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David Fincher’s 2010 film The Social Network is notorious for many aspects. Since its release almost a decade ago, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg continue to remain scrutinized by the public eye. With that said, one unexpected aspect of the film that has been widely acclaimed is its trailer, with many calling it the ‘one of the greatest movie trailers ever made,’ largely due to its use of music. The trailer ingeniously features a choral cover of Radiohead’s 1993 track, Creep. I will discuss two key aspects of the music which contribute to the trailer’s success. Firstly, its use of a choral cover accompanied by piano evokes a ghostly, chilling effect that has accumulated wide speculation. Moreover, the clever mapping of Creep‘s lyricism to the messages behind the film accentuate the intrigue behind the Social Network.

The trailer is set to a piano and choral rendition of Radiohead’s Creep, covered by Belgian girls choir, Scala & Kolancy Brothers. The chorus sings monophonically, accompanied by a softly playing piano, as the trailer flips through images from various unnamed people’s Facebook profiles. The photos are not unlike any we would normally see on our own Facebook timelines – yet the monophonic unison of voices in the background evoke an eerie effect, perhaps as if some unidentified force is watching from behind. There is also something to be said about the conscious decision to cover Radiohead’s song in a manner that scales it back, from a rock song to a much more primitive style – reminiscent to the plainchants that we listened to earlier in the first half of the term in MUSC 326A. Visually, the trailer depicts an incredibly modern, advanced piece of technology – and the juxtaposition of this visual element with a more archaic aural background further evokes an unsettling feeling in the viewer. Moreover, the chorus seems to embody the invisible audience that is ceaselessly present in a real social network.

Another key feature of the background music in The Social Network‘s trailer is its lyricism. Although the lyrics clearly were not written for the film, the trailer expertly matches the lyrics with visual elements of the trailer that truly capture the ‘creepiness’ of social media. For example, we see a close up on a computer screen, on Facebook, as a mouse clicks the ‘Add as Friend’ button while the chorus sings the lines:

I wanna have control

We also see images of a man smiling, flexing his muscles, as well as a photo of a woman at the beach in a bathing suit – similar to those we might often see on our own social media channels today. As we see the images, the chorus sings:

I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul

… which seems to nod to the hyper-fixation on perfection, particularly with body image, that many strive for on social media.

As the trailer progresses, we see clips from the actual film depicting Mark Zuckerberg and other characters. As plot events in the trailer intensify, the chorus breaks into homophonic chant – which heightens the emotion expressed visually in the trailer. Both visually and aurally, the experience intensifies – truly capturing the chaos in the plot-line.

In essence, The Social Network‘s trailer is truly captivating whether you’ve seen the film or not – and its ingenious use of music is equally, if not more significant, than its visual counterpart.

Sharon Van Etten is a New York based singer-songwriter, who used to write mostly in the folk/rock genre, but as of late, has been exploring styles more along the lines of 80s pop, incorporating more hard hitting drums and synthesizers. I had the chance to see her at the Imperial on the corner of Main and East Hastings on Feb 22nd.

The opening act was Nilüfer Yanya was from London England. Nilüfer brought an odd breed of indie rock combined with R&B. Nilüfer’s vocals were smoky, almost lazy, but well practiced. Her older compositions from the Do You Like Pain EP were bare, with drums coming in rarely in choruses, and spare embellishments from keyboards and saxophone A good example of her older of music can be seen in her song Baby Luv, in which she sings of love troubles, being cheated. At the show played some songs that would come out with her newest album Miss Universe, released in march after the show. On the new record is going in a rock-ier direction, check out her song In Your Head, she sounds almost like the Strokes in the best way possible. I would highly recommend Nilüfer, she has a refreshing sound.

After Nilüfer Yanya, Sharon played a lot of her new songs, as one would touring a new album. Sharon Van Etten has always had very interesting sound, heavily rooted from her very mature, smoky vocals, and the way she paces her singing. In her newest album Remind Me Tomorrow, she sounded much more energetic and confident compared to her older work, writing songs reminiscing of younger years, and coming to terms of the past.

