Evening of chamber music

"Classical music is more than just background music for Bugs Bunny Cartoons. But, sometimes, it is hard to separate the two."
--- Me

Thursday night I attended a chamber music concert at the local university.

I walked from mom's house, and on a nice evening, I arrived in plenty of time. I didn't know where the Ann Nicole Nelson Hall was located so I had to wander around the campus looking at the buildings. I found the hall to be in the "Old Main" building. I am not sure how old the building is, but it is one of the first buildings so it must be nearing 100 years now.

Years ago when I attended this college Old Main was an old and out of date building. My, how times have changed. Inside the building is up-to-date and quite nice.

I have faint memories of being in the Ann Nicole Nelson Hall though I am not sure the room was named that when I attended the college. The room is large and quite nice. The acoustics were very good. During the pauses within the sections of each piece, and between the three pieces, the silence was deafening. I think the people in the audience even held their breath so as not to be heard.

Interestingly people only applauded between the three pieces and not in the minute or so interlude between the movements within the piece. This was different than what I was accustomed to as people tend to applaud as soon as they think the performers will stop playing.

The audience was quite small. I estimated the number of people to be around 30. A variety of people from old couples, families, and college students. A half dozen college age girls and a guy sat half a dozen seats over in the row behind me. Chatter, chatter, chatter. Even the guy chattered mindlessly right along with the girls. All youthful, useless, energy that young people exude when out of their normal environment and no direction known. During the intermission the girls and guy could not 'not talk' and could be heard whispering as quiet as they could.

The sonata by Beethoven was performed first. Three women came out on the stage. A violinist, a pianist, and a page turner. That's right - all one woman did was occasionally stand up then turn the page of music for the pianist.

All the women performers were dressed in blouses and slacks - so much for dressing up. The violinist - middle aged - and the pianist were dressed nicely, but their attire combined with their hair style had an asexual appearance. The violinist's hair was relatively short, the style that many older women wear. Practical. Not feminine.

The pianist's hair appeared to be long and swept up in the back. Not in a bun, but in a manner that I initially thought her hair was short also. Her hair style reminded me of the recent images of the LDS women caught up in the recent ranch raid in Texas. In their clothes and hair style they had a pioneer look about them.

asexual

1. Having no distinct sex
2. Without sexual action; as, asexual reproduction. See Fission and Gemmation.
3. Lacking interest in or desire for sex.

I don't think it neither a compliment nor a criticism to think of someone as a person and not as a man or a woman. My mind drifted as I listened to the music and looked at the performers and I pondered the difference being between a man, a woman, and a person. I think it is better to be considered a man or a woman, and not merely a person. Being labeled a person sounds politically correct and sexless. I know I would prefer to be considered a man and not a person. Being considered a man or a woman brings with it all the associations in being a man or a woman, and each sex has characteristics that are positive and interesting. Being a person is bland. And interchangeable. "Viva La Difference!"

The page turner was a woman, and not just a person. Unfortunately she sat behind the pianist, and other than the short periods when she stood, all I saw of her was when she prepared the stage between the performance pieces. She was dressed in a black pants suit with a cut that at least showed she had a narrower waist than hips. She wore two inch dress heels (versus the one inch plain shoes the other women wore) and she had more of a feminine appearance and walk. Her hair was longer also.

The women were all serious as they performed. With an ordinary view I closed my eyes to listen to the music. This was a mistake as under the surface I was tired. I didn't make it to the end of Beethoven's sonata before I fell asleep. The applause at the end woke me up.

The women walked off the stage, immediately returned to applause and to take a bow, then left.

The second piece was performed by the same pianist and page turner. They were joined by a woman on cello. She also wore a blouse and slacks, though out of sync with the somber colors the other women wore.

The second piece was a modern piece. It was a "world premiere" public performance. The piece had sharp discordant notes with pauses for effect. Modern. It reminded of classical music movie performances from the 1950s and 1960s (i.e. "The World of Henry Orient" - which I just watched a few days ago) where the music sounded more like noise than music.

The piece being played wasn't that bad - or modern - but the cellist's introduction mentioned that when she spoke with the composer he said the sonata had no overall theme or story. My mind drifted to thoughts that the best contemporary "classical" music is found in movie soundtracks. This sonata seemed to have irony, was "self aware", and seemed to be trying to be clever at times. Elements that are now part of our contemporary life, but not something I want when listening to classical music.

I didn't fall asleep during this sonata. It wasn't as relaxing.

After an intermission all performers returned to play a sonata composed by Brahms in 1883. This sonata had a different style than the Beethoven sonata. It was good but before I could describe and consider my thoughts on it I fell asleep again. Again! This time I believe I missed over half of the sonata before being awoke when the applause began.

The audience may have been small but they were enthusiastic. When the performers returned to take their second bow everyone rose to their feet. It was good.. but that good? I was tired from being asleep but I groggily rose to my feet also. I didn't want to join the only other person not to stand - a small girl who had fallen asleep also.