Second Half Of The Symphony example essay topic

On September 20th, I attended the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra at Popejoy Hall and listened to a variety of classical pieces. I had never been to a symphony before, although I grew up in a musical environment and had been exposed to classical music for many years. I spent my childhood learning how to play the piano, violin, and the guitar. I even began composing my own music on the piano.

However, this was my first time to a symphony where an entire orchestra plays in sync with each other and led by a conductor. On the positive side, it was an exhilarating and yet very relaxing experience. On the negative side, I had to take notes in the dark so that I could have something to write about, perhaps next time I can concentrate more on the actual music being played. Also, I felt very out of place among the obviously rich and old patrons of the symphony.

The first piece played was Sinfonia India by Carlos Chavez. It was an interesting blend of rhythm and melody revolving around complex counterpoint and having a rather peculiar structure. It began with a lively first theme played by the violins and oboes and then the clarinets gently enter into the second theme. About half way into the piece it seems to climax with a variety of orchestral components blending powerfully and then slowing back down with the horns, flutes, and strings, each taking turns. It ended with a rich dance melody by dominating trumpets and horns. The whole symphony is played in a sonata allegro fashion that I greatly enjoyed.

However, the percussion instruments seemed to randomly appear in a rather awkward, almost annoying, fashion throughout the entire performance. Perhaps if I listened to it a few more times then I would gain a better appreciation on how the composer structured the orchestral components. The second piece was a few selections from Romeo and Juliet by Sergi e Prokofiev. An underlying plot of the classical tragic love story is easily recognized in this work, as the entire symphony was filled with emotion.

I interpreted the light violins as representing Juliet and the energy of the horns as Romeo in this program style symphony. The delicate flow of the melody reminded me of the glamour of love and romanticism while the taunting fluctuations of the woodwinds seemed to be representing a youthful childishness found in both Romeo and Juliet characters. The second half of the symphony was "The Emperor" piano concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven. I have a great love for the piano and have been playing for many years so I especially enjoyed the second half of the symphony the most. The orchestra elegantly complemented the piano throughout the entire time, sometimes letting the piano play completely solo and other times combining in a rich, polyphonic fashion. I especially enjoyed the ending portion where the piano and timpani played a harmoniously duet together just before the grand finale of the piano gliding through an amazing sequence of scales and lavish chords.

The environment of Popejoy Hall was unusual; my wife and I felt very out of place. I think we were the youngest people there and we are in our thirties. The typical symphony attendee seemed to be of the older generation and from a very upper class portion of society. Not the type of people I associate with, at least not on purpose.

Nonetheless, we greatly enjoyed the experience and would like to see more young people begin attending these types of events. We have already made plans to attend several more concerts, not just because of this class, but because we really enjoyed the music. I've never had a full appreciation for a multi-instrument orchestra, it was a pleasure.