Sharon played a lot of the new songs off of her newest album. She remembers of being a teen through seeing teenagers running about New York in the song Seventeen, as well as witnessing the city’s changes over the fifteen years she’s been there. In the song Comeback Kid, she sings of visiting family and feeling like a kid again in parents’ eyes. Both these songs clock in at a medium danceable tempo propelled by a kick snare kick snare beat (stadium beat?), the topics may seem dull but Sharon performed them triumphantly, it’s a refreshing change from her mellower past.

Taking a quick change of pace, the song Jupiter 4 is by far the most atmospheric in Sharon’s discography. Named after the synthesizer behind much of the album, the song is a haunting ballad, featuring a heavy bass ostinato and ghostly embellishments whose origin was mysterious to me. It may not be as punchy a song as the rest of the show, but the way the music envelopes her singing is quite remarkable.

The show wouldn’t be complete if Sharon didn’t play any of the oldies. On the song Tarifa, Sharon played guitar like she used to. The song is about her reminiscent of a moment of love in the sunset. The song is melancholic, sung mostly over strummed guitar, the backing band provided tasteful embellishments and fills over verses, and is appropriately grand over choruses.

Sharon played a quite a few other songs, a few notable songs include Every Time the Sun Comes up, in which she sings of the mundane rituals of daily life, as well as the song You Shadow, in which she sings ‘You don’t do nothing I don’t do, you shadow’, coming off very sassy, almost disrespectful, talking about being copied and shadowed. The only negative of the show was I wished she played the song ‘Taking My Chances’, which I was expecting as the song was fairly popular. It was a great show overall, I’d recommend everyone to check out both Sharon Van Etten and Nilüfer Yanya.

On April 6^th, after 7 hours of studying molecular genetics in the basement of IKB, I decided to give myself a break by strolling over to the Chan for UBC Orchestra’s final concert of the year. The first half included Igor Stravinsky’s Funeral Song, followed by Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, with soprano D’Arcy Blunston singing the surrealist text by Arthur Rimbaud. I could gush over these two pieces forever, but I must talk about the second half, devoted to Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. I can’t exactly say why this piece affected me so strongly, but I feel completely inspired, so bear with me for this one.

In the first movement, titled “Rêveries”, the music speaks of meeting, or even just catching sight of, someone truly enchanting for the first time. Whether on stage reciting Shakespeare, or across a dancefloor, or even sitting across from you on the bus, the overactive imagination begins to envision the life that you and that one person could lead. You only get a glimpse of this person but somehow, against your own will, your mind shows you all the ups and downs of this imaginary future together, the adventures, the arguments, the heartbreaks. Like this first movement, it becomes is an overture to what the future could hold. Perhaps summoned by a simple melody played first by violins, it keeps popping into your head when at work, or in a lecture, or when you see that person once again across a ballroom. This idée fixe keeps reminding you, the hero of this symphony, of that special someone, whether you like it or not.

In movement two, “Un bal”, the scene is set by a triple meter and a light, joyful melody. As the lower strings pluck, you can feel yourself waltzing around a Parisian ballroom, and then that idée fixe suddenly returns. That special someone has just walked in, and you have spotted each other across the room, through the mass of dancing couples.

“Scène aux champs”, or in English, “Scene in the fields”, evokes the bliss of settling into a relationship. Starting with a light-hearted solo from an oboist, the movement flows like wind through a grassy field, and feels as if the composer was imagining him and his special someone as an older couple settling down on the countryside. Near the end of the movement the timpani rumble, alternating with that oboe solo, but getting louder and more ominous each time. Is this just a storm rolling over this country field, or is it foreshadowing what’s to come for this couple?

“Marche au supplice” (March to the scaffolds) is driven by a steady beat – a march – accompanied by military fanfare from the brass. Though we never covered it in class, it is one of the most recognizable movements of this symphony. You can imagine that with each crash of the symbols, our hero watches as prisoner after prisoner meets his end at the guillotine. His footsteps fall heavy as he walks up the wooden steps to the platform above. Suddenly, all other sound fades away. Our hero’s lover appears in the crowd, along with that enchanting idée fixe. One can imagine she gives our hero one last, comforting smile, right before… CRASH!

