Musical Review

I attended a total of two concerts since I enrolled in this class. One being on May the 15th and the other being on December 4th. Both being performed by the Hunter Symphony, I enjoyed one a lot more than the other. Although only one concert was necessary for this review I attended two just to give myself options and I’m glad I went that way. The concert on May 15th was conducted by Paul F. Mueller and Matthew Rupcich and performed Verdi’s Requiem, which I did not find very interesting considering I had to write a review for it. But the concert that did catch my attention was directed by Reuben Blundell on Friday December 4th. I did not know what to expect because this was my first real concert that I have attended but my mother dragged me out and told me simply enjoy the music. This being said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the majority of what I heard.
What I most enjoyed about Clair de Lune (Moonlight) by Claude Debussy, and Ma Mere L'oye by Maurice Ravel was the concept of musical painting that was used. They were very delicate and easy to connect to. Debussy's piece is lead by an eclectic piano with very clear persona. It sounds like a peaceful piece due to the piano’s impeccable flow that sets the mood and genre for the entire song. Debussy's piece uses the flutes and piano to create an almost strange atmosphere, which was described as “nebulous” in the pamphlet given out before the concert.   The soft mood has a timbre that connects to the title of the piece, Moonlight. This led me to believe that the image Debussy had in his mind while creating this piece was something rather bright and soft, something similar to moonlight. The pamphlet described Debussy’s love for painting and perhaps this was what inspired him to create such a beautiful piece that was pleasant.
Ravel's piece tells the story of five different fairy tales through the music, where each one has nothing to do with the other. The name of the piece is translates to “Mother...