On Friday, November 4th, 2016, a concert was held at Whitman Theatre, Brooklyn College by the Conservatory Orchestra from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. The conductor was George Rothman and the Orchestra manager was Timothy Barrus. There were 29 performers who played violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, percussion, and timpani. They performed three representative pieces of compositions from the twentieth-century, which were “Washington 's Birthday”, “Summer Day, op. 65,” and “Symphony No. 4 in A major, ‘Italian,’ op. 90.”
“Washington’s Birthday” was performed first, and it was composed by Charles Ives in 1897. Ives was born on October 20th, 1874, in Danbury, Connecticut, and he died on May 19th, …show more content…
“Summer Day” had seven brief movements, which demonstrated the time of day for children. These seven brief movements were “Morning,” “Tip and Run,” “Waltz,” “Repentance,” “March,” “Evening,” and “Moon Over the Meadow.” I enjoyed “Waltz” and “March” the most among these seven movements. The tempo of “Waltz” was accelerando, and then it became slow. In addition, “Waltz” had a joyful and smooth melody, which made me feel pleasant and want to dance when I listened to it. I loved this composition also because the speed of the performers was amazing. They performed it by following the conductor’s beat, which made this piece more melodious. Similarly, the composition “March” was performed in crescendo and had a consonant harmony. Because of the fast tempo and tone, it made me recall when I was young how I always felt excited about going on a trip.
During this concert, I liked Ives’s “Washington’s Birthday” the least. This piece of music began with a dissonant harmony and soft dynamics. It made me feel depressed when I first heard it. As this composition went on, the dynamics suddenly became loud, and it scared me. There was a moment when the tempo was fast, and I liked this part because I felt cheerful about my life. However, most of the time, this composition had a slow tempo, and I could become downhearted when I listened to it. Therefore, I didn’t like “Washington’s Birthday” by