The Symphony

Going into the symphony “Turangalila” conducted by Neal Gittlemen, I had very little knowledge and experience with this type of music.  In elementary school, we learned a little about famous composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.  But besides that, I had no idea what to expect.  When we arrived at the Schuster Center, I got a little excited to get in and see what the symphony had to offer.  This was a brand new experience for me so I was looking forward to sitting down and just listening.  Once I got into the theatre and sat down in  my seat, I was a little blow away by how many people there were to take in the music, as well as how many different instruments that were being played on stage that I could not even name.  Once the music started I was amazed.  With all of the different sounds at different pitches changing at different times, sometimes quicker than others, I could almost picture a story in my head that was being portrayed through the music and how it was being played.  Before I went, I was told that the theme of the symphony was love and madness.  While I was sitting there listening, I could actually hear how love and and madness were being portrayed through the way the instruments were being played.  I found that when the music was softer and the pitch was higher, it was portraying love and happiness, but when the music had a greater bass and was deeper, it sounded more like madness and trouble.