Listening Diary: July 27, Essay Example

On July 23, I listened to Mornings with Carl Grapentine on WFMT from around 6:30 to 8:30. Grapentine seemed to offer more information in his segments than most of the DJs before, perhaps because he was able to talk about music that he was greatly familiar with. The two parts of the program that impressed me the most on were a segment that featured Music in Chicago and a Boccherini Cello Concerto performed by Yo-Yo-Ma. The section featuring Music in Chicago focused on the Elgin Orchestra and their concerts featuring the works of exiles in Hollywood. They played small sections of songs of many artists I am familiar with. Among the featured composers were George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, John Williams and Max Steiner. I recognized Gershwin, Kern and Williams by name, though I would not have been able name any songs by the first two. I did, however, recognize many of movies and song clips featured by the orchestra. My favorites were pieces from An American in Paris and Singing in the Rain, because I am familiar with both musicals and it was nice to be able to recognize songs on a station I do not generally listen to.

It was also nice to have a chance to hear Yo-Yo-Ma, as I remember how popular he was years ago and had heard some of his work before. I had not, however, heard him play the piece that he did on the program – the Boccherini Cello Concerto. I liked how well the piece flowed, and how one violin would play the first few notes before being joined by the others. I also liked the way Yo-Yo-Ma made the strings take on a sort of fluttering quality. I liked how happy and bright each note sounded and could picture the piece being used for a ballet, with dancers kicking and leaping into the air with each exuberant note that was struck. I also liked the wide range of notes that the orchestra hit. Their notes ranged from very high, to very low. I could even pick out the sound of the basses. There were commercials in between the pieces I heard.