Don't Drop Your Bow!

The UNC Symphony orchestra concert was quite an enjoyable experience. I thought it was very interesting how the ensemble was set up. The usual form for an orchestra looks like this:


In this concert they have switched the viola and the cello sections. This is usually a conductor’s choice but I personally like the more traditional format with the cello section on the outside. Although I am a cello player, which makes me slightly biased. The group performed a Mendelssohn/ Moscheles piece, a Barber violin concerto, and a Dvorak symphony.

I very much like the Mendelssohn. This was a preview of the piece and nobody has heard it in over 170 years. I found the melody to be light and playful. The majority of the piece was emphasizing the two solo pianos, so the orchestra was often using pizzicato, a technique where you pluck the string instead of bow it. I liked the effect this had on the music. The piano parts would have been incomplete with out the orchestra, but had the strings bowed it would have taken away from the pianists. The two solo pianists were UNC professors Lei Weng and Jonathan Bellman. I loved watching Weng perform. His movement with the music as he played was absolutely mesmerizing.

The second piece on the program was Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op.14 by Samuel barber. It was in three movements. The solo violin was UNC sophomore Natalie Padilla. The first and second movements were lovely with fluid, emotional melodies. The orchestra had beautiful dynamic contrast. I really enjoyed what the trumpets added to the piece. The third movement was always said to have not fit with the rest of the composition, and I find this to be not true. Every musical composition needs some rises and falls and the third movement is definitely a rise. It sounds seemingly chaotic, but I could still easily find the melody in the chaos. It was very intense. Padilla received a standing ovation for her performance and I think it was a standing ovation well deserved.

My favorite part of Dvorak’s Symphony No.8 in G major, op.88 was the woodwinds. In every movement they had a melody that they played exquisitely. I also liked the contrast of the differences in the movements. Each of them was different but they all fit together very well. I have actually had the pleasure of playing the fourth movement before and it is a fun movement to play. It is very triumphant and the trumpets did a great job really emphasizing that.

All in all, the University of Northern Colorado Symphony Orchestra is a wonderful ensemble with amazing expression, dynamic contrast and technique. I greatly enjoyed this concert and give it two thumbs up.