tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14937493670625567192023-11-16T07:49:13.617-08:00MusiLLectionA collection of biographies, works, articles, notes and educational material about musicIterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-37007929322657475652023-10-06T12:19:00.002-07:002023-10-06T12:21:09.795-07:00Johann Straus II - Vergnügungszug (Pleasure Train), op. 281<p><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/johann-strauss-ii-1825-1899_6.html">Johann Strauss II</a>, known for his waltzes and lively compositions, had a unique approach to his creative process. He consistently sought contemporary and relevant themes to serve as the driving force behind his new musical compositions. This approach ensured that his work remained fresh and connected with the audiences of his time. </p><p>One notable instance of this creative approach was the composition of this polka, composed in 1864. This piece of music was specifically crafted for a summer concert held in the picturesque Russian town of Pavlovsk. It's fascinating to note that Strauss drew inspiration for this composition from the world around him. In this case, he found it in the emerging technology of the time, namely, the steam locomotive.</p><p>The composition itself is a testament to Strauss's ability to capture the essence and energy of the subject matter. The rhythm of this dance piece mirrors the rhythmic chugging and movements of the old-fashioned steam trains that were prevalent in that era. The way he translated the motion and sounds of these locomotives into musical notation is a testament to his skill and creativity as a composer.</p><p>One of the standout features of this composition is the masterful utilization of various instruments. Strauss expertly incorporated brass, woodwinds, and percussion to create a symphonic representation of the steam train. For instance, the horns in the composition can be seen as a musical representation of the train's whistle, while the triangle provides a sharp, bell-like sound akin to that of a locomotive's warning bell.</p><p>What's truly remarkable is that even within the confines of what might be considered a lighthearted and joyful composition, there is a wealth of intricate musical elements. The rhythm section, which includes percussion instruments, creates a captivating rattling effect reminiscent of the train's wheels on the tracks. Meanwhile, the harmony continually shifts between major and minor chords, capturing the ebb and flow of the train's swaying movement.</p><p>In summary, Johann Strauss II's ability to find inspiration in everyday life and translate it into captivating compositions is on full display in this particular dance piece written for the Pavlovsk concert. His attention to detail and mastery of orchestration allowed him to encapsulate the spirit of the steam train in a way that resonates with listeners even today.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O1A9FiuI_BY" width="320" youtube-src-id="O1A9FiuI_BY"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-7968303642813152922023-10-02T14:00:00.000-07:002023-10-03T07:52:15.090-07:00Franz Liszt - Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhRqRFAdTDPM15-V2Vl0_RD69FYFd12Ye6SIU9UvRp1SiGo-OJ0HGmLkXRfFCd6PKvKpfW80HX9dz6sYKtbPCTeWM2cyanU1nf6Z68gZYbqYZ1KaHQI9MUB6HIyOeNWrcrv-LxbKVN8o/s628/franz-liszt-biography-introduction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="628" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhRqRFAdTDPM15-V2Vl0_RD69FYFd12Ye6SIU9UvRp1SiGo-OJ0HGmLkXRfFCd6PKvKpfW80HX9dz6sYKtbPCTeWM2cyanU1nf6Z68gZYbqYZ1KaHQI9MUB6HIyOeNWrcrv-LxbKVN8o/w400-h375/franz-liszt-biography-introduction.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The recording techniques were unfortunately not invented when <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/liszt-franz-or-ferenc-1811-1886.html">Franz Liszt</a> conquered Europe with his fascinating pianistic performances. Thus his juggling interpretations enjoyed only the ephemeral and we are limited to the written testimonies, which describe him as a pianist with unconventional virtuosic gifts. His recitals amounted to a performance that provoked furious excitement and exaggerated manifestations of worship.