The Perpetual Student

Music in Rochester

2009-06-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm 3 days into my orientation for residency, and so much has happened already.

First day was a bunch of short talks from all sorts of people on varied topics. The other two days have been computer training, getting our schedules, talks about research in residency, etc.

The first evening, there was an informal meet and greet with all the new internal medicine residents (and families - there were about 4 3-year olds running around, including mine!) and a few older residents and staff physicians (they call them "consultants" instead of "attendings" here). The program here is so large (71 interns this year!), they intentionally have us in groups, each with a physician mentor.

So that night I met my group's mentor - turns out he's a very skilled classically-trained pianist who still plays a lot. He knew that I played a lot, too, and we got to talking. He said he would put me in touch with another resident who is a serious violinist. Apparently he has been looking for a pianist to play with...

...so today I had the afternoon free, and I get this call from the violinist resident. Turns out he is also doing the "research-track" residency/fellowship in Heme-Onc like I am doing! He was planning on meeting his cellist friend this evening to read through a bunch of music. Would I like to join them? Would I ever!

We played for 2.5 hours together in the Mayo lobby (the Bosendorfer piano!). The entire Mendelssohn C Minor (Op. 66) trio and the slow movement of the D minor (Op. 49), as well as the entire Schubert Bb Major (D. 898) trio and the slow movement of the Eb Major (D. 929). This was such an enjoyable experience! All three of us really felt privileged to be playing together. What a blessing! I believe this collaboration will continue...

Vacation Day 9 - Arriving in Rochester!

2009-06-13T11:08:00.001-07:00

Day 9: Chamberlain, SD to Rochester, MN

Estimated Mileage: 370 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.4 hours

There wasn't that much interesting about this day. Just driving through farm country. We stopped at "Perkins" (a nice family restaurant) for lunch near Sioux Falls, SD. Then we booked it through to Rochester with a couple of bathroom stops.

We arrived at our house around dinner time and cooked up some spaghetti using our camping utensils on our house stove. We tried to unpack as much stuff as possible from our van and spent the night in the house on the floor with our sleeping bags. It was nice to be "home" finally!

The next day, our moving trailer arrived with all of our stuff and we hired a couple of movers to unload it with us.

Our moving trailer.

All of our stuff.

Me hard at work.

Katie worked with Rebekah on her back, and then she fell asleep - how precious!

Most of our stuff was fine, except for a couple bookcases and entertainment center (all broken during the move - we chucked them), and possibly some of our china dishes (see picture). In spite of us writing "fragile" on the box, the movers put this box at the bottom of a heavy stack. We still haven't opened it up to see if it's OK...

Also, unfortunately, our queen boxspring would not fit upstairs into our bedroom. The mattress fit, but only because we squeezed the sides as we went up. We had to buy a split boxspring, and we're trying to sell this one on craigslist!

Since we moved in on June 3rd, we've had some time to unpack most everything, buy furniture, etc., and try to get ourselves settled. It's quite a job. Here's some pictures of the progress we've made:

Our bedroom is quite a bit larger than our previous one. We don't know what to do with all the room!

We drove up to Minneapolis a few days ago and went to IKEA, where we bought Rachel a bed. It can be turned upside down and made into a bunk bed later when she and Rebekah will share a room. She loves it!

Here is the family room/music room. Our piano made it safe and sound. We kept our couches in this room because they wouldn't fit downstairs in our basement (the original intended location).

Rebekah loves to roam around our new house and have fun. Here she is playing a duet with me. I was playing Debussy's Etude in 4ths, which is quite modern sounding. Most of the notes she hit fit in pretty well!

Rachel has also been very busy playing with all her toys and making up interesting imaginative games.

The largest room in our basement will be the movie/entertainment room. The furniture seen here is largely supplied from the Goodwill: Sofa - $20, Easychair - $10, entertainment center - $50, coffee table - $5. Can't beat those prices!

Another room in the basement is Katie's laundry room - already in full swing!

Here's another one of the kitchen.

And here's one of the office/guest room.

I also mowed our lawn yesterday.

We first had to purchase a lawn mower (nice big garage, huh?). Originally Katie was anticipating doing the mowing, since I'd be so busy in residency. She was quite apprehensive about it, though, as she's never mowed a lawn in her life. I don't blame her. While unpacking/assembling the mower, there were so many warnings about death and dismemberment in the instruction packet, I was even slightly concerned myself and made sure to read all the directions before operating it. I decided I'll do all the mowing, even if I'm busy.

I also bought a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee off of Craiglist from another Mayo employee. It has a lot of miles (~129,000), but it seems like it runs great. This is ideal car for the snow, I've heard.

Well, that's all about our California to Minnesota trip. Hope you've enjoyed the pictures and stories.

Vacation Day 8

2009-06-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Day 8: Devil's Tower National Monument, WY to Chamberlain, SD (via Mt. Rushmore)

Estimated Mileage: 356 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.5 hours

We originally intended to camp that night in Badlands National Park near Interior, SD, but we got caught in a heavy rain storm (with lots of thunder and lightning - whee!) as we crossed the WY-SD border while on the 16. Camping didn't seem too desirable after that. So we drove as far as we could and stayed in a Motel on the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD.

From Devil's Tower, we took the 14 to the 585 to the 16 before entering South Dakota and getting rained on. We tried stopping at the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it was raining too hard and the admission fee was rather high, so we were content to glimpse the unfinished statue in the mountain from afar. Below is a picture from the web (we couldn't get a good shot of it):

By the time we reached Mt. Rushmore, the rain died down a little bit and we decided to spend some time there. It was quite a nice memorial, with lots of stone pillars and flags from all 50 states.

The front of the memorial.

Rachel and I in front of the mountain. Somehow the lighting from the clouds and the way we took these pictures kind of obscures the monument.

We ducked into an ice cream shop within the memorial and Rebekah had her first taste of ice cream.

Needless to say, she liked it.

After finishing our treats, it cleared up a little bit.

One last picture before we headed out...

We got hungry in the middle of South Dakota, so we stopped at "Wall Drug", a big conglomeration of stores along a street in the city of Wall. It was advertised on the freeway with interesting billboards for hundreds of miles, starting sometime in Wyoming. It seems like most of the stores were expensive trinkets, and all we cared about was food, so the novelty was lost on us!

Rachel was certainly happy to stop!

We got into Chamberlain after 10 pm, and took this picture of the Missouri River the next day as we left.

And one more picture of the Missouri River... it sure is wide - probably over a mile!

Vacation Day 7

2009-06-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Cody, WY to Devil's Tower National Monument

Estimated Mileage: 311 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.2 hours

Originally we intended to camp at Keyhole State Park and visit Devil's Tower the next day. However, we decided to go see Devil's Tower that evening instead... and we found a neat little campsite right next to the rock - pretty cool!

Devil's Tower may have been my favorite spot during the whole trip. There's just something really fascinating and grandiose about this 1000-foot high tower of hexagon-shaped rock-columns. And camping less than 2 miles from it was just really neat. It's the same type of hexagon-shaped rock-columns as Devil's Postpile near Mammoth, CA, except the hexagons are more like 10 feet in diameter instead of 10 inches.

Perhaps I was also intrigued by it because the first time I ever saw it was in the great 70's Spielberg sci-fi movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

The campground was really simple. Just off the road, very small, connected to a store and restaurant. We were the only ones there that evening - very peaceful. I guessed from the 30+ beer-bottles in the restroom waste-basket that we came just after a large group of rowdy bikers had left...

Here are some pictures:

An example of northern Wyoming beauty, as we drive...

The family of four as we approach Devil's Tower.

Zoom view

Our campsite

Our tents, with the rock just over the hill.

View of the rock from the outside of the restaurant at our campsite.

Our campsite the following morning (around 6 am).

View of Devil's Tower in the morning from the same position.

Zoom view (can you tell I like Devil's Tower?).

That morning, we drove up to Devil's Tower visitor's center...

... and walked just a couple-hundred feet up to the boulder field, where only those who have climbing licenses are allowed to go any further.

Here it is from a different angle.

And one more shot as we left the area. Interesting place!

Vacation Day

2009-06-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Driggs, ID to Cody, WY (via Grand Tetons and Yellowstone)

Estimated Mileage: 308 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.1 hours

I had originally planned on driving through Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and doing the entire Yellowstone National Park loop, thus the long hours in spite of not going very many miles as the crow flies.

We got a late start, so we ended up just stopping briefly at each place. To me, the Tetons were the most impressive. Teton Valley was so beautiful and impressive, I could have spent all my time there. We stopped to take a few pictures (below), and went up to Old Faithful Geyser, after which we just booked through Yellowstone along the lake and on to Cody. Yellowstone Lake was really beautiful, too, with many beautiful mountains surrounding it from all directions. This was a gorgeous trip!

Here are some pictures:

Me and Rachel at the mountain pass between the Idaho side and the Wyoming side of the Tetons. We were at approximately 9000 feet elevation.

Tommy, Katie, and Rebekah

Quite a view into Teton Valley!

Rachel with the Tetons in the background. We were driving right next to the Snake River.

Some buffalo sacked out on the side of the road.

Tetons and the northern end of Jackson Lake.

Now on to Yellowstone... Old Faithful.

An anxious crowd awaits the geyser... it was cold, wet, and raining.

The rain conveniently allowed us to give Rebekah a new, hip hairstyle.

Yay! Old Faithful!... and only ~10 minutes behind schedule (apparently it can vary quite a bit).

OK, time to get the baby warm and move on!

Driving next to Yellowstone Lake. Beautiful mountains all around this place!

Apparently the lake isn't the most safe place to walk around on the beach. At one point, we saw steaming (boiling) water from geothermal activity just a few feet away from an iced-over portion of the lake near the shore. This is what I call Nature's Triple-Point! (actually, courtesy of Katie, the chemistry nerd)

A young grizzly bear by the side of the road to bid us adieu as we left Yellowstone.

Vacation Day 5

2009-06-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Bryce Canyon, UT to Driggs, ID

Estimated Mileage: 553 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 9.2 hours

This was our longest driving time in one day. It took us almost 12 hours again, including mutiple stops for potty, food, etc. Our route was mostly on Interstate 15, which is sort of like the American Autobahn. It had a speed limit mostly of 75 mph, but there were large portions with 80 mph! I took advantage of this...

... and it was a good thing, too. We rolled into our Best Western Motel in Driggs, Idaho at 9:30pm and found out their front desk closed at 10pm. We would have lost our reservation if we came more than 30 minutes later!

The scenery in Idaho as we came up to the Tetons was amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pictures since we were arriving when it was almost dark. Here's a picture I took off the web:

It looked even more impressive than this, though, because at this time of year, there was quite a lot more snow on the peaks, perhaps more like this picture:

Well, here's a couple of pictures we ourselves took:

Rebekah got a little tired of driving all day

Rachel appears happy... in this picture at least!

Here is our van loaded down with all our junk, plus two adorable children

In Idaho Falls we stopped to get dinner and I bought a really nice "Easy-Up" Canopy that would provide us some protection from too much sun or rain the next time we camped. It barely fit in the back of our van.

Here's our motel the next morning.

And here is the view of the Tetons from our motel.

Vacation Day 3 and 4

2009-06-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Cottonwood, AZ to Bryce Canyon, UT

Estimated Mileage: 350 miles
Estimated Driving time: 6.7 hours

This day was QUITE the adventure. It took us more like 12 hours to get there because:

1) My older daughter, Rachel, got car-sick and barfed yogurt-chunks all over her carseat. We tried to clean it off, but in the end we decided to drive to the next town and get her a new one. We also changed her position in the car so she could see outside better and thus prevent future episodes. The car still kinda smells like strawberry yogurt in some places...

2) My brother-in-law, Tommy, had been having sharp pains above his left eye for a few days. They didn't last very long and he ignored them until this day, as they were getting more frequent. As we drove, I had a chance to put my doctor skills in action. I asked him lots of questions, took a focused history, and did a VERY focused physical exam. Driving with my left hand, I tapped him above the eyes with my right hand - he was quite tender above the left eye, but not above the right. That physical finding was so classic, I was pretty sure it was a left frontal sinus infection. We stopped in Flagstaff to take him to an urgent care. Yup - it was a sinus infection. He took Zithromax for 5 days and Mucinex for a couple days and everything was fine after that. Hopefully this is a sign that I will do OK as an internal medicine intern in a few weeks...

Around 8:30 pm, we finally rolled into our campsite and madly dashed around, set up our tents, unpacked our car, made dinner (chili dogs... yummmmmmmm), cleaned up, and went to bed by midnight. Luckily, it stayed light until around 9:30 or 10, and our lantern helped out after that.

The 2nd day, we drove around to a few spots to look out at Bryce Canyon. All the spots were amazing, but Bryce Point was the most spectacular. Incredible view and amazing rock formations!

Picture highlights:

Our campsite

Rachel playing in the campground

Rebekah playing in her portable crib

Rachel, Tommy, and I

The family of four

Bryce Point

Rachel and Tommy at Bryce Point

It was a beautiful day!

Katie and Rebekah

"Natural Bridge"

Storm clouds are brewing...

In fact, during our drive around the Bryce Canyon lookout points, it rained back at our campground. It was a good thing we covered everything up in anticipation. It also rained briefly that evening after everyone went to bed. The following morning we had to deal with wet tents, tarps, etc.

It was also very cold the next morning, thus Rebekah had her bear suit on.

...and Rachel had her "footy pajamas"

Vacation Day 1 and 2

2009-06-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Loma Linda, CA to Cottonwood, AZ

Estimated Mileage: 411 miles
Estimated driving time: 6.2 hours

Of course it took a little longer because we needed to stop for lunch, potty breaks, screaming baby breaks, etc.

We stayed 2 nights in Cottonwood, visiting with my wife's grandparents and aunt during the days. We had a wonderful time with them, and my girls had some good bonding time with relatives they rarely get to see.

We also got to briefly visit Sedona, AZ, a very interesting and beautiful desert-like area with lots of red rocks. Cool place!

Some picture highlights:

Post-Graduation Move/Vacation

2009-06-05T21:01:00.001-07:00

We didn't waste any time setting out for Minnesota...

Graduation was on Sunday morning, May 24.

We left the very next morning on a 9-day drive through some of the most beautiful national parks and campgrounds in the country.

The next few blog posts will be highlights of the trip. It was quite an experience. Those present: myself, my wife, my two daughters (nearly 3 years-old and 10 months-old), and my wife's 19 year-old brother to help us out.

Back in March, a few days after I found out I matched to Minnesota, I booked all our reservations and planned where we would travel. We would camp some nights and stay in motels other nights.

A couple of days before graduation, we had most of our belongings packed into a U-Pack trailer (you pack it, they drive it), and the rest we stuffed into our van along with our camping gear, etc. Our organization left something to be desired, but hey, it's pretty crazy to both have a vacation and move across the country at the same time.

The Perpetual Student Finally Graduated!

2009-06-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

...after 4 years of undergraduate followed by 1 year of work experience followed by 8 years of an MD and a PhD in Biochemistry, I'm finally done.

Yes, that's right folks. Eight days ago I graduated from medical school (I finished the PhD last year), so now I'm officially a mud-phud (MD, PhD). I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to have finished in a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes it can take 8 years to do just a PhD alone.

So now I'm officially done with school forever! ...um sort of. I'm afraid I can't give up schooling without a fight. In 2 weeks, I'm starting a residency program in Internal Medicine. Residency is still sort of like school, although they do pay you, which is nice.

I actually ended up matching into a combined residency-research-fellowship track at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It may take me another 8 years to finish it! Internal Medicine (2 to 3 years), Research (2 years), and Hematology/Oncology fellowship (3 years if I double board, 2 if I single-board in either Hematology or Oncology).

I'm looking forward to this next stage of life. Life will definitely be different in Minnesota for a native California boy and his native Californian wife! Our almost 3 and 1 year-old daughters will probably be just fine - snow is fun when you're a kid.

Here are a few pictures from graduation:

This blog has been hijacked

2009-02-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hello all, this is Dan's wife Katie. Today, I'd like to tell you about MY favorite composer, on his birthday. You may not know that my husband, in addition to being a fabulous pianist and classical music buff (as evidenced by this blog), is also a composer in his own right. Below is his greatest work, in my opinion.

First, a little background. Dan wrote this song for our wedding, almost 6 years ago. He performed it at our reception--I was completely surprised. The words tell the story of our courtship, but they also are a very beautiful depiction of marriage, "a picture of the oneness between Christ and His Church". In the last verse of the song, Dan took many biblical descriptions of marriage and put them together. As for the music, I prefer to think of it as part of the romantic genre ;-).

About a year after we were married, a friend professionally recorded Dan's song--Dan both sings and plays the piano. Today, I have a surprise of my own. I put that recording together with a collection of photos and videos from our engagement and wedding. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Birthday, my love!!

