IDEAS ABOUT MUSIC
Borok and Bax did not introduce themselves before they started to play; instead, Borok acted as the night's host and started with a brief discussion of the music and artists of the night. This gives the impression that the performers believe the music is more important than getting their name out there. Unlike any classical performance I have ever attended, the performers actually prompted us to read the program. The audience seemed to share this similar idea of music. After intermission, I noticed a group of adults moving from the back of the hall into the front row. I approached them to ask why they did so. One of the women answered, "Acoustically, I thought we were in a dead zone." These audience members, too, shared in the belief of the importance of the music itself. The qualities of overlapping, harmonic violin and piano sounds were most pleasing to the audience's ear, for it was during these long musical phrases most sighs of awe were heard. This was especially proven in Sonata in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1 where Borok introduced the piece by explaining Beethoven's love, "When he sees her come into the room, his heart races, the birds are singing. He is in love; there is no question." Borok's explanation helped the audience better understand the circumstances of the piece of music, and therefore, broadened this music culture's appreciation for classical music.
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ACTIVITIES INVOLVING MUSIC
As mentioned in prior blog posts, the SMU Classical music culture consists mostly of the of the elderly population. This was not the only social division at the performance, but surely the most prominent. When I sat down in the hall, it seemed to me the others looked quite astonished that a couple of young people were attending this concert. There were also SMU music students at the concert, often commenting about the repertories of the violinist and pianist. Regardless of the specific social division or age class, those who did attend were very social amongst each other and often saved seats for their fellow guests-to-come. Before I walked into the hall, I noticed the box of reserved tickets. This concert allowed for audience members to call in ahead of time to reserve seats for the night. Emanuel Borok walked onto the stage and mentioned that this night was his first performance in decades.
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REPERTORIES OF MUSIC
Many musical elements of this performance were similar to the prior SMU concert I attended. Since this performance, too, was a duet, many of the musical phrases played by each performer overlapped in harmonic measures. The pieces performed that night were: Sonata in G Major, Op. 78 by Johannes Brahms, Scherzo from F-A-E Sonata by Johannes Brahms, Sonata in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Improvisation from Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 by Richard Strauss, and Ein Liebesleid and Ein Libesfreud by Fritz Kreisler. During the first song, Borok simply plucked his violin strings, giving the attention to Bax's melesmatic scales on the piano. Similar teamwork was noticed later on in the performance. During Sonata in G Major, Op. 78 the performers showed the artist's "restlessness" with similar notes of a fast tempo. Although the violinist stood directly in front of the pianist, they had such a body language where the pianist would follow the violinist's lead, even without eye contact.
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MATERIAL CULTURE OF MUSIC
There is not too much to the material culture of SMU Classical music, which can be understood through the heightened importance of the actual music instead. As seen in all other SMU Classical music concerts, a high majority of audience members were dressed in shirts, ties, dress pants, skirts, blouses, etc. I made sure to dress appropriately this second time around, for I felt sort-of unwelcomed when I wore jeans to the first concert. Programs and ticket stubs were handed to the audience. As the audience walks into the hall, the first thing to catch all eyes was the piano, dead-set in the middle with all stage lights focused on it. As the performers entered the stage, the violinist had his violin in hand. The stage set-up was meant to be simple, once again emphasizing the music above all else.
Mishal Mathew
