Serenade For Strings Orchestra
On Tuesday, November 15, 2016, Auburn University’s music department presented an orchestral concert in the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. The art museum, with classical stone architecture, created a great aesthetic and acoustic venue for the orchestra. Howard Goldstein, the music director for the orchestra and conductor for the night, currently works as a Professor of Music at Auburn University. Dr.Goldstein decided to perform three pieces composed by Wirén, Mozart, and Schubert.
To open the concert, the orchestra performed the Serenade for Strings Orchestra, composed by Dag Wirén. Dag Wirén was a composer from Sweden that lived during the modern age of music. The Serenade for Strings is considered one of Wirén’s most famous works.
Although Wirén lived through the modern age of music, his orchestral music is greatly influenced by romantic and classical music.
The first of the four movements, Preludium, featured a major tonality and a lively melody, while in contrast the second movement created a darker, minor tonality by utilizing the stringed instrument’s plucking. Throughout the first movement, Wirén uses the stringed instruments to create a suspenseful melody that reminded me of Richard Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries. Following those phrases the orchestra would lighten the mood with joyful chords. The third movement was more aggressive and featured an allegro tempo, while the fourth movement finished the work with a standard march.
Following the modern composer, the performance moved back in time with Mozart’s Concerto No.2, in E-flat Major. Mozart, the most well known of the composers from this performance, wrote music during the classical era and this work was no exception. This piece features lively melody, which unlike the Baroque era the melody is simple. The melody within the three movements was tossed between a horn soloist and the orchestra.
The soloist featured with the orchestra was William Schaffer, an Associate Professor of Music who performs with numerous brass ensembles. When Dr.Schaffer would control the melody, he would hold long eloquent chords with the orchestra followed by short exciting runs of notes. The third movement of the work, Rondo, had an allegro tempo and joyous feel due to the movement being in a major key.
To conclude the night, the orchestra performed Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, which was composed by Franz Schubert. Schubert wrote music with a classical style although he lived through the romantic era as well as the classical era. The orchestral work’s first of four movements begins with an allegro melody in a major key. Suddenly the music will crescendo from piano to an aggressive fortissimo that causes a suspenseful feeling. In contrast, the second movement slows down the tempo and features beautiful harmonies. The third movement took on a more minor tonality that created a darker and more suspenseful mood. Finally, the last movement pulled all the melodies that were introduced in the earlier movements together into an eloquent conclusion to the night.
Although classical music does not appear in my personal playlists, I enjoyed listening to a great performance of three orchestral works. Furthermore, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art was a great venue to present Classical era works. Dag Wirén’s Serenade for Strings Orchestra opened the night with suspenseful phrases followed by joyful chords and harmonies. The second piece, Mozart’s Concerto No.2 in E-flat Major, featured the French horn soloist William Schaffer. Finally, to conclude the night the orchestra performed Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, which included a roller coaster of different tonalities and dynamics. In conclusion, I enjoyed the concert and thought the music was interesting and performed excellently, especially the soloist Dr.Schaffer.
To open the concert, the orchestra performed the Serenade for Strings Orchestra, composed by Dag Wirén. Dag Wirén was a composer from Sweden that lived during the modern age of music. The Serenade for Strings is considered one of Wirén’s most famous works.
Although Wirén lived through the modern age of music, his orchestral music is greatly influenced by romantic and classical music.
The first of the four movements, Preludium, featured a major tonality and a lively melody, while in contrast the second movement created a darker, minor tonality by utilizing the stringed instrument’s plucking. Throughout the first movement, Wirén uses the stringed instruments to create a suspenseful melody that reminded me of Richard Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries. Following those phrases the orchestra would lighten the mood with joyful chords. The third movement was more aggressive and featured an allegro tempo, while the fourth movement finished the work with a standard march.
Following the modern composer, the performance moved back in time with Mozart’s Concerto No.2, in E-flat Major. Mozart, the most well known of the composers from this performance, wrote music during the classical era and this work was no exception. This piece features lively melody, which unlike the Baroque era the melody is simple. The melody within the three movements was tossed between a horn soloist and the orchestra.
The soloist featured with the orchestra was William Schaffer, an Associate Professor of Music who performs with numerous brass ensembles. When Dr.Schaffer would control the melody, he would hold long eloquent chords with the orchestra followed by short exciting runs of notes. The third movement of the work, Rondo, had an allegro tempo and joyous feel due to the movement being in a major key.
To conclude the night, the orchestra performed Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, which was composed by Franz Schubert. Schubert wrote music with a classical style although he lived through the romantic era as well as the classical era. The orchestral work’s first of four movements begins with an allegro melody in a major key. Suddenly the music will crescendo from piano to an aggressive fortissimo that causes a suspenseful feeling. In contrast, the second movement slows down the tempo and features beautiful harmonies. The third movement took on a more minor tonality that created a darker and more suspenseful mood. Finally, the last movement pulled all the melodies that were introduced in the earlier movements together into an eloquent conclusion to the night.
Although classical music does not appear in my personal playlists, I enjoyed listening to a great performance of three orchestral works. Furthermore, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art was a great venue to present Classical era works. Dag Wirén’s Serenade for Strings Orchestra opened the night with suspenseful phrases followed by joyful chords and harmonies. The second piece, Mozart’s Concerto No.2 in E-flat Major, featured the French horn soloist William Schaffer. Finally, to conclude the night the orchestra performed Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, which included a roller coaster of different tonalities and dynamics. In conclusion, I enjoyed the concert and thought the music was interesting and performed excellently, especially the soloist Dr.Schaffer.