Understanding the Arts and the Human Experience

     When I was 18 years old, I moved to New York City to go to a trade school for Musical Theatre. At 18, the world was my oyster and I was fortunate enough to see multiple Broadway shows on a whim, explore every museum, and go to many live concerts. While I took a few classical musical theatre classes, and music theory, I regret never fully experiencing live classical music at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, or the NY Philharmonic. I could blame it on being extremely busy with 10 hour days and college life, but it was honestly because I thought at the time that classical music was for stuffy, old people- there, I said it. I think it’s ironic now as an older student at 26, I listen to classical music while I write all of my papers to help get my creativity flowing. Call it maturity, but I actually have grown a new found appreciation for classical music through Music Appreciation. The Bridgerton soundtrack with covers by the Vitamin String Quartet may have helped that appreciation as well.  I took Music 110 in the summer of 2021 virtually and it was an 8 week class that was high paced, and very informative. Week after week, I learned about new periods of music in history, specific pieces, and the dynamics that made up music during said time period. The final assignment required was to attend a live music concert of choice and report on it. I was asked to write about the composer, musicians, tempo, atmosphere, background and of course, how it made me feel. 

 

     My artifact is the product of this assignment, and since we were in a virtual environment due to covid, I was able to pick any live recording of a concert and write about it. Now, I know it may sound like I jumped on the bandwagon, but Beethoven has become one of my all time favorite composers. I repeatedly listen to Sonata No. 14 (which everyone should listen to) when I am stressed, or anxious which gave me the lightbulb idea to find a concert of Beethoven’s music and to write about it! Since I had lived in NYC for so long, it was only fitting to look through the archives of the NY Philharmonic and choose their rendition of Beethoven's Concerto No.4. While I did not anticipate it at the time, this concerto was essentially three movements in one - an Allegro Moderato, Andante Con Moto and Rondo Vivace, so I had a great deal of work in front of me to analyze, dissect and write about it as all three movements are different, and en-body a part of the story to tell. I allotted myself two weeks to write this paper, and gave myself 4 days to do research, which was definitely needed. This encompasses my first goal for this competence which is to become more confident in my knowledge of art and the basics of music by doing more research and exploring. Not only did I take the time to confirm and expand on my knowledge of the components and dynamics of the three movements mentioned above, but I put in extra time to research the story of “Orpheus and Eurydice”. For extra context, this is the story where Orpheus pleads with the Furies to allow him to pass to the netherworld, then continues with the ascent of husband and wife almost to the surface of the upper world before Orpheus looks back and loses Eurydice again. Intense, I know. Allowing myself to understand the background context, gave me more insight into why Beethoven used certain dynamics, instruments and tempos throughout the concert. This gave me more in depth insight not only listening to the concert, but in my final report as well. I believe I accomplished the goal well as I received high remarks for my research and knowledge on the background of the piece which helped influence my assessment of the NY Philharmonic’s rendition of Beethoven’s concerto No. 4.

 

     My second goal for this competence is to expand on my curiosity in other parts of the arts such as classical music, by attending more concerts and museums. While covid was definitely a hiccup in this goal, I actually was able to listen and virtually “attend” more concerts, plays, and theatre. I subscribed to sites such as the Philharmonic, Playbill, and Chamber Music at Lincoln Center to immerse myself in the periods of music I learned throughout this class such as classical, baroque, romantic and renaissance to help build and expand on my knowledge throughout the course. I obviously believe there is always room for improvement, and want to expand on this goal outside of a virtual environment because I believe it will be a different experience to attend live concerts again, but ultimately, I believe I met this goal. By tapping into my curiosity and uncovering more about the arts through other avenues I expanded my knowledge that I was able to put into practice in my artifact.