The Pianist

What are the most 17-year-old teenagers doing in their best period of life? It is common for them to fight with homework, relax themselves in various parties and so on. Ding Junhui is special because he has the distinction of being the champion in International piano competition for the teenager in Germany. This shy boy performed extremely calmly facing the victory because he had sacrificed so much that he deserved that. Ding drop off school when he was 9 years old and moved to Shanghai with his…

The Carnival of the Animals is divided into 14 different movements with each movement meant to represent a different animal. Camille Saint-Saens does a fantastic job describing each animal in the composition. Whether it be the lion, kangaroos, or pianists each animal is represented with a certain wit and humor. One example is the Tortoise, wherein Camille actually plays the “Can-Can” from Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld.” However, it is played exceedingly slow, as if were traveling…

ou might say they pulled out the stops at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert on Friday. There were many engaging moments in the Cincinnati Symphony's unique program hailing the French organ tradition in Music Hall. But Louis Langrée’s direction of the famous “Poco adagio” in Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, “Organ,” was truly magical. At the Allen organ, Thierry Escaich’s tones provided a soft, rich carpet under the lustrous sounds of the Cincinnati strings. It was serene and moving, and…

For this final project, several classmates and I have assembled an eight-part vocal ensemble, accompanied by a pianist. We have chosen a piece that also has eight-parts, to add variety and layers on the basis of each vocal part. This piece we are performing as an ensemble is titled “Weep No More,” arranged and composed by David N. Childs, and adapted from a poem by John Keats. David N. Childs is a well-known freelance composer of music, with his ideology being, “music has the power to transform…

was most likely Mozart’s plan to have it the piece set up in that way, so the ending would leave the audience feeling dominant. as the piece progress, the recitalists performed in crescendos as they gradually become louder. It was great to see the pianist speed up her rhythm as well. I could tell by her facial expressions that she was very passionate about music and loved her job. There we no unusual vocal, instrumental or electronic effects. The genre of the piece is of course choir music. I…

At eight in the evening on Friday, November 4th, a band called The Neighbourhood performed at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas. Opening for them were the bands Manchester Orchestra and Chappo. Being a major longtime fan of both The Neighbourhood and Manchester Orchestra, I felt incredibly lucky to have family living near Dallas who were willing to provide a place to stay for myself and my husband to attend the concert and see a new city. The entire performance was impressive, extremely hyped,…

I began the walk to my demise. No, I was not about to be executed. But I was just about to play Frederic Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise in front of a large audience. The Polonaise is a piece riddled with treacherous passages that either make the pianist leap across the keyboard or tie his fingers into mini Gordian’s knots. I found myself wishing I wouldn’t mess up as badly as I did in previous recitals . . . I could have played better. Yes, I had stage fright. Unfortunately, I seemingly…

It went black. The lights were off and I immediately heard the screams of tens of thousands of people. Seconds later the lights were back on and tall, covered in black, stood Twenty One Pilots on the stage. At that exact moment it was as if the deafening sound had grown. But I wasn’t complaining because I was right there with the rest of the crowd, waiting for the music to begin. Tyler Joseph greeted the venue before the first song began. February fourth was the date of the concert that changed…

She is the oldest child in her family and she has another three siblings. She was born in an aristocratic family. Her father was a classic pianist before he worked at Yokohama Specie Bank. The family moved to San Francisco, California because her father was transferred. In 1937, Yoko went back to Japan with her father and enrolled at The Gakushuin School in Tokyo. When she was 18 years old,…

The Civil Rights Movement: How it Changed Jazz “Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees. “Strange Fruit” initially performed by Billie Holiday depicts one of the initial repercussions of the Civil Rights movement‒ a lynching. Holiday’s expression of the event delivers an overall timbre and mood for jazz in the coming era. The development of the Civil Rights movement…