I had the privilege to watch the concert titled ‘Winds from different lands’, and it was the best concert I have ever watched. The concert happened virtually at night and was aired on 14th March 2022 and features a 1 hour and 26 minutes presentation. The concert had 19 artists from four different European countries, including 15 wind and brass players, two pianists and a cellist and bassist. Among the artists performing included the veteran oboist Stephen Taylor and flautist Ransom Wilson. The concert featured new players such as Croatian artist Radovan Vlatkovic and German clarinettist Sebastian Manz. The stage has proper lighting that illuminates the artists enabling the audience to have a great view of the performance. The room is dark, with light focused on the stage to direct the audience’s attention to the artists. In this essay, I argue that the concert ‘national winds from different lands’ was excellent by examining the artist’s performance, tonality, and my experience.
The performance of the play was excellent. The experience of watching a chamber music concert was new to me since I had never attended such a concert, and I was not a fan of the music style. However, I was impressed by the music performance because the artists performed it with many skills, making it very touching. In particular, I liked the second performance Milly Balakirev where the pianist Michael Brown did an excellent job not failing the octet. He was very passionate about playing the keyboard, making the experience enjoyable and worth watching. The selection that intrigued me the most was ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’ because of the artists’ level of coordination in playing the instruments. At no particular time did the artists overrun each other in the performances. I will therefore be attending more concerts today henceforth to explore more such great performances and excellent arrangements of string music.
The musical intonation was excellent as all the performances were in tune. The concert employed most intonation that I had learned in the classroom, such as the musical rhythm. Throughout the performances, the rhythm created a sweet melody which is very relaxing. For instance, the Poulenc septate starts with a big bang with the piano having a million notes and then the texture and tempo change within a minute, creating a beautiful long melody. The performances have excellent dynamics with various loud and soft tunes, making it a great piece. I, therefore, learned a lot from the performances about musical intonation other than getting entertained.
It is a great experience engaging with classical chamber music. Even though I am not acquainted with the musical genre, I enjoyed everything ranging from the intonation, the instruments used and the performing artists. I also enjoyed how the performers seemed professional due to formality in dressing, such as the men wearing black suits making the art stylish. However, I wouldn’t say I liked how the artists do not engage the audience as they are glued to playing the instruments. The artists can make the concerts more fascinating by engaging the audience, giving facial expressions, and avoiding rigid posture that dull the performance.
The concert changed my view about music. I believed that great music involved heavy beats, and the more the noise, the sweeter the music. However, I now believe that great music involves proper intonation and perfect coordination to bring a great melody. In conclusion, chamber music is a piece of great music that people should embrace due to the expertise the artists play the instruments.
References
Center for the Performing Arts. (n.d.). Watch Front Row: National | Winds from Different Lands | Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State. The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://cpa.psu.edu/stream/frontrownational-winds?spMailingID=8039265
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