Concert Report: Instrument Era Genre Artists Composers and Personal Reflections

Question
Write a 15 to 20-sentence report for the concert, focusing on the instrument, era, genre, artists, composers, and personal reflections.
Classic Rock:

Concert Details:
   – Instrument: Identify the primary instrument(s) featured in the concert.
   – Era: Determine the historical era or period the music represents.
   – Genre: Categorize the music into a specific genre (e.g., baroque, classical, jazz, pop, rock).
   – Artists: Note the names of performers, bands, or orchestras involved.
   – Composers: Identify the composers of the pieces performed.
Personal Reflections (20 sentences):
   – Initial Impressions: Describe your expectations before attending the concert.
   – Instrumental Mastery: Reflect on the technical skill of the performers and their mastery of the chosen instruments.
   – Emotional Impact: Discuss how the music made you feel emotionally. Did it evoke specific emotions or memories?
   – Historical Context: Explore any historical or cultural context relevant to the era or genre of the concert.
   – Favorite Moments: Highlight specific moments or pieces that stood out to you.

Answer
1. Instrument
The bassoon is one of the most unique and amusing looking instruments because of its long and thin shape. It may be played multiple ways, either being held horizontally or vertically, but there is no difference in sound or technique. It is a two-part instrument and is made of heavy wood. It’s probably the heaviest of all woodwind instruments. The bassoon is played with a double reed, so it is similar to the oboe but much more difficult to control. The double reed refers to two reeds tied together to form the instrument. This is supposedly a reference to a time when the bassoon was crafted from a single piece of wood and the player had to use their own double reed to make music. It has a wide range of sound and is used to play many different kinds of styles of music. Due to its complexity and difficulty, it has a very low chance of being played by a non-professional or a beginner musician. The instrument’s cost is average for an instrument, but it is still very expensive due to the maintenance of replacing and ordering reeds or any other replacement parts.
1.1. Key features of the instrument
The marimba is played with wooden, rubber, or yarn-wrapped mallets. The performer strikes the wooden keys, creating a bright, metallic sound that fades quickly. Other keyboard instruments (piano, celesta, harpsichord) share some similarities with the marimba, but none of these instruments’ mechanisms and materials produces the characteristically warm and percussive attack and sustain of the marimba. Keyboard percussion instruments are now more isolated in this category of sound generation. This idea is important to understand because it links the marimba to other keyboard percussion instruments, providing a future basis for marimba concerti and ensemble pieces. The marimba would not evolve into the exciting solo and ensemble instrument that it now is had its design and sound production not kept it largely isolated from the family of keyboard instruments.
1.2. Historical significance of the instrument
The historical significance of the harpsichord is mainly due to it being the main keyboard instrument in the Baroque period. It has been said that the sound of the harpsichord is the sound of the Baroque era. It evolved over a period of 150 years in response to changes in musical style and to the musical needs of composers. By the end of the Renaissance, the harpsichord had attained the shape in which it was to persist for about 200 years. Both France and Italy have played a large role in the history of the harpsichord. It is widely accepted that in the 15th century, the harpsichord had spread to many countries in Europe. Reaching a peak during the 17th century, especially in France, the harpsichord developed in terms of visual design, mechanical action, and sound quality. In France, two schools of construction exist: the Ruckers school and the Blanchet school. The Ruckers school produced intricate instruments featuring paintings or intricate inlay materials. However, such instruments may not play well from a musical perspective. Despite this intricacy, many Ruckers harpsichords were later converted into the plainer Blanchet design, demonstrating a musical emphasis during the later part of this period. In Italy, the harpsichord underwent mainly mechanical improvements. The most significant of the Italian builders were the Grimaldis, who developed an action which made it quick to play in contrast with the heavier sound of the French instrument. The harpsichord did not develop with the same success in England and Germany, both countries preferring the Clavichord and the Virginals. The harpsichord eventually became outdated in the late 18th century, being succeeded by the piano, although it has had a modern revival with interest in historically informed performance.
1.3. Notable performers of the instrument
Notable performers of the piano: It is far too difficult to encapsulate all of the world’s most famous pianists within one small list, given the monumental influence of the instrument. Many of the greatest composers themselves were pianists, so we have excluded them based on principal instrument to the composer’s title, i.e. F. Liszt would not be included as a pianist. We are left with no shortage of names no less. The Russian School of pianists has long been heralded as one of the most influential in history. From the incomparable audiences in artistry such as Sofronitsky and Richter, to the legendary teaching lineage from Goldenweiser to Neuhaus and Zak, pianists of Russian pedigree have wielded formidable prominence for close to a century. It is difficult to speak of great pianists without venerating Claudio Arrau, whose concert career spanned over eighty years. His recording of Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata is still considered one of the most distinguished ever captured. Other notable pianists relevant to particular aspects of Beethoven interpretation include D’Albert, notable for his role in the Austro-German tradition and Schnabel whose recordings are seen as essential in appreciating the composer.
2. Era
2.1. Overview of the era
2.2. Key characteristics of the era’s music
2.3. Influential composers of the era
3. Genre
3.1. Definition and characteristics of the genre
3.2. Evolution of the genre over time
3.3. Notable works within the genre
4. Artists
4.1. Biographies of the performing artists
4.2. Previous notable performances by the artists
4.3. Awards and recognition received by the artists
5. Composers
5.1. Background information on the composers
5.2. Major works composed by the composers
5.3. Influence of the composers on the music industry
6. Personal Reflections
6.1. Overall impression of the concert
6.2. Emotional impact of the music performed
6.3. Memorable moments or performances during the concert