- Listen to the composition and use this experience to complete a close read using the music as the text. Text-based questions can be, but should not be limited to the following.
- Why do you think the composer chose to compose a concerto (a work for soloist and orchestra) rather than a symphony (just for orchestra) to tell the story of Joachim Prinz?”
- How does the orchestra sound different in the two movements? What moods or ideas are similar between the two movements? What unites the two movements and what makes them different?
- How does the music reflect the inspiration of Prinz’s life?
- If you did not know the concerto was about Joachim Prinz, what would you imagine it is about?
- Is it possible to get involved in the music without knowing what inspired the composer to write it?
- How does knowing the story behind the piece affect your listening to it?
- What emotions does the composer wish to elicit in the listener? Defend your answer using evidence from the piece.
- What emotions did you feel listening to the piece? As you listened to it a second time, did you hear new things and feel new emotions? If so, what was new?
- What does the composer want from the listener? Explain.
- Can you describe the music without making any references to Joachim Prinz, Nazi Germany, or the Civil Rights movement? Try describing what the musical instruments are doing rather than what it is about.
- Do you think another instrument could have represented Joachim Prinz instead of the violin? How would it be with a trumpet or clarinet as the soloist? Why do you think the violin was the composer’s choice?
- What question would you like to ask the composer of I Will Not Remain Silent. Why is that question important to you?