Evin O’Neil
Music Appreciation
From The Top at Carnegie Hall
At the beginning of the first episode of season two of “From The Top of Carnegie Hall” hosted by Christopher O’Reiley introduces a young performer named Joshua Jones who brings to life a piece by Paul Smadbeck titled “Rhythm Song”. Joshua is a sixteen year old boy that has always loved beats since he received his first drum set when he was three. He currently plays the drums at his church and teaches kids how to play instruments at school. I found it interesting and impressive the amount of control and intensity to which he plays this piece and not to mention the complicated instrument; the xylophone. This piece in its self was very mysterious and I felt like I was trying to find my way out of a jungle. Second up on the stage was Anna Lee performing “Zigeunerweisen Op.20, No.2 (gypsy airs)” by Pablo De Sarasate. Anna Lee is a twelve year old girl from Seoul Korea that now lives in Bayside, NY. She became interested in the violin through her dad who at first didn't want her to since he was forced as a young boy to play it, but later on changed his mind. I enjoyed watching and listening to Anna’s very virtuous performance. Her level of skills made this piece sound the best it could and it’s obvious that she enjoys playing it. This piece was very upbeat, and like the name states its very gypsy like. The third and final performance in episode one is the Maggiore Trio with a piece called “Piano Trio in G Major by Franz Joseph Haydn. The trio has been together for about 6 months and consists of an eleven year old pianist named Alice Borla, who has been previously featured on the show “From the Top of Carnegie Hall”, a thirteen-year old cellist named Taeguk Mun, who has recently moved to the states, and previously mentioned twelve year old Anna Lee the violinist. I enjoyed how this piece is well shared between the 3 players although my favorite part has to be when Anna does a small solo part in the middle.
In the third episode of season two of “From the Top of Carnegie Hall” the work of Bryan Johannson, “Boppin”, is brought to life by a fifteen year old guitarist, Travis Johnson. Travis comes from a family of many musicians including his brother with the violin and his sister with a piano. Johnson’s performance was new to me. I have never seen a full piece played by just a guitar before and I enjoyed it even though it was a little hard for me to follow at times. Next on stage in episode three is a seventeen year old immigrant named Jingchen Sun performing the Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic piece “ultimatum 1”. Jingchen comes from one of the most supportive families I have heard of. Her family split in half just so