It has only been two days so far and I have already learned and experienced so much! Yesterday was quite fun, besides the long flight and frantic commute to the hotel. Last night was such an amazing experience hearing the New York Philharmonic. It's been a while since I've heard a full professional orchestra play, and my, do I miss it. It was very inspiring. We heard two newer pieces, one composed in 2000 and a piano concerto premiered last year. I really enjoyed the first piece, entitled "Rapture" by Christopher Rouse, particularly in the colorful orchestration, which was brought out spectacularly by the Philharmonic, under the direction of Alan Gilbert. The piano concerto I had a tough time grasping the pacing of the pieces. There were nice moments but I am not sure I understand the structure of the piece, I would need to listen a few more times (it was the second concerto by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg). But the real highlight of the evening was Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. I was so entranced by the orchestra's version of this piece. It was particularly inspiring because I have never heard this piece in its entirety (or at least not enough to know it well), and yet I still was captivated and moved by the performance and felt like I understood the piece and what it was saying, as if I had known if for years. I understood the structure, the pacing, the phrasing of the melodic material; all was communicated clearly and effectively. I am absolutely amazed, and Alan Gilbert moves up on my list of favorite conductors. As a conductor that is stepping into the shoes of Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, and Bruno Walter, he does not fall short. My eyes were fixed on him the whole performance, and it was amazing what he could do just by waving his arms. His preps were particularly amazing - I could tell what it was going to sound like before it sounded, just by watching his back even. Easily one of the best concerts and most inspiring that I have ever been to. It further confirmed that I want to be a conductor as well as a composer. I want to be able to communicate music to other people just like I experienced to tonight through Maestro Gilbert.
Today was also filled with learning. I had a talk with singer Caroline Worra, observed a Paul Taylor Dance Company rehearsal, observed Jonathan's lesson with oboist Elaine Duvas, and saw the off-Broadway show "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812." These were all great activities that I learned so much about musicality, living as an artist, having a career in music, and seeing music of all kinds in the city. "Natasha" was a great interactive theatre piece that had great elements of opera embedded within, and so it was great to hear some new works (the piece was premiered in 2011) in the contemporary theatre world and how they sound.
I am finding that I am pretty used to the city already: I am comfortable getting around, I don't feel out of place, and I get annoyed at large groups of people standing around and not moving, especially when I was around Times Square this evening. This is interesting, as I have only been here for two days, so I can't wait to see how I feel by the end of the week.
That's all for tonight. Super excited for tomorrow's activities!
-Jordan
No comments:
Post a Comment