Reflections on my year music blogging

2008-12-31T17:47:00.001-08:00

On this New Year's Eve, I'd like to analyze and reflect on my year of blogging about composers on their birthdays. I spent some time analyzing all of my blog posts on composers, including mundane details like number of words I wrote, number of links I included, etc. I tallied all my results up in an excel spreadsheet tried to make sense of it all. Hope it's interesting to you!

First post:
November 12, 2007 (Borodin)

Last post:
October 26, 2008 (Scarlatti)

Total Posts:
53 (on 57 composers)

Composers by broad music era:
Baroque 6
Classical 5
Romantic 23
Modern 23

Words written:
24,538 (total)
463 (average per blog post)

Links to music:
396 (total)
7.5 (average per blog post)

Comments:
75 (total)
1.4 (average per blog post)

Most posts in a month: 13 (March)
Least posts in a month: 1 (July)

Top Ten longest blog posts (# of words):
1. Bach (2,010)
2. Mahler (1,300)
3. Mozart (1,208)
4. Brahms (1,156)
5. Handel (1,059)
6. Ravel (1,017)
7. Beethoven (984)
8. Rachmaninov (936)
9. Liszt (791)
10. Shostakovich (757)

Top Ten most links to music:
1. Bach (38)
2. Brahms (25)
3. Rachmaninov (25)
4. Ravel (16)
5. Beethoven (14)
6. Liszt (14)
7. Mahler (14)
8. Grieg (13)
9. Prokofiev (13)
10. Tchaikovsky (13)

Shortest blog post:
Boccherini (91 words)

Fewest links to music:
Borodin (no links!)

Well, I've really spent way too long on this ridiculous post. It took me several hours to make the spreadsheet tabulating everything. I guess it's the scientist in me coming out or something.

Yes, I spent a whole lot of time blogging this last year. I have no idea how many countless hours were spent, not only writing, but listening to / watching hundreds of youtube videos, searching for great musical performances. I find it interesting that I did only about 20% of my blogging on Baroque and Classical period composers combined, with the other 80% on the Romantic and Contemporary composers. This definitely agrees with my bias for music of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Note, however, that Bach completely blew away all the competition for longest post and number of links to music. Although I favor 19th and 20th century music in general, Bach is probably my favorite composer, and that is reflected in my posts. Below is my attempt at a top ten list of who my actual favorite composers are.

My Top Ten favorite composers:
1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Chopin
5. Brahms
6. Ravel
7. Rachmaninov
8. Liszt
9. Mahler
10. Schubert

I think it would be more accurate to make three groups: 1-5, 6-7, and 8-10. The top 5 have all been my favorite at some point, and are equals in my mind, though Bach is usually the favorite. Ravel and Rachmaninov are further down, but wonderful. The last 3 are wonderful, too, but I could just as easily have put three other composers that didn't make the list here.

Before I wrap up this post, I'd like to extend my apologies to the following composers, who I would have liked to blog on, but didn't end up having enough time. Maybe I will come back to them another time...

Alban Berg
Fernando Sor
Leopold Godowsky
Henri Vieuxtemps
Bedrich Smetana
Johann Strauss
Louis Gottschalk
Jules Massenet
Erik Satie
Isaac Albeniz
Mikhail Glinka
Feruccio Busoni
Edward Elgar
Tomaso Albinoni
Richard Strauss
Eugene Ysaye
Ottorino Respighi
Henryk Wieniawski
Enrique Granados
Alexander Glazunov
Moritz Moszkowski
Leonard Bernstein
Georges Enesco
Johann Pachelbel
Anton Bruckner
Darius Milhaud
Antonin Dvorak
Charles Griffes
Gustav Holst
Paul Dukas
Giuseppe Verdi
Camille Saint-Saens
Charles Ives
Georges Bizet
Niccolo Paganini
John Philip Sousa
Paul Hindemith
Carl Maria von Weber
Benjamin Britten
Olivier Messian
Zoltan Kodaly
Edward MacDowell
Giacomo Puccini
John Williams

The Many Sonatas of Scarlatti

2008-10-26T00:54:00.001-07:00

Domenico Scarlatti was born on this day in 1685 in Italy. He was a contemporary of Bach and Handel, both of whom were born in the same year in Germany.

Scarlatti is perhaps most well known for his over 550 keyboard sonatas. They were originally written probably for harpsichord, but now tend to be played just as much on the piano. They largely follow a simple two-section pattern, each with a repeat, and tend to be short - usually 5 minutes or less. They are delightful little gems. Many are extremely beautiful and profound, and can be extremely challenging to play.

The great Vladimir Horowitz played lots of Scarlatti, especially near the end of his life. Here he is at a ripe old age of 82:
- Sonata in E Major, L. 224, showing off a brilliant light touch and lightning fast arpeggios.

- Sonata in B minor, L. 33, expressing an amazing depth of expression and interconnecting melodies and harmonies.

- Sonata in E Major, L. 23, a very common and popular Scarlatti sonata with a very sunny disposition and jaunty rhythm.

Here's an amazing performance by Martha Argerich of the Sonata in D minor, K. 141, a very fast, impressive piece with lots of repeated notes.

Here's a very old recording of the legendary Arturo Benedetti Michaelangeli playing Sonata in B minor flawlessly.

Gyorgy Cziffra was generally known for his romantic music, especially that of Liszt, but here he is playing some impressive Scarlatti, although I must say he alters the character of the pieces in a romantic tradition at times:
Sonata in D Major, K. 96, a technically difficult piece, and Sonata in A Major, K. 101, a more laid back piece, but full of fast parts, too.

Some people transcribe his works for other instruments, such as guitar:
Sonata in D minor, K. 1, a very popular sonata.

Here is the guitar legend, Andres Segovia playing the Sonata in C minor, K. 11 transcribed into D minor for guitar, one of Scarlatti's best.

I'll end with one of his sonatas played on harpsichord, probably as it was originally intended. Here is the fast and relentless Sonata in D minor, K. 517.

The Ultimate Virtuoso Pianist-Composer

2008-10-22T06:43:00.001-07:00

The great pianist-composer Franz Liszt was born in Hungary today in 1811. He is well-known for writing (and playing) some of the most technically difficult piano music in the world, music which at the time perhaps only he and a few others could play. But today the music finds its way into many concerts and competitions, and continues to amaze listeners and inspire young hopeful pianists.

Liszt's contemporaries included Chopin and Schumann (both one year older), as well as Wagner (two years younger). The latter composer eventually became his son-in-law, after Liszt's daughter Cosima (herself born illegitimately from an affair Liszt had with a married countess) left her husband, the pianist-conductor Hans von Bulow, and ran off with Wagner. When asked about what he thought of this, von Bulow supposedly said "Had it been any other man than Wagner, I would have killed him" - he idolized Wagner's music genius, and apparently didn't hold any grudges. What colorful lives!

Anyway, Liszt's music is not necessarily known for his compositional genius like Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach. Nor does he have an overwhelming amount of original memorable themes in his compositions. However, he deserves a place amongst the great composers for his forward-thinking in compositional styles, his amazing virtuosity, and his impact on composers that came after him.

Here are some interesting and important compositions:

- Grand Galop Chromatique, a wildly insanely difficult piece, played by the great Liszt interpreter, Georges Cziffra. This represents the typical "dazzling showmanship" Liszt that characterizes much of his music.

- La Campanella (from the Paganini-Liszt Etudes), a very famous and difficult transcription of a theme from one of Paganini's violin concertos. It shows off the "fast and light" virtuosity in much of Liszt's music, done masterfully here again by Cziffra.

- Liebestraum #3 ("Dream of Love"), one of Liszt's most popular and beautiful piano pieces, played here beautifully by Artur Rubinstein.

- "Annees de Pelerinage" ("Years of Pilgrimage"), three sets of pieces from when the composer was in Switzerland and Italy. These are really nice pieces, full of picturesque scenes. Au bord d'une source ("By the side of a spring") is one of my absolute favorites, both to play and listen to. Think of a mountain spring, beginning as a small trickle, getting progressively larger, finally into a noisy brook. Here is Au lac de Wallenstadt ("At the lake of Wallenstadt"), another piece from the same suite. You can hear the waves lapping calmly against the shore. The previous two are from his Switzerland year, and next one from his Italy year. "Apres une lecture du Dante - Fantasia Quasi Sonata" (After reading Dante) - one of Liszt's most original pieces of music, depicting Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Here is a performance by Alfred Brendel, parts 1 and 2, preceded by a fascinating brief introduction to the piece. Finally, in the third set of the Annees de Pelerinage, is another one of Liszt's most famous compositions, "Les Jeux d'Eaux à la Villa d'Este" (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este), a very forward-looking composition that had a strong influence on both Debussy and Ravel, the impressionists.

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, possibly the most famous piece Liszt ever wrote, thanks to Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and many other usages of this piece in films, etc. It's one of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by Liszt, and is very free-form, with immediate-appeal themes and lots of dazzling virtuosity that is very fun to listen to. Here is the piece, played by Cziffra.

- Piano Concerto #1 in Eb Major, a delightfully free-spirited work, combining impressive difficult bravura passages, tender themes (in the 2nd movement especially), and light, shimmering sound effects (helped by extensive use of the triangle, pizzicato strings, high woodwinds, and upper register of the piano). It also shows Liszt's considerable skill in orchestration, something that his colleague, Chopin, lacked. Here is the piece played by Martha Argerich, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movements.

I could really go on a lot longer than this, as there are quite a few more amazing and interesting pieces. I'll end with one of his "Transcendental Etudes", specifically, No. 8, "Wild Jagd" (Wild Hunt). This piece is near and dear to my heart, as I learned it and played it for about 2 years, in several competitions when I was in high school. Looking back, I don't think I really ever played it that well (it's tough!), but it sure was fun. I think it strongly contributed to my repetitive-stress injury when I was 17 and had to quit piano concerts for a year and re-train with the Dorothy Taubman Approach under the direction of my then new teacher, Robert Ward. Here then is the Wild Hunt, played terrifically by Claudio Arrau.

English Impressionism

2008-10-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ralph Vaughn-Williams was born yesterday in 1872 in England. His music is impressionistic, although very different from the "Father" of impressionism, Debussy. I think that in all of his music there is a deep nostalgic twinge - a longing for beauty and for things to be at peace. He knew what England was like before World War I and how it was changed after, and I'm sure this had an influence on his works.

There are two works I'd like to highlight in particular. The first is Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis - this piece for strings is featured in the 2003 film, Master and Commander (one of my favorite movies). It brings me to tears when I hear it, especially thinking about where it is used in the movie. As someone has commented on the youtube posting - "This music is in sync with the action on the screen...of a sailor overboard who must be cut loose...and abandoned in the middle of the Pacific to save the 'Surprise' from sinking...as the spar to which he clings becomes a sea anchor. Both the horror and the beauty and the immensity of the act of cutting him lose into oblivion is brilliantly expressed in this music..."

Perhaps is his most famous (and for good reason) is The Lark Ascending, a piece for violin and orchestra. This piece makes me cry... hard... every time I hear it. I don't know if there exists another piece of music more clean, pure, beautiful, nostalgic, soothing, uplifting (OK, so I probably have said this about 20 other pieces this past year... but c'mon - listen to it and you'll understand!). Here is the last 7 minutes of the piece, set to scenery of rural England. The wikipedia article says - "The composition is intended to convey the lyrical and almost eternally English beauty of the scene in which a skylark rises into the heavens above some sunny down and attains such height that it becomes barely visible to those on the ground below."

Australian music of the present

2008-10-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Carl Vine was born on this day in Australia in 1954. I have only really heard two pieces by this composer.

Piano Sonata No. 1 (written 1990) - this was my introduction to Carl Vine. I first heard Michael Kieran Harvey (the Australian pianist to whom the work was dedicated) play it at the one and only Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competition more than a decade ago (in Pasadena, California) and win the grand prize. It is a work that has immediate appeal for its astounding complex rhythms, ethereal sections, shimmering pianism, and fierce, raw, intense emotion. It is also extremely difficult to play - I've been working on it on and off for a couple years now, and it is probably out of my league. The 1st movement starts out slow and dark, with lots of jazz-like tone clusters. It becomes quicker-paced, moving into spell-binding rhythms and interesting tonal harmonies. Then it becomes somewhat atonal and builds into a grand, wild, tonal theme (at 3:17) and finally crashes down, but then builds a second time into the same theme (at 4:17). Again it crashes, meanders, then finds itself in a thoughtful, ethereal theme shimmering to the end.

The 2nd movement is the heart of the piece. It starts off very soft, shimmering at a lightening-quick pace, wild, chaotic, yet ordered (if that makes any sense). The perpetual motion continues, building into a loud rushing-water-like theme that climbs up and then loses steam, plunging down into a deep pool of water........ then tone clusters on the low and high ends of the piano are played slowly while a pensive theme plays in the middle register. This continues for awhile until things become more atonal and restless, furiously building back into the original theme, this time faster and louder. Then finally everything erupts, as if a volcano was bubbling and just waiting to spew (4:36). The rest of the piece is full of angry passion, relentless in its drive and pursuit. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more wild, the tempo DOUBLES (5:25) and the REALLY wild chase ensues, then lets up a little bit with low rumblings (6:32), then with a final burst of violence (7:10), the piece's energy just falls out the bottom, the original theme from the 1st movement returns, and everything fades into nothingness. What a wild piece!

Since then, I've become acquainted with one other piece by Vine, his Celebrare Celeberrime - a celebration for orchestra (written 1993). Thanks to my wife, who heard it on the radio and thought I'd like it - she was right. It sounds like there is a didgeridoo in the orchestration - how cool is that?

Classical Music Meets Jazz, in America

2008-09-26T21:53:00.001-07:00

Today the American composer George Gershwin was born in 1898. Gershwin's music is where classical meets jazz. He started early in life as a pianist, and together with his older brother, Ira, eventually wrote many popular songs, such as "I Got Rhythm".

His first major classical work is Rhapsody in Blue, perhaps the most well-known American work of our time. Fantasia 2000 made a cartoon to go along with it, as seen/heard here (parts 1 and 2). Apparently Gerswhin told one of his biographer's the following: "It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer – I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise... And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end. No new themes came to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the composition as a whole. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our blues, our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance."

Another one of his popular pieces, "An American in Paris" was written by him after a brief stay in Paris, where he tried to study with Nadia Boulanger, Maurice Ravel, and a few others. None of these teachers worked out. Ravel refused to teach him - he was too impressed with Gershwin's jazz style and instead suggested that Gershwin teach him. I got the following quote from wikipedia, apparently from the program notes at the premiere:

"My purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere." When the tone poem moves into the blues, "our American friend ... has succumbed to a spasm of homesickness." But, "nostalgia is not a fatal disease." The American visitor "once again is an alert spectator of Parisian life" and "the street noises and French atmosphere are triumphant."

Here are the first, second (The Blues), and third movements. This is classy-jazz at it's best!

Another one of my favorites, although not as well-known or loved, is his Concerto in F, a full-length, three-movement piano concerto, orchestrated completely by the composer himself (Ferde Grofe had orchestrated his Rhapsody in Blue). Here is the end of the 2nd movement and entire third movement. It gives a great taste of the bluesy 2nd movement (very moving piece), and the energetic, driving, machine-gun of a 3rd movement, which absolutely holds me spell-bound whenever I listen to it.

Let's finish with one of his most famous piano pieces - Prelude No. 2 from his 3 preludes for piano. Hope you've enjoyed this classical jazz!

Composer of Soviet Russia

2008-09-25T19:17:00.001-07:00

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was born today in 1906. He is a somewhat eclectic composer, having started out by borrowing from many other styles, such as Mahler, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Hindemith, etc., but also clearly influenced by Bach and Beethoven. When I first heard his music, I couldn't identify it. I learned to always guess that if I couldn't tell who the composer was (and it sounded late-romantic to modern), it was probably Shostakovich. His style grew and became very much his own, however, turning into one of the most popular composers of the middle-20th century.

Shostakovich stayed in Soviet Russia his whole life, and his already nervous character was not helped much by the official denunciations of the Soviet party on two occasions. He was also given awards by the Soviets at other times. His was a difficult life, trying to please, but also inwardly in turmoil about joining the party and giving into their pressure.

His music is very unique and interesting, though I am only beginning to really get into it. Here are a few pieces I have enjoyed.

Piano Concerto No. 1 (1933) - an interesting piece, also featuring a trumpet in a kind of supporting role. Here is a pretty wild excerpt of the young composer himself playing the final cadenza and finale of the last movement of the piece. Shostakovich usually played his own works very fast and apparently said once "let's play fast so the audience doesn't get bored". When asked why he would speed up, ignoring his own metronome markings, he said something like "my metronome at home doesn't work anyway, so let's just ignore those markings!"

Piano Concerto No. 2 (1957) - a very cheerful piece, more-so than most of his other works. The first movement was introduced to me when I watched Fantasia 2000 for the first time - it is played to the visual of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, and fits so well, it almost seems like the piece was written for Disney!

