When I first heard about the upcoming concert from Clarinetist Charles Neidich being held at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center, I simply brushed it off as just another musical event. It was not until one of my classmates spoke to me about attending this event that I started to gain interest in it. I will admit that I had a very poor knowledge of Charles Neidich before the event. However, as the day for the concert came closer, I decided to do some research on Charles Neidich and discovered that he is a very well known Clarinetist that has performed and been a member of countless symphonies, philharmonic orchestras, quartets, and much more. Charles Neidich has performed in an international scale as well, amazing audiences all over the world with his expertise in playing the Clarinet.

I took the time out to check out youtube videos of Charles Neidich and watching him play made me develop a better appreciation of the Clarinet. There was one video in which he was teaching a younger clarinetist how to play the 2nd Sonata by Brahms and all the comments for the video just spoke about how “amazing” and “remarkable” Neidich is at teaching as well as playing the Clarinet. It was after watching this video that I was convinced that I had to go see him live.

Although I got to the Baruch Performing Arts Center a bit late, I managed to catch most of the concert. I sat down in an aisle seat and joined a full house of music aficionados and eager college students. Just a few minutes after me sitting down, Neidich performed what was arguably the most peculiar piece of the concert.

I do not remember the name of the musical work nor do I know who it was composed by, However, the piece was indulged in dissonance, awkward pauses, and strange cords. I absolutely LOVED it. I think its amazing how composers can write music that is so different from what people expect and still manage for them to enjoy it. One interesting thing that Neidich does as he performs is move all over the place while playing the clarinet. His moves are coordinated with the high and low points of the musical piece.

I am all for pushing the barriers musically and daring to experiment with new sounds but when Neidich performed brought out a piano player to perform Johannes Brahm’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 120 Movement no.2, it was a great performance with no dissonance. The musical piece sounded like an elaborate conversation between the Clarinet and the Piano. Neidich does an exceptional job in hooking the audience with his expertise of the Clarinet. I took a peek at the rest of the audience while Neidich was performing and everyone that I looked at had an expression of awe and respect for him. The sonata almost sounds like the Clarinet and Piano are chasing one another around until they reach the end together and both slow down.

I am glad I took the time out to do some research on Charles Neidich. Thanks to this experience I can see myself randomly visiting the Baruch Performing Arts Center to see what other talents they have performing in the future.