A Classical Selection as Performed by the Cleveland Institue of Music in Le Pavillion

This series of student recitals contained two sonatas (by Beethoven and Franck) and two suites (by Bach and Prokofiev). Each piece consisted of at least one and at most two performers, and was about ten minutes long each. The first piece, Bach’s Suite No. 2 for double bass sounded very much like his cello suite. It was slow and mysterious, and full of emotion. The performer seemed to be deeply involved in the piece, expressing the emotions being portrayed. Even though the pace was slow, it never got dull. Each note flowed perfectly into the next. This was probably my favorite piece in the series.

The next piece, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90, was less engaging. The pace varied from quite slow to rapid, and was interesting at some points, mainly because the performer became more motivated. Overall though, the piece seemed to go back and forth from slow to fast, and seemed to be repetitive. Although it was a good piece, it became dull after a while and I found myself zoning out at times, just to find myself still listening to the same piece.

The third in the series of four, Franck’s Sonata in A major, was quite entertaining. It started out less engaging, with the piano simply accompanying the viola with short, repetitive phrases. As the piece progressed, it became more and more complex, though. Towards the end, there was a large buildup in excitement, and it effectively showcased the violist’s virtuosity. When the piece was over, I could definitely notice louder applause than from any of the other pieces, with a few shouts here and there. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining collection of pieces, expressing a range of emotions and abilities from the performers. I had never heard any of these pieces before, but found the majority of them to be engaging and interesting.