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Final piece

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 15:16:18 UTC

My ensemble this semester is me and John working on a piano and flute ensemble. In the third week of the semester, professor invited John and I to a coaching session on the 7th of November. So we started picking and practicing without stopping. For this coaching session we had to pick the pieces three times, and it wasn't until a fortnight before the course that we chose the pieces. For the first time, my piano teacher and I chose Fantasie by Gabriel Faure. It's a very beautiful and slow piece, the piano part is relatively simple and I could just sight-read it and play it down, but it's 13 pages long. It takes about fifteen minutes to play it once, and we were worried that it would take up too much time so we didn't choose this piece. For the second time, John and I chose Andre Carplet's Reverie. At this time, there were still three weeks left before the coaching session. I realised after practising the piece and looking up videos of other people playing it on YouTube that the piano part of the piece is very difficult to become proficient at in a short period of time. This piece has a large span of fingers and requires a fast tempo, so it's hard to play well without many repetitions, and I don't want everyone to hear an unskilled piece in class. John and I had also agreed on a time to rehearse the piece, but I was unable to keep up with him during the rehearsal and missed it many times.

So we decided to change the song on the spot. We chose Che faro senza Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck. After finding the information on YouTube I found out that it's a song adapted for piano and flute ensemble. Since the piano part is relatively easy, it took me a week to get good at it already. We also did well in class, and the teacher complimented me on how my opening sounded like a symphony orchestra effect. My problem with this ensemble was that I should have checked with my partner about the feasibility of the piano part in a more timely manner, and I should have indicated as soon as I saw the score that I might not be able to master the piano part in a short period of time, so that I could have more time to practise the rest of the piece.

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 15:51:42 UTC

I'm participating as a music manager in the concert on the 6th of December. The week before the concert Shiv sent out information about everyone's performances to all the performers and people involved. It also includes concert etiquette that everyone should wear black formal attire, including black shoes. And concert managers are required to send performers rehearsal times(Tech schedule) by Monday. It was then that I learnt that the performance order was the reverse of the rehearsal order and sent the schedule to everyone successfully. And it also requires the management team to be there at 9.30pm. When we arrived at the venue on the day, we first set up the position of the grand piano and then adjusted the lighting for the performers. The second confirmed whether each performer needed a page turner or not. Ask them if they need a piano stand or anything extra. Fifteen minutes before the show I sent Alastair (concert assistant) out to hand out the programme. After the concert started Alastir and I were in the green room opening the doors and clapping for the performers and then closing them again. And get up there on time to retrieve the stand and the chair. The concert went very well, but there were not enough concert assistants, two other students didn't come, and Alastir and I were the only concert assistants for the whole concert.

There was a small episode in the rehearsal process, one of the performers couldn't find her own rag and asked me to help, I helped her find it, although it was a small thing, the sense of achievement was also great.

Compared to the work of last year's concert assistant, I feel that the second year's concert manager has a greater and heavier responsibility, in addition to doing a good job myself, I also have to notify the performers of the specific schedule and assign tasks to the concert assistant.

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 15:52:00 UTC

I attended the concert on 11th October and the concert on 6th December. Let's start with this concert in October. The concert consisted of three players, respectively playing chamber organ, classical guitar and piano. This is the first time I've ever heard a small organ in concert. I was under the impression that the organ was an instrument used only in churches and was expensive. But the organ for this concert performance appeared to be an electric organ, and I saw sockets and wires.

The first piece played by the first player (Stephanie Gunt) was Fantasia No. 2 for Clavecin. Composed by Georg Phillip TELEMANN (1681-1767). This performer played a total of four pieces, and the organ exercises sounded a lot like the Bach pieces I've been practising on the piano, which I think may be due to the fact that they're all from the same period of time, and that the Baroque period is characterised by majestic, vibrant works. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of this period of music, and I find the Baroque period a bit monotonous and boring to listen to compared to the Romantic and Classical periods.

The second piece was from Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol.2, no.163. The coposer is William BYRD(1540-1623). It's a more laid-back, breezy piece. There's something about it that calms you down and doesn't make you feel short of breath like some of the baroque period pieces do.

The third piece was from Organ Concerto, Op 4 No.5(1738), composed by Geotge Frderic HANDEL(1685-1759). The style of this piece is magnificent and ornate. I've also heard the orchestral version on YouTube. It sounds like it will be fuller and more special than the organ alone.

The firth piece is Voluntary in A Minor Op.6 No.2, composed by John STANLEY(1712-1786). The style of this track is very similar to the third, but it doesn't sound as flashy as the second, and it's slow at the beginning and then it suddenly gets faster at the second part.

The second performer is Seth Lyons(classical guitar). She played two pieces. The tone of the classical guitar is soothing and calming, probably because of the relaxed and enjoyable style of these two pieces.

The first one is Estrellita(1912), composed by Manuel PONCE(1882-1948), arranged by Manuel Barrueco and Mario Abril. This piece sounds very beautiful and serene, and the player has captured the emotion very well, a very beautiful piece.

The second one is Capricho Arabe(1892), the composer is Francisco TARREGA(1852-1909). This piece is very similar in style to the first, and is also a light and graceful piece, but the tempo is a little faster than the first, and it's much more joyful.

The last performer is Fred Zheng. He brought two piano pieces. The first piece is Sonata Pathetique from Ludwig van Beethoven. The piece sounds like its name, but in the midst of the pathos, you can also feel some of the struggle against fate. Beethoven's compositions are usually impassioned and courageous. I think this performer also has a good grasp of emotion, but the playing could have been a little more powerful at the climax. It feels like it lacks a little bit in power.

The second piece is Minute Walz(1847) from Federic Chopin. This is also a very well known tune, and its witty and playful style is interpreted very well by the performer.

Reverie second piece

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 15:55:23 UTC

booking rehearsal time

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 16:12:21 UTC

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 16:25:54 UTC

First piece

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 16:32:02 UTC

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 18:37:48 UTC

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 18:38:42 UTC

Move the chair and music stand

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 20:32:27 UTC

xinyunzhang10 — 2024-01-08 21:01:47 UTC

The second concert I heard was December 6th. The first piece is Phantasy Quartet, op.2(1932) from Benjamin BRITTEN. The four performers are Chris(oboe), Annabel Sheridan(violin), Angie McShee(viola) and Milan Brinker(cello). This is a quartet for oboe and string trio. The music starts with the cello, then the viola, the violin and finally the oboe. And the oboe has a solo part. The overall style doesn't sound so relaxed, there's a nervous vibe to it.

The second one is a piano piece called Liebestraum no.3(1850), composed by Franz Liszt. The performer is Matthew Brown. It's also a very well known piece, basically everyone has heard it before. The whole piece is very melodic and heart-warming. The performer's expression of the emotion of this piece is also very effective and impressive.

The third performer(Fred Zheng) presented two piano pieces. The first one is Clair de Lune(1905) from Claude Debussy. This is also a very famous tune, the beautiful melody and serene atmosphere, as if to bring people to the late night, bright moonlight reflecting on the windowsill. The performers also captured the emotion of the music well and brought the audience into the world of the piece.

The last piece is Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon, composed by Wang Jianzhong. In China it's a very familiar piece. It's also a very gorgeous piece with many cadenza. It's a piece written in Chinese pentatonic mode. The original piece is an orchestral adaptation for traditional Chinese instruments. It's also an impressive piece, with a beautifully ornate style that matches the piece's title, Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon.