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Xie 1
The Upbeat Live concert took place on Thursday 11 th at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The main act was Itzhak Perlman, renown and venerated violinist of our time, who was to
perform a solo violin performance and conduct two other orchestra performances. Itzhak, who
walks to stage on a scooter because of his polio paralyzed legs, is one of my most favorite
violinists and when I heard he was performing at the Upbeat concert, I had to be there in person
to witness his performances. I, therefore, bought myself a ticket and eagerly waited for the day of
the show as I knew I would thoroughly enjoy his performance.
The concert hall was fully packed on the day of the concert. The audience had already
taken their seats and settled down awaiting the man of the hour when he finally glided onto the
stage on his black scooter. We waited silently as he set up his instrument and prepared for his
first performance. The performance was a solo violin performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s
1720 composition Violin Concerto no 1 in a minor, BWV 1041. The performance of the piece
took around 20 minutes. In this piece, the performer and the orchestra did not share a lot of
instruments. The instruments used in this piece were the cello, bass, continuo, and the violas.
These tools, however, played a minor role compared to the violin as they were used for the
rolling theme that began the slow part of the piece and recurred throughout it but disappeared
during the solo episodes of the violinist. The instruments all came together again at the end of the
movement during the last phrase where they were all played together to combine their rhythm
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and hence bring out the feel of the last movement. From the first performance, the second took
place almost immediately. The performance was of the 1873 composition, Variation on a theme
of Joseph Haydn, op. 56 A. The piece was composed by Johannes Brahms and encompasses
eight variations. The orchestra conducted by Perlman, adhered to these changes in the harmonic
patterns in the theme with very few fluctuations. Variations 1 and 3 took the pastoral nature
while 2, 4, and 8 were in the minor mode with 4 being a bit plain and 8 a bit scherzo-like.
Variation 5 was performed in a scherzo manner while 6 took the form of quick rustic dance. The
7 th variation was grazioso. The final part which is built on a phrase of the theme stated twelve
times in the bass, three in the treble, and another in the bass, was the ultimate last gesture of the
performance of the piece as the theme returned for full orchestra. After this performance, there
was an intermission before the final performance that was of the 1899 composition of Edward
Elgar, Enigma Variations, op. 36. This piece was the longest performance of the three pieces,
and it consisted of 14 variations that provided the audience with a lot of variety although there
was a bit of repetition especially of the theme that was compact and memorable.
The whole performance took around one hour from start to end with applause after each
piece. Personally, I was a member of the active audience, always applauding and cheering on the
performers after each performance but remaining silent during the performance. This was to
motivate and encourage the performers further as they were doing a great job on their
performances which I thoroughly enjoyed. Their performances were well coordinated and
executed and hence soothing to the soul especially in the way they alternated between the
various variations and the themes of the pieces.
Of the three performances, I much enjoyed the Enigma Variations. This particular
composition was written and dedicated to friends and families by Edward Elgar. It started with
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the melodic contours of the G minor which opened up the theme and then a switch to the major
key which lightened the mood for the variations. The fourteen variations were each dedicated to
a friend or family of the composer and the initials of the people to whom it was dedicated to
appear as prefaces at the end of each variation. For example, the first variation ends with C.A.E
which are initials of Elgar’s wife Caroline Alice Elgar, to whom it is dedicated (D 43). The
orchestra transitioned through the variations beautifully in a sweet melody and high
synchronization of the instruments, especially where they were all needed to be played at the
same time. The rhythm was flowing, and one could easily follow through as the volume was loud
enough throughout the concert hall. The instruments used for this piece were the bass, flutes,
trumpets, drums, clarinets, trombones, timpani, cymbals, and violas.
This concert came to an end for me in an unexpected way. As soon as it started, it ended,
and I guess it was because of the beautiful way that the performers executed the pieces and the
passion and effort they put into their playing. The performances were great, and it was not easy
to notice the time run out. However, I had a great time at the concert and received a performance
worth my money which made me want to attend another such show in the future.
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Works Cited
D., B. “Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations, Opus 36.” Organ, vol. 86, no. 341, Aug-Oct2007, p.
43.
