Franz Josef Haydn was born today in 1732 in Austria.
The above article quotes musicologist James Webster summarizing Haydn's role in the history of classical music: "He excelled in every musical genre… He is familiarly known as the 'father of the symphony' and could with greater justice be thus regarded for the string quartet; no other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres."
Haydn wrote a whole lot of music. Check out the list! Among them: more than 100 symphonies, 52 piano sonatas, 80-some string quartets, and the list goes on.
I have to confess, I haven't listened to a lot of Haydn's music. Some of it sounds a little bit simplistic to me, and just not as good as Mozart. But other works I've heard sound very rich and quite advanced, like Beethoven. He had a great richness especially in some of his later works. While Haydn (the elder) and Mozart got along very well, playing music together at times and having mutual admiration for each other's works, Haydn and Beethoven's relationship was at times tense. Beethoven had taken lessons from Haydn for a short while, but found his teaching unsatisfactory.
Haydn had a really good sense of humor. This is evident in his "Surprise" symphony (heard here), "Farewell" symphony, and many other works.
Here's a couple other links:
- Trumpet Concerto in Eb, 3rd movement - a delightful piece of music, I grew up hearing my brother play this
- Part of a piano Sonata, showing more of his sense of humor...
- Another piano sonata, light-hearted and full of spirit
- Symphony No. 104, a mature work, and his last symphony.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Music of the Grand Canyon
Ferde Grofe was born in New York City on this day in 1892. He was well known for arranging other composers works, particularly for a full-orchestra arrangement of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
The work he is most famous for today is his Grand Canyon Suite, a five-movement work for orchestra, each movement representing an aspect of the Grand Canyon. The most famous movement is called "On the Trail" - this piece is hilarious! You've probably heard parts of it on Looney Tunes cartoons or something like that. It depicts a bumpy ride on a donkey on the trail of the Grand Canyon - listen for the hee-haws, cloppity-clops, etc.
The work he is most famous for today is his Grand Canyon Suite, a five-movement work for orchestra, each movement representing an aspect of the Grand Canyon. The most famous movement is called "On the Trail" - this piece is hilarious! You've probably heard parts of it on Looney Tunes cartoons or something like that. It depicts a bumpy ride on a donkey on the trail of the Grand Canyon - listen for the hee-haws, cloppity-clops, etc.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Hungarian and Romanian Folk Music
Today is the birthday of Bela Bartok, in 1881, in Austria-Hungary (now Romania). He is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and was very important in using and creating a lot of folk music. Unfortunately, I don't really know any pieces by him, nor have I listened to much of his music. I think this was partly due to my first piano teacher not liking his music at all, and at the time, I agreed because it sounded too modern to my ears.
I've recently heard parts of his piano concertos, and found them really interesting and fun to listen to. Here's his third concerto, parts 1, 2, and 3, played by a fellow Hungarian, Andras Schiff. It is definitely modern, but has some really nice moments.
Here's some recordings of the composer himself, playing a lovely little Sonatina, and a darker piece, Allegro Barbaro.
Here is a lively and interesting version of his Romanian Folk Dances, another popular piece.
Well, I've never listened to so much Bartok in my life as tonight. I liked what I heard, surprisingly. I think I'll do some more listening in the future!
I've recently heard parts of his piano concertos, and found them really interesting and fun to listen to. Here's his third concerto, parts 1, 2, and 3, played by a fellow Hungarian, Andras Schiff. It is definitely modern, but has some really nice moments.
Here's some recordings of the composer himself, playing a lovely little Sonatina, and a darker piece, Allegro Barbaro.
Here is a lively and interesting version of his Romanian Folk Dances, another popular piece.
Well, I've never listened to so much Bartok in my life as tonight. I liked what I heard, surprisingly. I think I'll do some more listening in the future!
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Greatest Composer That Ever Lived
Johann Sebastian Bach was born today in Germany in 1685. I know it's just my opinion, but I think he's the greatest composer of all time. I don't say this lightly. If you've read my previous blogs, you know how much I like the music of so many other composers, especially Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin... and the list goes on.
But if I had to choose only one composer whose music I could listen to for the rest of my life exclusively, I think I'd have to say Johann Sebastian Bach. In fact, when I was young, I went through a phase where I disliked listening to anything else (I think around age 7 to 9). I was in love with the music of Bach and I couldn't get enough, nor did I need any other music. My musical tastes have obviously widened since then, but I still come back to Bach as my "first love" in classical music. I owe this in large part to my oldest brother, who taught me to love Bach when I was very young (thanks, Tim!). I'm doing my best to pass down this love of good music to my beautiful 20-month-old daughter. I have little plastic classical composer statuettes that I gave to her to play with. Her favorite is Bach. She says "Ock! Ock!" and runs and gets the little Bach statuette, then runs over to the CD player and says "Ano! Ano!" Translation: "I want to hear some Bach piano music, please!" Which, of course, means hearing Glenn Gould play, since I mostly have his recordings of Bach.
What do I love so much about the music of this composer? One of my piano teachers said, "Throughout all of Bach's music, there is an inner joy." His music has so much substance, order, and stability. There is also great emotional depth, though the emotion is under control. There is also great intellectual satisfaction from his music. The more you study it, the more you realize how expertly it is put together, and marvel at the symmetry of form. Bach was a master improviser at the keyboard. This plays out in many of his works, where his improvisatory skill leads to so much beauty and diversity.
I'd like to highlight his best. He wrote so much music (over 1000 works), and so much of it is just so good!
