Concert Report #1

      Hello Bloggers!

       I went to my first school-sponsored concert on Monday. It was a Faculty Recital for Nicholas Walker featuring Siu Yan Luk. Nicholas Walker is a music professor at Ithaca, he specializes in the double bass. Siu Yan Luk is an accomplished pianist who currently works at Rochester Institute of Technology and Opus Ithaca School of Music. The recital was held on Monday September 16th in the Whalen Center for Music at Ithaca College in the Hockett Family Recital Hall and it started at 7pm. I heard 3 performances; the first one was performed by Nicholas Walker, he performed “Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008” by J.S.Bach, the second was played by both Siu Yan Luk and Nicholas Walker called “Sonata for Piano & Cello, Op.19” a piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff, The last piece was written by Nicholas Walker himself called “Chorale for Solo Bass”. There was also a surprise piece at the end. After everyone had given Nicholas Walker a standing ovation he came back out on stage and played “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” by Coldplay.

        Each piece that was played had a memorable part. The first piece played by Walker was by J.S. Bach. It started off with a slow melody and very light texture. The song progressed into another part of the song called the “Courante” this part of the song the tempo increased and the texture got deeper because of how much pressure Walker put on the bow. The last two parts of the song called the “Minuet I &II” and “Gigue” was what I found memorable. It was much more complex, the texture was even deeper and the tempo increased. The melody was deeper also it was not as light like in the beginning of the number. I found the intensity towards the end of the song memorable.

                          The second piece that was performed was with both Nicholas Walker and Siu Yan Luk. The song starts off with a slow tempo and light texture as the piano plays a soft melody, the double bass then joins in but still keeps the texture light although at times Walker would put more pressure on his bow to make his part louder. There was also a burst of energy and tempo at times from the pianist, Siu Yan Luk; the texture would be light but then she would play a short, intense part but then go back to a lighter melody, this repeated many times in the song. The double bass then had a part where the texture got deeper and he repeats a melody a few times. The texture then got deeper and the songs tempo picked up making the song more intense. The part that I found memorable in this piece was at one point in the song Nicholas Walker retires his bow and results to plucking a melody on his double bass. He does this multiple times and I found it so fascinating, the change in sound and the melody of the song changed.

                          Finally the last piece was an original piece by Nicholas Walker. He told the audience that he hoped the “playfulness” would show through and I believe it did. The part I found most memorable was at the end when he plucked at the strings, similar to what he did in the piece with Siu Yan Luk. He plucked a sweet and soft melody but before hand, the melody was a bit intense the texture was deep so at the end when he plucks at the bow you could fell the tension release and the end to the song coming. His plucking of the strings got lighter and father apart. When he stopped there was a moment where no one did anything, it was dead silent we were so captured by his performance it took us all a moment to start applauding him. Another part that was memorable was after we gave him a standing ovation he came back onto the stage and started playing again, it took me a few seconds to realize he was playing “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” by Coldplay. I absolutely love Coldplay so I was so excited. Walker played with such intensity I was captivated. It was beautifully done, he played the song which originally has many instruments involved with it and he played the song successfully with one.

I really enjoyed this recital, I found that the change in tempo, texture and melody in each piece made the show keep moving; I stayed interested the whole time. It really made me want to go see what else Ithaca College’s music scene was like. My mood through out the recital was captivated. I found the songs to be interesting and unpredictable melody wise. The atmosphere in the recital hall was the same; everyone was interested and captured by the music and pure talent of the performers. I also noticed the texture, melody, harmony and at times the form in the music, which we have learned about all in class. I noticed that in the second performance, “Sonata for Piano & Cello, Op. 19” the melody and texture fluctuated dramatically throughout the piece. The piece would be calm and quiet and there would be a burst of intensity and the texture would get deeper. Overall I found this recital to be great!

-Kelsey