Once in the afterlife, our hero dreams up a ritual in “Songe d’une nuit du sabbat”. Unnaturally high-sounding winds seem to mock the waltz of the second movement. Violins screech and make unnatural sounds by hitting bows against strings. Amidst all this sacrilegious chaos, chimes break through. Are these church bells, perhaps ringing out at our hero’s funeral? One hopes they bring our hero some comfort, though it seems more likely that they are there to torment him.

As someone who is more familiar with vocal music, the symphony tends to involve working harder to connect with the music. It might be because we have already discussed this work in class, or because Berlioz succeeded in getting exactly what he wanted with this piece, but I found it so completely moving that I forgot all about my upcoming molecular genetics final. It was a truly fantastic end to a semester of fabulous music.

I have been in UBC Choirs for three years now, and have had some amazing musical experiences as a result. This year, as a member of the chamber choir, I have sung under the direction of the Masters of Conducting choral TA’s. On April 5^th, following a week of International Music put on by the UBC School of Music, we performed at the Chan Centre alongside Choral Union and University Singers.

Chamber choir performed after intermission, and our set was conducted by Steven Hamilton, doubling as a his master’s thesis recital. We sang music from around the world, beginning with Dúlamán: a fast-paced and intense musical setting by Michael McGlynn of a Gaelic folk tale. Learning the Gaelic pronunciation was a daunting task, especially as a soloist, with an almost entirely syllabic text setting and alternating meters. It’s a piece that requires a lot of hard work to master, but when done properly, it can revive an audience post-intermission.

To calm both the choir and the audience down, next up was Aftonen by Hugo Alfven. The piece creates a musical painting of the peaceful Swedish countryside in the evening, and was a cool contrast to the intensity of Dúlamán.

Next we travelled to China for two folk songs, Diu Diu Dengand Mountain Song & Dancing Tune, arranged by Chen Yi. The first song began with the choir imitating the sound of a steam engine building speed, then continued to imitate the sounds of the train travelling through the mountains, such as the “Diu! Diu!” sounds made by water drops hitting the metal roof of a train. In the second piece, soloists sang of the beauty of their homeland, quietly accompanied by the choir. It then changed mood and turned into a celebratory dancing song, with a lot of vocal jumping and rhythmic intensity.

Three Australian Bush Songsby Iain Grandage, the only song that we sang in English, paints the landscape of the Australian bush from “Dawn” to “Sunset”. The piece requires the improvisation of Australian bird songs, and chamber choir did an amazing job of researching and imitating a wide variety of calls. Watching the performance played back online, I was astounded by how real all the bird songs sounded. Even the dramatic Kookaburra call, mastered by Andrea Ciona, sounded extremely realistic.

Chamber choir’s final song was Balleilakka, which was an absolute behemoth of a piece to learn. It is a musical number from the Kollywood – not Bollywood – film “Sivaji”, and was written by A.R. Rahman in the Tamil language. This piece, arranged for choir by Ethan Sperry, is a vibrant and fast-paced celebration of traditional Tamil culture and the childhood of the movie’s main character, featuring a tricky tongue-twister as the most electrifying moment of the song. After a couple of serious, quiet, mildly-stressful-to-sing pieces, this took away any nerves that had built up during our performance, and I could just enjoy myself knowing how much work we had put into mastering the text.

Much like MUSC 326, the UBC Choirs are made up of students from every faculty. As a biology major with a musical background, it means so much that I was able to continue with choral singing even after high school. Chamber choir is full of students who are committed to enriching their lives with music, and I am very proud to have been a part of such a special ensemble.