For solo keyboard:
OK, so before I list his solo keyboard works, I have to say something about a certain pianist who was very influential in my life, and particularly in regard to my love of the music of Bach. The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould deserves a separate blog entry, but for now, briefly, Glenn was sort of a personal musical hero of mine growing up. He was highly eccentric, yet highly articulate and intellectual. His playing of Bach was out of this world, although sometimes controversial. His impeccable timing and clean playing (where every note can be heard with precision) is stunning. Critics may say this can lead to an overly mechanical sound, but hey, nobody can have it all. I'll be drawing heavily from his playing in the following links.
- The Well-Tempered Clavier (2 books of 24 Preludes and Fugues in every key, both major and minor). This has been called the "Old Testament" for pianists (the "New Testament" being Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas). Here's the Bb minor Fugue from Book II, B Major Prelude and Fugue from Book II
- The Goldberg Variations - perhaps Bach's finest solo keyboard work (in my opinion). It begins with a slow aria, transcendently beautiful in its simplicity, followed by an amazing set of 30 variations. Every 3rd variation (except for the last) is a "canon" (where the melody is repeated exactly, note for note, one measure after the melody begins, and trails the initial melody for the duration of the whole piece). Canons are difficult enough to write and not sound forced, but Bach steps it up a notch. The first canon (3rd variation) is a "traditional" canon (with each note exactly repeated), but each successive canon increases the interval at which the notes are repeated. For example, the second canon (variation 6) is done with an interval of a 2nd, the third canon (variation 9) with an interval of a 3rd, the fourth canon (variation 12) with the interval of a 4th, and so on until variation 27, which has an interval of a 9th. I listened to these variations from the womb, and didn't realize this until I played and studied them in my teens, when I was completely blown away with the symmetry and intellectual depth to the piece. Even if one is completely unaware of all these things, though, this piece remains one of the most uplifting and satisfying works to listen to of all time.
Glenn Gould was sort of responsible for reviving this piece in the mid-20th century. He did the unthinkable and made it his debut recording in 1955. Usually pianists would save little-known, bold, difficult pieces to record when they are well-established and well-loved by critics and the public, but Gould made it his first recording, and pulled it off. Now over 50 years later, this recording still remains a sensation. Before Gould, this piece was played slowly, with all of the repeats (making it last 90 minutes or so). Gould sped through in 38 minutes with no repeats, shedding off the drudgery of previous recordings and catapulting the work into popularity. Gould recorded the piece a second time in 1981, playing it very, very differently. I personally don't like it as much, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Here's the last few variations from Gould's 1981 recording.
- Partitas - here's a great clip of Glenn Gould practicing the opening movement of Partita No. 2 at his home. And here's a later clip of him playing the very feeling opening of Partita No. 6.
- Toccatas - these tend to be more free-form than his other works, with lots of improvisatory material, slow and fast sections alternating, and full of emotion. Here's a fine version of the C minor Toccata, part 1 and part 2.
- Inventions and Sinfonias (2 and 3-part variations) - these are easier pieces to play, often played by young people learning how to play the piano. They are not any less masterful in a capable pianist's hands, though. Here's a very fast-tempo version of the popular Invention 13, and a very beautiful Sinfonia No. 2.
- French Suites - for variety, here's the Gigue of the G major (5th) suite, played on harpsichord, which is probably mostly what Bach intended for his keyboard works to be played on.
- English Suites - here's a clip of one of the more well-known movements of the suites, the Gavotte from the G minor (3rd) suite.
- Art of the Fugue (for organ) - Bach's last work, not quite completely finished. An extremely cerebral work devoted to the fugue form. It is a set of fugues and canons based around one subject, varied in every possible way you could imagine (and more!). Here's Glenn Gould waxing eloquent about the piece. There is a lot of chromaticism in Bach, and in the last fugue (which is not quite finished), there are parts that sound as if they could have been written by a 20th-century composer. The very last subject introduced in the last (unfinished) fugue (there are 4 subjects in that massive fugue alone!), is the note-pattern "b - a - c - h" (b = B-flat in German, and h = B-natural in German). So Bach was signing his name to the work he knew would sum up his life (Gould comments on this in the clip). Here's Gould playing the end of the last fugue until it abruptly breaks off. Bach's last musical words... it's a rather emotional experience to listen to this! Here's the opening fugue played on organ.
For other solo instruments:
- Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin - 6 suites total: the last movement of the 2nd partita is one of Bach's finest works, called "Chaconne" (or "Ciaconna"). Here is composer Johannes Brahms' comments on the work: "On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind." Chaconne was originally written for solo violin, as seen here, part 1 and part 2. The piece has also been transcribed for solo lute/guitar, as heard here. Several composers have made arrangements of it for other instruments, including Brahms' left-hand piano version, and Busoni's very grandiose piano transcription.
- Suites for solo cello - all delightful pieces. The opening movement of Suite No. 1 is a very beautiful introduction to these pieces. The Prelude of Suite No. 5 is a very intensely emotional piece, probably my favorite of them all. Here's a stunning recording of the pieces that I'd highly recommend done by Cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
- Suites for solo lute (guitar) - many great pieces here. I listened to them growing up, as my other older brother played many on the guitar. Some of them were transcribed by Bach from the solo violin or solo cello suites, but they have a very different character on guitar. Here's the opening movement of the E Major suite (originally for violin), played by world-renown guitarist John Williams.
For Orchestra or Ensemble:
- Brandenburg Concertos - 6 concertos written for small- to medium-sized ensembles of instruments. These are some of Bach's most popular, and for good reason. They are all very uplifting, full of highly satisfying melodies and harmonies, and each one features a different (or several different) instruments, with frequent solos. Here's Concerto No. 4, Movement 1, 2, and 3, and here's Concerto No. 5 Movement 1, 2, and 3.