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">His emphasis on virtuosity and the long-term focus of his creative disposition on the pianistic compositions of "demonstration" but also on the transcriptions - for piano of course - of works by other composers, prevented his immediate acceptance as an inspired composer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, no careful observer of evolution and researcher of his contribution can question the incisions he caused in the musical expression of his time. His symphonic poems herald new forms of the art of sounds, his instrumentals paving the way for the musical commandments of <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/wagner-wilhelm-richard-1813-1883.html">Wagner</a>, Mahler, Richard Strauss, in the bold harmonys of his mature pianistic works eavesdropping on Debussy's impressionism.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Liszt loved music with passion, just as he loved women. The first was the means to conquer the latter, which could hardly resist its charm. But he was not seduced by all his successes. He remained until the end of his life benevolent and generous, willing to benefit with his knowledge and skills the music, but also his fellow human beings.</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-36617119613101194282023-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:002023-07-02T10:54:08.130-07:00 Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMSuc3-uzP4IakI0QcJ5OnlQttPVHXmfOoNPpsFRKxD2MB0YN_V05oEgZWst3LmWnFX_KNZnI7HhUIlX0rYp-n-YTfNcBTNnitPW4hzNvtz8WGxsGYgnL211wQpVoZyUkpZODDXFyJOE/s600/verdi-messa-da-requiem.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Μεγαλοπρεπής αίθουσα συναυλιών με πολυάριθμα θεωρεία" border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMSuc3-uzP4IakI0QcJ5OnlQttPVHXmfOoNPpsFRKxD2MB0YN_V05oEgZWst3LmWnFX_KNZnI7HhUIlX0rYp-n-YTfNcBTNnitPW4hzNvtz8WGxsGYgnL211wQpVoZyUkpZODDXFyJOE/w400-h223/verdi-messa-da-requiem.jpg" title="Messa da Requiem" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although Requiem was a religious work, it was presented more in concert halls than in churches.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/verdi-giuseppe-fortunino-francesco-1813.html">Giuseppe Verdi</a> wrote the famous Requiem in honour of his close friend, Alessandro Manzoni, the great Italian poet, writer, and humanist, who died in 1873. It is a powerful fusion of intense drama and passion, with moments of reverent simplicity. Verdi conducted the first performance at St. Mark's Church in Milan on May 22, 1874, the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Revolutionary composition</h4><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Verdi's Requiem has been revolutionary in two respects: First, because while the traditional requiem is a prayer of the living for the dead, Verdi's work was a function as much for the living as for the dead. As Verdi would expect, it's a dramatic, theatrical play.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Written for four solo voices (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass) with full choir and orchestra, it follows the typical Roman Catholic Latin mass for the dead. The "libretto" certainly comes from the dramatic and moving text of the Bible.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The serene, reverent principle predisposes little to what comes next. The anthem of the 13th century <i><b>Dies irae</b></i>, presents in otherworldly detail a vision of the "Day of Wrath" and the "Last Crisis" and shapes most of the traditional requiem function. With tremendous dramatic power, Verdi organizes his music with drums, brass and rushing strings. It's music loud and passionate, which evokes an eerie and revealing feeling.</div><p style="text-align: left;">In contrast, in the middle section, <b><i>Domine Jesu Christe, Sanctus, Agnus Dei</i></b> and <b><i>Lux aeterna</i></b> are not so dramatic, but rather serve to present the functional text with simplicity and beauty. Lux aeterna, for example, is imbued with a deeply gloomy mood that is implyed to the wonderful Gregorian chant.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then, with a virtuoso climax, the listener is once again pushed into emotional terror with <b><i>Libera me</i></b>. Here, the lonely, angelic voice of the soprano, accompanied by drowned and hasty violins, utters a prayer for liberation from the torments of hell. Once again, the dramatic <i>Dies irae</i> is repeated and the service ends with a beautiful fugue, in which the soprano returns to re-whisper her call for liberation.