The environment was calm, the air crisp and fresh with the aroma of aged wood and leather. A single piano was on stage surrounded by organ pipes as décor. The subtle whispers faded the lights dimmed and out came the two female musical artists to the stage. Thus began my first experience of attending a classical music concert. The performance took place at the Juilliard School in their Paul recital hall. It was conducted with a Piano played by Yi-Fang Huang and a Viola played by Ieong Cheng Ho. The music played was pieces from Schumann, Rochberg, Penderecki, Prokofiev and Handel-Halvorsen. The selection was very interesting because each one was very different from the other.
One of the things that I was really impressed by was how well the dynamics of the viola and piano made the overall experience interesting. I had never seen someone play a viola and to see it used alongside a piano gave me a good understanding of the instrument. Before the concert I could not have told you the differences between a viola and a violin. The timbre is different and the sound from a viola I felt was a bit deeper.
Also one thing that really stuck out to me was the way the performers moved as they played. They jerked and moved with every note and tune. To me it looked as if they were feeling each note as they played. I was mesmerized by this and not just because they were females but because you visually saw the passion they had for what they were doing. I have been to rap concerts and seen artist walk, jump , jerk and throw their arms up I always thought that was uniquely theirs. After watching them perform I don’t think any artist could really perform their work without their bodies “feeling “the music. I cannot picture the classical concert played any other way.
I also noticed the attire that they had on. The pianist wore a very subtle outfit, white blouse and black slacks. The viola player’s attire was completely different. She wore a very elegant blue gown with materials that glimmered as she performed. It was a beautiful sight but I could not understand why such a difference in each. I then realized that she is center stage and she must be the center of attention, not just in her performance but visually. When I made that connection I then noticed how the pianist would not begin playing until acknowledged by the violist. It was her performance and the piano was her “backup singer”. I was delighted to realize that my thoughts were validated by the program for the performance. The young violist was the recipient of two prestigious scholarships and this was her concert.
As I sat in my seat and listened to the performance I looked around and saw who was in attendance. Their was a wide range of people enjoying the performance. I noticed several elderly people intently watching and several young people too. I realized I was trying to figure out who was here for what. Is someone here to evaluate her performance, are some of the young people here also students like me and could the elderly people present be professors. I stopped and took a deep breath, focused on the beautiful melody being played and instantly was sucked back in to the performance.
The performance
