Concert Report

Music is an universal language. It transcends time, culture, language, and ethnicities. Luckily, I had the privilege to see the New York Philharmonic play at the Lincoln Center. If you are not familiar with the center, you will be in awe of the surroundings. It's the perfect mix of music and architecture and grandeur. As soon as I entered the auditorium, I was in a state of disbelief again. With balcony seating against the walls, a large middle auditorium, and dimmed lights, it completely set the mood to enjoy classical music. The pieces played were "Overture to La Clemenza di Tito," "ch'io mi Scordi di Te?..No Temer, amato bene," and "Primo Concerto in D Major: Coronation." All these were composed and written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and played by the New York Philharmonic. First you have to turn a car on. Then, you have to wait for it to warm up. And finally then you drive off. Well, that's how I felt about the order of the selections.

What I mean by that is that I had to warm up to the music at first. When I sat down and listened to the first piece, I was rather distracted. I didn't get to enjoy it as much due to the fact I was overwhelmed by the surroundings and with what was going on outside of the building. Outside was David Blane in a gigantic bubble filled with water and here I just arrived and had to concentrate on a musical piece. I didn't like this piece too much because it wasn't like a modern day song. What I mean by that is that I couldn't recognize the sections, the melody, barely picked up the harmony, but I know it was first played in polyphony and then homophony. Another thing I noticed was that it was mainly played with woodwind instruments. I mainly heard oboes, clarinets, flutes, bassoons, trumpets, and horns, given that you would hear timpani and some strings; it greatly remained in the woodwinds. I couldn't catch a reoccurring section in the piece either. This piece was shorter then what I expected because the length was only five minutes. This composition was inspired by a tale of Emperor Tito-from the first century-and a failed assassination plot against him by his friend Sesto. Eventually Tito's magnanimous decision was to forgive the very same malefactors who tried to topple his government and take his life. To me, the story and the orchestra were not one. It simply did not stick to me.

The second piece was "Ch'io mi Scardi di Te..." I found it a little easier to listen to. I was comfortable, not distracted by David Blain, and finally warming up to the music. This piece of work I actually liked. It was another form of program music which was inspired from text. There was a soloist singing-named Soile Isokoski-and a soloist on the piano named Mitsuko Uchida. This piece consisted of an introducing recitative with an insertion of an aria. It was in rondo form and varied between homophony and polyphony. It went really well with the story. The story was of Idamante who insists that he will remain true to his love Ilia and resist the pressure to proclaim his affections for Elettra. The piece was very sad and somber at times. You could feel the heart ache and pain through the violins and the clarinets. The most touching part of the piece in my opinion, was when the solo soprano sang the ling "Fear nothing, my beloved/ my heart will always be yours." This piece did such justice to the music being played. With instruments such as clarinets, bassoons, horns, violins, violas, a solo soprano, and a solo pianist accompanying the words - it meshed perfectly. There