Anna Dasom Schmitz’s Junior Recital was a very talented display on the piano. Her performance really showed her potential on the piano, especially considering it was only a junior recital. The overall nature of the concert was low-key compared to the last concert I attended, but it was still very composed and organized. Although the sound of the piano was only focus of the performance, it made things feel peaceful and unique, something I never felt at the previous concerts I attended. Overall I really enjoyed all of the music throughout the entire performance, however Hoe-Down, the last piece performed, was certainly my favorite. At first I thought this piece was similar to the previous classical piano pieces, however instead this piece had a folk type melody, which really made it exceptional. At times it almost sounded as if there was some sort of string instrument being used. At some points the music could have convinced some that she was actually playing a banjo instead of the piano. Another reason why I enjoyed this piece more than the others was because of its up beat phrases played at the end of the recital.
I think choosing to have this piece with the fastest tempo and unusual form at the end of the performance put a perfect cap on the recital as a whole. Hoe-Down is now one of my favorite songs to do homework to or when I am just relaxing. On a side note, I also found it very interesting that during some of Bob Dylan’s performances he was introduced with Hoe-Down playing in the background. My least favorite piece of the recital was Schmitz’s Sonata in D Minor. Although I still enjoyed the performance of this piece, the piece itself seemed a little to repetitive and boring. It felt as if the entire song was just slowed down and stretched out. The reason it though this piece sounded so repetitive was because of the constant tempo. This was not something that tied together to the rest of her pieces which all seemed to have a lot more movement. Although this piece lacked the consistent form from the rest of the recital, I still think it presented abundant musical talent and was still an acceptable addition to the concert as a whole. To conclude, I really enjoyed attending this concert. This was my first junior recital and I plan to attend more in the future now with higher expectations.
The Essay on Piano Concert
On April 8th 2004 I attended the “Music for Piano” concert featuring Bette Coulson and Philip Seward at the Columbia College Concert Hall. The show was only about an hour. Mr. Seward and Mrs. Coulson played five pieces together and then each play on solo. This was my first piano concert, of any kind, that I have attended. This was something new for me. The concert included seven ...
The one thing I thought Schmitz’s performance displayed the most was the ample amount of preparation and practice that had to be put in, in order to perform these pieces with such organization and skill. Besides for the two pieces I previously explained, the junior recital featured one other piece. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 was another skilled performance, however this piece featured three movements which caused the piece to remain very enjoyable. The large movements of tempo gave this piece a great musical fluidity adding to the competent consistency of the entire recital. I give a lot of admiration to the performance as a whole and for only a junior recital I am completely astonished of Schmitz’s potential