I went to the Mozart concert on March 23^rd conducted by Otto Tausk at Chan Center. The conductor said that it is was a dream to bring Mozart’s last three symphonies (Nos. 39, No. 40 and 41) together on the stage. The three final symphonies were composed after a nearly two-year gap after his rest and were composed in just three months. They belong to the “Classical Era” in music history; at the same time, we have to notice that these three works were composed in the late 18^th century, and thus they were a part of the transition, with innovations to nineteenth-century music. Since we have learned the first movement of Symphony No. 40 in G minor, I will skip the introduction for it.

Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543

Symphony No. 39 is as “elegant, witty, and superbly entertaining” as the programme said. When the first movement began, I could feel a warm and bright atmosphere, as if spring were coming and flowers beginning to blossom. Everything seemed to be peaceful. How did it give me such a pleasant feeling? The symphony begins with a soft slow tempo in the Adagio of the preparatory section, which reminds me of the tender spring thunder. It also forms a strong contrast with the Allegro that follows, as it sounds more graceful and gentle. It is the clarinets Mozart used that contribute to a mellow sound and harmonious atmosphere. Moving on to the second movement, more warmth was added in the melody. It was played softly and melodiously. I can imagine an elegant woman walking along the river in the lingering light of the sun. Different from the second graceful second movement, the third movement, a minuete, brings me to a scene where lively young men and women holding hands, dancing in a beautiful garden.  It is said to be based on a traditional dance tune from Switzerland whose “rustic nature is enhanced by the sound of clarinets.” The symphony wraps up with a nimble and witty finale that is totally opposite to the first two movements. It gave me an impression of being full of vigor: birds flying and singing, dears and dogs running across the forests. According to the introduction on the programme, this finale summons images of the comic opera world that Mozart understood fully.

Symphony No.41 in C Major, K.551 Jupiter

It is the longest (about 33 minutes) and last symphony, with four movements in sonata form that Mozart composed during the summer of 1788. It is regarded as the greatest symphonies in classical music. Jupiter mirrors No. 40 in dispensing with the slow introduction. Then, we can feel an immediate turn to a joyous and energetic music world. Although it is very lively and fast, it still retains an unforced elegance. Among the four movements, the finale, Molto allegro, is probably of the most significance. On the one hand, Mozart incorporated elements of fugal writing – five-voice fugato at the end of the fourth movement. On the other hand, he also tried to be innovative: he dropped the trumpets and drums for the slow movements, leading to a brisk and nimble symphony. The finale perfectly concludes Mozart’s career as a symphonist. I was fortunate to attend this concert and had a close experience appreciating Mozart’s changes in emotions when composing the last three works.

I watched “The Magic Flute” on February 2^nd at Chan Center. This was actually my first opera experience. It is also Mozart’s last work; the composer died two months after the show premiered, in 1791. It is an opera in two acts to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The story was originally written by the German poet C. M. Wieland. In the opera, the Prince Tamino is persuaded by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina with the accompany of Papageno from captivity under the high priest Sarastro. With the power of the magic flute, Tamino learns the high ideals of Sarastro’s community and seeks to join it. Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her cohorts vanquished. I think that Mozart successfully bestows characters with lives and unique personalities via different styles of composition.

My favorite piece is the Lied, “The bird-catcher, that’s me.” This is a lied that expresses the simple characteristic of Papageno. Then how to prove he is a simple man with music? Mozart composed it in a very simple way; it is strophic and the melody repeats over and over again with only the words change stanza by stanza. The jumping of the notes also forms a strong contrast with the composition for other characters, indicating that he is a very happy man. While the famous “Queen of the Night” aria introduces the audience with a totally different woman; she jumps from high note to high note, which is inhuman to some extent. The through-composed aria is also off the scale, which implies that the queen is a very complicated and unpredictable person. The through-composed aria contributes to the dramatic effect of the opera. When it comes to Sarastro and priests, it is another story: Sarastro sounds very calm and serious and the chorus of priests sounds like a choir singing a hymn. Actually, when I heard this, I felt very confused: shouldn’t Sarastro be a very bad guy? Why did he have such a peaceful aria? Well, the answer was revealed in the next few scenes that he is not as bad as described by the queen of the night. Thus, the aria foreshadows the climax of the story.

