving Vivace. I could hear elements from all the other movements in this one, instead of just the first movement the way a Classical composer might have written. This movement was full of the enthusiasm and excitement of one coming home.

 

Example Two: 

October 17, 2013, I watched a Youtube video of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 “Pathetique”. The orchestra was quite large, consisting of over 100 members who were all extremely talented and engaged in the music. It was a delight to listen to. I am not sure exactly which period the music comes from, but it is classical in that it has been around for years and is still being enjoyed today.

 

They first played “Adagio – Allegro non troppo”. This piece was about 20 minutes long. It starts off with the wind instruments leading a very dark mood. The strings and flutes then pass a melody line back and forth for a while that still has some darker elements but is mostly light and fluttery. This part fades out and the cellos and violas lead back into the opening melody. This part ends pretty quickly and goes back to the wind instruments with a new lead that is mysterious and somewhat haunting. About halfway through the piece the strings go back to the first melody but with a more swelling and grand version and so doesn’t sound so dark, though still somewhat mysteriously sad. After this some strings provide a very low mellow background, but the first clarinet leads the musical tone down into a low, very quiet, pause. Suddenly the whole orchestra blasts in with a very energetic, complex part. The brass instruments have their biggest part in this section. The strings and wind instruments continue to go back and forth in copying or complimenting each other. About 14 minutes into the song the tempo slows down a lot to an intense, dramatic fade out to another pause. Then as the final section to the song, the strings and woodwinds all come back together with the opening melody. This time the main musical idea goes through a lot of transition and change. They start out energetically as a large group, then go to the clarinet again, then a longer, mellow section with the basses plucking and the trombones leading to a smooth quiet ending.

 

The second song was “Allegro con grazia”. This song is faster than the first. The strings start off the lead but the flutes take it on soon and they take turns with the lead. This song has a brighter feel than the first. The second section has a minor sound to it, but a kind of swelling, march melancholiness. The strings and woodwinds soon return to the first melody line and in taking turns leading it. One part of this has the strings all plucking in accompaniment, I really enjoyed the sound of that. There are small sections in this that have the brass instruments taking phrases of lead. The song ends with the clarinet playing a low quiet few measures of the lead line and closing out.

 

The third song was “Allegro molt vivace”. This is definitely the fastest song of all. It has a constant lively stream of upbeat notes from all sides, but especially the violins. A very small, high-pitched black flute is added to this song. The song mostly goes on the same musical idea. The strings lead it with full orchestration and then sometimes the lone clarinet repeats the lines with less accompaniment. There is a small pause and then a very complex section that leads right back into the main melody. On this round there are some new percussion instruments that are added to make it a fuller, grander feeling take of the same lines. The ending is a very strong, energetic, flurry of the whole orchestra together.

 

Finally was “Adagio lamentoso”. From the very start the song has a very sad, melancholy sound to it. The strings start the song off with slow, sustained notes. The bassoons are pretty much the only other instrument playing with the strings for a while. I had a hard time picking out the main melody in this song. After a section other instruments join in too, but throughout the strings and one other lone instrument are the lead. There is a part where the timpani joins in and the tempo goes up quickly to a fast speed. Then it abruptly breaks off and they go back to the slow, sad feel. However, this next section is somewhat unsteady with the speed going up and down. The french horns take over the lead and the tempo goes back to being consistent. The song again fades to a pause a few minutes later with the strings and some brass instrument. The trombones start again with a calm, quiet solo part. This fades to the strings again. The strings play and slowly drop off till its just the basses. Then it all fades into silence.

 

 

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