Show 203: Listening Guide

This week on From the Top, we feature a broadcast taped at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Learn more about what the performers feel about the music they are performing:

Melissa White

Melissa White, alum, violin
IV. Presto agitato from Sonata No. 3 in D minor by Johannes Brahms
This movement makes me feel like I’m in a constant battle against the pianist, but it is this struggle that makes the passion of the movement carry over to the audience. The battle happens rhythmically (doubles verses triplets), dynamically, as well as passionately.

Xavier Foley, 15, double bass
I. Allegro moderato from Concerto No. 2 in B minor by Giovanni Bottesini
When I play this piece, I think about climbing a mountain with many obstacles. It’s very unique compared to other pieces…it’s all about how you express yourself.

Ming Wilson, 14, piano
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by Franz Liszt
This is a piece that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. As I play it, I really focus on trying to bring out the differences in between each section.

Bryan Anderson, 16, Music Two Share – piano
IV. Final from Suite for Flute & Piano, Op. 34
This piece is a classic good vs. evil conflict. I think the most important thing about this piece is to go for the one turning point–the place where Widor finally rips free of the suspenseful sequences and dives into his conclusion section.

Hally Davidson, 16, Music Two Share – flute
The opening of the Widor sounds very angry and stormy. I have this feeling of driving rain and thunder and trees swaying in a storm when I play it. This piece overall reminds me of the March of the Ents, from Tolkien’s The Two Towers.) I’ve never heard any other piece have such energy and excitement concentrated in the first bars.