- Orchestral Suites - another high quality set of pieces (4 total), written for large ensemble. Here's the Overture from Suite No. 1, my favorite orchestral suite.
- Keyboard Concertos - Concerto in D minor, 1st movement - another stunning performance by a young Glenn Gould. And here's a concerto for 3 keyboards (played on harpsichords), first movement.
- Violin Concertos - there are several, some of which are the same as the keyboard concertos. One of my favorites is a concerto for violin and oboe - this has some really beautiful melodies and amazing interplay between the two solo instruments. Here's movements 1, 2, and 3. Movement #2 is especially moving (no pun intended).
For Voice/Orchestra:
Bach wrote a lot of music for the church. This is just a brief highlight of some of it. He was a committed Christian, and signed all of his music "Soli Deo Gloria (To God be the Glory)".
- St. Matthew Passion - written to the chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew, this focuses on the passion of Christ (his death and suffering). If this piece were in English instead of German, I'd probably listen to it more. Even so, I enjoy the music greatly. One of the themes running throughout, sung by the chorus multiple times, is the same theme used in the Christian hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded". Here is the beautiful common theme running throughout, used for the aforementioned hymn. Here is the opening movement, and the last movement.
- Cantatas - Here's some introductory commentary by Glenn Gould and a performance of Cantata No. 54. Another Cantata includes the famous "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", played here in a beautiful arrangement. Another favorite from the Cantatas is "Sheep May Safely Graze", played here.
This is only a small portion of Bach's wonderful music. He was a man truly gifted by God who wrote beautiful, uplifting music that draws me closer to the One who created him, and Who created all music.
But if I had to choose only one composer whose music I could listen to for the rest of my life exclusively, I think I'd have to say Johann Sebastian Bach. In fact, when I was young, I went through a phase where I disliked listening to anything else (I think around age 7 to 9). I was in love with the music of Bach and I couldn't get enough, nor did I need any other music. My musical tastes have obviously widened since then, but I still come back to Bach as my "first love" in classical music. I owe this in large part to my oldest brother, who taught me to love Bach when I was very young (thanks, Tim!). I'm doing my best to pass down this love of good music to my beautiful 20-month-old daughter. I have little plastic classical composer statuettes that I gave to her to play with. Her favorite is Bach. She says "Ock! Ock!" and runs and gets the little Bach statuette, then runs over to the CD player and says "Ano! Ano!" Translation: "I want to hear some Bach piano music, please!" Which, of course, means hearing Glenn Gould play, since I mostly have his recordings of Bach.
What do I love so much about the music of this composer? One of my piano teachers said, "Throughout all of Bach's music, there is an inner joy." His music has so much substance, order, and stability. There is also great emotional depth, though the emotion is under control. There is also great intellectual satisfaction from his music. The more you study it, the more you realize how expertly it is put together, and marvel at the symmetry of form. Bach was a master improviser at the keyboard. This plays out in many of his works, where his improvisatory skill leads to so much beauty and diversity.
I'd like to highlight his best. He wrote so much music (over 1000 works), and so much of it is just so good!
For solo keyboard:
OK, so before I list his solo keyboard works, I have to say something about a certain pianist who was very influential in my life, and particularly in regard to my love of the music of Bach. The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould deserves a separate blog entry, but for now, briefly, Glenn was sort of a personal musical hero of mine growing up. He was highly eccentric, yet highly articulate and intellectual. His playing of Bach was out of this world, although sometimes controversial. His impeccable timing and clean playing (where every note can be heard with precision) is stunning. Critics may say this can lead to an overly mechanical sound, but hey, nobody can have it all. I'll be drawing heavily from his playing in the following links.
- The Well-Tempered Clavier (2 books of 24 Preludes and Fugues in every key, both major and minor). This has been called the "Old Testament" for pianists (the "New Testament" being Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas). Here's the Bb minor Fugue from Book II, B Major Prelude and Fugue from Book II
- The Goldberg Variations - perhaps Bach's finest solo keyboard work (in my opinion). It begins with a slow aria, transcendently beautiful in its simplicity, followed by an amazing set of 30 variations. Every 3rd variation (except for the last) is a "canon" (where the melody is repeated exactly, note for note, one measure after the melody begins, and trails the initial melody for the duration of the whole piece). Canons are difficult enough to write and not sound forced, but Bach steps it up a notch. The first canon (3rd variation) is a "traditional" canon (with each note exactly repeated), but each successive canon increases the interval at which the notes are repeated. For example, the second canon (variation 6) is done with an interval of a 2nd, the third canon (variation 9) with an interval of a 3rd, the fourth canon (variation 12) with the interval of a 4th, and so on until variation 27, which has an interval of a 9th. I listened to these variations from the womb, and didn't realize this until I played and studied them in my teens, when I was completely blown away with the symmetry and intellectual depth to the piece. Even if one is completely unaware of all these things, though, this piece remains one of the most uplifting and satisfying works to listen to of all time.
Glenn Gould was sort of responsible for reviving this piece in the mid-20th century. He did the unthinkable and made it his debut recording in 1955. Usually pianists would save little-known, bold, difficult pieces to record when they are well-established and well-loved by critics and the public, but Gould made it his first recording, and pulled it off. Now over 50 years later, this recording still remains a sensation. Before Gould, this piece was played slowly, with all of the repeats (making it last 90 minutes or so). Gould sped through in 38 minutes with no repeats, shedding off the drudgery of previous recordings and catapulting the work into popularity. Gould recorded the piece a second time in 1981, playing it very, very differently. I personally don't like it as much, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Here's the last few variations from Gould's 1981 recording.
