Madison Summers

Assignment #2
April 9th, 2018
th
The Ariel Quartet Performance on Tuesday, March 20 , 2018
When you first walk into Corbett Auditorium you noticed the room has two levels, and is broken
into three sections (left, middle, and right). The stage in front made it really easy to see from any seat
within the room, even the balcony areas on the 1st and 2nd floor. The stage has a simple setup, with two
chairs and two stools, and a brown paneled background behind the chairs. Once the performance started
the auditorium was about one-fourth to one-third full across both level on a Tuesday night. The
performance consisted of three pieces which were the String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421 by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet No. 6 by John Harbison, and String Quartet No. 2 in A minor,
Op. 51, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.

The first piece lasted about 30 minutes, this piece was consistent with the normal structure of a
quartet, with a relatively fast first movement, a slow elongated second movement, a dance-like third
movement, and a march-like fourth movement. The quartet guided you along throughout the piece as they
moved with the notes they were playing. The movements helped you to anticipate what was coming next
and allowed you to pick back up if you had missed a certain part of the piece. Even though the entire
quartet was moving throughout the piece, the quartet movements were not distracting to listening to the
piece. After the piece the audience gave a standing ovation to the performers.

The second piece lasted about 20-25 minutes in length. The piece started out with the composer
giving a few words about the piece. He also included notes within concert program, to aid the listener in
following the movements. This was very helpful and added to the visual representation of the piece. The
soloist was one of the violinist within the quartet, it was known she was the soloist as the other three in
the quartet was wearing black, and she was in sparkling blue. Throughout this piece, the violin, viola, and
cello were accompanying the violinist. The notes were very helpful, but the quartet did a great job of
portraying the music with their physical movements and visual aids, but also with how they played the
melody itself. The biggest section that the soloist had was the first movement, but she also had small parts
throughout the rest of the piece. She did a great job throughout the entire piece, and portrayed the written
notes well. After this piece, there was a standing ovation and a brief intermission before the performers
started the third piece.

The third piece lasted about 40 minutes in length. Throughout the first movement you will hear
many dynamic, style, and mood changes throughout. The movement takes you on a journey, starting you
off with long elongated notes and a solo by the violin that is accompanied by the rest of the quartet. Then
as the quartet progressed to the next scene they all come together in unison. The violins and viola carry
the melody while the cello is accompanying them with string plucking to give a dramatic and dark theme
to the music. As the movement progresses forward there are many dynamic and mood changes within a
short period of time. It starts off as a march with loud and drastic notes, then it moves to a staccato
rhythm that sounds like a victim is running away from a monster chasing them, this then progresses to a
lullaby, with long and smooth notes. Then there is a dramatic shift and the melody gets dark and heavy.
The movement ends with the quartet playing a different part of the melody all at the same time, until the
last few measures where they come back together in unison. The second movement takes a drastic turn,
and compares light and dark throughout. After a brief pause from the first movement, the second
movement starts off soft and smooth with the soloist. She plays the melody and the rest of the quartet
accompanies her throughout the movement. The contrast between the accompaniment and the soloist
allow for the melody to shine through and provide the light of the movement. The piece then turns dark
and heavy as the both the soloist and the trio are playing louder while using the technique of plucking.
They then slowly transition back to the light, with elongated and smoother notes. Finally, the movement
ends with quartet coming back to play the same melody in unison.

After a brief pause, the musicians start movement 3. This begins dance like, almost sounding at
times like the nutcracker. Throughout the entire movement they are placing fast staccato notes and when
they switch to a slower tempo the notes are elongated and connected throughout. They emphasize the
theme within this movement by playing the same chord progression four times, with different dynamics.
Finally, the quartet ends the movement in unison. There is a brief pause and then the last and final
movement begins. The fourth movement changes rhythm, mood, and tone within measures of each other.
The different styles happen fast, so you must pay close attention throughout the entire movement. It
begins fast, loud and dramatic and then the cello rests for four measures. The tone then shifts to
mysterious by playing staccato notes which quickly shifts back to smooth and elegant notes a few
measures later. This theme repeats two or three times within the final movement. It then moves into
dramatic dynamic scales that shift between the loudness and softness every few measures. They play two
notes together in a way that makes you think they are tuning their instruments. The quartet then takes off
into a scale which draws you back in. The fourth movement ends with the quartet playing very fast and in
unison. After this piece had ended there was another standing ovation for the quartet. Throughout the
entire performance I thought that the performers did an excellent job. They moved gracefully and together
throughout all three pieces and accompanied the soloist well throughout. I would recommend seeing any
of the Ariel Quartet performances that are offered through CCM (College-Conservatory of Music), as
they will play a beautiful representation of any piece.