This Saturday, I went to see the Erie Philharmonic show at the Warner Theatre with my sister, Danielle.
As always, I had a great time. I love seeing the Philharmonic perform.
I enjoy being a young patron of the arts.
I think it’s so important to set time aside to just enjoy music or other art forms and support local artists and performers.
The show focused on highlighting artists who grew to fame in Vienna.
They played music from Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Arnold Schoenberg and Richard Strauss.
Daniel Meyer, the conductor, came out on stage with a handful of index cards to thank the audience for attending and make some announcements after they finished performing Beethoven, the first piece of the night.
The Erie Philharmonic’s principal clarinetist, Amitai Vardi, joined them on stage to play Mozart’s Clarinet Concierto.
After Mozart, there was a 20-minute intermission. Before the Philharmonic resumed the evening with Schoenberg, Meyer came out with cards again and the screen above the stage was down.
The first image displayed was Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”
Not only did I recognize it instantly because it’s a well-known piece, but also because we had recently discussed it in one of my classes.
In my Theatre and Culture class Thursday, we discussed expressionism.
We talked about how it started with literature and paintings such as “The Scream,” but eventually worked its way into music as well.
Paintings during the period of expressionism in the early 20th century were more focused on personal interpretation to reflect the inner state over accuracy, and music followed a similar pattern.
“The Scream” doesn’t depict reality. Most of the lines are wavy, smeared and blurred.
The picture is distorted, which is typical of expressionism. This distortion translates to music that isn’t easy to listen to. Other pictures from the same period were shown before the Philharmonic played Schoenberg’s five pieces for orchestra.
I thought it was ironic and couldn’t believe that material I learned in class a few days prior was being discussed at the concert.
I feel like there are times where we sit in school and wonder if what we’re learning will ever be applicable to real life.
Although I didn’t really have to apply my knowledge during the concert, I was still appreciative of the fact that I had learned about expressionism in class and that I knew what Meyer was talking about. I didn’t feel lost or clueless on the subject matter.
So, although it may be tough to pay attention in class sometimes, it can be worth it in the end.
VERONICA KOWALSKI
