On 15 November 2018 at 7:30 pm, I attended a classical music concert, a life performance performed by an impressive and talented Dover Quartet at Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts. The concert attracted thousands of students and other viewers. The building looked normally peaceful but contained a magnitude of thousands of audience who, just like me have desired to attend a life performance by the renowned artist. The audience dressed in casual attire eagerly waiting for the commencement of the historic event. The concert was the first life performance I am attending, and it gave me an opportunity to listen to the best of my classical compositions. I was sure of enjoying myself to the fullest even before the performance began. The performance was remarkable and drew my attention to the end as the performer enjoyed his presentation passionately. I then realized that I have an undisputed love for classical music.
The venue f the event appeared classy and stylish, though I had n inner feeling that probably I was seeing so because it was my first time to attend a classical concert. I somehow felt nervous as I had little idea of where to sit, but I gained confidence because we were in a group of classmates. The organizers perfectly coordinated the event and it did not take long before the ushers gave us a proper direction. I sat at the front towards the left of the concert hall where I could vividly see and clearly listen to the performers from all angles. The seats were adequate to contain my friends and the rest of the audience. The stage light perfectly focused on the performers. The seats were comfortable. However, I never felt the comfort because the hall was full that people compacted closely to one another. As much as the majority of the audience were students, the rest of the followers of Dover Quartet were not left behind, ranging from children, the middle aged to the old (Wallin 20).
All the students in attendance who purchase tickets had the assurance of an open chance to win another pair of free tickets to attend an event of their choice if they bought tickets to the Beethoven concert. The event will take place at the same venue, Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts. Therefore, it motivated many students to attend the occasion, and I could hardly identify a person. That was a sea of humanity. Beethoven Quartet Cycle part I presented three pieces of classical music performed by Dover Quartet. Their program included Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1 and Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127 as well as Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3. The whole concert was impressive and appealing. However, I have carried away into a deep sea ecstasy during the second half of the performance. I expected the audience to shout, jump, and applause the performer through chants and praises, but everyone was quite and attentive, keenly following to the latter.
The concert started with the Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1. The piece of music commenced with a striking violin which presented a lighthearted tone to the presentation. No sooner had the audience got swayed into the piece than they heard lyrical strings and cellos that rented the air and offered a firm foundation of support. The mixture of two instruments sustained an ethereal sound of a high pitch culmination that suggested the possibility of more instruments to come. Finally, the entrance of the viola set the climax of the first performance which boldly hammered the motive of entertainment thus beautifying the major theme in the violin. I consider that performance as one of the most inspiring, moving and motivating concerts throughout the performance. I realized that the first performance contained a nationalistic tone with a homophonic texture and a conjunct melody. The romantic classical music had four significant movements that include Allegro con brio, Adagio affettuoso ed app Aso natto, and Scherzo Allegro molto as well as Allegro (Sutarjo 2).
The second performance was the presentation of Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127 which started quietly with a melody that ranged from low to high. The three instruments made the event more dramatic with the violins, viola and cello filling the air. The pace gradually increased with a more intense homophonic texture. The violins prominently echoed the effectiveness of the performance which was romantic and exhibited four styles of movements. The movements include adagio, Scherzando vivace, maestoso adagio and finale exhibiting a key of E-flat major. The romantic style of the classical music evoked a more inmate mood, and the presenters appeared more passionate and comfortable as opposed to the first performance. The homogeneity of the texture satisfied the audience enhancing intimacy and higher expectation among the audience thus developing a certain level of communication. The violins played a theme that made a dramatic entrance as the warm resonating sounds of the cellos encountered them in the background. The lively and energetic movement as the cellos and the violins overwhelmed the audience.
Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127 is perfectly conventional for evoking a bar in a formal performance and a variety of expression. It is mostly tuneful and its expressive aspirations hardly surpass that of the common folksong. Also, it presents its four distinct movements in traditional formal patterns. The first movement melts the audience and gives leisure with varying tones. The variations of the second movement present a lyrical ascent of scale notes that extends over more than an octave then a series of gracious descents follow that is eminently vocal. After that, a calm variation that showcases an admirable simplicity takes over. The variations maintain a gentle flow and a relaxed melody together with ornamental curlicues. Moreover, the third movement offers a mischievous theme composing little gestures of dotted rhythms and purring trills that creep up the scale in the stage.
The beginning and end of the movement swing largely between clever counterpoint and rampaging unison whereas the trio slowly alternates between breathless scurrying as well as rustic swagger. Finally, the quality of rustic swagger is witnessed in the fourth movement that portrays a folk-like character in an endless stream of melodies that are simple, tuneful and symmetric. The presentation offers good humor to the audience as the violin summons the rustics to follow better natures and the soft rhythms of their revels provide smooth flowing lines of human concord towards the end.
The last presentation of the evening was the Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 which impacted a lasting impression on me and another magnitude of the audience who filled the venue. The performance also involved the use of instruments like cellos, violins, and viola. The presentation started softly with an increasing volume that followed as the movements progressed. The resonating cellos established a vibrant sound and the violins offered long strokes that could not be ignored. Melodies of the presentation varied from one movement to another, including Allegro molto, Menuetto, Andante con moto quasi-allegretto, and introduzine. The music with a key of C major offers a melancholic style homophonic texture. The mixture of the three instruments caused an effect that echoed at the climax agitating the crowd to celebrate the event wit ecstasy. The variations of the melodies at each movement contributed significantly to the success of the final presentation. Though comparing the third performance with the second or first performance is almost impossible, it was the most impressive. The third performance created a permanent mark that will forever remain in my heart as one of the best classical concerts I have watched (Homfray 23).
Probably, the third presentation remains the most frequently performed of the three quartets considering its glorious and triumphant finale as well as its warm reception by the audience. Moreover, Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 is one of the best radiants that Beethoven composed, with a noteworthy beginning and an attractive ending that grabs the attention of the audience. The performance starts in obscurity that encompasses a brooding series consisting of diminished chords. The obscurity of destination widens as the treble and bass of the outer voice gradually diverge in a wedge shape thus fairy disintegrating any sense of motion. After that, the progression of two-chord glances off and stops, then a slow windup of tentative meanderings follows. It then launches a full force of slingshots which boldly confirms the C major as the first movement depicts harmonic presentation of a sonata that exalts the major key.
I was fully involved in the bliss of wavelike harmonic motion and hardly noticed that the composer, Beethoven, makes a perfect music without a single theme which is distinctive. The whole movement involves essential two-note motives that include glancing step and simple flowing lines of scales as well as arpeggiated chords. The lines of music spread over and weave across the span of independent instruments to become elegant and malicious ribbons of light besides simple motions that turn to golden honey. The quality of the final performance pervades the other two quartets thus winning hearts of many audiences, I included.
Attending the life concert was the best opportunity that made me learn more of the diversity of styles and techniques of composition inherent in the Dover Quartet. I specifically enjoyed Dover Quartet’s the mastery of The Dover Quartet because he was able to combine various sounds of the Dover Quartet in an effective way. He was able to create an interesting effect throughout the presentation. The quality of lyrics and the melodies made the performance more enjoyable thus contributing to its success.