Early piano works from some of the most famous composers for the instrument: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, (Clara and Robert) Schumann, and Brahms.
performed by Claudio Arrau and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink … and here we are, at the end of a very long string of piano works taking us from the heart of the Classical era almost a hundred … Continue reading Brahms Piano Concerto no. 1 in Dm, op. 15
performed by Krystian Zimerman Welcome back after our first three days of no posts since July 6 (or something). And who naturally follows the dear Mr. and Mrs. Schumann but their little protege of a composer, one Johannes Brahms? He’s … Continue reading Brahms piano sonata no. 1, op. 1
performed by Mitsuko Uchida and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, or below by Argerich/Chailly/Gewandhaus The idea of inspiration is an interesting one. This is the first husband-and-wife couple we’ve featured on the blog, as I mentioned yesterday with … Continue reading Schumann Piano Concerto in Am, op. 54
“A woman must not wish to compose… there never was one able to do it.” Well, the woman who said that certainly could. A minor piano concertos. What comes to mind? Most likely Schumann and Grieg. After all, there’s some … Continue reading Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto in Am, op. 7
Performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra I didn’t really feel bad for writing somewhat coldly or dispassionately about the piano sonata; after all, I seemed more positive about it than many of the other writers and critics … Continue reading Chopin Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 21
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
Fugue for Thought 