Piano Concert Report

For the final project I decided to attend two piano concerts at the University of Colorado Boulder. The two piano concerts I attended were Hsing-ay Hsu (with Madoka Asari) as part of the Faculty Tuesday Series, and Andrew Ramos’s Doctor of Musical Arts Recital. Both of these recitals were a new experience due to the fact that I had never been to a piano recital at the University of Colorado before. Each piano performance was different, whether it was the music performed or the type of style of concert. Although they illustrated many differences, there were also some similarities in the recitals. Overall, it was intriguing to be able to attend two concerts that allowed for a compare and contrast type of review. The first concert I attended …show more content…
The tempos were listed as follows: allegro moderato, andante con moto, and rondo – vivace. The first two tempos I was aware of from taking the class, and could hear that it went from a faster tempo to a slower tempo. However, the ending I was unaware of the definition of “rondo – vivace,” which I soon discovered was a repetition (comparing to a refrain) and was vivacious. The first movement, allegro moderato, began with solely Hsing-ay Hsu playing, and Madoka Asari joined after a few measures. The movement ended and the crowd was cheering very loudly, which was also surprising because I was expecting the entire “concert” to be played consistently with no stopping. I though that the second and third movements, andante con moto and ron – vivace flowed better than the first movement, because they seemed to be more simple, and less dramatic. The second portion (Chopin’s concert) illustrated the tempos in three separate movements, which included: maestoso, larghetto, and allegro vivace. I was unaware of the former two tempos, however after listening I could tell they were both somewhat slow tempos. The latter tempo was a fast and lively ending to the first two movements that were slow and majestic. It felt as though the audience enjoyed the second portion of the concert because they seemed more attentive during the latter half. Throughout the entire concert Hsing-ay Hsu was very lively and emphasized her movements while playing the piano, which was fitting due to her attire. Her accompanying pianist, Madoka Asari was much calmer in the background, which was reasonable because she was not the main attraction. Overall, the concert was a new experience, but knowing some of the musical terminology that I learned in piano class. I was very impressed by Hsing-ay Hsu’s performance and I felt the romance through her