Piano Quintet in G minor (1940) - one of his best known and loved chamber works. I had the good fortune to perform this in college. It is a monumental work, full of intense passion, brooding introspection, tenderness, and both vulgar and lighthearted humor. It is in 5 movements. The first movement begins with the piano, building to an intense interaction between the strings, then dies down again and becomes more brisk, only to build and slow down to more intensity. It leads into the second movement, a very beautiful, introspective fugue starting with the violins, then cello, then viola, then finally piano. This is one of the most moving (and yet intellectually satisfying) pieces in the modern literature! It gets very dissonant and intense before calming down again and disappearing quietly. The third movement is all fun and games - racuous melodies, confusing rhythms, ironic and full of humor - lots of fun to play! The fourth movement is more steady, introspective, tinged with sadness and regret. It leads directly into the fifth movement as out of darkness into the light - a quietly contented, cheerful, and later, joyous and downright triumphant movement. The ending is so carefree and refreshing after all the preceding intensity. A real treasure!

It also had real impact on the people during the time it was written. Apparently the following quote is from Rostislav Dubinsky, violinist of the Borodin Quartet, out of his book, Not By Music Alone: "For a time the Quintet overshadowed even such events as the football matches between the main teams. The Quintet was discussed in trams, people tried to sing in the streets the second defiant theme of the finale. War that soon started completely changed the life of the country as well as the consciousness of the people. If previously there was the faint hope of a better life, and the hope that the 'sacrifices' of the revolution were not in vain, this hope was never to return. The Quintet remained in the consciousness of the people as the last ray of light before the future sank into a dark gloom."

Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies as well, the first composer to have broken the "Curse of the 9", which Beethoven started more than a century before (all major symphonists after Beethoven died while writing their 10th symphony, or never got close to 10 symphonies - Schubert, Dvorak, Mahler, Brahms...) I really don't know any of them, so I'm not going to link them here. That's about all I can handle right now...

The Father of Atonality

2008-09-13T15:45:00.001-07:00

The Austrian-Jewish composer Arnold Schoenberg was born today in 1874. Known as the "emancipator of dissonance", Schoenberg started out as a continuation of the romantic tradition of Brahms, Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Mahler, but in the early 1900's, he moved into atonality. His twelve-tone-row technique was a method that gave equal treatment to all 12 half-steps in the chromatic scale, leaving his compositions without a key signature.

His earliest important work is called "Transfigured Night", still written in a late-romantic tradition with heavy use of chromaticism (such as Wagner's Tristan and Isolde). Here is an excerpt.

A few years later, Schoenberg was to come up with his revolutionary ideas. Here is a short film documenting his ideas. Here is a short piano solo piece illustrating the result of his compositional style.

Perhaps to most of us, it is more enjoyable to listen to people talk about Schoenberg's music than to listen to the music itself. :) Furthermore, listening to people describe Schoenberg who love his music really helps one understand it better. Here's a really fascinating discussion and excerpts of a rehearsal of his piano concerto by Mitsuko Uchida, who describes the music and her love for it with great eloquence. Also, Glenn Gould and Yehudi Menuhin discuss Schoenberg and then play a piece together.

I consider myself somewhat musically educated. I can appreciate a wide variety of music, even very modern sounding stuff. I have a hard time getting excited by Schoenberg, however. Oh sure, I find some of it interesting and even fascinating (see excerpt of Uchida above). But it seems that when tonality is lost, the emotional range of the music is severely limited. Can atonal pieces express anger, rage, despair, depression, fear? Absolutely - maybe they are the best for these emotions. They may even be able to evoke a spirit of lightheartedness or humor. But can atonal music express joy, peace, contentedness, fulfillment, beauty? I am inclined to think not. I'm not saying this music has no place. Under the right conditions and at the right time, this music is appropriate (certainly would help in certain movies!). But I think going atonal has lost a large depth of what music can express...

Rachel's reactions to Wagner

2008-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

I missed Richard Wagner's birthday on May 22, partially because I was so busy, and partially because I didn't feel inspired at the time. I don't really listen to his music much, and never have been much into opera.

But just a few days ago, as I was driving to the store with my 2-year-old, Rachel, I turned on the radio to listen to some music. Jim Svejda of classical KUSC was introducing a piece by Wagner. It was a 1940's recording of the Prelude from his opera, Tristan and Isolde, arranged for violin, piano, and orchestra, for a movie. Svedja's words were something like "this overblown, emotional rendition was calculated to leave not a dry eye in the audience". I half-listened as we drove and half-day-dreamed about I can't remember what (my eyes were dry, though).

When we arrived at the market, I turned off the music and the car and opened up the door to get Rachel out. She looked very forlorn, and was quietly saying "it's OK... it's OK... it's OK" (note: Rachel has begun at a very young age to practice "self-talk" when she's distressed). I couldn't figure out what had upset her, unsuccessful at getting her to tell me what the matter was. Then it dawned on me.

Me: "Rachel, did the music make you sad?"
Rachel: "Yeah." (tears start flowing and she starts wailing and crying)
Me: "It's OK, baby. Music makes daddy cry sometimes, too."
Rachel: (still wailing and crying)

Then I got her out of the car and she settled down pretty quickly, softly saying "it's OK... it's OK" to herself every few minutes, and every couple hours for the rest of the day.

Well, here is the famous prelude from Tristan and Isolde. It's actually quite an amazing piece. It is a very important composition, in which Wagner began to push the limits of tonality and harmony, influencing others after him (such as Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Schoenberg), eventually leading to the atonality of the 20th century. It is also very, very emotional, and can really tear you up inside if you're in a certain mood.

Rachel listens to another piece by Wagner quite regularly. The Ride of the Valkyries is probably Wagner's most famous work (besides the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin), part of his opera, Die Walkure, from his famous Ring Cycle. I have grown up hearing this piece in all sorts of settings, from cartoons, to computer games, to... hearing it every morning at 7am blasted in the halls of my college dorm during finals week (a very odd tradition at my very fine undergraduate institution). I also heard it in its original context, while watching part of the opera in a class during college. It's quite a fine, moving, piece of music.

Rachel likes "The Ride" much better than she likes the Prelude to Tristan and Isolde. My wife got a birthday card last year that plays The Ride when you open it up. She gave it to Rachel to play with, and now Rachel totes it around the house, opening it up, giggling when she hears the music, and saying "It's Vogno! (Wagner)"... but she did cry the first time she heard it as well. This time, though, it was clearly out of fear, and not sadness. She was only about 14 months old at the time, and was rather startled when she opened the card up and this intense music started to play.

Well, there you have it. My daughter is extremely sensitive to music. Not unlike her daddy. I still remember when she was 6 months old and I played my wooden recorder for her. I played a very haunting melody that Dickon plays from the movie The Secret Garden (1987 version), and she started to curl her lip under, got tears in her eyes and cried. This happened every time I played that piece, until she finally grew to cry every time I played the recorder. Then I had to stop playing the recorder altogether for about a year. She isn't afraid of it anymore. Music does powerful things to her emotions, even from such a young age!

French Impressionism

2008-08-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

Claude Debussy was born today in 1862 in France. Debussy was rather ahead of his time. His music sort of bridges the gap between romantic and contemporary styles. His music is the prototype of the impressionistic period, although he didn't particularly like that label.

I used to adore Debussy's music, listened to it all the time, and played through it a lot. I'm slightly bored with it now, and I think Ravel has much more depth. Debussy's music is very refreshing, though - a wash of colors.

As usual, although he wrote a lot of music, I am mostly familiar with his piano compositions. I particularly enjoy the following:

- Suite Bergamesque - contains his most famous work, "Claire de lune"

- Children's Corner - dedicated to his 3-yr-old daughter, these are delightful little pieces. Includes his famous "Golliwog's Cake-Walk", a sort of rag-time sounding piece that sarcastically quotes Wagner's Tristan and Isolde theme in the middle.

- Estampes - 3 beautiful pieces, each depicting a different country/ethnicity. The first is Pagodes, depicting Javanese music.

- Images - 2 sets of 3 pieces each: includes the famous "Reflections in the Water", a wonderful little picture of all sorts of water - deep, still, pools leading into gurgling streams followed by a majestic waterfall, finally ending again with quiet pools. Also includes "Goldfish" - more water, with lots of splashing around. These pieces are a great example of his impressionistic style.

- Preludes - some of his most popular piano pieces, these have been compared to Chopin's preludes. Two of the most famous are "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" and "The Sunken Cathedral". The last prelude, "Fireworks" is an example of one of how far he travelled from the romantic period into truly modern music. It is full of sparks and poppers, both small and large displays of fireworks.

The Greatest Jazz Pianist

2008-08-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I know I've focused on the lives of classical composers up to this point, but I can't pass up the opportunity to highlight someone with just as much talent and musicianship as those I've previously blogged about.

The great American jazz pianist Bill Evans was born on this date in 1929 in New Jersey. Even though I'm such a die-hard classical music fan, I've gotten into jazz as a result of Bill Evans, and I've learned parts of his pieces by ear because the sounds and rhythms he produced so intrigue me.

From the wikipedia article: "In addition to introducing a new freedom of interplay within the piano trio, Evans began (in performances such as "My Foolish Heart" from the Vanguard sessions) to explore extremely slow ballad tempos and quiet volume levels which had previously been virtually unknown in jazz. His chordal voicings became more impressionistic, reminiscent of classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, and Satie..."

Perhaps that's why I like his music so much - I love the music of these composers! Here's a lovely performance of the above-mentioned "My Foolish Heart" from 1965. He sure plays and looks like a serious musician - no flamboyance here, just pure music.

The first music I heard of Bill Evans was his solo album "Alone". It is amazing stuff. Here's the opening number on that album, "Here's That Rainy Day", and here is another number, "On A Clear Day".

Here are some other highlights, from the Bill Evans Trio:
Waltz for Debby, George Gershwin's Summertime, and Nardis.

Bill Evans was also an educator, and he had some interesting ideas about composing, improvising, and performing, as viewed here, an excerpt from the film, "The Universal Mind of Bill Evans". Evans makes the case that improvisational jazz is really a compositional form - a looking back to the days of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, etc., in which composers and performers were one and the same, and composing 1 minute of music often took place in 1 minute, not in days or months (Bach was the ultimate improviser, and many of his compositions sound like improvisatory material). Interesting thoughts.

Tragically, Evans struggled with an addiction to heroin probably since the 1950's, which he seemed to overcome, only later to get hooked on cocaine. Drugs undoubtedly contributed to his early death in 1980. Here is an amazing performance of In Your Own Sweet Way one year prior to his death, with his last trio. He sure looks different here!

I hope you've enjoyed this detour into the world of jazz, highlighting one of it's most talented composers/performers.

My Daughters Are So Talented, Part 2

2008-08-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

My other daughter, Rachel, has had a 2-year head-start over Rebekah on acquiring talent. If I listed all her talents, it would take me too long. Here are some that come to mind (currently age 2 years, 1 month):

Rachel knows a lot about classical music already (big suprise, huh?). She recognizes the faces and says the names of the following classical composers: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Debussy, McDowell, and Rachmaninoff. She recognizes Baroque music, and knows that Bach and Handel are both from this period. She can recognize music specifically by Bach and Mozart sometimes even if she's never heard it before.

She is very particular about music. The other day, I sang a song she knows, except I sang the harmony instead of the melody, and she got very upset. At first I had no idea what the problem was. Then I sang the melody instead, and she blurted out "that's bettoh (better)!". She still has not sung yet, but I suppose that will come soon. Do kids start singing around 3 y/o usually? I know I started singing when I was probably 2 1/2, but I suppose everyone's different. Rachel also gets up on the piano with me and presses single notes at a time, saying "what's dat?" whereupon I say "that's A (or B, or E-flat, etc.)" and she repeats what I say with delight. This goes on for a while sometimes...

Rachel has her favorite music. Her all-time favorite is what she calls "acappella" - a CD of the Haven of Rest A Cappella hymns from 1991. I'm actually rather pleased she likes it. It's one of my favorites, too. I even bought the sheet music and I frequently sing along with the bass part. She also loves to listen to Chris Tomlin, See the Morning, which is really good stuff, too. She also used to specifically ask to listen to Bach piano music, and she generally enjoys all of Bach's works that I play. She has such good taste!

It has become a ritual of hers, when I sit down to play the piano, to request songs, specifically from Walt Disney's Jungle Book movie. "Want the bear song!" (I then proceed to play "The Bear Necessities"). "Wanna sing the gorilla song!" (I switch to playing "I Want To Be Like You-Hoo" - the song "King Louie" of the apes sings to Mowglie). "Wanna sing the elephant song!" (I play the March of the Elephants). "Wanna sing the girl song!" (I play the last song of the movie, sung by the girl Mowglie meets in the Man-village). She dances and claps pretty wildly with a huge grin on her face whenever I play any of these songs. What a cutie!

What else does Rachel know? Her shapes, colors, letters (she says the words to the ABC song), numbers (she counts up to 30), about 10% of the U.S. states (she has a states puzzle), a few books of the Bible, days of the week, months of the year, and probably a lot of other things I'm forgetting. She also plays hard. We go on walks around the neighborhood several times a week after dinner. There is a path away from the streets that she likes to run on. And I mean run. She runs the WHOLE WAY with a few breaks to pick up some rocks, etc. I think it's probably close to a mile if you count going both ways. Maybe she'll be a long-distance runner when she grows up?

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment of my multi-talented Rachel:

My Daughters Are So Talented, Part 1

2008-08-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

My daughters are so talented. Of course, I suppose I'm biased, but I'll let you judge whether or not I'm correct. This post will be devoted to the many talents of my youngest daughter, Rebekah. She is only 190.5 hours old right now, yet she can:

1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Poop
4. Pee
5. Cry
6. Dance (with a little of daddy's help)
7. Enjoy Scarlatti sonatas played by daddy on the piano
8. Make hilarious faces that could rival any veteran thespian

And now... the moment you've all been waiting for.
I present to you the many faces of Rebekah:

A New Addition to the Family

2008-08-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take a little welcome break from composer birthdays to announce that we have a new addition to the family. Our beautiful Rebekah was born on August 6 around 9 pm. We just got home from the hospital this morning and everyone's getting a much-needed rest. Similar to my other daughter, Rachel, Rebekah has some newborn jaundice and had to be kept an extra night on phototherapy. Slightly inconvenient, since we had to spend the night in the waiting room, with my wife nursing her in the nursery every 3 hours (my wife had used up her maximum of 2 post-partum nights in the hospital already). But Rebekah's bilirubin is leveling off, so there is no need for home phototherapy. Yippee! Isn't she adorable? Aren't both my kids the cutest little things you ever saw?

Disney Music

2008-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little bit late with this Birthday, but on July 22, 1949, American composer/singer/song-writer Alan Menken was born in New York. I just heard a program on classical radio today interviewing him, and thus the blog-post.

As the program host, Jim Svejda, noted, Menken is growing to be one of the most award-decorated film composer/song-writers of all time, in some ways coming close to Alfred Newman and John Williams. According to wikipedia, he has won 12 awards (academy awards, tony awards, etc) and has been nominated for 10 more on top of that. His most popular music has been from recent Disney animated films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the recent Disney film, Enchanted.

I remember watching Beauty and Beast in the theater when it came out. I was only 13 years old at the time (why would a 13-year-old boy care about sissy fairy-tales?) As soon as the movie began, I was absolutely transfixed by the music in the prologue to the story, and I remember getting goose-pimples all over and my eyes moistening up with tears. Needless to say, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Walt Disney animated movie (although Robin Hood comes pretty close, for different reasons).

Do you have Mahleria?

2008-07-07T07:18:00.001-07:00

The Austrian-Jewish composer Gustav Mahler was born today in 1860. For some reason, Mahler has more of a "cult-following" than most other classical composers, which has led some to diagnose those in the following as having the disease, "Mahleria". I myself greatly enjoy much of Mahler's music, leading me to think I had a touch of this illness. However, when I did a little bit of reading online, I realized my illness is nothing compared to some. Here is an incredibly funny medical description of Mahleria, especially funny if you've taken a medical microbiology course and have read a little bit about Mahler's life in relation to his symphonies.

Here's a long thread from some individuals clearly infected with Mahleria (the beginning post admits it outright). There are some interesting comments about his music in here, especially the first post, which gives a short summary of each of Mahler's symphonies.

Here is a link to a more in-depth analysis of Mahler's symphonies and songs than you'll probably ever want to read, from a man who has been listening to and studying Mahler's works for more than 40 years. I couldn't even make it through the first symphony's commentary, it was so long, but skimming this is pretty interesting if you know the music already, or if you're really motivated to know which recording you should buy of each Mahler symphony.