In spite of the composition, I have to admit that I personally didn’t like the story. I think it is very cliché –a prince and a princess falling in love at first sight and then living happily ever after, while Papageno, the bird catcher, was like a clown in the show and fail the trials. He fell in love with Papagena only after realizing her true appearance. I’m not a fan of 18th-century literature and art because of the ideology of fixed classes and expectations on the social division of labor. But it is also because of the unique social context that contributes to the “classical era.”

Overall, this is a good performance. The student actors and actresses showed their talent and passion in the opera. I was fortunate to attend the opera with full costumes at an affordable price.

I went to the 2019 Young Prodigies Concerto Gala on April 7^th at the Chan Center. It was held by the Music without Borders Society in collaboration with MWB Symphony Orchestra and Tom Lee Music. Seven famous pieces were selected, and I will discuss the two of them listed.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

This Piano Concerto was written and performed by Chopin in 1830 when he was twenty years old (how talented he was to compose this in such a young age!). The first movement has three themes, which are introduced by the orchestra at the beginning, and then the piano follows, playing the first them. At the very beginning, the introduction by orchestra makes me feel creepy, which is a general impression for minor tones in my mind. But this soon changes when the piano plays the leading part. I could feel a very happy and lively atmosphere via the jumps of the notes. The second theme is more lyric, which sounds more elegant and elaborate. The third theme is in a major key. Similarly, it is introduced in the exposition by the orchestra, and then the piano joins. Obviously, this is a very difficult theme to play. When I saw the hands of the pianist move on the keys with nonstop, I can do nothing but gasp in admiration for the young pianist. But when I compare the performance with the recording, I found the degree of the pitch was different between the two versions, which led to different emotional expressions.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

This Piano Concerto was composed by Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. Only the third movement was played at this concert. It is written in three-movement concerto form, which engages a change in the key for each movement. The complete work was premiered on 9 November 1901. This is an important piece of Rachmaninoff’s as it established his fame as a concerto composer. The Allegro scherzando begins with a short orchestral introduction that modulates from E to C minor. A piano solo then leads to the primary theme. It is so agitated that one can feel the composer’s intended emotions: being unstable, confused, and at a loss. This impression concurs with his personal life as he was struggling with depression for 7 years. However, when the secondary lyric theme comes, one can feel the changes in his emotion: it is slower and softer. After that, an extended and energetic development section is heard. I can imagine the struggling and anxiety through the fast tempo and stormy motifs. But, finally, the movement ends very triumphantly in the tonic major, as if to demonstrate that the composer has recovered from the depression. The melody makes me believe that he was ready for a new life and became energetic and excited again.

What impressed me most from the concerti were the pianists – they are still secondary school students! But they have demonstrated their talent, passion, and diligence in playing the piano. This concert was also a collaboration of the young pianist with a very experienced orchestra, which is very precious for the young prodigies.

The concert “J.S. Bach: the Circle of Creation” was held on January 25^th at the Vancouver Playhouse with Elisa Citterio the music director, Alison Mackay in charge of creation, script, and programme, and Kevin Bundy as the narrator. There were 24 works presented in total, including almost all of the music forms in the Baroque era, including the cantata, sonata, orchestral suite, concerto, and canon.

One may be curious why there was a narrator in the concert. This is actually the most impressive part of the concert: by having an actor/narrator, this was no longer a soporific, boring orchestral concert, where the audience watches the show quietly; instead, it was fun, educational, comprehensive and innovative. To enhance the theme, “the circle of creation,” a storyline ran through the concert, helping audiences understand Bach, his lifetime, the social context, and the development of musical instruments while listening to the masterpieces, thereby purposefully encouraged the audience’s engagement by stimulating their vision and auditory. A little story was inserted between every piece and this essential storyline was linked by the narrator; if he was the branch, then the orchestra was the leaves grown on it. Besides, he also helped to heighten the audience’s emotions: take the Canon triplex on the first 8 notes of Goldberg Variations, BWV 1087/13, for instance. He invited audiences to join him in singing a simple tone. It was the first time I felt that “classical music” can also be interesting and colorful. My favorite two pieces of the night were the Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 and the Canon triplex on the first 8 notes of Goldberg Variations, BWV 1087. which I will examine briefly.

