Concert Review

Concert Review #1

On September 24, 2007 I attended a concert performed by the University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra. The program, led by Maestro Pu-Qi Jiang, consisted of three pieces of music. Before starting, the maestro introduced his orchestra and I was surprised to find out that 40% were new students. Having not been to an Orchestral concert in many, many years I was excited to hear the talent we have on our campus.

The first piece of music played was the пÑ--Ð...Overture to RienziпÑ--Ð... composed by Richard Wagner. Wagner composed this piece as a Grand Opera full of exciting battle scenes. It was based off Edward Bulwer-LyttonпÑ--Ð...s novel Rienzi. The piece began with a trumpet playing alone. This is said to be the call that signals RienziпÑ--Ð...s call to revolt in the opera. It was a very powerful call and helped paint a picture in my head of what the scene in the opera was like. As the rest of the orchestra joined in, the tone alternated from loud and exciting to slow and somber. The strings section played vigorously which made the piece aesthetically fun to watch. All of the bows were moving in sync at such a fast pace and you could see the musicians getting into the music. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece because it kept my attention well. I was greatly mesmerized by all of the different sounds coming together to form such a beautiful piece of work. What I found interesting was that if I watched one person, I could hear them playing. For example, I watched the student playing the timpani and it was as if I was able to tune everything else out and just hear his part. This piece was probably my favorite of the entire performance. I felt myself get lost in the music with no sense of how much time had passed.

Composed by Carl Maria von Weber, the second piece of music played was пÑ--Ð...Andante and Rondo Ungarese, op.35пÑ--Ð.... Although originally written for the viola and orchestra, Weber rewrote the song for a bassoon. The Memphis Orchestra had Professor Lecolion Washington as a guest bassoon player. For this piece the strings, French horn, bassoon, oboe, flute, timpani, and trumpet played. In the beginning, the strings plucked in the background. The bassoon had numerous solos and at times the orchestra and bassoon would alternate playing. It was almost as if the rest of the orchestra was repeating what the bassoon was playing. The bassoon solos were extremely upbeat. Because the bassoon is not an instrument many people usually hear, it was neat to have it be the basis for the piece. In my opinion, this piece accented the character of the bassoon well. Professor Washington is an extremely skilled bassoonist and it was fun listening to him play.

The third and final piece was a three part пÑ--Ð...Symphony in D MinorпÑ--Ð... composed by Cesar Franck. Back