- Partitas - here's a great clip of Glenn Gould practicing the opening movement of Partita No. 2 at his home. And here's a later clip of him playing the very feeling opening of Partita No. 6.
- Toccatas - these tend to be more free-form than his other works, with lots of improvisatory material, slow and fast sections alternating, and full of emotion. Here's a fine version of the C minor Toccata, part 1 and part 2.
- Inventions and Sinfonias (2 and 3-part variations) - these are easier pieces to play, often played by young people learning how to play the piano. They are not any less masterful in a capable pianist's hands, though. Here's a very fast-tempo version of the popular Invention 13, and a very beautiful Sinfonia No. 2.
- French Suites - for variety, here's the Gigue of the G major (5th) suite, played on harpsichord, which is probably mostly what Bach intended for his keyboard works to be played on.
- English Suites - here's a clip of one of the more well-known movements of the suites, the Gavotte from the G minor (3rd) suite.
- Art of the Fugue (for organ) - Bach's last work, not quite completely finished. An extremely cerebral work devoted to the fugue form. It is a set of fugues and canons based around one subject, varied in every possible way you could imagine (and more!). Here's Glenn Gould waxing eloquent about the piece. There is a lot of chromaticism in Bach, and in the last fugue (which is not quite finished), there are parts that sound as if they could have been written by a 20th-century composer. The very last subject introduced in the last (unfinished) fugue (there are 4 subjects in that massive fugue alone!), is the note-pattern "b - a - c - h" (b = B-flat in German, and h = B-natural in German). So Bach was signing his name to the work he knew would sum up his life (Gould comments on this in the clip). Here's Gould playing the end of the last fugue until it abruptly breaks off. Bach's last musical words... it's a rather emotional experience to listen to this! Here's the opening fugue played on organ.
For other solo instruments:
- Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin - 6 suites total: the last movement of the 2nd partita is one of Bach's finest works, called "Chaconne" (or "Ciaconna"). Here is composer Johannes Brahms' comments on the work: "On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind." Chaconne was originally written for solo violin, as seen here, part 1 and part 2. The piece has also been transcribed for solo lute/guitar, as heard here. Several composers have made arrangements of it for other instruments, including Brahms' left-hand piano version, and Busoni's very grandiose piano transcription.
- Suites for solo cello - all delightful pieces. The opening movement of Suite No. 1 is a very beautiful introduction to these pieces. The Prelude of Suite No. 5 is a very intensely emotional piece, probably my favorite of them all. Here's a stunning recording of the pieces that I'd highly recommend done by Cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
- Suites for solo lute (guitar) - many great pieces here. I listened to them growing up, as my other older brother played many on the guitar. Some of them were transcribed by Bach from the solo violin or solo cello suites, but they have a very different character on guitar. Here's the opening movement of the E Major suite (originally for violin), played by world-renown guitarist John Williams.
For Orchestra or Ensemble:
- Brandenburg Concertos - 6 concertos written for small- to medium-sized ensembles of instruments. These are some of Bach's most popular, and for good reason. They are all very uplifting, full of highly satisfying melodies and harmonies, and each one features a different (or several different) instruments, with frequent solos. Here's Concerto No. 4, Movement 1, 2, and 3, and here's Concerto No. 5 Movement 1, 2, and 3.
- Orchestral Suites - another high quality set of pieces (4 total), written for large ensemble. Here's the Overture from Suite No. 1, my favorite orchestral suite.
- Keyboard Concertos - Concerto in D minor, 1st movement - another stunning performance by a young Glenn Gould. And here's a concerto for 3 keyboards (played on harpsichords), first movement.
- Violin Concertos - there are several, some of which are the same as the keyboard concertos. One of my favorites is a concerto for violin and oboe - this has some really beautiful melodies and amazing interplay between the two solo instruments. Here's movements 1, 2, and 3. Movement #2 is especially moving (no pun intended).
For Voice/Orchestra:
Bach wrote a lot of music for the church. This is just a brief highlight of some of it. He was a committed Christian, and signed all of his music "Soli Deo Gloria (To God be the Glory)".
- St. Matthew Passion - written to the chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew, this focuses on the passion of Christ (his death and suffering). If this piece were in English instead of German, I'd probably listen to it more. Even so, I enjoy the music greatly. One of the themes running throughout, sung by the chorus multiple times, is the same theme used in the Christian hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded". Here is the beautiful common theme running throughout, used for the aforementioned hymn. Here is the opening movement, and the last movement.
- Cantatas - Here's some introductory commentary by Glenn Gould and a performance of Cantata No. 54. Another Cantata includes the famous "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", played here in a beautiful arrangement. Another favorite from the Cantatas is "Sheep May Safely Graze", played here.
This is only a small portion of Bach's wonderful music. He was a man truly gifted by God who wrote beautiful, uplifting music that draws me closer to the One who created him, and Who created all music.
Russian Imagery
Modest Mussorgsky was born today in Russia. He was an important part of "The Five" Russian composers (see blog for January 2). His music contains both the grotesque and the majestic. Probably most people know him for his tone poem, "Night on the Bald Mountain", popularized by Disney in the original Fantasia movie. I don't think this piece is very uplifting, so aside from linking you to an impressive piano version here, I'll focus instead on my favorite work of Mussorgsky's, Pictures at an Exhibition.
