Listening Diary: July 19, Essay Example

On July 19^th I listened to WFMT from around 1:00 to 2:30. The DJ was Kerry Frumkin, who seemed knowledgeable and was very good about giving details about each song played.  One of the songs I found particularly memorable was Debussy’s “En Blanc et Noir,” which was performed by Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy.  I did not recognize the song’s title when Frumkin announced it, but once I heard it, I knew I had heard it before. I liked the contrasts in Debussy’s piece. It moved from quiet to roaring, from soft to loud and from jaunty to peaceful. I particularly liked how the sounds of the piano made it so easy for the listener to visualize fingers rolling quickly down the keys. Because of the pace and the intricacy of the music, it seemed obvious to me that it was a complicated and complex piece, so the performance was very impressive. What I liked best about the piece was that it was so upbeat. This was nowhere near as dark as some of the pieces I had heard on the show previously. The pianist struck one warm sounding chord after another.

I also enjoyed Mozart’s Violin Concerto #3 in G, though I did not quite catch who played it. The concerto had a harmonic quality to it and the sound of the violins was sweet and airy. I particularly liked how the soloist and the rest of the orchestra interacted with one another – as if the orchestra was answering the soloist. Parts of the song reminded me of a hunt, as the notes were short and staccato. One of the interesting things about this piece was how much the cellos stood out. It is often hard for me to pick out the cellos, as they are often overpowered by other instruments, but in this case I could hear them very clearly.

Later parts of the song seemed more like songs for a ballroom than sounds for a hunt, but each section was just as lively as the last. Another impressive aspect of this piece was how many different parts there were to it – not just one after the other, but sometimes one on top of the other. Yet the piece maintained its beauty and its cohesion and every piece fit with the others as if it were a musical puzzle. I cannot recall hearing any commercials during this section of the program.