Chopin Piano Trio, op. 8
performed by Oistrakh/Knushevitsky/Oborin, or the Beaux Arts Trio, or anyone else So… for whatever reason, this piece just does not resonate with me. I’ve really tried. I’ve done my homework, I know it’s a common piece in the repertoire. I … Continue reading Chopin Piano Trio, op. 8
Chopin: Mazurkas, Op. 7
performed by Idil Biret, or as below by Vladimir Ashkenazy Hello again, and welcome back to our second installment today, continuing our discussion about Chopin’s early mazurkas. If you didn’t catch the earlier discussions of what a mazurka is, check … Continue reading Chopin: Mazurkas, Op. 7
Chopin: 4 Mazurkas, Op. 6
performed in my favorite rendition by Idil Biret or below by Arthur Rubinstein no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 I shall begin this discussion of the Chopin mazurkas in a way that I also did not expect. YouTube videos are one … Continue reading Chopin: 4 Mazurkas, Op. 6
Chopin Rondo a la Mazur in F, op. 5
performed (again) by Idil Biret, or below by Daniil Trifonov …lovely, enthusiastic and full of grace. He who does not yet know Chopin had best begin the acquaintance with this piece… Robert Schumann, 1836 In listening to these pieces … Continue reading Chopin Rondo a la Mazur in F, op. 5
Chopin Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4
performed by Idil Biret I must admit, I didn’t care much for this piece the first many times I listened to it, but… Perhaps this isn’t necessarily the sonata’s fault. This piece is given the opus number 4, but … Continue reading Chopin Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4
Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3
performed by Martha Argerich and Gautier Capuçon What was one of the happiest times in your life, a time when you really genuinely wished everything would freeze and your life would stagnate in that perfect period in time and never … Continue reading Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3
Chopin: Variations on ‘Là ci darem la mano’ for piano and orchestra, Op. 2
performed by Idil Biret and the Slovak State Philharmonic orchestra under Robert Stankovsky Eusebius came in quietly the other day. You know the ironic smile on his pale face with which he seeks to create suspense. I was sitting at … Continue reading Chopin: Variations on ‘Là ci darem la mano’ for piano and orchestra, Op. 2
Chopin Rondo in Cm, op. 1
performed by Idil Biret from her Chopin box set, or equally excellently below, by Vladimir Ashkenazy Today, we begin with a new composer. Could there be a more logical choice? I suppose there’s Schubert, but he didn’t make it this … Continue reading Chopin Rondo in Cm, op. 1
Beethoven: Fidelio
The firsts. Also, could this have fit any better into the schedule? This was to be my first opera experience, but that title subsequently went, somewhat unexpectedly, to Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole, a piece I had the pleasure to attend last … Continue reading Beethoven: Fidelio
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
performed by Maurizio Pollini with the Vienna Philharmonic under Eugen Jochum So here we are at Beethoven’s second piano concerto. The analysis of his works up to this point has been at once incredibly enlightening, enjoyable, fulfilling, and exhausting. There’s … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
Beethoven piano sonata no. 3 in C, op. 2, no. 3
performed and discussed below by András Schiff, or in this live performance by Claudio Arrau in 1977 I started to feel with the articles on the piano trios that, as I stated there, we are (very obviously) entering a whole … Continue reading Beethoven piano sonata no. 3 in C, op. 2, no. 3
Beethoven piano sonata no. 2, op. 2, no. 2
performed and introduced by András Schiff (or without explanation by Murray Perahia [with links to the other movements within]) As Schiff states, this sonata could hardly be more different from the one that precedes it. The overwhelming tone of the … Continue reading Beethoven piano sonata no. 2, op. 2, no. 2
Beethoven Piano sonata no. 1 in Fm, op. 2, no. 1
performed by András Schiff (or here by Daniel Barenboim, without the talking) I had been listening to the box set of sonatas from The Complete Beethoven Edition, played by the great Wilhelm Kempff. The above presentation, with performances of the … Continue reading Beethoven Piano sonata no. 1 in Fm, op. 2, no. 1
Beethoven Piano Trio no. 3 in Cm, op. 1 no. 3
performed by Szeryng/Fournier/Kempff or below by Vegh/Casals/Horszowski Our third and final Beethoven trio for now is the opus 1 no. 3 trio, the most daring of them all. Haydn approved of the first two trios, but suggested with whatever degree … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 3 in Cm, op. 1 no. 3
Beethoven Piano Trio no. 2 in G, op. 1, no 2.
performed again by Szeryng/Fournier/Kempff, or as below Again, same opus number, same year, same performance dates as yesterday. What’s new is a quiet, serene, classical personality, the “quiet middle child” as expressed in this fantastic article that was an excellent … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 2 in G, op. 1, no 2.
Beethoven Piano Trio no. 1 in Eb, op. 1. no.1
performed by Henryk Szeryng, violin; Pierre Fournier, cello; Wilhelm Kempff, piano; or below by the Istomin/Stern/Rose trio That’s a lot of ones. I have a confession to make. This is the first piano trio I’ve ever listened to in full, … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 1 in Eb, op. 1. no.1
Beethoven: Variations on a March by E.C.Dressler in Cm, WoO 63
performed by Mikhail Pletnev … there’s too much music to talk about to separate this stuff into posts. As we did in our treatment of Mozart for the past week (more), we’re going to get through a few early pieces … Continue reading Beethoven: Variations on a March by E.C.Dressler in Cm, WoO 63
Mozart Piano sonata no. 3 in Bb, K281
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second movement third movement or also this very interesting performance of the first movement by Robert Levin on an actual fortepiano, similar to what Mozart would have played on This third of Mozart’s piano sonatas is … Continue reading Mozart Piano sonata no. 3 in Bb, K281
Mozart Piano sonata no. 2 in F, KV280
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second movement third movement As with many of the pieces we have discussed in rapid succession, this piece was written soon after yesterday’s sonata. Do remember the statement we made about the clump of the first four piano concertos: with such little space between them, and from such a young composer, I wouldn’t expect to see any large degree of development or advancement from one piece to another. What I do feel like I see, as mentioned with the juvenile orchestrations, is greater confidence. The young Mozart is, perhaps, getting his sea legs, as it were. … Continue reading Mozart Piano sonata no. 2 in F, KV280
Mozart Piano sonata no. 1 in C, K279
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second movement third movement No more concertos for now. Move ahead another year, and our dear composer is now 18 years old. He’d have graduated high school by this time if that’d been a thing, and he finally got around to writing his first full piano sonata. I’m interested as to why it isn’t until now that his first completed piano sonata is composed. That being said, he’d written tons of smaller things in his youth, but his first completed three-movement work for solo piano comes some time after his first opera or concerto or … Continue reading Mozart Piano sonata no. 1 in C, K279
Mozart Piano Concerto no. 5 in D, K175
performed by the English Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate, Mitsuko Uchida, piano Finally something original. So it’s been 24 hours since our last Mozart concerto, and a few years since our little composer put his pen to paper for another concerto. This one, however, is original. I’ll make mention that I’m not including the three unnumbered concerti orchestrated from sonatas of J.S. Bach, mostly because they’re not numbered and because I didn’t know they existed (because they aren’t included in any of the box sets I’ve been browsing), mostly the latter. I might get around to them eventually, but then … Continue reading Mozart Piano Concerto no. 5 in D, K175
Fugue for Thought 