</p></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nlq9lJRElBk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nlq9lJRElBk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-55455042153854613672023-05-12T14:00:00.001-07:002023-05-13T10:13:16.214-07:00Johann Strauss II - Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz), Op. 437<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KhRbBrAUrTloptQQ5u2k9noo0-QitcCriFKgJ4frBIiU1ivV2iQ_ma4juetv2GcK9HEDnv1QvRr2Uafxc1jJuC3ANNgU67Z-a6EDz9uqJyFsoltsirRlReKz2Zjc3Dz3gMQafxY2PdI/s628/johann-strauss-ii-emperor-valse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="628" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KhRbBrAUrTloptQQ5u2k9noo0-QitcCriFKgJ4frBIiU1ivV2iQ_ma4juetv2GcK9HEDnv1QvRr2Uafxc1jJuC3ANNgU67Z-a6EDz9uqJyFsoltsirRlReKz2Zjc3Dz3gMQafxY2PdI/w400-h224/johann-strauss-ii-emperor-valse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strauss often played in the glittering Imperial balls, conducting the orchestra and playing the first violin at the same time.</td></tr></tbody></table> <div>The majestic launch of this fascinating waltz presents the backdrop of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the hegemony of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in 1888. <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/johann-strauss-ii-1825-1899_6.html">Johann Strauss II</a> was Music Director of the Dance Hesperides of the Imperial Court from 1863 to 1872 and composed on occasion for the celebration of an imperial anniversary.</div><div><p style="text-align: left;">The ingenuity of the melody of the Emperor Waltz, which was originally orchestrated for a full orchestra, is such that it was easily adapted for the four or five instruments of a chamber ensemble by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in 1925.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This waltz is a tender and somewhat melancholic work, which at times turns its gaze nostalgically to the old Vienna. The waltz praises the majesty and dignity of the old monarch, who was fully devoted to his people.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It begins with a majestic, magnificent march, which soon regains strength to reach a forte of the entire orchestra. This is suddenly interrupted and allows the resonant trombones to slow down the music in a pianissimo before a lyrical part of the violin begins.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then, after insinuating the theme, the orchestra moves gently and expressively to the waltz itself. Melancholic and polite at first, it turns into enthusiastic and joyful as new melodies and themes are introduced.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The waltz presents, among other things, an imposing imperial procession, a Viennese folk dance and moments of tranquility. In the coda returns the basic melody of the waltz and the themes are altered and repeated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, a serene hymnistic tribute to the Emperor in the deep-horned foreshadows an unforgettable repetition of the woodwind waltz before a final fort of the trumpet.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EBLaMmxyibE" width="320" youtube-src-id="EBLaMmxyibE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-14008740028055044322022-10-26T14:00:00.001-07:002022-10-27T12:07:10.924-07:00Maurice Ravel -The Swiss Watchmaker <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7s_yvgJOZbQCTP_tyyUbnnfRgYi8sQwmgwWkmJYFCa1Rb9qKc6BfLRq8tRlWipcXMIrIg14tU0GSopMPTlNc82aYbSGe7-5Ud8EtVHB78JN47zD8F9Gd2-t1qwWE98qyybN5hH2E7p1k/s489/maurice-ravel-biography.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="374" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7s_yvgJOZbQCTP_tyyUbnnfRgYi8sQwmgwWkmJYFCa1Rb9qKc6BfLRq8tRlWipcXMIrIg14tU0GSopMPTlNc82aYbSGe7-5Ud8EtVHB78JN47zD8F9Gd2-t1qwWE98qyybN5hH2E7p1k/w306-h400/maurice-ravel-biography.jpg" title="Μωρίς Ραβέλ" width="306" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/ravel-joseph-maurice-1875-1937.html">Maurice Ravel</a> was born on March 7, 1875, in the small fishing village of Ciboure in the Basque region, near the Franco-Spanish border. </div><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">His father, Pierre-Joseph, was a Frenchman of Swiss descent. Pierre-Joseph, a distinguished engineer, met and fell in love with his future wife, a young and beautiful Basque, Marie Delouart, at the time she worked on the Spanish railways. </p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">A few months after Maurice's birth, the family moved from Ciboure to Paris.</p><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSCGv_NDdvJUf8vq7GSxOozHZIIeb69r052jHVkDzykT0ULo2scEuU6i3MXf4b-aqpka0Kxev_pF5_I-KuRNfVLxsVjIGHKuTNVp-qvWaGt4tGURGaqHKw5doYs8PyhUgudcCUL8FGfE/s336/maurice-ravel-parents.