The orchestra began the concert with a piece called Les Préludes, penned by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. A very interesting technical aspect of the performance of this piece was the unified articulation of the first violin section. The pizzicato, as well as the spiccato was very clean - the first violins not only sounded like, but also looked like a single entity. The orchestra also demonstrated skillful instrumentation; there was a seamless call and response section in the middle of the piece between the wind instruments and the violins that demonstrated how well the orchestra built off of each other’s parts. Another interesting aspect of this performance was the excellent rhythm of the percussion section. As I sat towards the front, I could see most of the percussion section. I was awed by how concentrated the percussionists looked while they silently swayed to the rhythm. Though this observation is not specific to this piece alone, it made me consider how important …show more content…
5 by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. I really enjoyed the slower nature of this piece as it gave a break between the two faster-paced pieces. What particularly stood out to me in this piece was intonation. The deep and rolling melody of the first violins, combined with quiet dynamics was very soothing. I could always hear the violins, yet they weren’t overpowering the other parts. On the other hand, I observed that the intonation, as well as the articulation became muddled in the higher registers. I noticed that the various extended notes in the upper positions sounded a little bit choppy and lacked the fluidity of the rest of the piece. Adding on, the conclusion of this piece was very striking. The conductor ended the piece with an extended silence that kept the audience waiting in anticipation. Personally, I thought that the effect was a little confusing, but it created a very dramatic atmosphere in the