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Hali Wolters
Mr. Bigelow
English 10
August 27, 2015
A Million Notes
Nothing in the world makes me more frustrated. Almost nothing makes me happier either.
Since April I have worked my butt off every day trying to learn a piano concerto to perform as a
soloist for Cottonwood Concerto Night 2016. The concerto I am learning is Shostakovich Piano
Concerto No. 2 in F Major Opus 102, I. Allegra. These 26 amazingly torturous pages have been
the cause of many sleepless nights and hours of practice.
Till about the middle of May I could only play the first 10 pages and the last eight
measures. Finally I decided it was time to challenge myself a little bit more and learn the rest. It
started with learning pages 19-21. Which doesnt seem like it would be that challenging, but that
is the only part in this movement where the piano plays solo, telling a story all by itself. Being
the perfectionist I am, it had to be absolutely flawless. Eventually I got over myself and can now
play the whole 400 something measures. I now have to work on slowly getting it up to the speed
quarter = 160, memorizing the whole thing, and making the accompany part together with my
playing.
So here is a bit of trivia about Dmitri Shostakovich. This pianist was born on September
25, 1906 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1919 to
1925. His graduation piece was his first symphony. In 1936 at the opera, Shostakovichs and

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Dikijs works were greatly criticized by Stalin. This did not stop Shostakovich from composing
during World War II. My concerto was written in 1957 for his son, Maxims, birthday.
Shostakovich has recorded this piece. So has his son, Maxim was able to record this piece with
his father Dmitri conducting. Maxims son, Maxim Jr. has also recorded this song. He plays it
very similarly to his grandfather.
Shostakovichs music has been in over 100 films. This is how I was introduced to it. The
version I love is recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Yefim Bronfman as the
piano soloist. This song is a segment in Disneys Fantasia 2000. This is a film that takes classical
music and animations and puts them together. None of the animations speak, but the music tells
all of the emotions. There are seven other segments from this movie. The songs that go along
with them are Beethovens Symphony No. 5; Pines of Rome by Respighi; Gershwins
Rhapsody in Blue; Saint Sanss Carnival of the Animals (Le Carnival des Animauz), Finale;
The Sorcerers Apprentice; Pomp and Circumstance Marches 1-4; and Firebird Suite1919 Version by Stravinsky. So this is just about my favorite movie ever. It also came out the
year I was born.
My concerto tells the story of Hans Christian Andersons The Steadfast Tin Soldier. At
midnight a young boys nursery of toys all come to life. First a ballerina is introduced, followed
by the creepy Jack-in-the-box. The next thing to come to life is the box of tin soldiers,
immediately marching in a single file line. One of the soldiers is slower due to the fact that he
only has one leg. He knocks over the other 4 and is sort of an outlier to them. The tin soldier then
sees the ballerina standing on one leg, and has a love at first sight moment. She falls in love with
him too for his sweetness in offering her a single rose. The jack-in-the-box gets very jealous for
he admires the beauty of the ballerina and desires her affection. In his jealous rage he begins to

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throw wooden blocks at the soldier, one of which is a toy boat. This causes the tin soldier to fall
out the window and into the sewer system. While down in the sewer he gets attacked by rats. The
rats push him off of the waterfall. Where he sinks to the almost bottom of a lake and gets
swallowed by a fish. This part is also the climax of the song, which ends in a caesura.
Antarctica has lots of penguins and polar bears. Giraffes dont live in the United States
unless they are living in a freaking zoo. We bought a zoo is the best movie ever.