Brandenburg Concerto no.3 in G Major, BWV 1048

The Brandenburg Concertos are a collection of six instrumental works. The works were presented in 1721 and then became some of the best orchestral compositions of the Baroque era. As a typical chamber music concert, there were three violins, three violas, three cellos, and a basso continuo that also included a harpsichord in this case. The melody of the first movement brought me back to 18^th century Europe: I could imagine the nobility in fancy clothes chatting in a magnificent room. The key in G major left audiences with solemn but hopeful impression. The second movement had a faster tempo. It reminded me of the hustle and bustle of city life if anything. The outer movements use the rit, which was popular at the time and that reminds audiences of the beginning of the concerto, thus forming a coherent structure.

Canon triplex on the first 8 notes of Goldberg Variations, BWV 1087

This work was discovered in 1974 with an appendix in the form of fourteen canons built on the first eight bass notes from the aria. It is quite a simple piece. The narrator invited audiences to join and learn the melody just as Bach once taught his students. The audience learned that this type of canon was used for teaching, as a lot of musical instruments were new in this era. The canon, as we have learned in class, is a contrapuntal compositional technique that employs a melody with imitations of the melody played. In this case, the first 8 notes of Goldberg, like the title indicates, were played repeatedly. I was surprised about the audience engagement during the concert, as this was the first time I saw the audience singing in a classical music concert!

Overall, this was an excellent event. Actually, it is also my favorite concert as it surprised me in stage performance and design. Concerts of this type should be presented! They would definitely change people’s attitudes toward classical music. Even children would enjoy the show.

I watched the famous musical “Chicago” at the Ambassador Theatre, New York, on February 24. “Chicago” is an American musical recomposed from a book about Jazz-age Chicago by Ebb and Bob Fosse, depicting actual criminals and crimes from 1926. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the “celebrity criminal.” It is said to be one of the oldest musicals on Broadway. The original production ran from 1975 to 1977, and the present version was choreographed by Fosse and brought to the stage in 1979.

The performance, both by the band and actors/actresses, was impressive and unforgettable. There was a square area in the center of the stage where the band played the music. Around the band was the acting area, but sometimes the actors also interacted with the band and audiences. The costumes for the band and actors/actresses created a strong contrast: the band was dressed in suits, while the others were in black flimsy tops which were see-through. Seeing the costumes at the very beginning, one could sense that the musical would be a story of desire, sex, and city. The theme tone could be identified by the makeup and dancing as well: red lipsticks and a combination of jazz and Burlesque dancing maximized the dramatic and comedy expression that appealed to the emotions and intrigued the intellect. The Overture: All That Jazz and Cell Block Tango are probably the most popular two pieces from this musical, which was composed in the late nineteenth century.

All that Jazz:

Of course, Jazz is the main theme. Jazz is a performance style that developed among black musicians around 1910. The music usually consists of popular songs, blues, or abstract chord series called “changes,” but also “a special, highly charged way of performing that music.” The overture begins by the trumpet playing, coloring the scene with a lazy tone that is the primary key. It is like improvisation: the musicians freely elaborate around a song, as our textbook says. Then, the ensemble begins with a fast tempo and powerful beat as the secondary key begins, as if the stage has been set and audiences were to be brought back to the scenes where the story happened through a time tunnel. Usually the secondary key engages in a special rhythmic style involving highly developed syncopation, emphasizing the off-beat. This is called a “backbeat” in jazz parlance. It left me with a bright but sarcastic impression – not for the story only, but probably also to reveal the ironic social atmosphere in 19^th century Chicago. I can imagine the story taking place in a luxurious and dissipating city where neon lights shine until midnight. The rhythm then slows down and the story begins – a soft, sexy female voice invites audiences get prepared and watch the story with her.