As those I link to have written, much of Mahler's music is programmatic. His music is extremely emotional, ranging from the most tortuous heart-wrending cries to the grandest exultations of rapture. Even though Mahler is not my favorite composer, I think I would rather go to a concert of a Mahler symphony than any other piece of music. The dynamic range of his works, from the ultra-soft to the fullness of the large brass sections and deafening crashes have a tendency to utterly amaze one sitting in a concert hall. The performance I went to of Mahler's 5th symphony some 10 years ago I will never forget as the most amazing musical concert I have ever attended. I was shedding so many tears from the pathos of the first 3 movements, that I was too emotionally exhausted to thoroughly and properly enjoy the tender 4th movement and the joyous 5th movement. Sigh... maybe I do have a touch of Mahleria.

On to the music. If you are new to Mahler, and don't have the natural tendency to enjoy loud, emotional late-romantic music, I would suggest beginning with his 4th symphony. Mahlerites always refer to it as "remarkably understated" or something of the sort. It was the first Mahler I ever heard, and it didn't take me too long to really enjoy it. It is his shortest symphony (usually a little under an hour), and is in only four movements (many of his symphonies are 5 movements, and two are even 6 movements). Here is the lovely classical-sounding first movement, parts 1 and 2. Here is the mysterious and ghostly (yet very lyrical) second movement. The third movement (parts 1, 2, and 3) forms the core of the symphony and is a very tender, yearning, beautiful song-like piece. This is truly heavenly music - take the time to listen to it and I think you'll agree! The fourth movement is a poem about heaven from a child's viewpoint, sung by a soprano, and is exquistely beautiful as well. What a perfect way to end Mahler's most peaceful and accessible symphony.

Mahler's first four symphonies are called the Wunderhorn symphonies because the themes presented in them draw some from his song cycle of the same name. All but the first have a singing component in it. His 1st symphony is probably the next most accessible, with a lot of the same scenic and pastorale beauty found in the 4th. However, there are some heart-wrending cries in the stormy 4th movement that are not found in the 4th symphony, and there is a strange funeral march to the tune of "Frere Jacques" in a minor key. Here is the opening of the 1st symphony, depicting the early morning with dawn awakening and birds calling, eventually breaking into a beautiful melody that communicates contentedness and joy.

The 2nd symphony, called "Resurrection", was one of Mahler's most successful symphonies during his day. Here is an excerpt of the opening movement, a funeral march depicting the death of Mahler's "hero" that is the subject of his first symphony. The gargantuan 3rd symphony I really don't know at all, and is the longest symphony ever written, clocking in at about 100 minutes. I've heard it a couple times and there are some really beautiful moments, especially the 6th (and final) movement. It didn't enjoy the popularity that the 2nd symphony did during Mahler's time. One reviewer wrote "the composer should be shot".

Mahler's symphonies 5 to 7 are in his second period, and none have a vocal component. As I've already mentioned, I'm very fond of his 5th symphony. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, it proved just as much or more rewarding than any of the other symphonies. Here is the opening of the 1st movement, another funeral march (yes Mahler was preoccupied with death - lots of personal tragedies in his life, I'm sorry to say). Here is the exquisitely beautiful and famous Adagietto (4th movement), which may very well be Mahler's most well-known piece of music.

The 6th symphony I really haven't listened to more than once or twice, but it is supposed to be a real masterpiece, although very dark and tragic. There are two (or three depending on which version you have) "hammer blows" in the last movement, which supposedly depict fate and the impending doom that Mahler had weighing on him. Mahler designed his own hammer and podium to go with it - check it out in this brief excerpt - pretty manly instrument!

The 7th symphony is about the night. The middle three movements (two of which are labeled "Night-music") is how the symphony got it's nickname - "Song of the Night". The 2nd movement is a melancholy march with frequent woodwind cadenzas depicting the night-calls of birds. The 3rd movement depicts midnight and is a rather ghostly nightmare. The 4th movement takes a turn toward the tender side, with mandolin and guitar accompaniment to a lovely melody. The 5th and final movement bursts forth with fanfares and joy - Mahler himself stated of it " and now for the daytime". The 7th is supposedly poorly understood and not well-liked, but I recently got a recording of it and really have come to appreciate it. Here is the opening of the 2nd movement.

Mahler's last symphonies - Nos. 8, 9, "Das Lied von der Erde", and 10 (unfinished) are from his last period of writing, in which he starts to push tonality even further, with his 9th and 10th bordering on atonality in places. Mahler was superstitious about writing a 9th symphony, since every major composer after Beethoven that wrote 9 symphonies died shortly after (Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorak, Bruckner, etc.). So after the 8th, he wrote "Das Lied von der Erde" (The Song of the Earth), a song-symphony with a tenor and contralto alternating singing each movement, set to some Chinese poetry. Out of these late symphonies, I'm particularly fond of this work. Here is the lovely fourth movement, "Of Beauty".

Mahler also had many song cycles (none of which I've actually listened to), including "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" (The Youth's Magic Horn), the basis of much of his early symphonic works, "Kindertotenlieder" (Song's on the Death of Children), "Ruckertlieder", and others.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief and selective tour into the world of Mahler, whether or not you have a touch of Mahleria.

Rhythmically Russian

2008-06-18T07:33:00.001-07:00

Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky was born on June 17 in 1882. Stravinsky has been hailed as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.

Of his contributions to music, one is his unusual use of rhythms. One musicologist has said that "Stravinsky is perhaps the only composer who has raised rhythm in itself to the dignity of art", and the composer Aaron Copland was very influenced by Stravinky's use of rhythms. Stravinsky also made use of polytonality, or musical lines in multiple clashing keys at the same time.

His early compositions can be seen as Russian nationalistic. The most famous are his first three ballets, The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring.

Here is an old video of the composer himself conducting part of The Firebird, which has a very late-romantic feel to it. If it sounds familiar to you, it may be because Fantasia 2000 has used some of the music from this ballet for its finale (the one about the spring sprite and elk vs. the "volcano bird").

The music I'd like to play of Petrushka is a piano version made by the composer himself of some pieces from the ballet. Here are the first and second movements - notice the competing rhythms in the two hands, clever chord patterns, and lightning fast arpeggios in the first piece; and in the second piece (starting at 2:33), the striking dissonances that resolve into ethereal flittings and floatings - this is really fascinating music! Finally, here's a fragment of Shrovetide Fair, which gives a taste of the relentless rhythmic drive and repetition of chords that is so often part of Stravinsky's music.

The Rite of Spring is probably Stravinsky's most famous (and most infamous) work. It has very interesting and beautiful moments, but mostly it is full of brutal dissonance and very complex rhythms. The 1913 Paris crowd listening to its premiere did not like it at all - there were boos, tomatoes thrown, and riots throughout! It's likely that both the dissonant music as well as the ballet was offensive to them, given that the work is about pagan rituals and human sacrifice. I think I'd rather avoid watching the ballet myself! Here is a link to a four-hands version, played by one person (he recorded the 1st part and plays over it with a special piano). This gets a bit thick at times (whereas the many different instruments of the orchestra and each unique timbre do the piece more justice), but it is interesting to hear some of it on piano if you're already familiar with the piece. Here is the version played for the original Disney Fantasia movie, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. I personally find this very interesting to watch - it seems to enhance the music for me, and is much more uplifting to me than Stravinsky's own program for the piece, which I find frankly disturbing.

All the above compositions were from Stravinsky's early period. His middle period of composition is termed Neoclassical. During this time, he wrote music which reinvestigated the compositional style of the classical period. One such piece is his Symphony of Psalms. Just prior to writing it, Stravinsky had a re-awakening of his Christian faith, and this is partly what inspired him to write the piece. Here is the third movement (Psalm 150) of the work.

Although I don't have any examples to play, his last period of composing featured music written with twelve-tone-row technique (serialism), in which the 12 half-steps of the chromatic scale are all treated equally and used in a certain order. The effect is atonality in music. This compositional technique was popularized by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, and will be explored here more on his birthday.

Composer of My Ancestry

2008-06-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Norwegian Composer, Edvard Grieg, was born on June 15 in 1843. Much of his music draws largely from Norwegian folk music. Grieg was quite a gifted pianist, and had the opportunity to study in Leipzig, Germany. His piano music shows clear influences from Liszt, Schumann, and Chopin.

One of the most popular compositions (and rightly so) is his Piano Concerto in A minor. The piece is often compared with Schumann's Piano Concerto in the same key, which Grieg heard Clara Schumann perform in Leipzig in 1858 (he composed his own concerto 10 years later). The first movements of both pieces begin with a short piano cadenza leading into an orchestral introduction of the first theme, followed by a repetition of the theme in the piano. After this follows some quicker piano passage-work and eventually the second theme. I've also observed that Rachmaninoff's 1st piano concerto is clearly influenced by both of these concertos, with the same type of program at the beginning. Listen to the first movements of the Schumann, Grieg, and Rachmaninoff 1st piano concertos to see what I mean.

Here is the continuation of the Grieg 1st movement and the 2nd movement (starting at 4:20), and the third movement (starting at 0:45). The second movement of this piece is to me one of the most beautiful movements in all of classical music. I know that since I'm Norwegian, too, I'm probably biased, but it's not like I've ever even been to Norway or know any of the language or culture. But there is something so pure and wistful about the 2nd movement (clearly influenced by the 2nd movement of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, another one of the most beautiful pieces in all of classical music).

Another very popular work by Grieg is the music he wrote for Henrik Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt. He put some of the music together into two Peer Gynt Suites, from which we get Morning Mood, Anitra's Dance, In the Hall of the Mountain King, and Solveig's Song among others. Although Grieg was influenced by a lot of the mainstream Romantic composers of his day, these last few compositions should give a taste of his unmistakable sound, probably because of the Norwegian folk music influence. I'm getting misty-eyed right now thinking about how my Grandmother used to ask me to play Solveig's Song for her on the piano all the time (she immigrated from Norway).

Grieg also wrote a lot of little piano pieces, many of which are included in his suites of Lyric Pieces, wonderful little gems, some profound and difficult, but most of them quiet little understated pieces. Here's a few: Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, March of the Dwarfs, The Butterfly, Melody, and Peace of the Woods. I've recently been playing through these and bought a 7-CD set of all of Grieg's piano works - delightful to listen to!

The Poet Speaks

2008-06-08T21:13:00.001-07:00

Robert Schumann was born on this day in 1810 in Germany. Schumann is a very interesting person to learn about in many ways. He was of a very passionate temperament, was mentally unstable, was a very well-respected music critic, and of course wrote lots of very beautiful music that has stood the test of time.

Schumann would also have been possibly considered a great pianist, but while studying piano with the great Friedrich Wieck, he injured his right hand permanently and so gave that up as a career and focused on composing instead. He did fall in love with Wieck's daughter, Clara, however, and eventually married her (after a long legal battle with her father, who was very much against their union). Clara turned into one of the greatest pianists of her day, and often showcased her husband's piano works after he composed them.

An example of this is his Piano Concerto in A minor. This piece is one of the most popular romantic piano concertos in the repertoire today. Many very beautiful themes, lots of spontaneity (typical of Schumann), and impressive pianism. It was first performed by Clara. Here is a performance by the great virtuoso Martha Argerich, who I'm sure could have rivaled Clara had she lived at that time: first movement, parts 1 and 2, 2nd movement, and 3rd movement.

Schumann's skills as a writer and music critic gave him the unique opportunity to assist other younger composers and musicians who greatly benefited from his generous encouragement and enthusiasm. Schumann helped both Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms in their careers as musicians. Brahms became very close to the Schumanns later in life. Although many writers have played up that he was in love with Clara and speculate about an affair, it is unlikely that anything untoward happened between them, although Clara and Brahms did become very good friends after Schumann died (in an insane asylum).

Here are some more of Schumann's best:

Toccata, Op. 7 - a monstrously difficult piece, requiring immense technique and endurance. It displays unbridled joy and passion, but has lots of light-hearted parts, too.

Carnaval, Op. 9. This work is a set of 20 short pieces, each of very different character, very spontaneously jumping between tender/slow and frantic/fast moods. Several pieces are written with certain people in mind, such as Clara Wieck (not yet his wife), a different love-interest (displaced by Clara), composer Chopin, composer Paganini, etc. It is a very likeable piece, and very passionate. Here are the opening few pieces.

Schumann also wrote 4 symphonies, all of which are quite good. Here is the opening movement of the 3rd symphony, "Rhenish".

Finally, probably his most well-known and loved little gems, the "Scenes from Childhood", Op. 15. They are little piano pieces in which the composer reminisces about his childhood as an adult. Here they are, pieces 1-8 and 9-13. By the way, the last piece in this set is entitled "The Poet Speaks", in case you were wondering about the title of my blog entry.

Armenian Folk Music

2008-06-06T19:48:00.001-07:00

Today in 1903, Aram Khachaturian was born in Georgia (then Imperial Russia) to an Armenian family. He enjoyed music from a young age, but did not study formally or learn to read music until he was older.

He initially was a supporter of communism and its ideals, joining the party in 1943. But after writing his third symphony (which was intended to be dedicated to the communist party), he was denounced by communist leaders (who also attacked two other popular Russian composers, Prokofiev and Shostakovich). This attack shocked him and forced him to reconsider his positions.

Khachaturian was also very proud of his Armenian heritage, and he incorporated Armenian folk-music into his compositions. His most famous work of music is the "Sabre Dance" from his Ganaye ballet, which is played in all sorts of movies, cartoons, TV shows, etc. Here is an excellent performance of it.

Other than the previous piece, my main exposure to Khachaturian is through his Piano Concerto from 1936. It is modern and dissonant, but is full of very moving themes and dazzling piano passage-work. It is truly romantic at it's heart, despite the modern sounds throughout. The second movement is especially beautiful, and the whole piece is full of themes that sound like folk-music. Here is a recording of this piece, 1st movement parts 1 and 2, 2nd movement, and 3rd movement.

More of Classical Hollywood

2008-05-29T15:57:00.001-07:00

Erich Korngold was born on this day in 1897. I never really paid attention to who he was until recently when I heard part of a program devoted to his life and music on the radio. He was essentially a romantic composer stuck in an era that was pushing atonal serialist music. Korngold was also the first serious composer that wrote music for Hollywood, having written full scores for some 16-or-so films in the mid 1900's, and influencing many film-score composers after him. Due to his work in Hollywood, he was not taken seriously by other composers of the day, and he died thinking his music would sink into oblivion. However, after his death, the interest in his non-film music has grown large due to his influence in Hollywood and film scores.

His violin concerto remains his most popular work. It was written in 1945 and premiered by the great violinist Jascha Heifetz in 1947. Listen/watch here to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movements. It's quite a nice piece of music, with a late-romantic feel. Though some of it does sound like it could go well as film-music (several of it's themes are taken from his film scores), it has a lot of depth and feeling, and many interesting, sometimes somewhat modern, passages and melodies.

Avant-garde "music"

2008-05-28T15:07:00.001-07:00

Gyorgy Ligeti was born today in 1923 in Romania.

Ligeti's music is best known in the general public for his music in several Stanley Kubrick films, including "2001: A Space Odyssey". Concerning one of the movements from his Requiem, for Soprano and Mezzo Soprano solo, mixed Chorus and Orchestra (1963-65), the wikipedia article written on Ligeti says: "It is a massive (twenty-part choral) quasi-fugue where the counterpoint is re-thought in terms of the material, consisting of melismatic masses interpenetrating and alternating with complex skipping parts. It was a part of this movement that accompanied the enigmantic monolith scenes in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey." Remember that eerie music? I sure do, and I haven't seen the movie for probably a decade.

Ligeti wrote 3 books of piano etudes later in his life, some of which I've heard in concert and I think are kind of interesting. I found this rather frightening (but rather gimmicky) performance of one of them on youtube:
Etude No. 13, "The Devil's Staircase". The pianist contrasts it with Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" for effect (hey, I have to link to some real music at least once on this blog entry!).

Finally, his Poeme Symphonique for 100 Metronomes, "written" in 1962. Here's the musical "score", just in case you'd like to read it while you listen. You gotta love the avant-garde!

Two of the Greatest Romantic Composers, Part 2

2008-05-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

Brahms' music starkly contrasts Tchaikovsky's. The emotions that come through are powerful, but reserved and controlled, not wild and frantic. However, aside from a few selected works, Brahms' music doesn't have the immediate appeal that Tchaikovsky's does. Yet I find that his music is deeper and becomes more satisfying with each listen. The deeper I get into a particular Brahms piece, the more I am in amazement at the complex, intellectual brilliance that went into the composition. Yet the rugged beauty in his music doesn't need an intellectual understanding of it to enjoy it.

Here are some of my favorites of Brahms.