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSCGv_NDdvJUf8vq7GSxOozHZIIeb69r052jHVkDzykT0ULo2scEuU6i3MXf4b-aqpka0Kxev_pF5_I-KuRNfVLxsVjIGHKuTNVp-qvWaGt4tGURGaqHKw5doYs8PyhUgudcCUL8FGfE/s320/maurice-ravel-parents.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The parents of Maurice Ravel, <br />Pierre-Joseph Ravel and Marie Delouart.</td></tr></tbody></table>Maurice had a happy childhood. The parents encouraged their two children - Edouard was born in 1878 - to follow their vocation. Maurice's inclination was music. He started music lessons at the age of seven. </div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">Unlike the parents of other composers, Pierre-Joseph viewed positively the prospect of a musical career and sent Maurice to the France's most important musical college, the Conservatoire de Paris in 1889.</div><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">In the same year, the Paris Exhibition brought together artists, scientists and engineers from fifty countries.</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">Fourteen-year-old Maurice was hypnotized by the golden age of man's achievements and experienced a multitude of cultural traditions, a fact that decisively influenced his future work.</p><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><h3><span style="font-size: 18.72px;">Deep friendships</span></h3><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPElIRc1XDKPsDkL1eHY7q4JATKSCdAKpS-zJp877VzU2e1F-5dHObNxLqL8Or0_PY5ZFrTJkzpyiIVTAcI9LshbtuX-IyG8hqm0P7pgxeeVEUSBuRdx7hycmaXoP_ojsSSXlQGA53vw/s927/maurice-ravel-twelve-years-old.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPElIRc1XDKPsDkL1eHY7q4JATKSCdAKpS-zJp877VzU2e1F-5dHObNxLqL8Or0_PY5ZFrTJkzpyiIVTAcI9LshbtuX-IyG8hqm0P7pgxeeVEUSBuRdx7hycmaXoP_ojsSSXlQGA53vw/s320/maurice-ravel-twelve-years-old.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maurice Ravel 12 years old.</td></tr></tbody></table>There Maurice had a friend, a boy from Spain, Ricardo Viñez, who later became a great pianist and was one of the first performers of Ravel's works. The two boys spent many pleasant hours playing duets, while their mothers chatted in Spanish.</div><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">In 1893, eighteen-year-old Maurice was under the influence of composer Eric Satie, who was nine years older than him. They were very different but they did well and even often played the piano in the same places. </p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">Satie's sloppy, bohemian figure was in stark contrast to the elegant Ravel.</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">Just 1.53m. tall, with a head that looked huge to his shoulders, Ravel was trying to make up for his disadvantaged appearance with the elegance of his outfit and his beard, which he mowed on according to the latest fashion. In companionships he was well-disposed but distant - even his best friends rarely understood what he was thinking.</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3>The "Ravel Scandal" (L'affaire Ravel)</h3><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">Ravel's experiments with modern forms were not liked by the conservatives of the Conservatory. Like most inspired composers, Ravel claimed the famous Grand Prize of Rome (Prix de Rome). He made five attempts to win France's most prestigious prize for young composers, past winners of which included <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/berlioz-hector-1803-1869.html">Berlioz</a>, Gounod, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/bizet-georges-1838-1875.html">Bizet</a>, Massenet and <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/claude-achille-debussy-1862-1918.html">Debussy</a>.</div><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">The fourth time, in 1905, Ravel was an already acclaimed composer, and his rejection created a huge scandal that unleashed a wave of disapproval for the directors of the Conservatory. It became a national scandal, leading to the early retirement of its director Theodor Dubois and his replacement by Fauré, a professor until then at the Conservatory and an ardent supporter of Ravel. Fauré was appointed by the government to carry out a radical reorganisation of the Conservatoire.</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">This case marked profound changes in French music. Like Debussy, Ravel had groundbreaking ideas, although he was fascinated by the past and often composed in an old style.Clinging to the happiness of his childhood, he developed a passion for mechanical toys and watches, which he used in his two operas, <i>L' Heure espagnole</i> (The Spanish 'Time) and <i>L' Enfant et les sortileges</i> (The Child and the Spells).