Cell Block Tango

This song summarizes six women’s lives. Specifically, it tells the stories that brought these women in the cell, behind the bars. It begins (and also ends) with six keywords for each woman such as “pop” and “ah ah,” followed with lyrics “he had it coming,” the structural motive that appears several times in both the melody and the story line. The prelude fades in and becomes faster and faster with every appearance of the motive. The actual stories were presented in a talkative way: actress introduced very powerfully and firmly their past, one by one, feeling wronged to be put in the jail – they did nothing wrong!

The work was written to present the irony of the society: an innocent woman was executed because she did not have a good lawyer; the murderers, however, managed to be released and finally became celebrities in Chicago. The strong drum beats were like their strong emotions: endless desire, hatred, and the up-and-down dramatic life. The main theme, “he had it coming… he only had himself to be blamed… if you were been there, if you’ve seen it, I bet you would have done the same,” reappeared with the familiar melody in the whole song. It is the core motive, and it is also the central idea of this section. The drums also implied their determination to commit the crimes.

Overall, this was a wonderful experience in New York watching a fantastic Broadway show!

On Sunday, Mar. 24, I had the privilege of attending a concert hosted by the Vancouver Recital Society (VRS). VRS was founded in 1980 by director Leila Getz, and since then, has invited countless musical virtuosi to come performance recitals in Vancouver. Past performs whom have been invited include renowned pianst Evgeny Kisisn, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and sopranos Jessye Norman and Kiri Te Kanawa. This time, the VRS invited Yevgeny Subdin, a young Russian pianist whom is no doubt a rising star in the musical world. Subdin was born in St. Petersburg in 1980 and has studied at the Purcell School in London, as well as the Royal Academy of Music. On YouTube, he is well-known for his interpretations of pieces by Domenico Scarlatti and Alexander Scriabin.

The concert began with two Sonatas, in B minor and G major respectively, both by Scarlatti. Scarlatti has been categorized as a late-Baroque, early-Classical composer, and his sonatas certainly reflected this. Unlike the Classical sonata, Scarlatti’s sonatas were single-movement pieces not written in sonata form. However, repetition of some themes could have indicated the early signs of Classical era sonata form. Subdin next played Beethoven’s Bagatelles, Op. 126. This consisted of 6 short character pieces for piano, and according to Wikipedia, Beethoven is reported to have said they are the “best [he’s] ever written.” The individual pieces were absolutely charming, and it was hard to resist not clapping between each one! The pieces varied in tonality, as well as fast/slow tempos and major/minor modes. The Bagatelles were followed by a beautiful yet very technically challenging piece by Chopin, the Ballade No. 3 in A flat major Op. 47, which closed the 1^stact. Interestingly, Subdin’s repertoire began in the Baroque, moved through the classical, and ended in the Romantic.

After the intermission, Subdin picked off from where he left off with 3 pieces by Alexander Scriabin, a Russian composer of the late-Romantic, Early-20^thcentury. While all three pieces were incredibly technically challenging, the most impressive by far was the Nocture for the Left Hand, Op. 9. Remarkably, the entire piece was performed only with the left hand, with the right hand remaining at rest on Subdin’s lap. Despite only one hand, the piece sounded incredibly rich, harmonious, and full of sound. By default, this required the left hand jump massive distances across the keyboard to provide both the homophonic melodic line and the accompaniment.

For his encore, Subdin performed a piano adaption of the famous Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens, a contemporary of Scriabin. Originally a piece for orchestra, Danse Macabre represents Death himself arriving on Halloween and inviting skeletons to awaken from the grave and dance throughout the night until dawn. While the music is beautiful, much of it written in triple meter to represent a waltz-like quality, one cannot help but be reminded that it is the dead, rather than the living, who are dancing. Of note is the presentation of the Dies irae melody borrowed from the Gregorian chant, similar to what we heard in class in the final movement of the Symphonie Fantastique.

Overall, Subdin put on an absolutely remarkable performance. From where I was sitting, I was fortunate enough to have a view of his fingers as the flew up and down the keyboard throughout the concert. What an incredible concert experience! (5/5)