Concert Video Report

I listened to this concert two times non-stop. The first time I listened to it in a quiet, closed

room. The second time I listened to it using the headphones for clarity. Using the headphones to

listen to the concert made me feel at the Powell Symphony Hall for the live concert. In real life

situation, I have ever attended a concert during my high school level, and I can say that attending

a concert and listening to it at home are different things. I enjoyed having time to listen to music

that I like according to my taste at home. Taking a symphony that is one hour long made me

restless sitting at home; however, I can say that it is the reason I listened to the concert twice.

The second time I used the headphones, I was comfortable because I could get all the events that

happened, but the first time, I was uncomfortable, and I took minimal information from the

concert.

The first movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Allegro non-troppo, contributes to the

Symphony's uniqueness since it begins unconventionally from complete silence to an intense

peak. When the movement first began, I became entranced with the soft opening to an epic jump,

which I found different from other symphonies since they primarily play at a constant tempo;

therefore, I immensely enjoyed it. In addition, the opening is symbolic of Beethoven's challenges

as he experienced hearing loss, conflicts of communicating, and trouble composing music.

I heard Beethoven's troubling characteristics reflected within the initial music as several

members from the orchestra, and most notably, the conductor exhibited passionate facial

expressions that showcased the intensity of the composition. Furthermore, the Chun 3 first

movement is characterized as sonata-allegro form as it is composed of three sections; (1)

exposition, (2) development, and (3) recapitulation. Previously mentioned, the opening theme or

the exposition can be defined via pianissimo's subtle performance over the string tremolos from
the violins, reminding someone of an orchestra tuning their instruments, but it becomes a

powerful theme or development gradually that serves as the movement reminder foundation.

However, the recapitulation that sonata-allegro forms demand begins before an identity can

emerge since it collapses two times before its intense arrival releases as a preeminent "signpost"

within the movement and in the history of music. While orthodox sonata-allegro movements

consist of a recapitulation unambiguously reiterated from the previous themes during the

exposition, the first movement relapses from its original foundation that contributes to its

extraordinary qualities, in contrast to other symphonies from the Classical Music Era. Lastly, the

melody of emotion is distributed throughout the orchestra; it is heard more prominently within

the strings, clarinet, and flute. The utilization of timpani implements accentuation on the winds

and strings playing in the background of the melody.

I appreciated the animated facial expressions of the flute and bassoon soloists as I can

perceive they are passionate about music, which provides a refreshing touch in my perspective.

Molto vivace, the second movement, is made up of two separate parts, in which the primary

section is done or perfumed in the form of Scherzo and resembles the opening of the 1st

movement. However, a traditional Scherzo contains a fast and lively quick triple meter;

Beethoven formats this section in the form of sonata, which is much constricted according to the

1st movement. The exposition, therefore, comes with a form that is fugue to emphasize the

theme of the principal melody from Chun four, the 1st movement. In addition, the second theme

characterized as a repetition of exposition that is followed by a section of the development. It is

then that the Scherzo is concluded with a coda.

The section of Trio is the second part of the movement and begins with a new theme

played by the oboes and clarinets followed by the counterpoint in the bassoons. While more
orthodox symphonies in this time performed the Trio section before the Scherzo, Beethoven did

the opposite, which I find very influential since this decision encouraged future composers to be

creative and free instead of following the traditional format. This trio section is accompanied by

further recurrence of (1) the section of Scherzo and (2) a short Trio, leading to the closing of

movement with a coda. The tone throughout this piece changed from start to finish, and the

tempo did as well. Symphony nine is known as the choral Symphony because of the fourth

movement, a musical representation of the ode to joy.

In the third movement, Adagio, molto cantabile, the tempo is much slower than the

previous movements, which creates a more in-depth dynamic range. Beethoven further defies

traditional compositions because slow tempos are traditionally featured in the second movement.

In the beginning, lyricism, a Classical Music characteristic, is used and fluctuates between

quadruple and triple time. Furthermore, the utilization of a soloist horn that was accompanied by

strings contributes further to the dramatic mood of this section, which I do appreciate because it

is soothing compared to the intense pieces I previously heard.

The entire movement's variation is doubled with an additional illustration of melodic ideas

used before, while the theme variations were played in different keys during their multiple

repetitions. I admired the tempo modification since the mood was altered from playful and

lighthearted to a more dramatic tone that allowed for the fourth moment to be out of this world.

Finale: Ode to joy is the 4th movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and has an

additional involvement of four vocal soloists; Camilla Nylund (the Soprano), Ekaterina Chun 5

Gubanova (the Mezzo-soprano), Matthew Polenzani (the Tenor), Eric Owens (the Bass-

baritone), together with an SATB chorus. Beethoven produces a noteworthy, striking movement

in this composition while progressing the piece in structure, harmony, tonality, and melodic.
Once more, Beethoven establishes the uniqueness or the exemption of his Symphony by being

the 1st major composer to make choral voices. In the beginning, the brass' forte accompanied

with the diminuendo to the piano, which was followed by a sforzando, immediately captured my

interest. In addition, I was personally able to hear the brass and woodwinds because the timbre in

the piece allowed me to do so. Moreover, the fourth movement uses both Friedrich Schiller's An

die Freude (Ode to Joy) and original texts by Beethoven himself, which further contributes to the

individuality of his piece.

With the continued advancement in the movement, the oboes and clarinets can be heard as

the melodies harmonized together, truly flattering. This piece's rhythm, however, was much

milder than my opinion's movements. Compared to the movements of the precursor, the pitch

was very low and had multiple responses in its transitions. Altogether, the movement stimulated

excitement and interest due to shifts made continuous to forte from the piano. It was a unique

finishing movement touch of Beethoven's entire Symphony because every movement was

building up this spectacular moment that made such a substantial influence in history.

Overall, watching the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Chorus

perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony was a truly positive and life-changing experience, even if

the concert was not live. That being said, it truly makes me wonder how enthralling watching a

live concert is since the online version was already exceptional. The history behind the

Symphony is amazing, and the primary reason why I find it life-changing is because, although

Beethoven was Chun six almost fully deaf, he was able to compose such an emotional and

touching symphony; therefore, it serves as an influence to me that even though things may seem

impossible, they are indeed possible. As I have mentioned before, I appreciate the passionate

expressions the conductor and orchestra members exhibit as it positively affects the performance.
There were brief moments of pause for a dramatic effect throughout the entire concert that

engage me even more since there were numerous times where the tempo would start slow and

gradually move to a brisk tempo. Most times, the tempo would double or even triple what the

sections started as. I am ecstatic that I took Music Appreciation as I do not indulge in Classical

Music as much as I should, so Beethoven's 9th Symphony opened the door to a whole new

experience for me, which I am very grateful for. When I am older, I look forward to attending

Classical and Romantic Era symphonies as they are truly enjoyable, exhilarating, and exquisite

However, taking this class has helped me to better understand the quality and importance

of music. I learned what rhythm, tone, and dynamics meant. I felt this class being online and us

working ahead and at our own pace made for the learning to come easy. I would have liked to

have more hands-on, maybe more listening parts for this class. I know a field trip to the

symphony hall is in my future once this pandemic is over and things go back to normal. I want to

get a better understanding of the importance of music and the history of it better. Throughout

school, I have also been a huge fan of Beethoven's work. Symphony 5 was always my favorite

and now listening to Symphony 9, it is now a toss-up of which one I like better