Summary: Gramophone Concert

The concert that I chose to attend was the Gramophone award winners, Pavel Haas Quartet. Veronika Jaruskova, Marek Zxiebel, Pavel Nikl, and Peter Jarusek were the musicians. They were all very talented. Their movements were amazing and no matter the difficulty, they stayed in time with one another. The songs they chose to perform were Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 50 by the composer Prokofiev, Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 “Serioso” by Beethoven, and Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102 by Bartok. All these pieces were amazing both in difficulty and sound. The first piece by Prokofiev was very intense. The opening was very fast pace. It also contained minor notes that almost seemed like the instruments were out of tune. It was a very disjunct piece in the fact that it went between minor and major notes and loud and soft tempos. The melody was very dark but seemed to have a lighter side once the timbre of the piece began to calm. The piece had a singular melody that it returned to but would also break from the melody in almost an urgent and terrifying manor. This piece was not particularly one I enjoyed. The second piece by Beethoven was a bit more put together than Prokofiev’s piece. It was still a very intense melody that reminded me of fluttering birds. The tempo and pitch would often change from soft to loud in almost the same manor or Prokofiev’s
I have never heard such music as this and watch the players articulate the movements and timing necessary to be able to play such difficult pieces as these. Their sound was like a whole orchestra playing with them but it was only four players. It was a whole new experience for me. These pieces were beautiful but I guess I just didn’t have an ear for the changes in pitch and frequency. It was quite odd but also added to the pieces. I can’t wait to go to other concerts. The atmosphere is unlike any other. This experience unmatched by other concert experiences I’ve