March 30, 2019: 8pm
This concert I went to on a whim. I’d heard of classical guitar before and was interested to hear what it sounded like in-person. There was also a guest conductor.
The first piece, Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D Major, also known as Haffner, was the opening. The first movement was very exciting, using the theme very openly and clearly. This made it easy to follow and easy to listen to. It was very festive sounding and upbeat. The second movement made a lot of use of double reeds. The oboe and the bassoon were quite prominent at the beginning. In the last movement, one thing I noticed is that the theme was again very festive, but the theme didn’t finish in its entirety until the very end and repeated the beginning and middle many times. I think the reason it was used in the opening was its pretty extensive use of the double reed instruments. It helped to connect with the second piece.
Before the second piece, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, Pablo Sainz Villegas came on stage to share a bit about the piece. He expressed his interpretation of the piece and what he felt the piece spoke of. He also shared a bit of the background of the composer. The second movement was composed after the death of his child. Villegas felt as though this movement reflected Rodrigo’s experience of fighting with God as he struggled with his loss. This was really expressed as he played the movement. The first movement began with the guitar starting with a theme which is repeated by the orchestra. It then continues to a different theme which plays alongside the bassoon. The cello solo in the middle of the movement also creates an interesting change in pace, and this is repeated with the oboe and the guitar. There is a lot of interaction between the melody/theme the guitar plays and that which the orchestra plays. Unlike the Brandenburg concerto we heard in class, rather than having a concertino that plays alone, the guitar is interwoven with the orchestra, creating a mix that reflects interaction and relationship. At the end of the movement, the bassoon (or English horn?) and the guitar play in unison to end. I found this really interesting because Villegas spoke of how the English horn was used by Rodrigo to express the “voice” of God. The second movement began with the guitar strumming as the background to the English horn’s solo, which introduced the main theme. It was a beautifully haunting melody. This theme is then repeated on the guitar with flourishes and more expressive (the tempo is stretched and manipulated). The English horn then responds with another take on the theme. The way the two instruments interact with the same theme in such an expressive way made tears come to my eyes. With a melody that was hauntingly memorable and played with such expression, this movement was very emotional. The solos were used in a way that expressed so much in very little. The final movement was also expressive but the theme itself was more upbeat and the piece itself ended with the guitar playing a final riff that closed with the orchestra and guitar repeating the same note three times, like a farewell. This piece was so good. The theme was passed from guitar to orchestra to guitar etc. Very memorable piece.
After this piece, Villegas played two solo songs, Paganini’s “La Campanella” and Tarrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra.” I never thought the guitar could sound so expressive and melodic until this concert. Would definitely recommend to anyone who’s interested.
The last piece, I felt, was also included because of its prominent oboe/double reed line. In Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, the oboe line is used to lead the rising line and creates much of the movement in the piece. The ending is very grand and fanfare-like which lifts the entire mood of the space. By using this, it created a closure for the night and was quite a listen.