This is a set of piano pieces he wrote after viewing a collection of paintings done by his friend Victor Hartmann, who had died at the young age of 39. Mussorgsky uses one theme over and over throughout the pieces, and calls it "Promenade". It is a beautiful melody, but has awkward timing, meant to depict the composer himself walking to each picture (he was very overweight and walked with an awkward gait). Each Promenade, although containing the same melody, has a very different mood, since each painting he viewed changed what he felt for that moment. Each piece depicts a painting of Hartmann's, and the ones we know about can be viewed here.
The following links are of the entire set of the pictures, divided into 4 videos:
- Promenade - The Gnome - Promenade - The Old Castle
- Promenade - Children Disputing While at Play - Polish Oxcart - Promenade - Dance of the Unhatched Chicks - Goldenberg & Schmuyle (Two Jews: One Rich, One Poor)
- Gossip/Bickering at a French Marketplace - Catacombs
- The Hut on Chicken's Legs (Baba Yaga) - The Great Gate of Kiev
These are amazing pieces with vivid imagery and colors, beautiful melodies, and wide dynamic ranges. It is made even more impressive than the original piano version Mussorgsky wrote by the masterful orchestration done by composer Maurice Ravel. Hope you enjoy them!
This is a set of piano pieces he wrote after viewing a collection of paintings done by his friend Victor Hartmann, who had died at the young age of 39. Mussorgsky uses one theme over and over throughout the pieces, and calls it "Promenade". It is a beautiful melody, but has awkward timing, meant to depict the composer himself walking to each picture (he was very overweight and walked with an awkward gait). Each Promenade, although containing the same melody, has a very different mood, since each painting he viewed changed what he felt for that moment. Each piece depicts a painting of Hartmann's, and the ones we know about can be viewed here.
The following links are of the entire set of the pictures, divided into 4 videos:
- Promenade - The Gnome - Promenade - The Old Castle
- Promenade - Children Disputing While at Play - Polish Oxcart - Promenade - Dance of the Unhatched Chicks - Goldenberg & Schmuyle (Two Jews: One Rich, One Poor)
- Gossip/Bickering at a French Marketplace - Catacombs
- The Hut on Chicken's Legs (Baba Yaga) - The Great Gate of Kiev
These are amazing pieces with vivid imagery and colors, beautiful melodies, and wide dynamic ranges. It is made even more impressive than the original piano version Mussorgsky wrote by the masterful orchestration done by composer Maurice Ravel. Hope you enjoy them!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Russian Orchestration
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born today in Russian in 1844. He was one of "The Five" Russian composers (see blog on January 2), and perhaps ended up being the most famous of them all. He was a master of orchestration.
Scheherazade is one of his most famous compositions. It is an amazing piece of orchestration, with beautiful melodies and amazing colors descriptive of storms at sea, adventures, etc. that go along with the story he depicts with the music. Listen to the first movement here.
Flight of the Bumblebee is another one of his most popular tunes. Here is an insane version with 8 pianos. And here is the original orchestral version.
Scheherazade is one of his most famous compositions. It is an amazing piece of orchestration, with beautiful melodies and amazing colors descriptive of storms at sea, adventures, etc. that go along with the story he depicts with the music. Listen to the first movement here.
Flight of the Bumblebee is another one of his most popular tunes. Here is an insane version with 8 pianos. And here is the original orchestral version.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Most prolific composer
Today in 1681, Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Germany. While in his day he was more popular than his fellow German, J. S. Bach, nowadays Bach outshadows him. Telemann is credited with being the most prolific composer in all of history, writing apparently over 3000 works.
One of my favorites is his Watermusic (although Handel's Watermusic is far more popular). This recording is especially beautiful and uplifting, played on period instruments and to the tuning of the day, so as to sound as authentic as possible.
He was also known for writing pieces for combinations of instruments. Whoever heard of a concerto for 4 violins (or 4 of anything?). Here is part of that Concerto for 4 violins, but transcribed for 4 guitars. It sounds pretty good on guitar!
One of my favorites is his Watermusic (although Handel's Watermusic is far more popular). This recording is especially beautiful and uplifting, played on period instruments and to the tuning of the day, so as to sound as authentic as possible.
He was also known for writing pieces for combinations of instruments. Whoever heard of a concerto for 4 violins (or 4 of anything?). Here is part of that Concerto for 4 violins, but transcribed for 4 guitars. It sounds pretty good on guitar!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Romantic Virtuoso Violin Music
Pablo de Sarasate was born today in 1844 in Spain. He was a virtuoso violinist and composed some amazing show-pieces for the violin.
His most famous is "Zigeunerweisen" ("Gypsy Airs"), a fiery one-movement work for violin and orchestra. Listen to it here played by violinist Jascha Heifetz.
The other piece I'd like to mention is his "Carmen Fantasy", a work for violin and orchestra based on George Bizet's beautiful suites derived from his famous opera, "Carmen". Listen here and here (divided into two videos). This is not only really impressive violin playing (and extremely difficult!), but they are timeless beautiful melodies, at least some of which are very widely familiar.
His most famous is "Zigeunerweisen" ("Gypsy Airs"), a fiery one-movement work for violin and orchestra. Listen to it here played by violinist Jascha Heifetz.
The other piece I'd like to mention is his "Carmen Fantasy", a work for violin and orchestra based on George Bizet's beautiful suites derived from his famous opera, "Carmen". Listen here and here (divided into two videos). This is not only really impressive violin playing (and extremely difficult!), but they are timeless beautiful melodies, at least some of which are very widely familiar.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Saddest Piece of Classical Music
Samuel Barber was born in 1910 in Pennsylvania, America.
