The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
             The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields presented and preformed exquisitely three separate works: two concerti by Bach and Haydn and a string arrangement based on a Schubert quartet (arranged by Mahler). All three performances included the virtuosic Joshua Bell playing the violin with the orchestra and also solo.
             Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra No. 2, in E Major by Johann Sebastian Bach was the first concerto preformed. Written in the Baroque period, the piece follows the Italian style of Vivaldi. The first movement, Allegro, was both light and upbeat. The musicians played higher notes and there was often a switch-off between solo and tutti. This particular movement must be very famous because even a person like me, whom has never been really introduced to classical music, can recognize some parts of the piece. The second movement, Adagio, was a much slower and more somber movement. Throughout the movement one could detect a very low undertone being played by the orchestra even when the soloist, Joshua Bell, played slightly faster or higher notes. Allegro assai was the third movement and had the same tone and pace of the first movement in order to end the piece on a high note, which is typical for concerti.
             Joseph Haydn's Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, No. 1, in C Major was the second work preformed by the Academy. Not just written in the Classical period, all three movements were stylistically classical as well. The notes were always played with a very crisp and clear sound. One could see as well as hear the attempt to make each note its own with the rigid body movements of the musicians, and the audience could see the musicians literally lifting the bows off of the strings of their instruments to clearly and deliberately make each note separate. The first movement, Allegro moderato was very lively and included the solo accompanied by the tutti many times...