Rebecca Tailor (L31513052)
String Chamber Ensemble Recital, November 12, 2022
November 19, 2022
Live Concert Review
For the duration of Music Appreciation students are tasked with going to at least one
concert approved by Dr. Trombetta and writing a review of the concert for a final grade in the
class. There were many concerts available through the LU School of Music, however, I chose to
go to the String Chamber Ensemble Recital on November 12, 2022. I did this because I wanted
to support both Dr. Trombetta and his students performing in the recital.
The concert took place at Macel Falwell Recital Hall on the Liberty University campus at
5:30 pm on Saturday. The recital happened during the final College For A Weekend of the fall
semester so it had a very high attendance rate. While a majority of concerts and recitals including
the one I attended are free, some do require the purchase of tickets for guests.
The recital began with the string ensemble playing “String Quartet no. 2 in D major” by
Alexander Borodin. The quartet was composed in 1881 as a love letter to his wife, the pianist
Yekaterina Sergeyevna Protopopova. It consists of four movements: Allegro moderato, Scherzo.
Allegro, Notturno (Nocturne): Andante, and Finale: Andante - vivace. Unlike in most
movements, the director changed the first and second violinist and the cellist between
movements. During the first and second movements, Mary Ruth Williams and Hannah O’Berry
switched between first and second violinist while Kellan Mozzone played the cello. During the
third and fourth movements, Julia Dombrovski and Mark Lyford switched between first and
second violinist while Sara Phelps played the cello. Lastly, Susie Perez Cutright played the viola
throughout all four movements. The first movement is written in Sonata form and begins with
dialog between the first violin and cello. The two instruments dominate the first movement and
can be heard above the second violin and viola. During the movement techniques such as
pizzicato were used and the key was changed. The second movement is also written in Sonata
form and starts with a scherzo style eventually evolving into a waltz style. During the movement
there was a brief pause then at the end pizzicato was used. The third movement is considered to
be the most famous within the quartet. It opens with the cello playing a solo while the second
violin and viola accompany it. The final movement is in Sonata form and begins with a dialogue
between both violins and the cello and viola (Castillo, 2022). Although all the movements were
beautiful in their own way, my favorite was the fourth movement because of the rich tone of the
cello and viola playing together. The cello player, Sara Phelps played the cello beautifully and
Susie Perez Cutright was very skillful with the viola.
The recital ended with the string ensemble playing “String Quartet no. 8 in C minor, Op.
110” by Dimitri Shostakovich. The quartet was composed in the summer of 1960 and was
inspired by the sight of the bombed-out ruins of Dresden. It consists of five movements: Largo,
Allegro molto, Allegretto, Largo, and Largo. During the performance Lauren Kim played the
first violin, Miriam Thompson played the second violin, Ariana Leggett played the viola, and
Max Foster played the cello. Throughout the five movements,Shostakovich's musical signature
DSCH (the notes D, E flat, C, and B natural) is referred to. The first movement is considered an
elegy, a poem of deep reflection. Throughout the piece, this can be shown with the image of
gloom and despair plainly stated. The second movement starts with a bang and is considered
fast-paced. It has very high energy and can be considered violent. The third movement is in a
waltz style and is centered around Shostakovich's musical signature DSCH. Most waltzes are
considered soft or relaxing however this one is considered chilling by most. The fourth
movement begins with repeated cords that represent gunshots or what others believe to be the
knocking of KGB soldiers atShostakovic’s door. In this movement, DSCH is used at the end of
the piece to drive home the message. The final movement is based purely on DSCH and has
many of the same elements as the first movement. The music in this movement expresses the
sense of numbness in the audience and helps to close out the quartet (Castillo, 2022).Throughout
the entire quartet, Lauren Kim did an amazing job playing the violin. The entire piece called for
very difficult techniques of the performer, however, Lauren Kim exceeded those expectations.
Although this quartet can be described as being dark, it is also exceptionally beautiful. My
favorite movement within the piece is the second movement. I enjoyed the fresh energy it
brought after, the gloom of the first movement, and the rapid movements of all the instruments,
especially the first violin.
References
Castillo, P. (2022, November 12).String Chamber Ensembles.Retrieved from
https://www.liberty.edu/music/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2022/11/String-Chamber-Ens
emble-Recital-11.12.22.pdf
