3. Name of ensemble(s) performing: Albuquerque Youth Symphony included string ensembles of the Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass, and. The Woodwinds Ensemble included the Flute-Piccolo, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon; Brass Ensemble included the French horn, Trumpet, Trombone, and the Tuba. As well as the Percussion ensemble. As well as a Keyboard ensemble the Harp…
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the best known songs in The Nutcracker. Miles Hoffman, the music commentator for Morning Edition and a nationally renowned violinist, once stated, “And many of them [Tchaikovsky’s melodies] in this - just in this one ballet [The Nutcracker]- are immortal” (Hoffman). Tchaikovsky first began work on the music to the now internationally renowned ballet in February 1891 (Schwarm). While in Paris that year, he heard an instrument called the celesta, whose name is derived from the word celestial, being played, and thought its unique, twinkly sound would be perfect for the music of the fairy-tale ballet he was working on. This instrument is used as the melody in the song “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” (“History of Nutcracker”). In March 1892, selections from the orchestral suite were performed for the first time; however, the ballet, based on Alexandre Dumas’ lighter adaption of the fantasy story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by E.T.A. Hoffman, premiered on December 18, 1892 along with Tchaikovsky’s opera, Iolanta, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia (Schwarm). Originally, the ballet was not popular; however, it…
In the article "Homeland" by Anna Maria Dell'oso, the issue of identity; in particular, cultural identity, is thoroughly explored by the composer. It is mainly about how identity is passed on from generation to generation, changes over time and is influenced by a person's surroundings. The composer conveys this through her use of symbolism and sharp and often humourous contrast. It is about her search to find her Italian identity, while at the same time her mother loses some of her Italian identity because of changes influenced by time and surroundings.…
Igor Stravinsky was third of a family of four boys. He grew up hearing his father practicing his opera and attending local ballets. He also started taking piano lessons when he was 9 years old and continued on with musical notation and composition instruction. All throughout his early life he studied music. However, although he had been brought up with music and loved it dearly, his parents did not want him to pursue a musical career. His background was musical. His parents viewed his efforts as a musician as childish, but on the other hand indulged him in it with the piano and the operas and the ballets. In 1902 he was sent to St. Petersburg University to study criminal law and legal philosophy to honor his parents' wishes. While he was there, he still concentrated on his music and especially his composing. In the summer of 1902 he was introduced to the Russian composer, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky was extremely impressed with Stravinsky's early compositions that he convinced him not to enter the conservatory for academic training, but to study privately with him as his teacher. He was tutored privately by Rimsky in instrumentation and orchestration for about three years. In 1905, Stravinsky graduated from the St. Petersburg University. In the meantime, he continued his studies with Rimsky. The next year, his mind still not made up about becoming a professional musician, he married his second cousin, Catherine Nossenko.…
The world of The Nutcracker can’t be completed without the music score from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a famous Russian composer who also wrote the Swan Lake. The two main sources of hearing for the audience are from the storyteller, and the classical music from Tchaikovsky. One of his most famous works for the Nutcracker is Op. 71a 11. b. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The soothing music goes well with all the graceful and beautiful movements. The Nutcracker and its music is surely a great introduction to ballet and classical music to a newbie like…
My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke is a short poem describing the relationship between a young child and his father. While it is easy to assume that the dad is an abusive alcoholic because "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy" or "You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt. " I see this poem as playful. The father has palms caked hard by dirt because he works a manual laboring job and by the time he gets home it is bedtime for the little boy. The dad would like to "waltz" with his child before he is shooed off to bed.…
Bela graduated from grammar school in 1899. Up to 1903, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of music in Budapest. At this academy Bela met Zoltan Kodaly, who totally influenced him, and remained his life long friend and colleague. His first major orchestral work, a symphonic poem, ‘Kossuth’, honoring Lajos Kossuth, the hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, came out in 1903.[2]…
many accomplishments and overcame many obstacles to become one of the greatest musical composers in history. He wrote many amazing works that are still performed often today and his music slingshotted society into the next period of music, the romantic…
He was also one of the first composers to engage in a systematic program of experimental music, with many different musical techniques. These techniques included tone clusters, polytonality, polyrhythm, quarter…
Tchaikovsky was a respected musician of his time and was well-suited to accomplish this task. His sensitivity and excitable temperament, was so freely expressed in his music. By the age of 23, he had devoted himself entirely to music up until now. Living in poverty, he worked so hard that he suffered greatly from, depression and insomnia, with frequent nightmares. His great gift for melody, brilliant orchestral colour and strong emotional expression, delighted audiences.…
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was a very interesting song; there were many changes through out the piece. It started out sounding like a battle symphony where Tchaikovsky used the instruments to make a choppy sound, which reminded me of a march, as well as gun sounds. He has a great use of crescendo at the beginning. Along with increasing the sound level he also increases the tempo and brings the piece into a dramatic point as all of the instruments join. This includes many different types of instruments: orchestra, woodwind, and percussion. This composer also has a great use of repetition, in the first minute of the song he repeats small sections with the same instrument, but as the song develops he makes this more complicated and repeats longer sections and changes instruments each time. I really like this style because it allows the listener to hear each instrument individually, which is rarely done in a song. Drums are used to keep the beat in this section of the piece, which makes the battle feeling stronger and alludes to a heartbeat sound. But it is really the trumpets that stand out in the song and give the beginning of the battle presentation. After the repetition involving different instruments the song begins a decrescendo, this is a great transition into the next big change in the music. A dramatic shift happens and the music turns into a soft, smooth melodic tune that you would dance to at a ball. There is the use of a tiny bell sound that lightens the mood. The notes in this section are much longer and smoother than previously. Also, the woodwinds were taken out during this section and we only hear orchestra. I did not particularly enjoy this song until it transitioned in such a dramatic way; I have never heard such a transition in a piece where it goes from a battle theme to a ball dance theme. This…
His teaching methods influenced and inspired his students and revolutionised keyboard technique for many generations of musicians and musical…
in music in his youth and wrote an orchestral overture at seventeen that was performed…
The first song I heard is Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is written at 1880, a romantic period music. It is a sonata allegro form, which consist an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. However, it is hard for me to find connection between three parts when I was at the concert. Moreover, I did not realize there is three parts until I did the research after the concert. I was really into music and picturing the Romeo and Julia scene in my mind when I heard the symphony playing this piece.…
One of the most famous composers was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756, Mozart was a born prodigy. He mastered the keyboard at 5 and was a self taught violin play wrote hundreds of symphonies and many…