The Soloist

Ellington, who was known for traditional jazz, incorporating it into his music. One of Duke Ellington’s best known song was “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If You Ain’t Got That Swing)” which was released in 1931. This piece includes the notorious use of brass soloist throughout the composition, but also includes the modern value of a violin. Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If You Ain’t Got That Swing)” was meant to converge the opposing views on jazz by showing that both styles compliment one…

Houghton- Music Critique The Texas State Jazz ensemble, with special guest drummer Steve Houghton, was filled with an uplifting set list. A mixture of trumpets, drums, piano, saxophones, bass, guitar, and trombones played harmoniously with distinct soloist for each song. The Texas State Jazz ensemble did a wonderful job, especially their solo performers. Steve Houghton was also quite fantastic, living up to his name. The overall experience was very entertaining. The Texas State Jazz ensemble…

It features professional, amateur, and student musicians who follow a vision of passionate music making without boundaries. The 2016/2017 season showcases some of the best soloists in the orchestra's history, and upcoming performances Debussy/Dutilleux/Walton/Elgar, Beethoven/Bruckner, and Mahler Symphony No. 2. Boston Lyric…

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Concerto V for Flute, String Orchestra and Basso continuo Op. 10/5, RV 434 This famous Italian Baroque composer has been recognized and appreciated for the amount of works he produced and the unique characteristic style he infused into his music. In this particular genre he is most often known for the group of violin concerti collectively called “The Seasons.” In the roughly 300 solo concertos he wrote, of which about 230 are for violin, he became the first…

scherzo which is the foundation for the third movement is not properly a vocal piece, but has close connections with vocal music that go beyond the Antonius von Padua song. On the movements that follow the scherzo on the Symphony, Mahler introduces soloists and choir singing poems about death and resurrection. Berio’s choice of these quotations not only acknowledges the importance of the voice in music history but also carry semantics that point towards life, death and irony in between. Berio’s…

There is a fundamental bittersweetness about life that those attuned to it can find in varying degrees in all worthwhile works of art. This feature is readily apparent in Alexei Ratmansky’s Odessa. Considering its limited time frame, this work persuasively evokes a bygone place and era (the eponymous city in early post-Revolutionary Russia). On the one hand, its mood is somber and disquieting, some of its “action” is distressing, and its male “characters” appear ruffianly and menacing. On the…

with the rise of new venues: a concert hall. Small group ensembles are also known as chambers that consist of two to ten players. Haydn had sixty-eight string quartets; quartets always has two violinists, one violist and one cellist. The violin “soloist” may stand out by having a solo, but the quartet works as a team in each piece. The “father of the symphony” was established…

generally harsh, intimidating, and somber, much like how Britten perceives violence and death. I believe Britten was trying to represent the dark nature of war with this overall mood. This is shown also in the lyrics of the symphony. For example, the soloists end…

He was a trumpeter, a band leader, a soloist, a comedian, a singer, and a film star. Armstrong was well known for his songs, “What a Wonderful World” and “Star Dust”, as well as some others. Joe Oliver was a mentor to Armstrong and he was showing him tips and pointers on how to use the horn…

loud drum. It was very powerful and had really good harmony all together. The second song was called Regrets and Resolutions. It started off very peaceful and quiet with flutes and clarinets. Then the horns and xylophone were added in. The flute soloist would play one song and the rest of the instruments were playing a different one, it actually sounded really cool. At one point it all the sudden got really loud and violent with horns and trumpets playing. The song ended with the flute playing…