Moscow State Symphony by Anna

I thought that the symphony went well. When all the performers came on the stage I noticed that they were all in uniform, wearing black. I thought that was neat. It amazes me on how many people are in this and the different age groups that there are. In the program it said that they perform 20 to 50 concerts abroad each year. It also said that this orchestra is the only Moscow orchestra, and on December 20, 1993, the Orchestra celebrated its 50th Anniversary. I read that the conductor, Pavel Kogan, is one of the top conductors in Russia. I thought the soloist Stefan Jakiw did very well also. I can’t believe that he can play so long like that without reading any music. He had to memorize that whole piece. That amazes me. He’s been playing since age 4 and is recognized as one of the most talented artists of his generation and that doesn’t surprise me after hearing him perform.

I thought the conductors way of conducting was different and I wasn’t really able to follow it, but the orchestra obviously could so I guess it really doesn’t matter if I can’t follow it. He was very into his conducting and was emotional in his facial expressions. He seemed very proud to be able to play encores for us. I personally enjoyed the encores more that the other pieces that they performed. They were more upbeat, fun, and unique.

After the show, I thought it was really cool to be able to listen to one of the performers speak Russian and hear it be translated. That was a neat experience for me to take part of. I learned that instruments were a lot more expensive that I thought. I think he said that his clarinet was around 3,000 dollars. That’s a lot of money for an instrument in my opinion. I enjoyed the symphony and I’m pretty sure everyone what was listening wishes that they could play as well as they do.