The true mark of a NYCB devotee is how much they look forward to the all-Stravinsky programs. The leotard ballets and spiky scores can still bring the jitters in people who adore Jewels, Serenade or Theme and Variations, but if just the thought of that diagonal of soldier-girls in Symphony in Three Movements gives you the tingles, then I'd say you're all in. So it's fitting that NYCB ended its winter season with an excellent all-Stravinsky/Balanchine bill of the rarely performed Divertimento From Baiser de la Fée and long with repertory staples Agon, Duo Concertant, and Symphony in Three Movements. For one, it's a test of the company's resilience. It's also a test of the audiences' loyalty.
“How We Listen” begins by providing us with a detailed description of Aaron Copland’s background and accomplishments, then moves on to briefly describe his views and ideas that are expressed in the rest of the passage. In the introduction, we are presented with Copland’s theory that divides the activity of listening to music (specifically the classical genre) into three categories; sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. The sensuous plane allows the listener to simply relax, take in, and appreciate the beauty of the music.
In the book, Symphony for the City of the Dead, by M.T. Anderson, the author accentuates the composer, Dmitri Shostakovich, to describe the composer’s devotion for his city and country. The novel was set during 1905-1975 in northern Europe and western Russia. When Shostakovich lived in Leningrad, Russia, during World War 2, he wrote symphonies. He expressed his feelings of horror and hope for Russia's victory against the Nazi power in his symphonies. Although, his seventh symphony was the most significant to all globally in this time of war.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has become a household name throughout the entire world. Not only do people flock to see his shows, but the pure fact that people outside of the theatre world know the composer of certain musicals is an accomplishment in itself. He has changed the musical theatre world. Some call him a “Broadway master” because his musical Phantom of the Opera surpassed his own record for the musical Cats to now hold the record for the longest running musical on Broadway as well as London’s West End ( Snelson 1).
For years there has been a debate on who is the top predator in the ocean. Of course the shark is an easy choice but recently in the last couple years the killer whale has emerged as a challenge towards the Great White. The Killer whale is a worthy opponent towards the great white do to its bigger size and better and smarter hunting techniques. As history has shown great whites as dominant and scary they have been to the ocean as the apex predator they have been known to be the killer whales prey. When killer whales have attacked sharks they have turned the sharks upside down.
Tolstoy’s ability to interweave the environment with themes of materialism and death makes The Death of Ivan Ilych stand out as a piece that criticizes societal values. In his article “Tolstoy and the Moran Instructions of Death,” Dennis Sansom focuses on the influence of fighting chaos in Ivan’s eventual acceptance of his own death. Socrates wrote, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” and Ivan’s life mirrored this until the end (qtd. in Sansom 417) .
Composer Igor Stravinsky wrote an essay about orchestra conductors and his point of view on them. To express his opinion, he used many rhetorical strategies to further explain his thoughts. First, Stravinsky uses aphorism to illustrate a common belief; taking the belief that, “if you are unable to listen to the music”(43-44), at a concert then you can watch the conductor, but “if you are able, you had better not go to the concert”(45), he explains that people often mistake, “the conductor's gestures for the music’s meanings”(33-34). This shows that he views conductors as unessential and visually distracting to the audience. He even goes as far as to use the word, “corybantics”(44), to describe how conductors move.
David talked about a famous composer Leonard Bernstein’s work from a British perspective. For the British, they thought those American composers just too much praise how great they were in their work. Leonard Bernstein the American composer who were multi talented in musician. For his pieces Candide and West Side Story which performed in London, but those pieces received opposite comments. They thought Bernstein and American musicians had not lucid between ‘light’ and ‘serious’ music, and they did not respect music, because they did many musical and symphony together.
It is clear that each composer focuses polymodality according to his own experience, ideas, perceptions and even taste. The result is that sometimes they draw lines somewhere in grey areas difficult to
Discuss the innovations in the music of Stravinsky’s ‘Russian Period’ with specific reference to The Rite of Spring and at least one other work. Igor Stravinsky, born in Russia 1882, is widely know as one of the most influential composer of the 20th century. Most notably, his composition The Rite of Spring is considered to be where his innovations in music come into perspective. I will discuss these innovations in detail using The Rite of Spring(The Rite) as a main reference and comparing it to some of his other works. Stravinsky’s compositions can be divided into three periods during his life; Russian Period, Neo-classicism and Post-war/Serialism.
One event from American history that I wish to have experienced would be the opening night of Carnegie Hall in 1891. Carnegie Hall has been important in the development of American History; it is one of the most significant venues for classical as well as popular music in America. Musicians from all around the world come to Carnegie Hall to perform for its renowned acoustics and beauty. This exquisite concert hall, drawing the world’s greatest artists, has set the guidelines for excellence in music since it opened in 1891. It was Andrew Carnegie, himself, who said, “It is built to stand for ages, and during these ages it is probable that this Hall will intertwine itself with the history of our country.”
On November 28th, 2015 I attended Ben Stevenson’s version of The Nutcracker which was being performed by the Houston Ballet at the Wortham Theater Center. The dance featured two separate acts and multitude of dances as well as a live orchestra. The Nutcracker demonstrated the ability to unleash a multitude of emotions as well captivate its audience with music composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky of the Romantic era, usage of modern technologies and techniques such as lighting and special effects, as well as its wide variety of dance types such as solo dances, pas de deux, and large group dances with a focus on a central figure or couple. Despite dance being the primary subject, it is necessary to note the performance of the orchestra of Tchaikovsky’s
Compositional Innovations in Sergei Prokofiev’s Sarcasms Op.17 Abstract Consisting of five miniatures, the Sarcasms Op. 17 was composed in 1912-1914 and was one of Prokofiev’s early pieces during his years at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (1904-1914). His years in the conservatory helped him to establish his early style, which highly resembled that of his predecessors, romanticists Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, at the beginning of his career.
This essay analyses Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, and how this minimalistic piece of Steve Reich’s later days proves to be a work of an alternative paradigm to many of his other earlier works. Music for 18 Musicians is an alternative paradigm to Steve Reich’s earlier works in various aspects. These aspects include harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation, which will the elements described and explained in this
Introduction Roger’s and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is arguably one of the most well known films that many can admit to watching at least once in their lifetime. People all around the world have found this musical inspiring, as it documents growth and hope amidst the horrors of World War II. This incredibly well written film is based on the story of the Von Trapp family who escaped Austria when the Nazis invaded it during the war. Part of what made this movie so interesting on so many different accounts was the music that accompanied the vivid and exciting scenes. Without music, many could agree that our world would be a sad, quiet, dull and depressing place.
