Reading the Program
At most concerts, each listener receives a printed program that says what will happen. This program may be as simple as a piece of paper or as elaborate as a book. Look for the "program page,"which lists the music that will be played. (If the program is a booklet, this page is usually in the middle somewhere.)
Since classical music comes from different times and places, the titles on the program page will often be in foreign languages.
Personnel List
Orchestral programs usually list the players and the instruments they play. Sometimes the list doesn't exactly match the players. There may be last-minute substitutions, or, for large pieces, extra players may have been hired. An orchestra's string players may be listed in alphabetical order, not by where they sit.
It can be fun to match the list to the instruments and people you see on the stage. Many concertgoers enjoy learning to recognize different musicians and what they play.
Biographies
Programs often include information on the featured performers. This is where you find out where else they have appeared, what records they have made, and what honors they have received. Don't expect to find many personal revelations; such biographies are usually written to impress you with the performer's professional accomplishments.
Program Notes
Some programs include program notes: short essays about the music, about the composer, or about the historical setting. Some program notes give a description of what will happen in the music; some give an analysis; some concentrate on historical background.
If information helps you enjoy music more, consider arriving at the concert early enough to read the notes before the performance. But beware: although there are many excellent program-note writers, there are bad ones, too. If you don't find the program notes helpful, just ignore them!
Pronunciation (don't worry)
Classical music concerts are full of professional jargon, esoteric terminology, and foreign words. Don't worry about how to say everything. Some of these words are pronounced differently in different places, anyway.
I love the story of the composer Darius Milhaud. He and his wife pronounced his last name in two different ways. One said mee-OH, and the other said mee-LOH. Now when I hear an argument about the right way to pronounce some word, it's hard for me to take it too seriously.
THE SAMPLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
John Doe, Music Director
Thursday , Feb. 29, 8 p.m. - Friday, Feb. 30, 2 p.m. - Saturday, Feb. 31, 8 p.m.
Sitwell Auditorium
Wanda Leader, Guest conductor
Brent Keyes, basson
SAMUEL SITWELL : A Big, Loud Overture, Op. 63
W. A. MOZART : Concerto for Basson and Orchestra, K.191
Allegro
Andante ma adagio
Rondo: Tempo di Minuetto
(Mr. Keyes, basson)
INTERMISSION
ELLEN WRIGHTGOOD : Symphony No. 11 (1998)
Largo: Allegro
Andante
Maestoso
Scherzo: Allegro furioso
Finale: Allegro molto
The first piece doesn't have any movements (separate sections) listed, so it will probably be one continuous piece of music.
"Op."or "Opus"means "Work."This is either the composer's 63rd published composition, or the 63rd piece that he wrote.
This is a catalog number. After Mozart died, his music was catalogued by somebody named K鐼hel, who gave each of Mozart's compositions a number, roughly in the order they were composed. There are other composers whose works have some kind of catalog number.
The second piece is divided into three sections, or "movements."Probably they will be separate from each other, so that you can count them easily and know when to clap at the very end, but occasionally a composer pulls a trick and has two movements connect directly, without any silence in between.
These aren't titles for the movements, but are the words that the composer wrote into the music to instruct the musicians about the character of each movement. These words might be in any language, but most often they are in Italian, which was the first international language of music.
For modern works, sometimes the year of composition is given instead of an opus number or catalog number.
The first movement starts out "Slow," but changes to "Lively."
"Scherzo"is the title of this movement [see glossary.] This Scherzo is to be played "Lively and furious."
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