First concert in college

A few memorable and unforgettable things happened last week. Unfortunately, I had no time to write about them as I had to work on a paper.

(1) My first concert in this college. Being a music student, I have to join an ensemble (choir or orchestra) for credits and I play violin in the orchestra. There was a concert last Tuesday and the programme included Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg , Weber Bassoon Concerto and Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition.

The concert was quite successful because everyone worked really hard. The soloist for the Weber was a graduate student and she played really well. I rarely listen to bassoon music and after this concert, I find that the sound of bassoon is very lovely. It is quite mild and the pitch is neither too high nor too low.

My favourite work is definitely Pictures. Originally, it was a piano solo work composed by Mussorgsky and then Ravel arranged it for orchestra. The orchestration was impressive but quite tough for woodwind and brass players. There are a few spots featuring solos of brass instruments such as the trumpet solo in the promenade I, tuba solo in the Oxen etc. There is also an important spot for saxophone solo in. Pictures is a really difficult piece. Not only each part is not easy at all, it is so hard to make every part sound together. For strings, there are two fast movements that require shifting between pizzicato and arco consecutively. The ending was breathtaking. It was full of power and passion. I can still clearly remember how the very last chord echoed in the hall and then the applause joined it.

The orchestra will have concert again in late April. The reportoire will include Berlioz Roman Carnaval Overture, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5. Such an exciting programme and I am looking forward to it.