Orchestral music:

Piano Concerto No. 1 - a monumental work of genius. Although very difficult for the pianist, there is no gratuitous "showing-off" - the orchestra and piano work together to create musical ideas and cohesiveness. Unfortunately, the concerto was received very harshly when the composer premiered it, with an icy silence after one performance, and hissing by a later audience. That sort of thing would be unheard of today - and today's music isn't close to being in the same league! Here is pianist Stephen Hough discussing the piece after playing it. Here is the monumental concerto, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (First movement up to part 3, 5:15; Second movement up to part 5, 2:20, Third movement the rest). The second movement is one of my favorite pieces of all time. My piano teacher recalls his teacher telling him "It will create a chapel in your soul!" It is full of calm and beauty, and the climax in the middle is very moving. The other two movements are powerful and full of austere beauty.

Piano Concerto No. 2 - an even more difficult piece for the pianist, and even more integrated into the orchestra part, such that it was called "a symphony with piano obbligato" in early days. It has four movements, making it even larger than the first concerto (if that were possible!). This ranks as one of the most difficult concertos of all time (up there with Rachmaninoff 3rd). I think of it as one of the most satisfying musical meals I could ever have. The longer the better (it is usually about an hour long)! It is more pastorale and less austere than the first concerto, and the emotions in the piece run the whole gamut. Here is the first movement, parts 1 and 2. The second movement, which Brahms jokingly called "a tiny wisp of a scherzo" is here. The third movement is a beautiful slow movement, complete with a cello solo. Here are parts 1 and 2, the latter also containing part of the fourth movement, which is light-hearted but still full of power and beauty, concluding here.

Violin Concerto - one of the greatest violin concertos of all time. It can be very austere and serious, especially in the first movement, but there are more light-hearted and tender moments as well, especially in the 2nd and 3rd movements. Critics of his time have said that it is not a concerto for violin as much as "against the violin" and others have said it was "unplayable". It is indeed a hard piece, but it has stood the test of time and is one of the most loved works of all time today. Here are the first, second, and third movements (the first is incomplete here).

Double Concerto - Brahms' last composition for orchestra, it is a concerto for violin and cello together. It is characteristically austere and powerful, but not without lots of beautiful writing and good humor in many places. The opening is especially powerful, with the orchestral outburst followed by a cadenza for the cello, then violin, then both together before the orchestra comes back to have a longer introduction. This a moving piece! Here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. The middle movement (part 3 here) is particularly tender and full of the "deep" Brahms beauty.

Four Symphonies - all four of his monumental symphonies are precious jewels. They were late in coming, due to the composer's dissatisfaction and highly self-critical nature. The first symphony was finished in his 40's, and is a tour-de-force. The last movement is very reminiscent of Beethoven's 9th symphony, and so Brahms was dubbed as the continuation of Beethoven - very high praise, but which I think is appropriate. The second symphony is very pastorale and beautiful - probably my favorite Brahms symphony. Since this blog entry is too long already, I'll link only to the third movement, my favorite. I would highly recommend this recording, which is a performance of Brahms and Tchaikovsky's last symphonies (Brahms 4th, Tchaikovsky's 6th) as well as some absolutely brilliant commentary (about 20 minutes per piece) by the great conductor, Leonard Bernstein. It includes other pieces on it as well, with commentary. This will give you a good idea of the musical genius in the creative process by both of these composers in their symphonies.

Variations on a Theme of Haydn - a set of variations on a theme unlikely by Haydn, but that doesn't matter. It's one of his most accessible works, but this doesn't mean it's not deep! The mood changes throughout, from very thoughtful and pensive to unabashedly joyful. I was only able to find a 2-piano version worth listening to (the orchestral version is superior), but here is the opening.

Chamber Music:

Brahms wrote lots and lots of chamber music. It tends to be pretty thick and heavy, but is, once again, quite satisfying in a way that no other composer can match (except perhaps Bach or Beethoven).

Violin Sonatas - he wrote 3, all of which are an incredible feast for the soul. Here is the first movement (parts 1 and 2) of the G major sonata. Brahms also wrote two viola sonatas, originally written as Clarinet sonatas, later transcribed for viola. They are both wonderfully rich and a joy to listen to and play, as are his two cello sonatas.

Brahms also wrote several piano trios and piano quartets, all amazing and monumental works. However, his Piano Quintet in F minor (written for piano and string quartet), to me is the peak, the pinnacle, of all chamber works written for piano and strings. Yes, you heard me right. I know that's kind of a strong statement, but that's how I feel. All four movements are astounding in their passion and integration between the instruments. It is a very serious work with a passion and energy unmatched by any other piece I know of. The most amazing and innovative movements are the 3rd and 4th. The third movement has a driving force and passion in it that stirs my soul every time I listen to it. The fourth movement has extraordinary harmonies in it, pushing the envelope of Romantic music. Listen especially to 7:00 on to the end - so much passion and fire!

Two of the Greatest Romantic Composers, Part 1

2008-05-07T21:34:00.001-07:00

Today is the birthday of two very important composers of the mid-romantic era of music. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 in Russia. Johannes Brahms was born in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany.

Although not part of "The Five" Russian Composers (see blog on Jan 2), Tchaikovsky had interactions with them, and he wrote music that was quite nationalistic. He is the prototype of a composer who "wears his emotions on his sleeve", so to speak. His music is passionate, intense, and very accessible, bursting with beautiful melodies. His philosophy of music was that it should be immediately comprehensible to the listener. He felt that his fellow composer, Brahms, placed too many demands on the listener, and that Brahms' music lacked beauty.

I remember reading somewhere that Brahms didn't care much for Tchaikovsky's music, either. He attended a concert of his fellow composer's music and promptly fell asleep through it. Brahms' music is worlds apart from Tchaikovsky's. He is much more reserved in his displays of emotion, and can be very austere. A complaint from a critic of his day was that Brahms' music wanders around and never goes anywhere.

I suppose it depends on one's personality which composer's music one would like better. When I was younger, I listened more to Tchaikovsky's music and remember saying that his 5th Symphony was my favorite piece of music. Those days are long gone - aside from a few of his best works, his music holds my interest much less, and a lot of it seems frantic, repetitive, and noisy.

Brahms, on the other hand, composes some of the deepest music that I know. It may be hard to get into at first, but upon repeated listens, it is more rewarding than the music of most other composers.

I'll start first with a sampling of Tchaikovsky's best works:

Piano Concerto No. 1 - one of the most well-known of pieces of all classical music. It is chock-full of wonderful themes and has both beautiful orchestral writing and beautiful and impressive piano passage-work. Here is the first movement (parts 1, 2, and 3).

Violin Concerto - one of the absolutely best violin concertos in the romantic repertoire. It is a priceless gem of a piece, again full of beautiful melodies. The 2nd movement to me is one of the best works of all time - hauntingly sad and beautiful. Here is the first movement (parts 1 and 2), the sublime second movement, and the third movement.

Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra - this very beautiful piece of music was the closest thing to a cello concerto that the composer wrote. It has characteristic beautiful melodies and lots of interesting variations. Here is a performance of this great piece, parts 1, 2, and 3.

Six Symphonies - His 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies are the most well known. The 3rd is quite good, too. The 6th symphony, called "Pathetique" is the most famous, and rightly so. It has a lot of pathos, especially in the 4th and final movement. The 3rd movement is a fast scherzo that ends so triumphantly, most audiences feel impelled to applaud such that the orchestra has to start the last movement before they finish clapping just to get on with the show. The last movement is such a heart-wrenching contrast to the previous movement, it is probably why the symphony is named so. My uncle commented to me years ago "when you listen to that movement, you just want to lay down and die" - not far from the truth, but it sure is a beautiful piece.

Nutcracker Suite - again another very famous suite of pieces (originally part of a ballet), parts of which are probably recognizable by most people. It has immediate appeal, and for good reason. So many catchy melodies, orchestral textures, and rhythms to feast on. Here's the Waltz of the Flowers, the last piece in the suite.

Since this blog entry is already quite long and we haven't touched Brahms' music yet, I'll put that in part 2.

Russian Musical Wit and Dissonance

2008-04-27T14:37:00.001-07:00

Sergei Prokofiev was born today in the Ukraine in 1891. He gained a reputation as a young man of being a musical rebel. You can hear it in his music - beautiful melodies and interesting harmonies interrupted frequently by brutally dissonant, brash interludes. Some of his music is immediately recognizable and accessible to anyone. A lot of his music, though, takes some getting used to, but is still very rewarding after adjusting to the unusual sounds.

Here are clips of some of his best music:

Peter and the Wolf - probably the most beloved work by Prokofiev. It is a children's tale, involving an orchestra and narrator. Each instrument symbolizes a character in the tale - Strings (Peter), Flute (Bird), Oboe (Duck), Clarinet (Cat), and so forth. If you've never heard this before, you're missing out! A great story with terrific music! Here's a trailer for one particularly entertaining-looking production.

Symphony No. 1 "Classical" - one of his most accessible works. A delightful piece of music with very interesting harmonies/melodies, meant to emulate the music of Josef Haydn; it is one of the first "Neo-classical" works written by Prokofiev. Here are movements 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major - probably my favorite piece by this composer, and certainly his most popular concerto. The dialogue between piano and orchestra is vibrant, interesting, full of "witty dissonance" contrasting with beautiful melodies and harmonies. Here are movements 1, 2, and 3.

7th Piano Sonata - one of the composer's "War Sonatas" (including Nos. 6, 7, and 8). The third movement is very rhythmic, especially interesting, and technically extremely challenging (listen to the last 2 minutes - crazy!).

March from The Love for Three Oranges - this is a short transcription for piano played by the composer, taken from one of his operas. Short, joking, full of wit and sarcasm.

Sonata for Cello and Piano - one of my favorite cello sonatas. It is was one of Prokofiev's last compositions, but is much more mellow and lyrical than many of his earlier works, but still full of fun. The second movement sounds "Peter and Wolf"-ish to me and lots of fun. Here are movements 1, 2, and 3.

Serious Side of Hollywood

2008-04-18T21:50:00.001-07:00

Miklos Rozsa was born on this day in 1907 in Hungary. I recently became aquainted with this composer through a radio program. He is best known for his film scores, especially for the 1959 movie, Ben Hur, but he also wrote a lot of serious classical music throughout his life. His classical background and training helped his writing for Hollywood to be of the highest quality.

The piece I heard on this program which intrigued me (and caused me to sit in the car and listen for an extra 20 minutes even though I'd already arrived at my destination), was his Violin Concerto, Op. 24, written in 1953-54 for the great violinist Jascha Heifetz. It's a bit modern sounding in some places, but there are some really hauntingly beautiful and nostalgic moments, especially during the entire 2nd movement (Anastasia Khitruk playing Violin in this excerpt).

Piled Higher and Deeper... Finally

2008-04-11T18:55:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know. I missed Rachmaninoff's Birthday on April 1. So sue me. I started a post for him on that day, so I'll finish it up later and it will post as April 1 when I'm done.

The reason I haven't been as diligent with my composer birthdays is that I've been busy... writing my dissertation.

I defended my PhD dissertation today and passed - so I'm a Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry now! Hooray!

Here's my one of my favorite comic strips, written expressly for us crazy perpetual students in mind.

Difficult Piano Music

2008-04-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was born today in 1873 in Russia. He was born one year before Schoenberg and two years before Ravel, and unlike his colleagues, stayed very much in the Romantic period, though some of his later stuff sounds pretty modern. He was a truly amazing pianist (we have recordings of him!), one of the best and most technically sound of the 20th century. Like Chopin, he is another composer for pianists, although unlike Chopin, he wrote 3 symphonies, and a few other works that did not feature the piano. He had very big hands, supposedly spanning an interval of a 13th (C to A)!

The other day, our little family was eating dinner at the dinner-table, and my precious little 21-month-old daughter was learning to say some new words, so I decided to give her a couple of tough ones:

Daddy: Rachel, can you say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
Rachel: (quizzical look)
Daddy: Rachel, can you antidisestablishmentarianism?
Rachel: (quizzical look with an impish smile)
Daddy: Rachel, can you Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff?
Rachel: (Rachel looks away toward her box of composer statuettes) 'off! 'off! 'off!
(Translation: hey, where's my Rachmaninoff figurine?! I want it right now!)

My wife and I both got a hearty laugh out of this one! Anyway...

I'd like to start with what I think is Rachmaninoff's best music - his piano concertos. Two of them have become standard repertoire, due to not only their beautiful melodies and lush chords, but also their impressive technical challenges to the pianist.

Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st Movement, played by the composer himself. This was his first published composition, written when the composer was only 19 years old. Even at such a young age, this composition is full of fire, strength, and maturity, with some really great melodies and amazing virtuosity.

Piano Concerto No. 2, 1st Movement, 2nd Movement, 3rd Movement. Perhaps overall his most well-loved concerto. It begins with large chords in the piano, getting louder and louder until the orchestra bursts in with the first theme. It is chock full of beautiful melodies and counter-melodies, as well as some amazing virtuosity. The 2nd movement is especially beautiful and tender. It sounds to me like he was influenced by Chopin's 1st Concerto, 2nd movement, one of the most magical pieces ever written. Rachmaninov's movement comes very close to rivaling it.

Piano Concerto No. 3, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. This is probably the most technically difficult piano concerto ever written. It is not perhaps as immediately accessible as the 2nd concerto, but it has many very beautiful melodies, and has strength, force, and fire that exceeds its predecessor.

For some of the most powerful, commanding piano-playing you'll ever hear, listen to the extremely difficult cadenza in the first movement (he plays the difficult version here), part 2 from about 2:30 to 4:30. All three movements have great beauty and amazing virtuosity, but probably the most breathtaking energy is found in the 3rd movement (Parts 4 and 5).

Piano Concerto No. 4, 1st Movement. Probably his least popular concerto, it is still full of that beautiful nostalgia and virtuosic chromaticism that characterizes his music.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - I include this with his piano concertos, because it is for piano and orchestra and of similar length and difficulty. It's beauty and creativity rivals at least concertos 1 and 4, if not 2 and 3. The magical 18th variation is quite well-known and one of his most well-loved themes (Part 2, 5:25 to 8:00).

Rachmaninoff wrote a few chamber works as well, including his sonata for Cello and piano. Here is the Cello Sonata, 2nd movement, a very powerful piece with high energy and a lovely relaxing, lyrical middle section. I want to play this piece with a cellist someday!

He also wrote a numerous amount of solo piano pieces, most of them dazzling and difficult to play. Here are some of his best:

Preludes:

Op. 3, No. 2 in C# minor, probably his most popular composition of all, although Rachmaninoff himself grew to dislike it because he was asked to play it so often. This version with the composer himself at the piano is quite stunning.

Op. 23, No. 4 in D Major, one of my favorites. It is quite simple in form and melody, one of his least virtuosic pieces, but still quite difficult to play well.

Op. 23, No. 5 in G minor, another one of his most popular pieces. The middle section has some beautiful inner melodies that are brought out nicely in this recording.

Op. 32, No. 12 in G# minor, another popular piece. Full of fire, passion, and nostalgia.

Op. 32, No. 10 in B minor, another one of my favorites. It is very sad, wistful, and nostalgic, but full of fire and passion. An anecdote tells of how this was supposed to have been a picture of Rachmaninoff's longing to come home to Russia after having been exiled to other countries during the communist take-over.

Etudes-Tableaux:

Op. 39, No. 3 in F# minor, a very difficult piece - watch the flying fingers!

Op. 33, No. 5, an insanely difficult piece! This time watch the notes.

I'll end on a couple of his more light-hearted pieces, all performed by the composer:

Lilacs, a beautiful little piece with lots of flowery passages

Humoresque

Polka de V.R. (a polka written by Vasili Rachmaninoff, Sergei's father, arranged and played here by the son) - a delightful little piece, and a great way to end this post.

Father of the Symphony

2008-03-31T21:45:00.001-07:00

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.

Music of the Grand Canyon

2008-03-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Hungarian and Romanian Folk Music

2008-03-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

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!

The Greatest Composer That Ever Lived

2008-03-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Russian Imagery

2008-03-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

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!

Russian Orchestration

2008-03-18T19:19:00.001-07:00

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.

Most prolific composer

2008-03-14T22:53:00.001-07:00

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!

Romantic Virtuoso Violin Music

2008-03-10T21:54:00.001-07:00

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.

Saddest Piece of Classical Music

2008-03-09T20:23:00.001-07:00

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!

Musical Poignancy and Melancholy

2008-03-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

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...).

Music of Brazil

2008-03-05T21:12:00.001-08:00

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.

Music for All Seasons

2008-03-04T17:57:00.001-08:00

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.

A Composer for Pianists

2008-03-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

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.

Music to Heal the Soul

2008-02-23T12:49:00.001-08:00

George Frideric Handel was born on this day in 1685. Handel was born in Germany, but lived most of his later life in England. He was born the same year as two other great composers of the Baroque period, J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti.

