MusiLLection

The hungarian violonist Jelly d'Aranyi In 1922,  Maurice Ravel was deeply impressed by the hungarian violonist Jelly d'Aranyi, when he heard him play the gypsy music of his homeland. The composer's interest in this style resulted in this workd for violin and piano - and later for orchestra - which he composed in 1924. The work contains many elements of gypsy music. A long and complex solo segment on violin, begins this wonderful and unusual concerto rhapsody. The passionate play of the soloist, immediately takes us to old Hungary. The oriental scales with the strangeness for the western ear style, which so fascinated Ravel, dominate dearly here from the beginning. Other features are the chords of the violin and a multitude of string techniques, which make up this wonderful concerto-style work. A long trill leads to the second half of the play. At first we hear the harp that combines fiery grabs and glisanti with the violin trills. We alos hear the exotic string techniques....

Chopin's first nocturnes, Op.9, dates back to 1831. In England, in an effort to increase their sales, they were given the impressive title "Murmures de la Seine" (Whispers of the Seine). Nocturne in B flat minor, Op.9, No.1 When Chopin composed this nocturne, he was going through an intensely emotional period. At the time, he was breaking up with Konstancja Gladkowska, a goung singer with whom he was in love. We inevitably recognize the echo of his personal feelings in a part of the music, although that does not mean that there is always a connection between a composer's work and his personal life. This composition features all the characteristics of Chopin's nocturne: a soft, melancholic melody with a lacy texture, played with the gentle accompaniment of the open chords of the left hand. Nocturne in E flat Major, Op.9, No.2 This nocturne expresses the mood of the private evening "lounges", where Chopin was feeling relaxed. It has a serenity full of gr...

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was born in 1813 in Le Roncole, a very small village in the northern Italian province of Parma, near Busseto. His parents maintained the village's only shop, but they were poor and uneducated and never learned to write or read. Their son must have shown his musical talent early, because his parents bought him a spinnet (small harpsichord) and at 12 years old he was already an organist in the village church.  The house where Verdi was born,   in the village of  Le Roncole. Fortunately for Verdi , one of his father's suppliers, Antonio Barezzi, was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist. He lived in the neighbouring town of Busetto where he took over the supervision of Giuseppe's music education. The boy lived there as a boarder and learned to play flute, bass clarinet, horn and piano. On Sundays he walked barefoot to Le Roncole to perform the duties of ecclesiastical organist.  At eighteen, Verdi applied to register at the Milan ...