Aurnee RahmanFebruary 9th, 2012Music 120Section ADConcert Report #1

Concert ReportIt has been months since I have been around my violin. The last time I was at a classical

concert was at one of my own. As such, I was really looking forward to finally going to another

classical performance and being around the instruments I loved so much. I found out that The

University Symphony would be playing with faculty artist Craig Sheppard on the piano, and I

was very excited to attend as it had been a long time since I had experienced live classical music.

Going to a live concert definitely helped me reconnect with my own instrument, even if it is

some hundred miles away, and reminded me why I feel so much more emotionally connected to

live music than I do to music coming out of the speakers of my laptop or earbuds.

After the first song was over, Anathor, for orchestra (2001) by Joel-Francois Durand, I

thoroughly enjoyed the concert. I have to admit, I walked into the concert knowing that I didn’t

really like modern pieces, but I was determined to open up my ears a little more and try it again,

maybe try listening from a different perspective. I tried my best. Before the concert started, I

read over the program to understand what the piece was about, and I thought I had a pretty good

idea. I at least thought I might be able to understand the idea the loose melody would try and

portray. Unfortunately, I still don’t think I really got it. It sounded like noise to me, not

necessarily music. It was too dissonant for my taste, and the melody seemed impossible for me to

follow at all. The program says there was a polyphonic part in the third movement, but I couldn’t

really pick out how it was different from the rest of the piece. I appreciate what the composer

was trying to do. It just wasn’t for me. I’m determined to keep listening to modern pieces, and

maybe one day I will come to enjoy them, or at least understand them a little better.

Other than that, I loved the second and third pieces. The Piano Concerto No. 2 in A

Major, G. 125 by Franz Liszt was absolutely breathtaking. I was totally captivated by the piano

work done by Craig Sheppard. I could feel that passion he put into the music, and I found it to be

very exciting. The strings also did a phenomenal job. It made me so happy to see all the bows

move together, and took me back to a time where I would have to focus on bows around me at

my own concerts. The cello solo definitely won me over and the lead cellist did an extraordinary

job. Cellos are definitely an instrument that I am reminded need to be listened to live. The timbre

can’t quite be caught on recorded material. There’s a full, resonating quality that can only be felt

in the presence of the instrument. The third piece, Variations on an Original Theme, “Enigma,”

Op. 36 by Edward Elgar, was amazing, too. I think the humor in it was one of my favorite parts.

I could really hear how the theme was varied throughout the piece to represent each different

character or person, which reminded me of some of the works we’ve listened to in class.

My favorite part of the concert, by far, was when Craig Sheppard performed an

impromptu encore. I wish I knew what piece he had played because it was beautiful. I got

goosebumps. The only other time I have ever gotten goosebumps at a classical concert was when

I watched Hillary Hahn perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35. A

humbling experience for sure. The music really resonated throughout the hall, and since it was an

encore, there seemed to be just a little bit more passion in it. It was also a moment where

everyone else on stage got to appreciate the music as well. The contented look on the faces of the

other performers added to the mood, something that could have never been experienced through

a mere recording.

I was really surprised by the nostalgic feelings that the concert brought up in me. I’ve

been really missing my violin lately, but the concert just put me over the edge. I’m thinking

about bringing my violin up the next time I visit home, and I’m also thinking about practicing a

lot over the summer and auditioning for The University Symphony in the fall. Live music and

performance is just something that can’t be beat. Attending this concert made me realize that

once again.