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 Claudio Arrau Yesterday we spoke at some length about the early history of Brahms and his classical, traditional bent. His first piano sonata and his first symphony, among other works, show clear influence from Beethoven, and a great … Continue reading Brahms: Scherzo in Eb minor, op. 4
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 Vladimir Ashkenazy, or below by Murray Perahia I feel I must add a few words about the origin of the Papillons, for the thread that is meant to bind them together is scarcely visible. You will remember the … Continue reading Schumann: Papillons, op. 2
performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, or below by Christoph Eschenbach On to Schumann! Schumann was born the same year as Chopin, on June 8, 1810, and as we’ve stated with some of Chopin’s pieces, he made glowing statements about Chopin’s early works in his own early days as a music critic, even inspiring his own future father-in-law to sing the praises of Chopin’s op. 2, embarrassing its composer in the process. While Chopin marked the end of our really hefty address of some of the earliest piano works of really significant composers, I couldn’t help but add a few things to … Continue reading Schumann: Variations on the name Abbeg, 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 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
as performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester under Gunter Wand “Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect.” … Continue reading Brahms Symphony no. 3 in F, op. 90
performed by the Cleveland Symphony under George Szell (I’m writing on Substack now, where I feature pieces on hypothetical concert programs alongside more obscure or underperformed works. This piece was featured in September 2025’s concert program. Go have a look at the … Continue reading Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C, op. 61
(I recently wrote about this piece in what I can only describe as a far more informed, mature way than I did here. Please go have a read of that article.) performed by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in Eb, op. 55, Eroica
For the next few weeks, we’ll be taking the chance to visit a few symphonies that didn’t get inclusion into our rather large German(ic) Symphony series at the end of last year. Obviously not everything could be included in that, and there was a rather specific train of thought I was working on for it, so some really good candidates were excluded. We’ll be adding to that a bit with a slightly smaller (by half) and not so narrative-like series starting this week.I’m excited about this one. The first and last in the series are really some of my absolute … Continue reading Mini German: A four-part series
performed by two separate teams:the clarinet and piano duo here or a truly splendid performance by Capucon and Argerich (cello, not clarinet) Welcome to part two of our three (and a half?) part clarinet series. Today’s piece was originally written for clarinet and piano, but it seems that it is more often performed on cello. That isn’t against the composer’s wish, though, as he’d directed that the clarinet part could be played either on violin or cello as well.Schumann is a composer I’m not terribly familiar with, as evidenced by my poor attention to his symphonies I wrote about a … Continue reading Schumann’s Drei Fantasiestücke, op. 73, for clarinet and piano
This week, as you may have seen from yesterday’s post, is going to be a miniature Beethoven week. Actually, I don’t know what’s miniature about it; Beethoven certainly isn’t, and it’s a full seven-day week like any other. Beethoven week. … Continue reading Uchida on Beethoven, Schubert and Vienna
Once in a while, there’s a thing that you look so forward to that you can’t even concentrate, the day seems to go by slowly, and you cannot wait for this thing you know will be so amazing to arrive. Perhaps it’s a dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a vacation, or some kind of meaningful thing; it’s different for everyone. But then when you get there and it starts happening, it’s more meaningful and powerful and enjoyable and moving than you had thought it could be. Even the highest of expectations were exceeded. Perhaps that sounds corny, but it’s … Continue reading Concert Review: Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra in Taipei
a discussion with the wonderful Mitsuko Uchida This woman is just kind of a musical goddess. Not only do I love everything I’ve heard her play, from Schubert to Schoenberg, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve ever seen on YouTube of … Continue reading On Talent: Is it Enough?
Fugue for Thought 