Nicole Kasyan Music 111 Professor Ferhiz Brewer January 27th 2018 Concert Report On Friday, January 26th 2018, at The Great Hall of The Valley’s Center for The Performing Arts at California State University of Northridge’s (CSUN), the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) performed under new conductor Thierry Fischer. The RPO just started the West Coast tour, so this performance was one on the list. The compositions chosen for this evening were Debussy’s Petite Suite, Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major and Stravinsky's "The Firebird" These three pieces were connected to different historical periods in the music history. It was easy to compare and contrast musical characteristics of each one, and to see how the number of orchestra’s members …show more content…
There was no space left on the scene. The violins’ section was extended by additional dozen of players. Three more violas, five additional cellos, a couple of French horns, trumpets, celesta and piano were added to the orchestra. It felt like something amazing and giant would be going in The Great Hall of The Valley’s Center for The Performing Arts. The second part of this evening performance was Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird (Complete Ballet Score). Stravinsky is most influential composer of early 20th-century music and the leader of musical avant-garde. The Firebird was the first ballet of young unknown Russian composer created on request of famous Russian ballet promoter Sergei …show more content…
The young man agreed to let the bird go in exchange of its magic feathers. Kastchey wanted to turn the Prince into a stone when Ivan was trying to escape with his loved Tsarevna. The Prince remembered the magic Firebird’s feather and waved it in the air. The bird told him that Kastchey’s soul lies inside an egg. By finding the egg and destroying Kastchey, Prince Ivan released all of his victims and united with Tsarevna. The music of this piece tells you everything and let your imagination to shine. You don’t need to see the stage if you know the story. This complex work is hard to write about. It consists of fifteen parts picturing the main events. Introduction – Molto moderato began on low muted strings followed with higher instruments from the rest of the orchestra. To describe The Enchanted Garden of Kastchey in the second part Stravinsky used chords on horns and beats on timpani. The strings continued to play the theme from the Introduction. Than the tempo of the melody suddenly changed, so did the mood of the melody, to let you imagine the appearance of the Firebird. A muted French horn solo introduced you to Prince Ivan. The fourth part, Dance of the Firebird – Allegro rapace feathered arpeggios on woodwind with rapid harp figurations and dance like melody. The change in the music texture and dynamics,