First time to the symphony
Feb. 2nd, 2005 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariIt feels very weird to admit that despite being a composer and musician living in Boston for the last 6 years, I had never been to the symphony until last night, when I went with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
epilimnion and D. Other things just kept getting in the way, mostly things like being too poor and too busy while I was in grad school.
So I went last night. Symphony Hall is an imposing place - a large concert hall with not one but two balconies, classical-style statuary in alcoves above the second balcony, and "Beethoven" engraved on aa gilded plaque above the stage. Unfortunately, the seats are surprisingly uncomfortable. The performance was very good, though.
Impressions from "The Garden of Cosmic Speculation" - Michael Gandolfi
The garden of the title is a real place, not the result of new age daydreaming, in Scotland, designed by architect Charles Jencks. Gandolfi's piece lacked some of the rhythmic innovation and variety often found in contemporary music, but it was still very good. I found a lot to admire in the orchestration, particularly the extremely effective contrasts between large sounds and small sounds that occured at both the long-term and short-term levels. It was all quite attractive to the ear.
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Bela Bartok
I love Bartok, and I love Richard Goode, who was the soloist, so this was quite the highlight of the evening. This concerto was the last thing Bartok wrote and shows tantalizing hints of new developments in his music. Damn leukemia! Anyway, the piece's best moments are in the second movement. I was especially pleased with the way Goode really played with the orchestra. Some concert pianists are all too aware of their role as the star of the show, but not Goode. He plays with a great sense of ensemble.
Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky (the Ravel orchestration, of course)
This piece is a very familiar one to most people. I have listened to recordings many, many times. I assure you, though, that nothing beats hearing it live. The ending (Great Gates of Kiev) is huge, expansive, and majestic in a way that the average stereo speakers cannot possibly convey. My favorite is still the penultimate movement, though: House on Chicken Legs.
epilimnion and D. Other things just kept getting in the way, mostly things like being too poor and too busy while I was in grad school.So I went last night. Symphony Hall is an imposing place - a large concert hall with not one but two balconies, classical-style statuary in alcoves above the second balcony, and "Beethoven" engraved on aa gilded plaque above the stage. Unfortunately, the seats are surprisingly uncomfortable. The performance was very good, though.
Impressions from "The Garden of Cosmic Speculation" - Michael Gandolfi
The garden of the title is a real place, not the result of new age daydreaming, in Scotland, designed by architect Charles Jencks. Gandolfi's piece lacked some of the rhythmic innovation and variety often found in contemporary music, but it was still very good. I found a lot to admire in the orchestration, particularly the extremely effective contrasts between large sounds and small sounds that occured at both the long-term and short-term levels. It was all quite attractive to the ear.
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Bela Bartok
I love Bartok, and I love Richard Goode, who was the soloist, so this was quite the highlight of the evening. This concerto was the last thing Bartok wrote and shows tantalizing hints of new developments in his music. Damn leukemia! Anyway, the piece's best moments are in the second movement. I was especially pleased with the way Goode really played with the orchestra. Some concert pianists are all too aware of their role as the star of the show, but not Goode. He plays with a great sense of ensemble.
Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky (the Ravel orchestration, of course)
This piece is a very familiar one to most people. I have listened to recordings many, many times. I assure you, though, that nothing beats hearing it live. The ending (Great Gates of Kiev) is huge, expansive, and majestic in a way that the average stereo speakers cannot possibly convey. My favorite is still the penultimate movement, though: House on Chicken Legs.
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Date: 2005-02-02 07:39 pm (UTC)Hmm, well, I guess that's subjective to me as well... but I agree. Can't beat Baba Yaga.
Played that piece first at summer music camp. One point in the Chicken Legs movement features very quick alternating intervals of perfect fourths, ascending; I was fingering in 1st position and having a great deal of trouble, when my stand partner, Lowell Pickett (of Manhattan, if you can believe it from the name) pointed out that I could just do quick string crossings and move a set position of fingers up the C and G. Fingering that way, it became the most fun part of the entire piece! I love tricky fingerings like that. That's when it started to be my favorite.
Last I checked, Lowell was composing music for animated shorts. Fun guy. He's also the one who showed me how you can headbang to Schubert's Unfinished.