His Adagio for Strings is his most famous work. Originally written as part of a string quartet when he was only 26 years old, it was later made into a separate piece for orchestra, which is the way it is usually played today. The piece has been said by some to be the "saddest piece of classical music", and has been in many movies. In 2001 it was played at the World Trade Center in commemoration of all the lives lost. I've read comments from the families of those victims say that this piece has touched their souls and gotten them through a lot. It's hard to imagine how Barber at such a young age had the insight to write such a deeply-felt, excruciatingly sad piece of music. Here is a performance of the Adagio for Strings. This is one of the most amazingly beautiful, rich, harmonious pieces ever written. Listen to the pathos and weep!
Another notable version of the piece is Barber's arrangement for 8-part choir, set to the text "Agnus dei" (referring to Jesus Christ - "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us..."). Powerful music!
His Adagio for Strings is his most famous work. Originally written as part of a string quartet when he was only 26 years old, it was later made into a separate piece for orchestra, which is the way it is usually played today. The piece has been said by some to be the "saddest piece of classical music", and has been in many movies. In 2001 it was played at the World Trade Center in commemoration of all the lives lost. I've read comments from the families of those victims say that this piece has touched their souls and gotten them through a lot. It's hard to imagine how Barber at such a young age had the insight to write such a deeply-felt, excruciatingly sad piece of music. Here is a performance of the Adagio for Strings. This is one of the most amazingly beautiful, rich, harmonious pieces ever written. Listen to the pathos and weep!
Another notable version of the piece is Barber's arrangement for 8-part choir, set to the text "Agnus dei" (referring to Jesus Christ - "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us..."). Powerful music!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Musical Poignancy and Melancholy
Maurice Ravel was born on this day in 1875 in France. His music is on the whole very poignant, sad and melancholy, yet rich, beautiful, and moving. Of the lesser known composers (i.e. less famous than Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, etc.) he is probably my favorite. Many of his works touch me very deeply and leave me with a feeling that is hard to describe. He is commonly compared with Debussy and the impressionistic style, but to me he has a more distinct and rich, fiery sound than Debussy.
Aside from writing a lot of terrific piano music, he was a master of orchestration. He was extremely skilled in knowing what instruments to use to get all sorts of interesting and exotic sounds. His most famous work is "Bolero". I read somewhere he rather despised this composition, and said that it was "orchestral tissue without music." It starts out really soft, repeating the same theme over and over, each time louder and louder, until the bombastic crash-like ending. Once you listen to it, you can't get the melody out of your head for days.
Ravel wrote two piano concertos, one for the left hand alone, and one for both hands. The Concerto in G Major (for both hands) is very jazzy, and mostly light-hearted and joking... except for the 2nd movement, an extremely wistful, nostalgic piece. It starts with piano alone for a few minutes, then adds orchestra, builds up to a climax, and then softly repeats the theme in orchestra with beautiful flowing piano accompaniment in the high register. A must listen! Listen to the 1st and 3rd movements, too, if you like.
His Concerto for the Left Hand is a one-movement piece written for a pianist friend of Ravel's who lost his right arm in World War I. Where Ravel's other concerto was light-hearted and full of humor, this piece is much darker, brooding, and melancholy, yet very powerful. There are many places in the orchestration that sound like Bolero to me. The piece begins with lots of low rumblings, including a bassoon solo in the very low register (and thus is hard to hear well on youtube unfortunately). The orchestra builds and suddenly cuts off, leaving a powerful piano cadenza, which climbs to a reintroduction of the theme with the full orchestra, and it goes on from there. Listen here to the 1st part and 2nd part. On the 1st part, listen especially to around 6:50, where the piano has an expressive, beautiful theme. The 2nd part starts right at the fast, rhythmic part of the piece, where there is a dancing theme in the piano, but eventually another theme started by the bassoon starts up (in a completely different time-signature!) and the two themes continue on and build together to a climax (crazy rhythms!). Listen again to around 6:45, where the piano repeats that expressive, beautiful theme (from part 1, 6:50) in a more flowery way. The pianist featured here is the legendary Leon Fleisher, a world-renown artist who had problems with his right hand curling up on him spontaneously. He refused to give up, and became a conductor and pianist for the left-hand literature (there's actually quite a few pieces for left hand alone). Then just a few years ago (he's now in his 80's), after trying every therapy known to man, he finally found something that works for him - botox injections! It seems he has a very rare neurological disorder called a focal dystonia in his right hand only, and botox seems to do the trick.
One of Ravel's finest chamber pieces is his Piano Trio. Listen here to the 1st movement and 3rd movement. This piece always brings me to tears. There is something nostalgic in it that touches me deeply. Especially the 3rd movment.
Moving on to Ravel's solo piano music, it's hard for me to narrow down what I want to link to. Here's a selection of some of my favorites:
- Sonatine, 1st movement, a piece with very beautiful harmonies and a wistful tone throughout. It is played here by Vlado Perlemuter, a French pianist who studied Ravel's piano works with Ravel himself after meeting the composer in 1925, thereafter becoming an expert in Ravel's music. Perlemuter died in 2002 at the age of 98.
- Pavane for a Dead Princess, one of his most famous piano pieces, is an extremely beautiful, slow, reflective piece. The title refers not to a funeral piece, but instead it is an elegant dance written in memory of the dance that a Spanish princess would do during a formal ceremony of reception at the royal court. Ravel was not in favor of playing this piece too slowly or plodding, and once told a pianist he heard play it that it was called "Pavane for Dead Princess" not "Dead Pavane for a Princess."
