Ms. Daley
Music History II
February 28, 2016
Performance Review #2 The following performance paper critiques the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestras 8:00 p.m. performance of “The Best of Mozart” on February 26. Mira Glodeanu directed this performance at Trinity St-Paul’s Centre in Jeanne Lamon Hall. The performance featured three of Amadeus Mozart’s compositions, including Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola in E-flat major and Symphony no. 40 in G minor. The instruments featured in this orchestra were the violin, viola, violoncello, double bass, flute, oboe, bassoon and horn. The following paper will focus on Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Mozart was an Austrian born musical prodigy who is now recognized …show more content…
The melodies are both conjunct and disjunct. The distance between notes is sometimes large and sometimes small, so depending on where you are in the piece the notes are sometimes separate and sometimes smooth. This helps the piece move. This composition also incorporates a large range. At some points during the piece, the higher range will include the melody, while at other parts, the lower ranges come through with the main melodic piece. I observed that the violins tended to hold the main part of the piece, with some playing the melody and some playing the more secondary …show more content…
I feel that this was wise, as messing with such familiar tunes could be risky in the sense that many people are attending with a preconceived idea of how it should sounds. Therefore anything less, or different may be more likely to fall short of their expectations. I personally enjoyed the performance being played as written, because it really allowed me appreciate all of the musical nuances and listen to the music in a new way. Seeing the musicians have a bodily reaction to the music, also helped me to discover the various feelings and qualities in this work. There reactions really reflected the emotions that were being felt and the qualities they were trying pull out of the music. It was a wonderful experience to listen to this piece live and have a chance to discover and realize different different elements which I had never noticed before. It is clear why this work is considered one of the jewels of Mozart’s output. The four movements are filled with a bright radiant sound but also a level of simplicity. Every sound combined to create a work that is well balanced and provides the listener with a beautiful clear sound. These musicians did an exquisite job of recreating this classic work and emulating all the qualities that Mozart surely would have