Concert Report

The Furman Symphony Orchestra, along with Thomas Joiner the conductor and David Gross, pianist showcased Bartok and Beethoven on October 29th, 2002. This was my first time going to an actual performance with a full symphonic orchestra that included the four music families. The four music families were the strings, Brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments.

The setting was in an auditorium and the conductor and all the performers were dressed in a formal manner, which is considered being black and white suites and dresses.

The first violinist stood up and signaled, then all the instruments begin to play. The first piece was Javelin and it was a contemporary sonata piece, written on a commission from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. The composer of this sonata is Michael Torke.Javelin is a frequently performed composition and it was very uplifting to me.

Bela Bartok composed the Piano Concerto No. 3, he was one one the most important composers of the twentieth century. The tempo of this concerto was constant and it had the traditional three movements, allegro- slow- allegro. There was a lot of dissonance to me in this piece. There was also orchestral accompaniment for this concerto. "The Piano Concerto No. 3 is cast in the traditional three -movement format. A special point of interest is Bartok's tempo designation for the second movement, Andante religioso, the only time he ever used that qualifying adjective"(program notes).

After attending this performance, I can now define a sonata; concerto and I also know what the sonata cycle is when I hear the different movements in the cycle.

After the intermission, there was a prelude by the orchestra prior to the conductor's entry to restart the symphony.