- Le Tombeau de Couperin, a wonderful little suite of pieces written (as the pianist states) to commemorate harpsichord composers in the 18th century (such as Francois Couperin). The pieces are full of interesting harmonies, beautiful melodies, and lush, jazz-like chords.
- Gaspard de la nuit is a suite of three piano pieces based on poems. I'm currently working on playing the first piece, Ondine. It is one of Ravel's most beautiful pieces, full of striking harmonies, flowery arpeggios, lush sounds, and a repeated chord motif in the right hand throughout. The 3rd piece in the set, Scarbo, is considered by some to be the most difficult piano piece ever written. It depicts a very active little dwarf-goblin who gets into mischief and scares people while they're sleeping. Scarbo is a little hard to listen to at first - although extremely impressive, it's very modern and dissonant (and downright frightening!), but Ondine is very beautiful and one of my favorites.
There are several other pieces Ravel wrote, including Jeux deau ("Water at play"), Miroirs, Valses nobles et sentimentales ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes"), and the list goes on. He also orchestrated a wonderful piece by Mussorgsky called "Pictures at an Exhibition" but I'll discuss that on Mussorgsky's birthday (coming soon...).
Aside from writing a lot of terrific piano music, he was a master of orchestration. He was extremely skilled in knowing what instruments to use to get all sorts of interesting and exotic sounds. His most famous work is "Bolero". I read somewhere he rather despised this composition, and said that it was "orchestral tissue without music." It starts out really soft, repeating the same theme over and over, each time louder and louder, until the bombastic crash-like ending. Once you listen to it, you can't get the melody out of your head for days.
Ravel wrote two piano concertos, one for the left hand alone, and one for both hands. The Concerto in G Major (for both hands) is very jazzy, and mostly light-hearted and joking... except for the 2nd movement, an extremely wistful, nostalgic piece. It starts with piano alone for a few minutes, then adds orchestra, builds up to a climax, and then softly repeats the theme in orchestra with beautiful flowing piano accompaniment in the high register. A must listen! Listen to the 1st and 3rd movements, too, if you like.
His Concerto for the Left Hand is a one-movement piece written for a pianist friend of Ravel's who lost his right arm in World War I. Where Ravel's other concerto was light-hearted and full of humor, this piece is much darker, brooding, and melancholy, yet very powerful. There are many places in the orchestration that sound like Bolero to me. The piece begins with lots of low rumblings, including a bassoon solo in the very low register (and thus is hard to hear well on youtube unfortunately). The orchestra builds and suddenly cuts off, leaving a powerful piano cadenza, which climbs to a reintroduction of the theme with the full orchestra, and it goes on from there. Listen here to the 1st part and 2nd part. On the 1st part, listen especially to around 6:50, where the piano has an expressive, beautiful theme. The 2nd part starts right at the fast, rhythmic part of the piece, where there is a dancing theme in the piano, but eventually another theme started by the bassoon starts up (in a completely different time-signature!) and the two themes continue on and build together to a climax (crazy rhythms!). Listen again to around 6:45, where the piano repeats that expressive, beautiful theme (from part 1, 6:50) in a more flowery way. The pianist featured here is the legendary Leon Fleisher, a world-renown artist who had problems with his right hand curling up on him spontaneously. He refused to give up, and became a conductor and pianist for the left-hand literature (there's actually quite a few pieces for left hand alone). Then just a few years ago (he's now in his 80's), after trying every therapy known to man, he finally found something that works for him - botox injections! It seems he has a very rare neurological disorder called a focal dystonia in his right hand only, and botox seems to do the trick.
One of Ravel's finest chamber pieces is his Piano Trio. Listen here to the 1st movement and 3rd movement. This piece always brings me to tears. There is something nostalgic in it that touches me deeply. Especially the 3rd movment.
Moving on to Ravel's solo piano music, it's hard for me to narrow down what I want to link to. Here's a selection of some of my favorites:
- Sonatine, 1st movement, a piece with very beautiful harmonies and a wistful tone throughout. It is played here by Vlado Perlemuter, a French pianist who studied Ravel's piano works with Ravel himself after meeting the composer in 1925, thereafter becoming an expert in Ravel's music. Perlemuter died in 2002 at the age of 98.
- Pavane for a Dead Princess, one of his most famous piano pieces, is an extremely beautiful, slow, reflective piece. The title refers not to a funeral piece, but instead it is an elegant dance written in memory of the dance that a Spanish princess would do during a formal ceremony of reception at the royal court. Ravel was not in favor of playing this piece too slowly or plodding, and once told a pianist he heard play it that it was called "Pavane for Dead Princess" not "Dead Pavane for a Princess."
- Le Tombeau de Couperin, a wonderful little suite of pieces written (as the pianist states) to commemorate harpsichord composers in the 18th century (such as Francois Couperin). The pieces are full of interesting harmonies, beautiful melodies, and lush, jazz-like chords.
- Gaspard de la nuit is a suite of three piano pieces based on poems. I'm currently working on playing the first piece, Ondine. It is one of Ravel's most beautiful pieces, full of striking harmonies, flowery arpeggios, lush sounds, and a repeated chord motif in the right hand throughout. The 3rd piece in the set, Scarbo, is considered by some to be the most difficult piano piece ever written. It depicts a very active little dwarf-goblin who gets into mischief and scares people while they're sleeping. Scarbo is a little hard to listen to at first - although extremely impressive, it's very modern and dissonant (and downright frightening!), but Ondine is very beautiful and one of my favorites.
There are several other pieces Ravel wrote, including Jeux deau ("Water at play"), Miroirs, Valses nobles et sentimentales ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes"), and the list goes on. He also orchestrated a wonderful piece by Mussorgsky called "Pictures at an Exhibition" but I'll discuss that on Mussorgsky's birthday (coming soon...).