Handel wrote a huge volume of music, including operas, oratorios, chamber music, harpsichord music, concertos, etc. His most famous work (and one of the most famous works of all music) is his oratorio, Messiah, based on passages from the Bible about Jesus Christ (Yeshua Messiah). The details of how Handel wrote "Messiah" are worth mentioning. The next section is quoted entirely from the book "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers". It's long, I know - but well worth reading.

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Audiences for Handel's compositions were unpredictable, and even the Church of England attacked him for what they considered his notorious practice of writing biblical dramas such as "Esther" and "Israel in Egypt" to be performed in secular theatres. His occasional commercial successes soon met with financial disaster, as rival opera companies competed for the ticket holders of London. He drove himself relentlessly to recover from one failure after another, and finally his health began to fail. By 1741 he was swimming in debt. It seemed certain he would land in debtor's prison.

On April 8 of that year, he gave what he considered his farewell concert. Miserably discouraged, he felt forced to retire from public activities at the age of 56. Then two unforeseen events converged to change his life. A wealthy friend, Charles Jennings, gave Handel a libretto based on the life of Christ, taken entirely from the Bible. He also received a commission from a Dublin charity to compose a work for a benefit performance.

Handel set to work composing on August 22 in his little house on Brook Street in London. He grew so absorbed in the work that he rarely left his room, hardly stopping to eat. Within six days Part One was complete. In nine days more he had finished Part Two, and in another six, Part Three. The orchestration was completed in another two days. In all, 260 pages of manuscript were filled in the remarkably short time of 24 days.

Sir Newman Flower, one of Handel's many biographers, summed up the consensus of history: "Considering the immensity of the work, and the short time involved, it will remain, perhaps forever, the greatest feat in the whole history of music composition." Handel's title for the commissioned work was, simply, Messiah.

Handel never left his house for those three weeks. A friend who visited him as he composed found him sobbing with intense emotion. Later, as Handel groped for words to describe what he had experienced, he quoted St. Paul, saying "Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it I know not."

Messiah premiered on April 13, 1742, as a charitable benefit, raising 400 pounds and freeing 142 men from debtor's prison. A year later, Handel staged it in London. Controversy emanating from the Church of England continued to plague Handel, yet the King of England attended the performance. As the first notes of the triumphant "Hallelujah Chorus" rang out, the king rose. Following royal protocol, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition which has lasted for more than two centuries.

Soon after this, Handel's fortunes began to increase dramatically, and his hard-won popularity remained constant until his death. By the end of his long life, Messiah was firmly established in the standard repertoire. Its influence on other composers would be extraordinary. When Haydn later heard the "Hallelujah Chorus", he wept like a child, and exclaimed, "He is the master of us all!"

Handel personally conducted more than thirty performances of Messiah. Many of these concerts were benefits for the Foundling Hospital, of which Handel was a major benefactor. The thousands of pounds Handel's performances of Messiah raised for charity led one biographer to note: "Messiah has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan...more than any other single musical production in this or any country." Another wrote, "Perhaps the works of no other composer have so largely contributed to the relief of human suffering."

This work has had an uncanny spiritual impact on the lives of its listeners. One writer has stated that Messiah's music and message "has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written."

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Below are some excerpts of Messiah. I hope it encourages all of you who don't own a recording of it to get one. If you only get one piece of classical music then get this one. The message of this work is one of good news - the best news anyone on this earth could be given. God Himself loves us so much that He came down to earth and became a man, giving up His rights and privileges for a time, giving, teaching, suffering, dying, and then rising again. He took the punishment that all of us deserve, and He offers us eternal life if we believe in Him.

- For unto us a child is born
- Glory to God/Rejoice greatly
- Surely He hath born our griefs/And with His stripes we are healed/All we like sheep have gone astray
- Hallelujah chorus
- Since by man came death
- The trumpet shall sound

I'd recommend this recording of Messiah. It's full of interesting dynamic contrasts, excellent interpretations, and continuo played by the lute instead of the harpsichord, which is unusual but sounds really great.

Another very popular and great work is his "Water Music", 3 suites for a medium-sized ensemble, originally performed for the King and his company as they floated down the Thames river. See an interesting, brief re-enactment of this here. There are so many refreshing, uplifting pieces in these suites, I have to link to a few more:
- Bourree
- Allegro/Andante
- A couple of Menuets and Gigues.

I'd highly recommend this recording of the Water Music, which includes also Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks, another great work of his.

Other works to listen to include:
- Concerti grossi from Op. 3 and Op. 6
- Music for solo keyboard (harpsichord or piano), including the "Harmonious Blacksmith" suite

Two Birthdays

2008-02-19T21:34:00.002-08:00

Luigi Boccherini was born today in 1743 in Italy. I only know one piece by him, which is quite well-known - the minuet movement of his String Quintet in E major, Op. 13, No. 5. It's quite a delightful little piece, sounding somewhat like Mozart.

Another of his pieces shows up in the end of the movie "Master and Commander: Far Side of the World" - "La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid No. 6, Op. 30"

That's all I have to say... other than today is my birthday, too (30th)!

Italian Baroque Music

2008-02-17T20:24:00.001-08:00

The composer Arcangelo Corelli was born today in 1653 in Italy. Corelli was writing music a few decades before J.S. Bach, and had an influence on him. He was a skilled violinist, and supposedly some violinists today can trace their student-teacher-lineage back to Corelli.

Some of his most popular works include the 12 Concerti Grossi from Op. 6, one of which (No. 8) is called the "Christmas Concerto" - listen here to the 1st and 2nd movements, here for the 3rd and 4th movements (the 3rd movement was featured in the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"), and here for the 5th and 6th movements.

I find his music very refreshing and uplifting - it is very structured and disciplined, yet has rich harmonies, surprising key-changes, and depth of emotion. The Christmas Concerto represents some of the finest orchestral music from the middle Baroque period of classical music - I hope it uplifts you as it does me.

The Happy One

2008-02-03T07:48:00.001-08:00

Felix Mendelssohn was born today in 1809 in Germany. His grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was a famous Jewish philosopher. After Felix became a noted musical genius, his father supposedly made the statement, "Formerly I was the son of my father: now I am the father of my son." Felix means "the happy one", and his life was indeed quite happy, until near the end, when he suffered from bad health; sorrow over the death of his beloved sister contributed to his early death at age 38.

Mendelssohn was another child prodigy akin to Mozart. He wrote a lot of good music at quite a young age. One of his best and most original works, the Overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, was written when he was only 17 years old. Woodwinds dialogue with the violins, who play a very flittering, soft melody in the beginning reminiscent of fairies before the whole orchestra comes in with a very triumphant section, and the piece goes on from there.

Mendelssohn also wrote a lot of piano music, including 2 piano concertos (they're charming pieces, but not among the greats), and a whole host of pieces called "Songs without words", which are delightful and span a range of emotions. One of the best is the "Spinning Song" - watch Artur Rubinstein's hands fly on this one. On the more serious side (pun intended) are his "Variations Serieuses", a masterful set of variations on a theme that sounds almost like a sarabande by Bach.

Mendelssohn also wrote some lovely chamber music. My favorites are his two piano trios. The Piano Trio in D minor is an incredibly powerful piece, requiring some really fast and light hands on the pianist's part. He also wrote an Octet for Strings when he was 16 years old, showing his genius at a young age.

He wrote great orchestral works also. Here is the opening to the "Italian Symphony", a work written in his early twenties. Possibly his most popular and beloved work is his Violin Concerto in E minor. Listen to the 1st and 3rd movments here. This is one of the most beautiful, perfect violin concertos ever written (though I still maintain the Beethoven violin concerto is "The" perfect violin concerto).

Finally, a comment about Mendelssohn's important role in the history of music. He performed a real service to the musical world by "resurrecting" music that had sunk into oblivion, namely that of J. S. Bach and Schubert, who nowadays are probably more famous than he.

Musical Poetry and Lyricism

2008-01-31T07:47:00.001-08:00

On this day in 1797, Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria. Schubert was almost 30 years younger than Beethoven, but the two were composing much of their music at the same time. Schubert died only one year after Beethoven, and just as he desired, was buried next to him. He idolized Beethoven during his lifetime, but never had the guts to approach during his lifetime.

Schubert's music to me sounds at times like Mozart (his fellow Austrian), and at times like Beethoven, but he definitely has his own "voice". Although I mostly just know his piano music and a little bit of his orchestral music, Schubert is also well known for his many "lieder" or songs, of which he wrote over 600. The great pianist-composer Franz Liszt said that Schubert was "the most poetic musician who has ever lived". I think as a result of his well-developed poetic abilities and skill in writing songs, much of his other music "sings" especially well. His piano pieces are full of delicacy and singing melodies. His music has a simplicity running throughout, which I think stems from his lyricism; however he has a dark, brooding, even violent side as well that can really grab you. I think Schubert in many ways was just as much of a genius as Mozart and Beethoven, and he doesn't get the attention due him.

Schubert's music requires expert control of touch and tone on the piano because of his delicate lyricism, as the following pieces will show. Impromptu in Gb Major, D. 899 No. 3 is a very serene piece with "triplet" accompaniment throughout, so typical of Schubert. The Impromptu in Eb major, D. 899 No. 2, in contrast, is much swifter and more forceful, full of sweeping triplet scales and surprising key-changes.

Sonata D. 959, 4th movement has a beautiful melody Schubert used in more than one piece. Notice again the lyricism and "triplet" accompaniment in a lot of the piece. Schubert's last three sonatas, D. 958, 959, and 960 are some of the greatest piano works ever written. They are quite long (D. 960's first movement alone can go longer than 20 minutes), full of innovation, have a wide range of emotions, and are chock-full of beautiful themes and sub-themes. Besides the one above, one of my favorite movements in these three sonatas is the 4th movement of D. 958 (the video is of the last half of the movement). In the words of someone commenting on the video, the piece displays Schubert's darker side - "furious, sarcastic, sophisticated - a black hole full of dark energy!" Yet there still is much lyricism and beauty throughout.

I don't know much of Schubert's orchestral music except his last 2 symphonies. The earlier symphonies, to me, sound like Mozart, and are quite conservative. Here is the Symphony #8, "Unfinished", 1st movement - I think this is his greatest symphony, just two movements, both perfect. It has a dark, sinister opening and melancholy theme, with beautiful melodies harmonies throughout. The best way to listen to this piece is to buy a good recording and to make sure your stereo system has a subwoofer - helps a lot because the opening melody is carried by the double-bass viols.

For an example of one of his "lieder", here is the Erlkoenig. A frightening tale by Goethe, it tells the story of a father riding on horseback with his young son during the night, when the son cries to his father that the "Erlking" or "Elf King" (modern translation - the "Boogey Man") is nearby and is going to harm him. The father doesn't take his son seriously - "don't worry it's just the wind", etc., and they go back and forth... until it's too late. The singer has the challenge of switching between being the narrator, the father, the son, and the Elf King. The piano accompaniment on this is horrendously difficult because of the stamina needed to play fast repeated octaves and chords in the right hand throughout - meant to evoke the fast hoof beats.

The next two represent his chamber music. The Piano Trio in Bb Major is one of my new favorites (I just got the CD for Christmas). It is full of sunshine and beautiful themes. And... yes more triplet accompaniment throughout. The "Trout" Quintet, 4th movement is one of his most famous pieces. I had to put up this video because there are so many famous musicians in the same place playing together! (Barenboim - piano, Perlman - vioin, Zukerman - viola, Du Pre - cello, and Mehta - bass) This movement has some motifs in it that supposedly sounds like a swimming fish, thus the name.

Happy Birthday, Wolfgang!

2008-01-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

Before discussing one of the biggest musical geniuses of all time, I'll make note of another fine composer. Edouard Lalo was born on this day in 1823 in France. His most famous work, "Symphonie Espagnole", reveals his Spanish descent, and although it is called a symphony, it's really basically a violin concerto. It is part of the standard romantic violin repertoire today, and for good reason. Listen to the delightful 5th movement played by violinist Jascha Heifetz. Lalo dedicated this work to Pablo de Sarasate, another fine violinist/composer who I'll discuss later.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was also born on this day, a little over a quarter of a millenium ago (1756) in Salzburg, Austria. Mozart may have the most "accessible" music of any composer - it is generally likable on first listen, and probably more widely known by the general public than any other. Who in the world doesn't recognize the opening of Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night-music)?

His accessibility doesn't mean that his music is shallow, however. There is great depth and many subtleties to be found in his works. He had a very difficult life, and wrote music more to escape his difficulties than to pour his emotions into his music. Unlike Beethoven, who disregarded many of the "rules" of composing and wrote things that shocked people for their bold sounds and forms (and got away with it), Mozart stayed within the rules, more or less. As a result, the emotional range of his music is not perhaps as obviously wide. But it provides great relief for the weary listener who has had a hard day. As a piano teacher of mine once said, Mozart's music produces the least "wear and tear" on the soul and uplifts it instead.

Mozart was flowing with musical ideas. In the words of another music-professor of mine, "Beethoven had to work out his music with many drafts, revisions, etc. Mozart simply took dictation..." as if someone were directly playing the music for him in his head and he simply wrote down what he heard. It's not as though he didn't have to work hard, though. From a very young age, he saturated himself with music of other composers and studied very hard. Hard work combined with a natural genius produced the results.

There is an anecdote of a young (12-year-old) Wolfgang traveling with his father, and coming to the Vatican, where a choir sang Allegri's "Miserere", a 12 minute-long A capella piece with a beautiful multiple-part harmony. The music was property of the Catholic church, and it was forbidden (upon pain of excommunication) to have a copy of it or sing it outside the church choir. The only problem with this was that Mozart listened to it once and memorized it. So he went home and wrote the whole thing out for memory. The churchmen heard about this, but what could they do but admire?

One other thing I need to get off my chest has to do with Mozart's character. The movie Amadeus, while entertaining (and full of beautiful music!), exaggerates Mozart's silliness and wild living. I read a book recently called "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers", which I highly recommend to anyone interested in the Christian influence and Christian lives of many of the classical composers. The chapter on Mozart was especially interesting. It noted that, yes, there was evidence that Mozart had written some very inappropriate things in some letters to a young female cousin when he was younger (and this should not be excused). But this is the exception, and has been exploited and overblown. Mozart had a very serious Christian faith which deepened as he grew older.

Apparently Mozart and his wife Constance had a strong marriage, and tales of Mozart's womanizing have supposedly been discounted. When they were engaged, he wrote to his father of his spiritual compatibility with Constance - "I found that I never prayed so heartily, confessed or communicated so devoutly, as when by her side. And she feels the same." When he was 31, just 4 years before his death, he wrote "I never lie down in my bed without reflecting that perhaps I - young as I am - may not live to see another day; yet none of all who know me can say that I am socially melancholy or morose. For this blessing I daily thank my Creator and wish it from my heart for all my fellow men." At another time he wrote, "Let us put our trust in God and console ourselves with the thought that all is well, if it is in accordance with the will of the Almighty, as He knows best what is profitable and beneficial to our temporal happiness and our eternal salvation."

So what about his music? Personally, I'm a fan of his 23 piano concertos (Nos. 5-27; the first 4 were just transcriptions of the works of another composer). In them are some of his best orchestral and pianistic writing, and some of his most memorable and beautiful themes. My personal favorites are the two minor-key concertos, No. 20 in D minor (K. 466) and No. 24 in C minor (K. 491). The latter inspired Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto, written in the same key. Listen here to the first movement of the Mozart K. 491. Another one of my favorites is his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major (K. 453). The second movement is one of his most moving pieces. It feels like it tells a story, with the piano acting as a singer telling of both joys and disappointments. There are so many subtleties in this piece, and it is very emotional, yet the emotion is restrained... as if Mozart wants to let you into his deepest, darkest corners, but only if you listen closely and carefully. Here's your chance to do so (note the movement is broken into two videos).

This blog entry is already too long, but there are so many more wonderful pieces to be heard! Here's a smattering of his best:
- Piano Concerto No. 9 (K. 271), 3rd movement, dedicated to a woman-pianist Mozart knew (she must have been talented!)
- Piano Sonata K. 330 in C Major, 3rd movement, played by an 82 year-old Vladimir Horowitz. Mozart's piano music has been paradoxically said to be "easy enough for any child to play, yet daunting for the even the most skilled professional." Little kids can play Mozart and make it sound half-way decent (whereas they don't have big enough hands to even play the notes on pieces by Chopin and Rachmaninoff). To make Mozart sound professional, though, one has to play transparently, so that every note is heard, leaving the pianist very exposed. No running things together with the pedal and dropping notes unless you want to sound very sloppy. Horowitz was actually scared to play Mozart in public until his later years, even though he had a monstrous technique to play all the difficult Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and other piano pieces.
- Symphony No. 29 in A Major (K. 201), 1st movement, written when he was about 18!
- String quartet K. 465 in C Major, "Dissonance", 1st movement. The beginning sounds like it was written in the 20th century :)
- Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216, 3rd movement. Less than three minutes into it, the character of the piece changes and there's a very serious little interlude with violin over plucking strings, then back to the playful character shortly after. Genius!
- Ave verum corpus (K. 618), one of his last works. An incredibly beautiful, short piece for choir and orchestra.
- Kyrie, from the Requiem (K. 626), his last work, finished by one of his students. This is a powerful piece of music!