</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></p></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><h3><span style="font-size: 18.72px;">Spanish love</span></h3><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Ravel's love for Spain brought to the surface the true greatness of his music. His inability to express strong feelings in his daily life, he jokingly attributed it to his Basque origins.</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnXv_phlEFtWQzSTL9fM59bx3Y_Ucc8bQ-_Xby-YCVY8MChYpq02P91kc2vas2vhFuiXHUGAw43IOuauGV3U4ytsoJYDe44Xo05fzQZ7ouVPgUBjfpnm2TvVX6mVNXEMNGhqNGahDlzE/s624/maurice-ravel-ballet-daphnis-et-chloe.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnXv_phlEFtWQzSTL9fM59bx3Y_Ucc8bQ-_Xby-YCVY8MChYpq02P91kc2vas2vhFuiXHUGAw43IOuauGV3U4ytsoJYDe44Xo05fzQZ7ouVPgUBjfpnm2TvVX6mVNXEMNGhqNGahDlzE/s320/maurice-ravel-ballet-daphnis-et-chloe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scene from the ballet <i style="text-align: left;">Daphnis et Chloé</i>.</td></tr></tbody></table>At the beginning of the 20th century, Ravel exerted a great influence on the artistic circles of France. He had already published many works when he met the impresario of the Russian Ballets Sergei Diaghilev, who had come to Paris for a series of performances. <p></p></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Diaghilev ordered Ravel the ballet <i>Daphnis et Chloé</i>, which was first presented in 1912.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><p style="text-align: left;">Ravel found no reason to disturb his family happiness and still lived in his family home with Edouard. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Even when his father died in 1908, he continued to stay with his mother. His intense activity did not leave him time for love affairs and it seems that he never created a serious relationship.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><h3><span style="font-size: 18.72px;">The Desolation of Death</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Idyllic life changed abruptly in 1914, with the outbreak of the Great War. Ravel was enlisted but was acquitted because he was two pounds lighter than the acceptable limit. In 1915 he enlisted as a driver and served on the battlefields of Verdun. The experience of war shook his self-sufficiency though less than the death of his mother in 1917.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4_NFFLop48OrqT9HXgrlzketb7jSQReB1bbonX0XZl5qh7gxIVOxhLKpDwBxsdkeMsfW_heYNVpsFbhfBw-q_VlNLNsFquYdJT4168a5zHOLnXR8D9RgTiwqT93wSzLEH1hAUyOgzm4/s624/maurice-ravel-piano.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="624" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4_NFFLop48OrqT9HXgrlzketb7jSQReB1bbonX0XZl5qh7gxIVOxhLKpDwBxsdkeMsfW_heYNVpsFbhfBw-q_VlNLNsFquYdJT4168a5zHOLnXR8D9RgTiwqT93wSzLEH1hAUyOgzm4/w400-h274/maurice-ravel-piano.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The music room at Ravel's house in Montfort-l'Amaury,<br /> where he organized the legendary Sunday meals<br /> with his friends.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: left;">Because Ravel believed in inspiration and not hard work, his creativity was weakened in times of crisis. For three years after his mother's death, he did not write a single note. The memories that cost his family home, made his stay unbearable and he moved to the Montfort-l'Amaury area, 50 km west of Paris. The Sunday meals there, which brought together artists and musicians, remained in history.</p>In 1922 Ravel began a concert tour of London. The audience was very moved, but the Music Critic of the Times treated him lukewarmly.<br /> <em></em></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">He continued to give concerts throughout Europe and in 1928, he embarked on a four-month tour of Canada and the United States, where he was welcomed as the greatest French composer of his time.</div><p style="text-align: left;">The famous dancer Ida Rubinstein asked him to orchestrate a ballet in Spanish style, but he preferred to compose an original work. This was <i><a href="https://www.musillection.com/2021/03/maurice-ravel-bolero.html">Boléro</a></i>, which was presented in 1928 and became his most famous and popular work.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><h3>A tragic accident</h3><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">In October 1932 Ravel suffered a blow to the head in a taxi accident on the streets of Paris that interrupted his creative career. He often complained of headaches but ignored them. The accident worsened the symptoms.