Tag: Piano

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Prokofiev piano sonata no. 1 in Fm, op. 1

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performed by Yefim Bronfman https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/z2EDk2Zsdik&source=uds It’s funny how life is. I’d planned the writing of this piece at least a month ago as a lead-in to another set of works for piano (the actual lead in was last week’s Satie piece, but this one sets up for what is to come later), and it was for a few reasons that now seem… less important than some others that have since surfaced. This piece is perhaps not as exciting to many as his other, later, more substantial works, but in a lot of (perhaps intentional, contrived ways), may have a lot to say about … Continue reading Prokofiev piano sonata no. 1 in Fm, op. 1

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Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, op. 26

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performed by the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, Yefim Bronfman, piano (while I mention Wang below, and Argerich many times, I do quite enjoy Bronfman’s performance here. It’s a new album for me and I was pleased enough to listen to it instead of the other Argerich recordings and Wang’s with Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra; they’re all great) https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/KDfGBmbNbMw&source=uds The above is of the wonderful Yuja Wang and the Concertgebouw, under their (soon-to-be) new maestro, Daniele Gatti.  https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/NOybfjTRCdo&source=uds The above is of Ms. Martha Argerich herself. The first recording I had of this piece was of her and … Continue reading Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, op. 26

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Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, op. 18

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performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein, Earl Wild, piano This may not be the most popular version of the work, but it’s the one I ‘learned’ this piece from; it’s the one I came to love this piece as a result of, and no other performance compares. It may be a bit brisker than a few other interpretations, but it’s perfect. These people knew what they were doing.  and this is a must-watch   Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Nikolai Lugansky) from Philharmonia Orchestra on Vimeo. So…. This is an important piece. I’d been thinking what to … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, op. 18

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Samuil Feinberg Piano Sonata no. 2, op 2

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performed by Christophe Sirodeau https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/zheDyAzSVM0&source=uds So Samuil Feinberg was an extremely talented pianist, known for his transcriptions of Bach, as well as a complete recording of the Well-tempered Clavier. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Alexander Goldenweiser, a composer I’ve been meaning to get around to exploring. He won the Stalin Prize in 1946, and composed in his career twelve sonatas, as well as fantasies and other works for piano, some including voice, and three piano concertos, which Wikipedia also notes are not standard in the repertoire… I haven’t even heard them yet. I seem to recall not being … Continue reading Samuil Feinberg Piano Sonata no. 2, op 2

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Interview: The piano

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An interview with Ana Mirabela Dina Photo credit to Ms. Dina’s son Leandro This week, we have our third installment in our interview series, and one I am very excited about. The piano is really the crux of my interest in classical music, and while I spend a lot of time listening to Mahler symphonies and Sibelius and whatever else, the piano is where it all started, and coming off an 80-minute symphony, there’s something pure and refreshing about a piano sonata or nocturne.  I did away with the “The Ensemble” prefix this week because the piano is a self-sufficient … Continue reading Interview: The piano

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Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy

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performed by Alfred Brendel Back to Schubert and back to the piano. We did Schubert and Mahler symphonies a while back, and I feel like a more appropriate follow up to those two would have been like, Schubert’s string quartet no. 14, Death and the Maiden, a work which Mahler himself was interested in (and would have related to at certain times in his life, I’m sure) but I am terribly underprepared for anything that logical. Also, we are back to piano for the next few weeks or so (and wonderfully have an interview with a pianist coming up next week!), … Continue reading Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy

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What is music?

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https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/6wDreAmNgHQ&source=uds That sounds like such a vague, stupid question to ask, but I love Krystian Zimerman’s (whose name I always manage to spell wrong) description of how music is more than just sound. Watch, listen and enjoy.  Aside from Zimerman’s incredible talent, and his incredible musicality, he has a really nice voice (not to mention the beautiful Schubert impromptu in the background). I have featured his performance of a Chopin ballade here, and he is truly a musician and artist of the highest order, and therefore, as you will see, incredibly in touch with his craft.  He makes a wonderful … Continue reading What is music?

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Why I love the piano sonata

Fugue for Thought

I tend to vacillate between the simple, straightforward sonata, and the heavy-hitting, drawn out, intense Romantic-era hour-long symphony in my listening habits. For me, it’s either a huge, monumental work like a 90-minute Mahler symphony (or something slightly less overwhelming like Sibelius or Tchaikovsky) or something pared down, simple, straightforward, an exquisite example of form, structure and style like a piano sonata.  Truth be told, I haven’t even gotten much into anything between these two extremes, things like quartets or other instrument sonatas (violin, viola, cello, etc.) that are often accompanied by piano. Part of the reason that the recent … Continue reading Why I love the piano sonata

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Alban Berg: piano sonata in Bm, op. 1

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performed by Glenn Gould https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/QNk_A4ZoI30&source=uds (also, don’t watch this… just listen to it) Welcome to part two of three of our music-I-enjoy-and-appreciate-but-don’t-really-understand-so-can’t-say-anything-terribly-constructive-or-educational-or-useful-about-so-take-this-with-a-grain-of-salt series. The first in this series a few weeks ago was Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, which thankfully had a … Continue reading Alban Berg: piano sonata in Bm, op. 1