Analysis Of The Boettcher Concert

“Music is enough for a whole lifetime¬— but a lifetime is not enough for music,” said Sergei Rachmaninoff (Bertensson p.335); the concert that took place in the Boettcher Concert Hall on October 10, 2014 allowed the audience to feel precisely that. An excellent performance presented by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and directed by the brilliant James Judd featured talented pianist Olga Kern. The eternal beauty of the performed music along with the outstanding virtuosity of the artists called the world of complex emotions into existence. The performance opened with Gustav Mahler’s Symphonic Movement Blumine, a short andante allegretto lyrical piece that was originally a second movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major but was rejected

103 in E-flat major, which he qualified as a tone poem, nicknamed “Drumroll” for the assertive opening timpani roll. The piece in standard for Classical period four-movement form created striking dramatic and noble impression. In the first movement the drumroll was followed by the suspenseful and mysterious opening theme played by bass instruments, with the woodwinds and then strings joining later to move on from adagio to allegro con spirito. The eminent andante più tosto allegretto second movement in theme and variations form varied between C minor and C major themes. The cheerful and zealous Menuet in the third movement was uplifting. The allegro con spirito finale in a sonata rondo form was alternating between pianissimo, piano, forte, and fortissimo in a prominent manner, creating drastic

3 in D minor, Op. 30. It started off with the modest diatonic melancholic melody that clearly possessed the Russian School influence, first stated by the strings and evolved by the piano. The orchestra responded to the theme set by the piano, and further developed it. The piano figurations became more complex as movement progressed on. The second theme opened with the quiet dialogue between the orchestra and solo piano. The piece then transformed into a slower theme. The movement exhibited multiple peaks, especially within cadenzas. Each cadenza led to a quiet section performed by horn, flute, and clarinet restating the first exposition theme. As the second cadenza quietly ended the piano proceeded with gentle solo play and led the piece to capitulation, which was restating the first theme played by piano and the orchestra together. The movements ended with the gentle quiet accurate