</div><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">Ravel was unable to coordinate his movements or write and spoke with difficulty. It was impossible for him to compose. His friends often accompanied him to concertos to forget his disability. Ravel's mind was intact, which is why his inability to express the music he had inside him was unbearable.</p><p style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; text-align: left;">For five long years he suffered, until the moment when Clovis Vincent, a well-known Paris neurosurgeon, advised surgical treatment, for the possibility of a brain tumor. The surgery was performed on December 17, 1937, but no tumors were found. While he was starting to take over, he fell into a coma and a few days later, on December 28, he died in hospital at the age of 62. He was remembered for his exciting and fiery music.</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-69706394833786663432022-07-16T14:00:00.001-07:002022-07-17T09:15:06.079-07:00Carl Maria von Weber - Euryanthe: Overture<p><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/weber-carl-maria-friedrich-ernst-von.html">Carl Maria von Weber</a> composed the opera <i><b>Euryanthe</b></i> during the period 1822-23 and first presented it in Vienna on October 25, 1823. The work was based on a French medieval history of 13th century. The year Euryanthe was presented was marked by Vienna's interest in Italian operas, particularly those of <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/gioachino-antonio-rossini-1792-1868.html">Rossini</a>. Although the initail reception was enthusiastic, the opera lasted only twenty performances, with complaints about the libretto and the length of the opera. For the failure of the play, the somewhat wordy libretto of the poet and writer Helmina von Chézy was blamed. <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/franz-peter-schubert-1797-1828.html">Franz Schubert</a> also commented that "This is not music".</p><p>Nevertheless, the introduction is an excellent example of orchestral writing and remains one of the best.</p><p>The Overture begins with an extremely lively and cheerful phrase. Oboe and clarinet, supported by horn and trombones, then present a theme of three emphatic notes, followed by a shorter ascending group of notes (with a stressed rhythm). Soon the violins return vigorously, presenting a new melody, with a much more tender and lyrical mood.</p><p>The central part of the introduction includes two new episodes. First, a slow, quiet interlude performed by strings with "sourdina", which is associated with a demonic episode of the opera.</p><p>Then follows a more impetuous version of a theme than the previous ones, which Weber now attributes as a fugue. This leads to a repetition of the introduction and to a final rendition of this lovable lyrical melody, performed by the full orchestra. This exquisite music has not been successful in opera houses, but fortunately this excerpt of the work is often performed in concert halls all over the world.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5fms_rSB99c" width="320" youtube-src-id="5fms_rSB99c"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-79807613503039262232022-06-01T14:00:00.000-07:002022-06-02T07:32:48.549-07:00Handel - Water Music, Suite I in F major (HWV 348)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhac2lIjuxc1KcKjsclGe5pAVY1_YuNQKLxJ2hyEPSUaRxF-WjF6UT3-2BeFtB88PKZNANnpb3Ee8gXNQJ05F9euIiK5gwW23xSoI8MLnV4PcU78vTS0NYNllBKIlfux8V7hRs5a7sQIx4/s687/handel-manuscript-water-music.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhac2lIjuxc1KcKjsclGe5pAVY1_YuNQKLxJ2hyEPSUaRxF-WjF6UT3-2BeFtB88PKZNANnpb3Ee8gXNQJ05F9euIiK5gwW23xSoI8MLnV4PcU78vTS0NYNllBKIlfux8V7hRs5a7sQIx4/s320/handel-manuscript-water-music.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A page from the score of Handel's Water Music written in 1717. This work is the most popular and most beloved of all his numerous compositions.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Handel's Water Music, one of the composer's most popular and beloved works, was first presented on the evening of Wednesday, July 17, 1717. An orchestra of fifty musicians sailed next to King George I and several aristocrats, as the royal yacht led a huge fleet of boats on a tour of the Thames toward Chelsea.