Sendhil, Selvam

Concert Orchestra P2
October 30, 2011

Los Angeles Philharmonic Experience

On October 28, 2011, I attended the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney
Concert Hall. The orchestra encompassed a variety of instruments ranging from strings and
woodwinds to brass and percussion. This extensive group was conducted by the famous Gustavo
Dudamel, and accompanied by pianist Richard Goode. Dudamels ensemble performed two
pieces- a Mozart and a piece by Strauss.
The first piece was performed by the chamber group, a smaller slice of the grandiose
orchestra; they began the evening with Mozarts Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor accompanied
by Mr. Goode. Many aspects contributed to the concertos success. Two of these were the clearly
sustained dynamics, and tempo changes. Differentiation in volume gave the piece a soothing, and
peaceful emotion; when the tempos altered, it provided some excitement as well. The piano
accompaniment was a pleasant addition to the performance. Its harmony contributed largely to
the musicality of the concerto. When the strings leaped out from the harmony to the melody, it
was dynamically very predominant, and to my ears, was perfectly in tune. The music spreading
throughout the room from them, sounded as if only one musician was performing. Their bowings
were also exceptional; where the front chairs went, the rest followed. It was, overall, a superb
piece.
Subsequent to their highly applauded concerto was the suspenseful entrance into their
second piece, Also sprach Zarathustra, by Strauss. This piece was my favorite because it was the
most familiar to me. Although the title may not look familiar, the sound was; the music was
played in the entrance of the movie A Space Odyssey. The entire orchestra played this piece, so
the impact of it was more intense. This piece seemed higher on a scale of difficulty because of
the zooming, fast paced melody in the violin section at the climax of the piece. Also, glancing at
the violas, and cellos, I noticed shifting high up the fingerboard, closer to the bridge, which also
added to the implied difficulty. With my current struggle with third position on the viola, I was
astonished by this. Despite the newly vast size, the injection of extra instrumentalists still
managed to maintain quality intonation, and sounded as one cohesive group. The dynamic
variations throughout this piece topped it all off. I perceived a great emotional intensity by all of
the components that also made this my favorite piece.
Gustavo Dudamel and his ensemble put hard work into making this piece a success. Their
triumphant victory was a reflection of the dedication and effective practice that went into this.
This concert was truly memorable. The L.A. philharmonic put on a sublime performance I will
never forget.