Beat-boxing flute player?

2008-01-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

A friend told me about this guy a few days ago. Pretty amazing (and funny)! I'm sure one would have to be a terrific flute-player first, then learn beat-boxing, and not the other way around...

- Peter and the Wolf
- Super Mario Bros
- Inspector Gadget

Modern French music

2008-01-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Francis Poulenc was born today in 1899 in France. He was part of a group of French composers known as "Les Six", the name having been inspired by "The Five" Russian composers (see Jan 2 blog entry). The composers were Poulenc, Milhaud, Auric, Durey, Honegger, Tailleferre, and they were loosely associated with composers Satie and Cocteau as well. The music they wrote is seen as a reaction against Wagnerism and impressionism (mostly Debussy and Ravel), although I personally think Poulenc's music sounds impressionistic (at least the little of it I know).

I was introduced to Poulenc's music on hearing his wonderful little three-movement piano piece "Mouvements Perpetuals" and his lovely "Intermezzo in Ab Major", both pieces which I play now and love. Both have a light-hearted nature and are full of a wash of colors, yet also have deep feeling and introspection in places. Enjoy!

Music to end the world

2008-01-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

Two very different composers from the romantic era of music were born today. Max Bruch was born in 1838 in Germany. He is considered part of the more conservative tradition of German Romantic Classicism (along with Brahms) instead of the more radical experimentalists of the time, which included Liszt, Wagner, and Berlioz.

Bruch's most famous work is his Violin Concerto #1 in G minor, which is part of the standard violin repertoire. Listen to the 1st and 2nd movements here and here and 3rd movement here. It's quite an enjoyable piece of music, rightly deserving it's popularity.

Alexander Scriabin was also born today in 1872 in Russia. He studied piano with the same teacher as Rachmaninoff (who was 2 years younger), and wrote lots of piano music. In his early days, he injured himself playing Balakirev's Islamey (see previous blog entry). Scriabin had some very interesting beliefs that affected his music. He started out sort of Chopinesque in his style, but gradually his music became atonal. He had very grandiose mystical beliefs, and began work on a large orchestral/multi-media work called Mysterium that he planned on performing at the Himalayas that would bring about the end of our world. Fortunately for us who hadn't been born yet, he never completed the piece and the world didn't end.

Scriabin had a "Mystic chord" that he employed in some of his later compositions, made up of C F# Bb E A D, usually in inversions. He also associated the notes on a keyboard with colors.

A lot of his piano music (particularly the early stuff) is very interesting and beautiful. His many preludes, etudes, and 10 sonatas are very popular among pianists today, and some of them are quite difficult and are standard repertoire in competitions. Here are a few samples from his earlier period: Etude in D# minor, Op. 8 No. 12, probably his most popular piece (and quite difficult!), Etude Op. 2, No. 1, another very popular piece, Nocturne for the left hand, Op. 9 No. 2, a very beautiful piece that you wouldn't know was for the left hand alone if you weren't watching, and finally, his Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, 2nd movement.

From his middle period: Etude Op. 42, No. 5, another popular piece. It is still very romantic, and tonal, though perhaps edgier than the previous pieces. Also written during this time is the 4th piano sonata, Op. 30, a very jazzy and generally happy piece, though definitely pushing the limits of tonality more than before.

Finally, from his last period, one of his last piano works, "Vers la flamme" (Toward the flame), Op. 72. This is a rather disturbing piece, as are a lot of his later works. The name says it all - it starts out slow and cool, but gets hotter and hotter as it progresses, until by the end, the heat is actually quite uncomfortable. Listen to it here with pianist Vladimir Horowitz, one of the few to give this piece the proper fire. Horowitz is one of Scriabin's greatest intepreters and also interacted with him during his lifetime. Apparently Scriabin told Horowitz that this piece also could be called "Toward the Sun".

The Leader of "The Five"

2008-01-02T23:05:00.000-08:00

In 1837 on this day, Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev was born in Russia. He was a very skilled pianist, and is known for organizing a group of Russian musicians/composers known as "The Mighty Handful" or "The Five", which included Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin. Although Balakirev was the only professional musician amongst them, they were influential in bringing about a "Romantic nationalism" in Russian music.

I'm apparently not alone in knowing only one piece by Balakirev. His music is not widely played, except for one piece, particularly popular with pianists, due to it's impressive difficulty - "Islamey: an oriental fantasy". You can view it here played by Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky. This piece is pretty crazy. Watch the fingers fly, especially during the last minute or so.

Beethoven's Birthday!

2007-12-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Today in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Germany. There's so much to be said about Beethoven, I feel overwhelmed. His music has so much beauty, emotion, depth and variety. Even his works that have immediate popular appeal (like the 5th symphony), when studied and listened to many times over, have so much depth and intellectual value. He was truly gifted by God.

I've decided that instead of writing more about his life (you can read that on the above link), I'll discuss some of my favorites works and link to youtube performances.

All of his 9 symphonies are amazing works, and listening to them multiple times bring many rewards. It's said that his odd-numbered symphonies (1,3,5,7,9) are more profound as a whole than his even-numbered ones, but I think they're all great. My favorite changes a lot, but I must say the 3rd symphony, "Eroica" (Heroic) is a masterpiece. The 2nd movement, a funeral march of sorts, is really the heart of the piece. Listen to it here. In contrast, his 6th symphony, or "Pastoral" is more light-hearted (but not frivolous), and shows Beethoven's love for nature, which he frequently turned to for inspiration. He would go for long walks in the woods, bringing a pencil and sketch pad with him to compose as he walked. Listen to the 1st movement here.

His 5 piano concertos are all gems, and again it's hard to pick a favorite. Probably the most famous is his 5th - the "Emperor" Concerto. It is grand in every way, yet full of very tender moments and unsurpassing beauty, especially in the 2nd movement, which is one of the finest moments in all of classical music. Listen here to the 1st and 2nd/3rd movements (the 2nd runs right into the 3rd).

He also wrote one violin concerto, in D Major. I think I would consider this piece the perfect violin concerto. It is also very "Pastoral" sounding, and has some of classical music's most spiritual and tender moments. Listen to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movements here.

Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas, sometimes referred to as the "New Testament" for pianists (the "Old Testament" being Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier of 48 preludes and fugues). One of my favorites is "Les Adieux" (The Farewell), Op. 81a. He wrote this piece about a certain archduke that was leaving town whom Beethoven was loathe to see go and very excited to have return later. It begins with a tenderly beautiful melancholy chordal introduction (evoking Beethoven's drawn-out farewell to the archduke). This is followed by a faster theme that evokes the crack of the whip seeing the horse-drawn carriage take off (with the archduke inside). Lots of horn calls are heard throughout, echoes of the carriage sounding its horn as it travels off into the distance. This is the 1st movement, called "The Farewell", The 2nd and 3rd movements, called "The Absence" and "The Return", respectively, depict just that.

Beethoven also wrote a lot of chamber music. Five cello sonatas, 10 violin sonatas, 17 string quartets, many trios and so many others. Here is the 2nd movement of my favorite cello sonata (Op. 69 in A major). Here is the 3rd movement to his most difficult and amazing violin sonata ("Kreutzer").

Of special note are Beethoven's late string quartets. They are said to have inspired many later composers, even Schoenberg (who championed atonal "12-tone-row" music in the 20th century), because they were so forward-looking for their time. I resisted listening to them for a while because I thought they would be too weird. But I was pleasantly surprised. His Op. 131 in C# minor is one of his most deep, moving works, and I have heard said to have been Beethoven's favorite composition. It is in 7 movements, starting out with a slow, heart-felt fugue, moving into a more light-hearted quicker-tempo piece. There is a short interlude followed by the long central movement of a theme and variations. This is interrupted by a lightening-fast joyful, playful movement, then another interlude and finally the finale, a very driving, serious, at times wrathful piece. Listen to the first 10 minutes of the quartet here, and read more about it here.

Another one of his last pieces is the "Grosse Fuge" (Grand Fugue), written again for string quartet. Watch/listen here to the Alban Berg Quartet play the piece. This comment from a youtube listener sums it up pretty well - "One of Beethoven's most violent expressions. It is the clash of rhythms. Yet inside this turbulent storm of tones, one can find the sublime beauty." Originally it was supposed to be the 6th and final movement of one of his late string quartets, but his publisher convinced him to publish it as a separate piece because he thought it would ruin the quartet (of course he put it in a positive, diplomatic light to Beethoven!). Composer Igor Stravinsky was said to have commented that he didn't understand the piece at all (this coming from the composer of the "Rite of Spring", whose modern, clashing harmonies and rhythms enraged audiences in the early 20th century so much that they threw tomatoes at the conductor during the first performance!). Give the piece a chance. It is amazingly complex and grows on you as you listen more. The middle section of the piece is very calm and beautiful, lest you think it is all harsh and violent! Read more about this amazing piece here. Keep in mind that he completed his 9th symphony (probably his most popular and loved work) only about a year or two before this, and he was completely deaf during this period of his life.

OK, one more piece. This is actually a little bit of a musical joke, called Rage over a lost penny. Hope you enjoy it and I hope I haven't bored you too much with my love for Beethoven!

The Ultimate Romantic

2007-12-11T21:13:00.001-08:00

Hector Berlioz was born on this day in France in 1803. Berlioz is the epitome of what you think of as a romantic (a rather out-of-control romantic at that). He had a love for romantic literature, wept at readings of poetry and at musical concerts, had many love affairs, and held very strong views on matters of art in general. There's an account of him standing up in the middle of a concert while the orchestra was playing and quite loudly and fiercely taking issue with the interpretation. In another, scarier account of his behavior, his fiancee's mother wrote to him to tell she was breaking off the engagement and that her daughter would marry another man. This enraged him so much that he plotted to kill all three of them and very nearly carried out the plan, but decided against it at the last moment... only after purchasing all the necessary weapons/poisons and disguises and starting his journey toward the area that they were all residing. Yikes!

Yet he is considered one of the most important composers of his time, partly because of his forward-looking musical ideas. Along with Wagner and Liszt, he is one of the three composers that had the most profound effect on 19th century musical romanticism. Probably his most famous work is his Symphonie Fantastique, a 5-movement symphony with a pretty wild program that is somewhat autobiographical. Read the link for a really fascinating description of the piece, and watch/listen to the 4th and 5th movements. For the best listening, though, I'd really recommend a high-quality CD recording (like this one) played on a good speaker-system - it won't disappoint you! This work is really an amazing piece of orchestration, with many new and bold approaches to different textures and sounds.

The perfect violin sonata

2007-12-10T21:45:00.001-08:00

Today in 1822, Cesar Franck was born in Belgium. His Violin Sonata in A Major is, to me, the perfect violin sonata. Full of passion, drama, serene beauty, ranging from violent to tranquil, from heart-wrenching to perfect contentedness. I had the privilege of playing this fine piece with a good friend and distinguished violinist in college for a joint senior recital.

Watch/listen to the 2nd and 4th movements here. The 4th movement deserves a comment or two. Notice most of the piece is in a "canon" form, in which the piano starts the theme and the violin follows 1 measure behind with exactly the same notes (kind of like singing "row, row, row your boat" in a "round" with someone else). Part-way through the piece, the violin takes the lead and the piano follows. The complexity of the theme in this movement and how well it works as a canon is just sheer genius on the part of Franck. This is indeed one of classical music's finest moments.

Music from Finland and Bohemia

2007-12-08T21:06:00.001-08:00

Today, in 1865, Jean Sibelius was born in Finland. Some of his most noteworthy compositions are Finlandia, his Violin Concerto, and his 7 symphonies. To be honest, I really only know the Violin Concerto, a rather stern, austere, yet beautiful and scenic piece, and one of my favorite violin concertos. It's easy for me to picture some cold, snowy, beautiful landscape when I listen to it. Watch and listen to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movements, played by a very young Hilary Hahn.

In response to some rather harsh criticisms of his music in the mid 20th century, Sibelius was quoted as saying, "Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has ever been put up to a critic." His words have proven true, as his music is widely played and loved today.

Also today, in 1890, Bohuslav Martinu was born in Bohemia. I have heard virtually none of his music, except for one very special piece. If you've ever heard the beginning and ending of Jim Sveda's program on KUSC (Classical Music, 91.5 FM in the greater Los Angeles area) starting at 7pm on weeknights, you'll hear a very interesting and slightly jazzy piece for piano and several strings. It starts with such playful tranquility, clarity, interesting jazz-like harmonies, syncopated rhythms, etc., then it kind of turns a little bit weird, and the music fades and the program begins. I loved that first 2 minutes so much, though, I had to find out what it was, and I got a CD of the whole piece. Well, that 2 minutes is really the best part - the rest of it is very modern and difficult for me to get into. I still hunted down the sheet music so I could play that one part. :) Watch and listen to the Archangelo quartet play the 3rd movement here.

More Spanish Music

2007-11-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

I just found out that YouTube has tons of clips of musicians playing entire pieces (instead of just excerpts that I've been linking to on the previous blog-entries). This was a gold-mine for me and I spent several hours looking up this and that pianist playing pieces I'd wanted to hear them play. My CD wish list just decreased because I have no need to buy a lot of them now!

Anyway, today in 1876 was the birthday of Manuel de Falla, one of Spain's most important composers of the 20th century. One of his most popular pieces is the "Ritual Fire Dance" from his ballet, "El amor brujo" (Love, The Magician). Watch Artur Rubinstein (a pianist to whom de Falla had dedicated other works) play a piano transcription of the piece here and decide for yourself if the name fits the piece's character.

I'm thankful for classical guitar music

2007-11-22T20:36:00.001-08:00

Today in 1901 was the birthday of Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. Apparently he was a pianist, but the only music I've heard of his is written for the guitar. His most famous work is the Concierto de Aranjuez, for solo guitar and orchestra. I've never purchased a recording of it, yet I think I've heard it about 10 or 15 times on the radio alone. My brother also got a copy of the sheet music and we've played through a lot of it (me playing the orchestra part on the piano), but it is so incredibly difficult, we kind of fizzled out before getting too far. Listen to excerpts from movements 1, 2, and 3, taken from here. It's a superb piece of music in many ways. Hummable melodies, striking harmonies, catchy rhythms, impressively difficult guitar passages... and the list goes on. Probably the best classical guitar concerto ever written (although I don't know many).

Apparently Rodrigo was blind since the age of 3. Pretty amazing to be such an accomplished composer and musician in spite of not having vision. Though I suppose being deaf from the age of the 3 would probably be worse. He lived to a ripe old age of 97, leaving this world just 8 years ago.

Happy Birthday to the Father of American Music

2007-11-14T17:32:00.001-08:00

Today is the birthday of two special composers. The first is Johann Nepomuk Hummel, born in 1778. When I was in my teens, I accompanied my brother on piano as he played Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto, a very fine piece which is a regular part of the trumpet repertoire (click here for the source of the excerpt). Now that I look at his wikipedia entry, I feel gypped because I realize he wrote so much piano music I never knew existed. Sigh… as Rachmaninoff said, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.”

The second is Aaron Copland, born in 1900. He grew up in a time when classical composers were alienating themselves from the mainstream concert-going public with their heavy modernist styles that only the “elite” music lovers would go for. In his early life, Copland conformed to the strict modernism of the time, but he eventually became disgusted with the breach between the mainstream public and the elitist crowds. He abandoned his approach and wrote simply so that all people would understand and be able to enjoy the classical music of the day. However, his previous hard work and training wasn't at all wasted - his more accessible music is teeming with very complex rhythms and well-placed dissonances, aspects which he learned and mastered during his early compositional experimentation.

Copland’s music really resonates with me. Some of his most memorable compositions are based on a “rural America” theme:

- Fanfare for the Common Man
- Hoedown from Rodeo
- Appalachian Spring, excerpt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Click here and here for the sources of these excerpts)

The Appalachian Spring suite is one of my favorite pieces of all time and a MUST-listen. It consists of several american folk-themes strung together in a suite about 25 minutes long. Probably the most famous melody, based on the Shaker hymn "The Gift to be Simple", comes near the end, and Copland’s treatment of it and the other themes is breathtakingly beautiful and nostalgic. I'm moved to tears every time I hear certain parts of this suite, and I’m even getting a little misty-eyed as I write this just thinking about it.

To hear Copland’s influence on other composers, listen to the theme from the movie “Apollo 13” (composer James Horner), also very beautifully nostalgic and truly American in its sound (excerpt taken from here).

Algorithm for Choosing a Specialty

2007-11-13T21:07:00.002-08:00

I ran into this wonderful algorithm for choosing a medical specialty. Even though it's meant for entertainment value, it's actually surprisingly accurate.

