Orchestra Concert Review Essay

A Brilliant Piece by Mahler For our second Assignment of Renegade Thought, I chose to attend the Symphony No. 1 in D, "Titan," written by Gustav Mahler. The concert was held in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Center downtown on September 24, 2009. The conductor of this performance was named Jaap van Zweden, and the first part of the show featured a cello soloist named Nina Kotova. Although this was my first experience going to a symphony performance, overall I found the concert to be surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable. As I entered the concert hall I was overwhelmed by how large the building was. A large elevated stage sits in front of a large floor seating section. The balcony seating, much similar to stadium seating, which extended
As the concert begins, the lights dim, and the orchestra is already in there seats waiting to begin the show. The conductor as well as the soloist slowly make their way to the center of the stage, and are met with applause from the audience. The woman soloist takes a seat in the middle of the stage and prepares to begin the "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra." As the concert begins the drums start off the first movement, creating a soft deep beat that begins to establish the meter of the piece. Yet this beat slowly fades away and is followed by the soloist responding to this in a similar tempo, which also slowly fades away. The soloist then slowly begins to play again, developing the rhythm and melody that appear throughout the first movement. After a brief period of playing alone, the soloist is accompanied by the rest of the orchestra, who help create a background to what the soloist is playing, and further emphasize what she is playing. The soloist somewhat leads the orchestra, who responds to what she plays in a similar melody and tempo. Yet this is something that does not continue throughout the piece. As second movement begins, the orchestra no longer responds to what the soloist is playing.