<div><br /></div><div>As the royal procession passed majestically between Lambeth in the east and Chelsea in the west to return, the King was so fascinated by Handel's music that he ordered the orchestra to replay the play three times. The exhausted musicians got permission to stop at two o'clock in the morning!<div><br /><h3>Suite I in F major (HWV 348)</h3><div>1. Overture (Largo – Allegro) </div><div>2. Adagio e staccato </div><div>3. Allegro – Andante – Allegro da capo </div><div>4. Passepied </div><div>5. Air </div><div>6. Minuet </div><div>7. Bourrée </div><div>8. Hornpipe </div><div>9. Andante </div><div>10. Allegro </div><div>11. Hornpipe</div><div><br /></div><div>Handel's proud use of the French horn in this suite suggests the magnificence of the royal procession on the Thames in July 1717. Imagine King George I and his retinue on the royal yacht, with the musicians sailing next to their own boats, as the music begins with an imposing introduction,<i> Ouverture (Largo & Allegro)</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The serene mood lasts a while and the violins break out in a new vivid melody, soon followed by the entire orchestra. An <i>Adagio e staccato</i> follows antithetically, where a solo oboe plays its highly decorated melody on the substrate of a slow chord of strings and harpsichord.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Allegro</i> gives the first taste of outdoor music and French horns appear. Capturing the mood of the occasion to perfection, the horns transform a traditional nautical dance into a joyful celebration, while the entire orchestra participates in the celebration. Handel's use of the French horn was innovative, but also ideally suited to the grandeur of this floating fanfare. <i>Andante</i>, where two oboe are projected with intensity, holds an intermediate part of the part. Then the inaugural <i>Allegro</i> is repeated.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Passepied - A tempo di menuetto</i> includes music for solo horn, while the mood settles into a more imposing mood. The strings echo the trumpets of the horns, then continue while the horns recede.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Air</i>, one of the composer's most famous melodies, continues the polite mood and with the sneering of the horns creates a serene atmosphere. Oboe share the melody and the first violins with the harpsichord support with their own melodic phrases, creating a combination of instruments typical for the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two horns start <i>Minuet</i>, while the opening measures of the solo remind us of the older use of the instrument by hunters. And just as the galloping hunter's trumpet is lost away, so the horn is lost from the suite.</div><div><br /></div><div>The mood is attuned to the lively <i>Bourrée</i>, a French dance, played three times: strings, oboe and bassoon and finally by the entire orchestra.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hornpipe</i> (nautical dance) is also performed three times.</div><div><br /></div><div>An <i>Andante </i>trio of woodwinds, two oboe and bassoon and</div><div><br /></div><div>The <i>Allegro moderato</i> begins - later the strings are combined with the soloists. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hornpipe</i> and after a short pause, the suite ends with two imposing meters.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jJyTfttQvdA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jJyTfttQvdA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-47386290250513668952022-05-10T00:00:00.000-07:002022-05-10T09:24:30.082-07:00Tschaikovsky - 1812 Overture, op. 49<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWdnImkFmtZXe7Oj38XdfN0d2mkhsO_CX27ehOG3Pw2wfXJUXcThkF5CgikCowBC6np6v5RL5HbYfk5r-rn5eKs5CC31LLvypV5N8U4ZKAFvab60_kccsxeax3iVpD9zpjNnb-Oo7tIM/s600/tchaikovsky-overture-1812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="600" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWdnImkFmtZXe7Oj38XdfN0d2mkhsO_CX27ehOG3Pw2wfXJUXcThkF5CgikCowBC6np6v5RL5HbYfk5r-rn5eKs5CC31LLvypV5N8U4ZKAFvab60_kccsxeax3iVpD9zpjNnb-Oo7tIM/w400-h318/tchaikovsky-overture-1812.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tchaikovsky's <i>Overture 1812</i> expresses Russia's nationalist spirit for the Russians' magnificent victory over Napoleon.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div>In 1880, when he was writing the charming Serenade for Strings, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-1840-1893.html">Tchaikovsky</a> undertook to compose a "ceremonial introduction" for an exhibition of industrial art in Moscow. As a theme of his introduction he chose Napoleon's Russia Campaign, which ended with the great victory of the Russian Army. At first the composer intended the introduction to be for outdoor performance and felt that it should be "very loud and noisy". Since then the introduction has become his most famous and most popular concert work.