Classical Music

Thomas

Classical Music Report

10/18/2006

Dear Friend,

I attended a classical music concert recently at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. The collection of artists seated uniformly by size of instrument went by the name of Seattle Symphony. The grand orchestra was mainly an older group and were dressed to occasion wearing black outfits.

The conductor, Zuckerman, also played the violin in a primary position. It was very interesting how he balanced the position of being the conductor and playing and instrument simultaneously. He announced that the pieces that were played were works of Mozart, including the 39th Symphony. The piece was my favorite out of all because the music flowed like a storyline. This beginning of this piece was overwhelming in contrast, with loud tones from deep instruments and soft notes from what sounded like wind instruments. In the middle of this piece it was dull and slowly moving, the violins and larger string instruments were playing. The ending was almost like someone was running from authority, dramatic and climatic. While playing pieces before The 39th symphony, the conductor seemed more like the center of attention, playing the violin vigorously. It almost was like the rest of the orchestra was just filling with back-round music. Along with the help of the orchestra, the conductor played with talent and heart, reaching out to every individual with deep emotional sounds. The music was almost soul soothing and gave me a warm feeling inside.

The first piece that was played sounded like a love song. It was mellow and slow. The piece was romantic, almost as if someone was about to propose. The solo violin dominated the piece beautifully. The second piece played had a quicker rhythm to it. It moved along almost as if children were playing gracefully in the park. This piece also focused primarily on the solo violin. Other instruments followed the violin's lead, playing the same verse halfway after the violin started in many cases, making it polyphonic.

I am used to an audience at a baseball game yelling constantly and movement between innings. This new experience was different although. The audience clapped after long stretches of pieces