Performance Name: Ahn Trio
Location: Wharton Center Pasant Theatre
Date/time: Thursday, October 15, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Performance Type: Classical Music Trio
Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahn_Trio, http://www.ahntrio.com/v2/
Thoughts: This is a great trio of 3 sisters who help show that classical music doesn’t have to be “classical”. Their main focus is new classical music in many different styles. I attended the Preview lecture prior to this performance and between that lecture and the concert itself it helped me realize that classical music covers a wide range of styles and is not always the type of music one might typically think of when thinking of classical music.
This trio of sisters are very classy (pun somewhat intended). They show that they are true musicians and not just performers. They talked about each piece before playing it and about themselves in a very conversational tone, which helped the audience know that they were sharing their talents and music with us, not just performing a concert. They also talked about how they had a chance to listen to some of the MSU’s School of Music students earlier in the day and what great talent they have.
Pet Peeve of the Evening: People talking during the concert. My “rule” is that when the lights dim you close your mouth and keep it closed until the lights come back up. Right to the right of me I had a guy who kept telling the person with him what the program said, sometimes after the music started. The best part was when audience applauded between two selections (would be considered movements in the traditional sense of classical music, but this wasn’t traditional classical music.) I heard he say something about the applause between the movements. Which is worse between two movements (or selections as the case may be) applause showing appreciation for the music or talking? Also, the speaker at the Preview lecture mentioned that when classical music was new applause was common between movements, it is a modern practice to not applaud.
Then in the row in front of me I had the couple where one was hard of hearing so he kept asking the person with him what was said and then she’d repeat it. Maybe it’s time for a hearing aid!
Repeat Rating: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being I’d hire a dog to eat up a free ticket given to me and 10 being I’d rent an ostrich if that was the only way to get a ticket, the chance I’d see this performance again is a 7.