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Music of Brazil
Today in 1887, Heitor Villa-Lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I'm familiar mainly with Villa-Lobos' guitar music, which my brother played while I was growing up. His music has a very Latin-American spice to it, and hovers between late romantic and contemporary classical music.
Here are some of my favorites, which I grew up hearing my brother play:
- Prelude No. 1
- Prelude No. 2
- Etude No. 1
He also wrote a concerto for guitar and orchestra, which is pretty difficult to play, and somewhat modern sounding; but there are some really nice moments and interesting passages. Here's the first, second and third movements.
I'm familiar mainly with Villa-Lobos' guitar music, which my brother played while I was growing up. His music has a very Latin-American spice to it, and hovers between late romantic and contemporary classical music.
Here are some of my favorites, which I grew up hearing my brother play:
- Prelude No. 1
- Prelude No. 2
- Etude No. 1
He also wrote a concerto for guitar and orchestra, which is pretty difficult to play, and somewhat modern sounding; but there are some really nice moments and interesting passages. Here's the first, second and third movements.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Music for All Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi was born today in Venice in 1678. By far his most popular work of music (and one of the most famous of all Baroque-period compositions) is his "Four Seasons", which are 4 violin concertos, each evocative of the different seasons. These pieces are works of genius, and are delightful to listen to repeatedly. They were apparently written to go with four sonnets, which describe each movement.
These concertos are very special to me. My wife walked down the aisle at our wedding to the 2nd movement of Winter, and we walked out together to the 1st movement of Spring as the recessional.
Another interesting on is the 1st movement of Winter, which sort of sounds like it could be music to a horror film! It depicts the biting cold of winter.
It's difficult for me not to link to a performance of all 12 movements of the 4 concertos, because each one is so special and beautiful in it's own way. Instead, I'll let you buy a recording and enjoy it on your own stereo system at home.
These concertos are very special to me. My wife walked down the aisle at our wedding to the 2nd movement of Winter, and we walked out together to the 1st movement of Spring as the recessional.
Another interesting on is the 1st movement of Winter, which sort of sounds like it could be music to a horror film! It depicts the biting cold of winter.
It's difficult for me not to link to a performance of all 12 movements of the 4 concertos, because each one is so special and beautiful in it's own way. Instead, I'll let you buy a recording and enjoy it on your own stereo system at home.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
A Composer for Pianists
Today in 1810, Frederic Chopin was born in Poland. Every composition he wrote involved the piano somehow, and the vast majority are for solo piano. I think I've played more piano pieces by Chopin than any composer. His music is irresistible to play. Although much of it is pretty difficult, the rewards in playing it are so great, it's worth practicing your head off for the end result. I'm not in the mood to write a long blog this time (sorry Chopin, got kinda burned out on my long blog for Handel), so I thought I'd just link some of my favorite pieces instead. You can read the wikipedia article for a very thorough treatment of his life and musical style, etc.
I had a hard time trimming down what I would link to, but here's one piece from just about every genre he composed from. Several are of pianist Artur Rubinstein, probably Chopin's greatest intrepreter (and also Polish).
- Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in Eb Major
- Grand Polonaise Brilliante, featured in the movie "The Pianist"
- Grande Waltz Brilliante Op. 34 No. 1
- Fantaisie-Impromptu
- Prelude Op. 28 No. 16
- Etudes Op. 10 Nos. 8 and 5
- Mazurka Op. 33 No. 4 in B minor. The Mazurkas are lesser known, but very charming, delightful pieces that range the whole gamut of emotions. In contrast to a waltz, which has its emphasis on the first beat of each measure (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, etc.), the Mazurka has it's emphasis on the second beat of each measure (one-TWO-three). I'd highly recommend the 2-CD set recorded by Artur Rubinstein featuring 51 Mazurkas (this set also includes the 4 scherzi)
- Ballade No. 1 in G minor, also featured in the movie "The Pianist", during the very moving scene when the Nazi official finds Jewish pianist Szpilman (actor Adrien Brody) hiding out and wants to hear him play.
- Scherzo No. 3 in C# minor
- Sonata No. 3, 4th movement
- Concerto No. 1, 2nd movement, one of the most beautiful, magical moments in all classical music.
I had a hard time trimming down what I would link to, but here's one piece from just about every genre he composed from. Several are of pianist Artur Rubinstein, probably Chopin's greatest intrepreter (and also Polish).
- Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in Eb Major
- Grand Polonaise Brilliante, featured in the movie "The Pianist"
- Grande Waltz Brilliante Op. 34 No. 1
- Fantaisie-Impromptu
- Prelude Op. 28 No. 16
- Etudes Op. 10 Nos. 8 and 5
- Mazurka Op. 33 No. 4 in B minor. The Mazurkas are lesser known, but very charming, delightful pieces that range the whole gamut of emotions. In contrast to a waltz, which has its emphasis on the first beat of each measure (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, etc.), the Mazurka has it's emphasis on the second beat of each measure (one-TWO-three). I'd highly recommend the 2-CD set recorded by Artur Rubinstein featuring 51 Mazurkas (this set also includes the 4 scherzi)
- Ballade No. 1 in G minor, also featured in the movie "The Pianist", during the very moving scene when the Nazi official finds Jewish pianist Szpilman (actor Adrien Brody) hiding out and wants to hear him play.
- Scherzo No. 3 in C# minor
- Sonata No. 3, 4th movement
- Concerto No. 1, 2nd movement, one of the most beautiful, magical moments in all classical music.
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