My Love for Beethoven

I went to my classical music concert on December 2, 2018 at 1 PM! It was through the Colorado Symphony at the Boettcher Concert Hall. I arrived to see an All Beethoven performance with Hans Graf as the conductor and Inon Barnatan as the pianist. It consisted of Overture to Egmont, Op. 84; Piano Concerto No, 3 in C minor, Op. 37allegro con brio, largo, rondo: allegro; and Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, Pastoral. I have never been to an orchestra type concert so this was my very first time. Upon arriving downtown, the streets surrounding the concert hall were very crowded. It was a congested area and took a while to drive only a couple blocks to park in the halls parking garage. There were people of all agesyounger, middle aged, older, couples, families with kids. Everyone was dressed nicely. My ticket was scanned and I was led to my seat by a concert hall employee. I was told that I could only step out during intermission. I took a few pictures and a very short video because as I was taking the video, the announcer stated that taking pictures was not allowed. The stage was in the center with seats all around the stages at 360?‚°. The concert hall was about 50% packed, I imagine it being a Sunday afternoon had a lot to do with it. This was the final concert in a total of three showingsthe first and second having been on Friday and Saturday at 7 PM. The composer for all three pieces was Beethoven! The first piece performed was Overture to Egmont, Op. 84. It consists of a triple meter, polyphonic texture, and diatonic scale. It is a triple meter because it starts out as the beat being strong, weak, weak. This piece was performed by a full symphony orchestra and held parts for instruments of all groups (i.e. strings, winds, brass).This piece is about the Count Egmont story, the Netherlands revolution against the Spanish inquisition in the 16th century. The theme of this piece is victory. Form of AABA was used by him and the tonality of this piece is in F major. I really enjoyed the piece, I felt there was an intensity and darkness within this piece particularly the low volume of the cello/strings initially. It is interesting to hear the combination of music and history within this piece. This piece was very well done and you can hear the theme being followed really well throughout. I especially loved the ending. The second piece performed was Piano Concerto No, 3 in C minor, Op. 37. This piece consisted of three movements (allegro con brio, largo, rondo allegro) and was about ~ 34 minutes long. The solo piano portion was completed by Inon Barnatan. Other instruments in this piece included was stringsviolins, cellos, trumpets, oboes, flutes, clarinets, horns, timpani, and bassoons. The strings introduce the theme and are used throughout the movement of allegro con brio. Although I enjoyed the first piece the best I also liked this piece. The orchestra was louder and more dramatized whereas the piano solo was softer and added a beautiful element to the piecethe back and forth from the orchestra to the piano was well done and a beautiful transition. I liked how Inon Barnatan swayed his body with the music. You could see his body posture and facial expressions matching the emotions of the music. Lastly, the piece played was Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, Pastoral which was also the longest of about ~45 minutes. After the first two pieces there was an intermission then this was performed. This piece consisted of five movements each movement receiving a title. The instruments consisted of woodwinds, strings, percussion, and brass. This piece depicts elements/scenes from nature. The first movement is in sonata form, and it is happy and very cheerful with great orchestral textures/harmonies. The second movement showcases the calling of birds with the use of the woodwinds. The third movement displays a fun folk dance, similar to the first movement in terms of repetition. The fourth movement depicts a thunderstorm which starts building in intensity from a nice, calm rain to loud thundering. The final movement returns to its home key of F major and is in sonata rondo form. After the climax, the listener is returned to the peaceful, tranquil environment of the first piece. I was initially liking the first piece performed the most but after hearing this oneit became my favorite! I loved this piece the most. It painted a beautiful picture and showcased the picture painting aspect of music that we've discussed in class. It was rather calm and peaceful initially but then dramatized ultimately returning to the calm scenery. Overall, I really enjoyed this concert. It was a brand new experience for me. It was interesting to see the orchestra set-up, the playing of instruments in unison, the musicians kept turning the pages to the music paper in front of them which I thought was cool because it's cool that they are able to read music. It seems difficult and they followed along perfectly. I had previously listened to these pieces on YouTube for this class so hearing it in person intensified the emotions I felt. At some points, I got chills because of how powerful the music was. The conductor and pianist were wonderful. I went alone to the concert but had such a great time that I plan on taking my girlfriend sometime soon to share a symphony experience. This enhanced my love for Beethoven and brought forward even more so acknowledgement to how talented he was. His music is full of masterpieces. I particularly enjoy the visionary provided via the pieces. Thank you for this assignment, it was a breath of fresh air and wonderful new experience.

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