Cultural Activity

1.      What play or musical did you attend?

a.       On April 1, 2012 I went to a showcase concert featuring three songs, “Suite for solo cello no. 3 in C major, BWV 1009,” by J.S. Bach. “Sonata for violin and Piano in A Major, op. 100” by Johannes Brahms, and “Piano trio in E-flat Major op. 1 no.1” by Ludwig van Beethoven. This concert was at the University Of Utah School Of Music and the performers were Elliot Cheney, Ralph Matson, Heather Conner, and Stephen Emerson.

2.      Give a summary of the description of the works you heard. (150 words)

a.       The works I heard in my mind fall under the classical genre. Beethoven is the very thing that comes in my mind when I think of this genre, because he was such a talented and prominent performer and composer of his time period.  The piano is also associated with classical music but surprisingly the first song did not feature the piano only the Cello. This piece was performed by Elliot Cheney and I was shocked because I was honestly expecting this to be a piano recital. This song was in minor and very depressing to listen to. This song also sound nasally and dark—what a combination. The second song was pretty similar but it had four movements that shifted from major to minor. It was a little bit more upbeat than the first song but it was quite similar which made me feel depressed just listening to it. The third song was much happier than the others thank goodness.

3.      Would you say this was a poor /fair /good /high quality performance? Why? Justify your answer. Did you notice any mistakes or problems?

a.       I would consider this a fair concert. Given that this was a concert that would be hard to pull off. To perform songs of some of the three most prominent composers of the classical period would be very challenging. I just did not feel the energy in the performers. This told me they were not having fun and that always detracts the performance in my eyes. The instruments also sounded funny to me. This was especially true with the cello. I don’t know if it was because I am just not used to the cello but I did not enjoy the sound. I am not a music expert and do not play an instrument but it almost sounded to me that the cellos ere out of tune. As the performer was running the bow across the strings it sounded harsh. I don’t know but I like it when music is smooth and flowing not harsh and brittle.

4.      What did you find out about the background of the works, composers, artists, or others connected with this production? (100 words)

a.       The artists in this performance were faculty in the music department of the University of Utah. The composers of the songs performed are what is the coolest about this performance. The three composers are J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms. J.S. Bach lived from 1685-1750 in Ernestine Saxon Duchies. In his lifetime Bach is said to have composed over on thousand pieces of music. Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most known composers of his time. He is especially regarded because he composed his music even though he was deaf.  He lived from 1770 to 1827. Finally, Johannes Brahms lived from 1833 to 1897.

5.      What was your personal reaction to this performance? (250)

a.       My personal reaction to this performance was a little bit negative. Although I realize this would an incredibly hard concert to put I just felt like it could have been better. I know that sounds awful because I could never play the instruments featured at this concert let alone any of the songs that were played. The songs that were played were by Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven. These are some of the greatest composers ever. Without them I do not think that music could be where it is today. But even though this would be hard to perform it would be hard to say that this performance was good enough to feature these three great composers. I do not if the performers were nervous or maybe they just did not rehearse enough but something was not right with this performance. I have said before that I thought it was the instruments they did not sound like they were in tune. I do not know how to tell that however but they did not sound right they were very harsh especially the cello. In my music class we learned that instruments do not well in the cold and the room was a little chilly so I began to wonder if that was why the instruments did not sound right. But all I know is that it did not want to listen to the first song anymore it kind of resembled nails on a chalk board and not only that it was very depressing, This was over all not a terrific performance.

6.      Would you recommend this performance or musical group to others? Why or Why not? (100 words)

a.       I would recommend the songs and composers in this concert because they were so prominent and important in their time. I would not however suggest this performance. Given that the performers were not professional musicians or famous. But it was just no up to par and therefore not that enjoyable. I was expecting it to be more enjoyable and fun I guess than it was. I do however feel that if the instruments were better the performance would have been a lot better. The instruments sounded out of tune and that is not a fun thing to listen to. 

7.      Would you enjoy attending this type of event again? /why or Why not? (100 words)

a.       I would not enjoy attending an event like this again. I mean it was a thing that kind of enlightens someone but there are just so much better things that could be done in the hour and half that the concert went on. I felt like I could have been doing homework or watching Dirty Dancing. Unfortunately I have a SLCC Music 1010 class where unfortunately I have do five of these. I have only one left but it is still kind of disappointing to think that I have to sit through another one of these again this will be the fifth within at least two months that is a lot of classical music concerts!