This assignment will require you to attend an online or in-person concert- (info and links will be provided) to help you start your search. You are to report on the concert, using musical terminology to describe what you hear. Be specific (use timestamps), talk about every work (or every movement of a multi-movement work), and feel free to consult outside sources to learn more about a specific piece.
Here are some sample questions: Who played? What kind of ensembles (if any) Did you come across any composers, pieces, or genres that we covered in class? Was the program organized around a certain composer, time period, country, or style? Describe the works in terms of dynamics, tempo, timbre, mood or feeling. If the piece has movements, how do the movements relate? What time period is each piece from? Is the piece absolute or programmatic (this might take a quick search)? Do you know anything about the composer, and if not, are they connected to or influenced by a composer that we did cover? Please give your personal opinions as well- did you enjoy the experience? What pieces did you enjoy over others? What timbres or compositional techniques are interesting to you? What did you notice about the performer(s) or instrument(s)? I want to see both analysis of what you hear and each pieces context within music history.
Guidelines: Report on approximately 60-80 minutes of music. 5-7 pages, double spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Cite (MLA or Chicago both fine) if you use outside sources.
Here are some places to get started in looking for music for your concert report. This report is on Western art (classical) music, so pop concerts and Broadway for example do not qualify.
-Juilliard Digital Archives: http://jmedia.juilliard.edu/digital/collection/p16995coll3
-Juilliards livestream event calendar: https://www.juilliard.edu/stage-beyond/performance/calendar
YouTube accounts of musical institutions, such as:
-https://www.youtube.com/user/hrSinfonieorchester/videos
-https://www.youtube.com/c/laphil/videos
An example of what she is expecting on how it should be written:
This is a quick write-up of a movement of a Mozart string quartet played by Alexander String Quartet. The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlTpMNi_IVA&ab_channel=BesenartsLLC (excerpt starts at 3:32):
Next, I decided to listen to a string quartet. The string quartet is a genre of chamber music, made up of two violins, a viola, and a cello. This particular string quartet was called the Alexander String Quartet, and they played the first movement of Mozarts String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat Major, K. 458 (The Hunt). The movements title is Allegro vivace assai, which means that its a fast movement, since Allegro and Vivace are both fast tempo markings. This movement is in sonata-allegro form, which means that it has three main sections: the exposition, development, and recapitulation.
The movement is in triple meter and resembled a lively dance. From the very beginning, the first violin quickly took over the melody line. It seemed like the first violin was the leader of the group. The second time I heard the theme, the first violin played a trill while the other members got a turn playing the melody. Any time the first violin took a break, the second violin and viola were eager to have the spotlight! At around 4:40 the quartet members passed around a figuration from left to right and back around, which showed the humor and lightheartedness in the piece.
In the development, I noticed some different harmonies, some of which were in minor to contrast with the major melodies in the exposition. The development was quite short, and the return to the first theme in the recapitulation was a relief after being away from familiar material. It seemed that the musicians were happy to be back as well! Near the end, the musicians tricked me with a fake ending at 9:18- I thought the piece was over, but it wasnt quite yet. They wanted to play the melody again a few times before finishing. The last two notes of the piece were definitive and monophonic, as if to say Were. Done!
I liked this piece because it didnt seem too serious, and I could watch the musicians interacting and enjoying playing. The violists instrument looked different from the violins, so it was easy to tell all the players apart. Since this first movement was fast, Id expect the next movement to be slow to contrast, but I decided that the movement worked as a standalone piece for the assignment as well.
Teachers response:
This bit was for about 7 minutes of music, but you dont have to write in such detail for everything you hear. Some things will be easier to describe than others, and some pieces might have a special background that you want to include (like Beethoven describing the first four notes of the 5th Symphony as fate knocking on the door). Also, feel free to do a quick Google search on the pieces if you want to know more, or if you feel like you dont have enough info- just make sure to please, please please cite your sources.
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Everything above was copy and pasted from my teachers instructions. She also mentioned that you dont have to listen to one piece that is 60-80 minutes, but you can divide it up. meaning listen to one piece thats 10 minutes, then another thats 5 minutes and so on. but you must anaylze each piece you listen do in detail as described above.