Let's blog about music for a change

2007-11-12T12:37:00.001-08:00

Being a perpetual student is fun. I used to be a student not just of science and medicine, but also of music, in particular the piano. I took lessons from age 8 until 23, and I still love to play all kinds of music, largely classical. I also love to listen to classical music, having done so since a very young age, thanks to the influence of my parents and older siblings, who taught me how to say “Brahms” and “Tchaikowsky” when I was about 2 years old.

Perhaps it was the comment from Cheryl on my last post, but I feel inspired to start a year-long set of posts on some noteworthy classical composers, each on their birthday.

Today is the birthday of Alexander Borodin in the year 1833. I unfortunately don’t own any music by him, nor have I ever played any piano piece by him. Why should I blog about him, then, you may ask.

Well, it turns out he was both a composer and a chemist. Being both a musician and a biochemist myself, I thought this was really cool. Apparently he would turn to composing only when he was ill and bed-bound, leading a friend to remark that he wished Borodin became ill more often, so that the world would get more of his beautiful music.

Choosing a Medical Specialty

2007-11-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

Now that I’m nearing the end of my MD-PhD (1.55 years to go!), I’m going to have to actually decide what specialty to call my own. It’s rather comical as I think back on the many different areas of medicine I was convinced I’d go into, only to change my mind the following month, etc. Since I’m in the dual-degree program, I’ve had even more time than the typical medical student to ponder what field I’d be happiest in; or if I even want to see patients at all, or just do 100% research after finishing.

I remember in college, I applied to medical schools with the goal of doing Internal Medicine followed by a fellowship in Infectious Disease (a subspecialty of Internal Medicine). I was doing research in a lab studying Virology and I had the opportunity to work on some ideas for vaccines against Hepatitis C. I loved what I did and imagined myself continuing this type of research and seeing patients in this field. However, then came the beginning of graduate school, and my work on DNA damage and repair moved my interests toward Medical Oncology (also a subspecialty of Internal Medicine). Following that, during the first two years of medical school, our classes in Histology, Cell Biology and Pathology grabbed my attention, so for a while I imagined myself doing Pathology as a specialty. But then came our Neuroscience course, which was so well-taught and interesting that I convinced myself I would do Neurology, a notion which was furthered by a physician-mentor of mine who was a Neurologist. Even though all these ideas came quite early in my education, I was very serious about looking into each one. I would research a bunch of different residency programs on the internet, talk to physicians in those fields, etc.

Then came my first exposure to patients. My first clinical rotation was Pediatrics, and I loved it. In order to combine my previous interests, I decided I’d do… Pediatric Neuro-Oncology! Talk about specialized. But I was so convinced I wanted to do this that I even paid out-of-pocket (several hundred bucks!) to go to a medical meeting in the local area devoted to central nervous system germ cell tumors, which is even more specialized (this is a rare sub-class of brain tumors). I contacted several physician-scientists who did Neuro-Oncology to get their perspective, and needless to say, they were surprised to be hearing from a student who still had a few years left before he’d even started a residency, much less a second fellowship (a Pediatric Neuro-Oncology fellowship would be an additional 1 to 3 years after 5 or 6 years of previous residency and fellowship).

Unfortunately, the meeting I went to was way over my head, and I kind of lost interest. In fact, at this point some exciting things were happening with my research in the lab, so I kind of lost interest in doing a residency altogether, and wondered if I should just do research 100% after getting the MD-PhD. This idea persisted until I attended a conference geared toward medical students doing research. The people I met and the talks I attended were so inspiring that I decided I really wanted to keep active in both worlds of clinical medicine and basic science or translational research. I did more clinical rotations interspersed with research in the lab. I really enjoyed psychiatry (I almost considered it, but not enough to look up any residency programs) and was fascinated with aspects of OB-GYN, especially High-risk OB. But then, my wife was pregnant with our first child at the time, so it kind of makes sense why I had a lot of motivation to learn.

The following year I did more research toward my PhD, interspersed with my Internal Medicine and Surgery clinical rotations. I also had an opportunity to do a 2-week elective in Radiation Oncology, which I had become very interested in through a friend. Perhaps it was due to my friend’s enthusiasm, but even before I did the elective, I convinced myself that’s what I wanted to do, and I again looked up a ton of residency programs, etc. However, when I finally did the elective, it just didn’t hold my interest. At least it would be easy to rule out!

When I finally did Internal Medicine, I told myself “Now THIS is why I came to medical school!” I not only enjoyed my in-patient hospital experience at the very busy county hospital, but I even loved the out-patient clinic experience (I never liked clinic much in the other specialties). Around the same time, I went to that same conference for medical students again and met some physician-scientists successfully conducting labs doing translational research in Infectious Disease and seeing patients part time. This reinforced my decision for Internal Medicine and now I was convinced I would do an Infectious Disease fellowship, coming full-circle to what I wanted to do since I was in college. This meant, of course, spending lots more time looking up residency/fellowship sites on the web and pondering which places also had the best research programs in that field, etc.

I wasn’t too interested in Surgery when I started it several months later. By the end, however, I became less sure of Internal Medicine. General Surgery was so interesting and the traumas and operating room experiences so exhilarating, and there was a need for research here as well. Hmm… maybe I could do Surgical Oncology… Well, I haven’t been inspired enough to look up residency programs in Surgery yet, so maybe that’s a sign that I shouldn’t pursue that path any further.

During and after all these experiences, I know my parents don’t believe anything I say now about what specialty I’m going into (my wife still does – bless her soul… or at least she says she does). Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be applying to Internal Medicine residency positions in the latter part of 2008. I don’t have to decide now, but I’m still thinking either Medical Oncology or Infectious Disease as a subspecialty. Feel free to tune in during the next several months to see if I change my mind again…

The Other Side of the Operating Table

2007-10-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here's another article I wrote for a medical conference about a year ago. A medical student's up-close perspective on his daughter's birth. Enjoy...

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It's 11 pm on a weeknight and I'm in scrubbs. I'm taking my last call night for the OB-GYN rotation, and I'm hanging out on the Labor and Delivery floor at the University Medical Center waiting for some action. The patient I've been following had her water break before she got to the hospital. Now she has a fever. The OB on call is worried about chorioamnionitis (infection of the placenta), and the baby has had some heart-rate decelerations during the mother's contractions, so it looks like we're headed for a C-section. Within the hour, I find myself scrubbing in. This is the 5th C-section I've been a part of, so I'm used to the routine. Before I begin to scrub in, the patient is given spinal medication for anesthesia. She has to sit up on the table and bend over, arching her back for 20 to 30 minutes while the anesthesia resident tries to find the right spot to put in the needle. It looks mighty uncomfortable - she's been having contractions the whole time. Time passes and we're finally ready. Just before we begin, her husband comes in and sits next to her behind the surgical curtain on the anesthesiologist's side, so he isn't able to see the surgery. He is very conspicuous, with his white "husband/dad" gown over his clothes, while all the medical staff wear blue.

The first incision is made. I'm right there in the surgical field, along with the senior OB resident and attending physician. Even though this is my 5th time in a C-section in the last few weeks, it's still fascinating. Everything goes pretty quickly. We move through skin, fascia, muscle and fat layers, making use of the cauterizer to stop bleeding as we go. I say "we", but really all I'm doing is holding a retractor occasionally to pull skin and fat down for the doctors as they dig deeper. Finally we're in the peritoneal cavity, and I see them moving aside the colon, I think I see spleen, a little bit of liver, and of course, the big thing in the middle is the uterus. Thin cut on the uterus… sploosh - here comes the rest of the amniotic fluid and there's the baby's head! Out comes the baby, head first, then shoulders, then the rest. Nice loud cry, baby slightly bluish but mostly pink skin, moving around nicely - looks like an Apgar score of 9 (anything over 7 is good). The resident holds up the newborn daughter for mom and dad to see for a few seconds… then the baby is whisked through a window and taken care of by the NICU transition team. Baby's out of sight now. In a routine manner, the uterus is whipped out of the body cavity, sewn up tightly, then put back inside. Soon the attending gives me what I asked for before the surgery - practice suturing on the abdominal muscles, which is relatively easy for a first-timer. This is my very first suturing job, and it's something I have to do to get "signed off" if I want to pass my OB-GYN rotation. Of course, now everything slows down. It's so much harder to suture on a live person than when I practiced with string at home! After several failed attempts to make a surgeon's knot, I just tie a regular one, and then things get faster. During those few seconds when I was fumbling, I had just a few fleeting thoughts about what the husband must be thinking. Even though he couldn't see, I'm sure he could hear the attending physician’s words "you can do it - it's just like tying your shoe" and "there, you got it… oh almost". I didn't dwell on this, though. Finally, the attending leaves me and the resident to staple the skin incision closed. After a few minutes of clean up, the patient is pushed out and down the hall, holding her baby for the first time - a touching moment.

It's 4 months later now. It's 5 am, and once again I'm at the University Medical Center on the Labor and Delivery unit. This time, I'm not in my scrubbs - I'm in shorts and a T-shirt, and my wife has been in labor for 17 hours. For the last 3 hours, she hasn't progressed past 6 cm of cervical dilation. Our OB physician comes in and very compassionately explains to us that she really feels we need to do… that's right - a C-section - because our baby is likely too big to pass through the birth canal. Several nurses and the doctor wheel my wife out of the room and down the hall to the operating room - the very same one I'd been in several times as a medical student just 4 months previous. Now I'm the husband. Now I get to wear the white gown while all the doctors are in blue. This time, I'm not allowed in the operating room until my wife is completely situated and they're ready to do the incision. As I sat beside my wife, who desperately needed to hold my hand and feel my support, I couldn't see what the doctors were doing. I was on the other end of the operating table this time. But I knew what they were doing. With each sound, I knew what stage of the operation they were at. I was very thankful that day that we had a private doctor. No OB residents were part of our medical team. But even better, no medical students were in the room, waiting for their chance to try their first suturing job. Suddenly, I knew we were close to the moment of truth. The doctors had opened the uterus and were getting the baby out. It sounded like they were having a bit of a difficult time at it though… oh, there she is! Wow, she's a big baby! 8 pounds, 11 ounces, even though this was only the 37th week of pregnancy! All covered with vernix and blood, crying loudly - that's my girl! Then she was in the next room, and I held my wife's hand during the closing up of the incision. A few minutes later, and I was in the room with the pediatricians, with my little baby girl. While my wife recovered, I gave my newborn daughter her first bath, and took part in the physical exam and hearing tests. Then we went to be with mom, and we were quite the happy family.

The next 4 days in the hospital were difficult. Taking care of a baby is a big job! Especially when mom is trying to recover from a C-section. And then our baby became jaundiced, and she wouldn't latch on to breastfeed. Two common problems that happen with healthy newborns. These are things that as a medical student I wouldn't have thought a big deal at all. Not so when you're the parent! Each day the pediatrician would come in and report to us the total and direct bilirubin levels (they kept rising) and the percent weight loss (this also kept rising). It was somewhat frustrating and difficult. I kept thinking about differential diagnoses for jaundice and weight loss in infants. Would my daughter eventually eat better and clear the bilirubin, or did she have some pathological hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells is a cause of jaundice), and end up needing to stay in the hospital? Would she develop failure to thrive?

None of these bad things happened, thankfully. Now a little over two weeks later, things have been settling down. Baby is healthy and eating well, with the jaundice receding and her weight increasing. Mom is making a fine recovery and doesn't need as much pain medication anymore. Yes, we're a little bit sleep deprived, but it's not even close to being on call as a third year medical student and getting paged by your resident to do a history and physical on a newborn in the E.R. after 1 hour of sleep. I think the most important thing I learned through all of this is that even minor problems and concerns of patients and their family members are a really big deal. Being a patient or the close family member of one is no fun. However, the experience can be made easier by wonderful, compassionate, supportive doctors, nurses, etc. (of which we thankfully had an abundance). I hope that this experience will make me a better doctor and healer.

A different approach to the dual degree

2007-10-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

I wrote an article in a newsletter for a medical conference over 2 years ago about my unique way of getting an MD-PhD. What follows is a modified version of the original. Some things have turned out slightly different than I envisioned here, but it's still accurate for the most part.

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MD-PhD. Sounded a tad excessive when I first heard about it. Seven to ten+ years of schooling in addition to residency and fellowship/post-doc. After all of that, it seems like it’s almost time to retire! Is it really worth it? This is a big question for many who consider committing to such a program. And how should it be done? Break up the MD in the middle with the PhD (as is traditionally done)? Immediately after finishing the PhD is arguably when you're the most skilled and ready to go onto a good post-doc. Also, starting to see patients after not having studied any medicine for 3 to 6+ years can be a difficult experience, trying to catch up with your colleagues who had only 3 to 6 weeks between their second and third years of medicine. Are there better alternatives? The following is a synopsis of my path toward joining an MD-PhD program, why I think the dual degree is worth pursuing, and why I think the route I'm taking is very beneficial.

When I was a Biology major at my fine undergraduate institution, I worked in a virology lab and really enjoyed research, yet I was intimidated by the prowess of the professors, all giants in their fields. As I compared myself to them, I doubted my ability to contribute to research. Since I was interested in medicine also, medical school seemed like a logical option. Instead, upon graduating I landed a job as a research associate at a near-by cancer research center in a lab doing DNA damage and repair. After working there for one year, I committed to being a graduate student in the same lab as I followed my mentor to a different university. That year of focused research without classes helped me to build confidence that I had something to offer as a researcher. Data I obtained laid the foundation for two later publications in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

During my first two years as a PhD student in biochemistry, in addition to taking graduate classes and continuing my research, I was given the freedom to explore medicine, as this university had a medical school. I took a few medical school classes, helped tutor some struggling medical students in biochemistry, and also shadowed an oncologist who does both clinical and basic-science research. These opportunities were invaluable in opening my eyes to the benefits of getting both degrees. By receiving training in both basic science and medicine, I realized I could more effectively identify the most pertinent medical questions that need to be solved, work on solving them, and thus carry innovative research to the bedside in a more significant way. After these two years, and knowing much better what I was getting myself into, I then applied and joined the MD-PhD program there and took the first two years of medical school. Though research-time was very limited, I also attempted to work on my PhD. I found that my previous three years of research in addition to a finished thesis-proposal helped greatly in being more efficient in lab during this time.

Now having taken USMLE Step 1 (the first of many “Board” exams) about a month ago, there has been another twist in the road toward my dual degrees. Instead of going back to the lab for 1 or 2 years to finish up the PhD, I was given the freedom to start the 3rd year of medicine and split it into two years. Each rotation I do will be followed by a rotation in the lab, e.g. pediatrics, then 3 months research, then internal medicine, then research, etc. for two years. If my research isn't finished by then, the 4th year of medicine could likewise be split into two. The pros? I will be just as fresh for the hospital wards and clinic as the rest of my class, a luxury many MD-PhD's forgo as they do two years of medicine, followed by their entire PhD, and then finally start to see patients. Also, the 3-month-on-3-month-off plan will potentially help with the rut that graduate students can get in when they lose motivation and productivity because of lack of direction. The cons? I'm sure it will be hard to jump back and forth, especially with getting meaningful research accomplished in short blocks of time. But if I'm going to be in both medicine and research as a career, now is the best time to practice and get good at jumping between both worlds.

Through my research and medical interests, I have been very excited about the field of neuro-oncology, particularly in the pediatric population, and have had the opportunity to contact some leaders in the field about my interests. I hope to eventually be seeing patients as part of a multidisciplinary team, developing new therapies for brain tumors and bringing them to clinical trial. Hopefully the abysmal prognoses for some of these tumors will turn into high remission rates or cure rates, as has happened in the last couple of decades with leukemias and lymphomas through the hard work of researchers, clinicians, and physician-scientists.

In summary, freedom to test the waters in each stage has been extremely important for me. Doing research solid for a year gave me the joy of immersing myself in a project without the pressure of classes and it rekindled my passion for research. Taking a few medical-school classes before jumping into the MD-PhD program gave me an idea of what I was getting into. Having had three years of research previous to doing medical school gave me a set of eyes for possibilities that I never would have had straight out of college. I believe my current 3-month-wards-3-month-research plan has great potential, but a final evaluation of that will have to wait. In the mean-time, I'm having the time of my life and couldn't be happier about the direction each new turn in the road has taken me. Even if I'm old and grey by the time I finish all my training, I still think it's worth it.

I guess it's about time...

2007-10-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Everyone else seems to have a blog, so I guess it's my turn to jump on the band-wagon. Don't expect me to post very often though. As "The Perpetual Student", I clearly have a lot better things to do... like study my brains out (whee! sounds like fun). Right now, however, it's a friday night and my brains have decided to take the evening off. So instead of learning more about infections in patients with neutropenic fever, I thought I'd write my first blog entry. More interesting posts (hopefully) to follow...