<br /><br />The <i>"1812 Overture"</i> is in fact an introduction to a concerto, in other words is a stand-alone work of orchestral music and not an introduction to opera or a more extensive work. The play describes the invasion of Russia by Napoleon's troops in 1812 and their retreat and defeat in the winter of the same year. Despite the composer's doubts about the music, it is certainly a very successful anniversary project.<br /><br />It begins gently and ritually with the strings that play the melody of an old Russian anthem. Soon the music becomes rhythmic, as Napoleon's troops are promoted to Russia. Tchaikovsky depicts the warring troops using escerpts from the French national anthem (La Marseillaise) and various Russian traditional melodies.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Spirit of Mother Russia</b></h3>But another theme that violins play high, invokes the insetheless spirit of Mother Russia. The sound of the cannon and the cymbal squash, recalls the battle of Borodino, near Moscow (the French arrived in Moscow, but were soon forced to retreat due to devastation they suffered from the terrible Russian winter).<br /><br />The introduction celebrates the final Russian victory with musical cannons and a joyous bell, while the brass instruments triumplantly announce the theme of the Russian national anthem.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1KzF1KgaREo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1KzF1KgaREo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-85813516662482559512022-05-06T14:00:00.000-07:002022-05-06T15:19:23.843-07:00Claude Debussy - The Two Arabesques (Deux arabesques), L. 66<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfJqSPGsBOP8Ahl6J3ui-kNPXVEDDdkLFRg4BWY19j0VWV7d2BtyePvzu4gR5eQO_SGTBj6A1CmUm2wG1fF-KNBwYLTVG3_mlgdrou0NzQOXTuKB-7jCdrXv_BQ1UXA0t0Kxhl1zn3fs/s532/caricature-claude-debussy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfJqSPGsBOP8Ahl6J3ui-kNPXVEDDdkLFRg4BWY19j0VWV7d2BtyePvzu4gR5eQO_SGTBj6A1CmUm2wG1fF-KNBwYLTVG3_mlgdrou0NzQOXTuKB-7jCdrXv_BQ1UXA0t0Kxhl1zn3fs/s320/caricature-claude-debussy.jpg" /></a></div><p>These two works for solo piano were written between 1888 and 1891, when Claude Debussy lived in the colourful Parisian suburb of Montmartre. The exuberant existence of young artists, writers and musicians produced an intense atmosphere, which Debussy glorified by reproducing its unmistakable feeling in his music.</p><p>These two pianist works, in E Major and G Major, Debussy was inspired by the decorative style of Islamic art. These are early compositions and as in the case of "Clair de Lune" they are not typical of the composer's mature style. At the same time they are perfect metaphors in the music of the spiral decorations of Islamic art.</p><h3><b>I. Arabesque No. 1 in E Major - Andantino con moto</b></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XMVmQAW0CM8" width="320" youtube-src-id="XMVmQAW0CM8"></iframe></div><h3>II. Arabesque No. 2 in G Major - Allegretto scherzando</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KAFZ-yLjca4" width="320" youtube-src-id="KAFZ-yLjca4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-34136044241403733552022-04-27T14:00:00.000-07:002022-04-28T12:07:24.868-07:00Georg Philipp Telemann - Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQgqGeX-oX2WPxkINYMuaLCwEr5CDqP_3tdbNCq5YUPdF6mUVHZfZMsGVVMMu4tfl3Ptnm34pcjOZdrlbH7x4Fq-2cKAVRHI0W6X2eJk5WanxQvdxLyU0DllkhYBM1wlBaF3YQzc4KPV_/s628/georg-telemann-portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="628" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQgqGeX-oX2WPxkINYMuaLCwEr5CDqP_3tdbNCq5YUPdF6mUVHZfZMsGVVMMu4tfl3Ptnm34pcjOZdrlbH7x4Fq-2cKAVRHI0W6X2eJk5WanxQvdxLyU0DllkhYBM1wlBaF3YQzc4KPV_/w400-h330/georg-telemann-portrait.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />In his time the German composer <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/telemann-georg-philipp-1681-1767.html">Georg Philipp Telemann</a> was more popular even than his co-local and contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach. In fact, he was offered the position of Kantor in the church of St. Thomas of Leipzig and only his refusal - he bid Hamburg to keep him close - resulted in Bach's recruitment.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Baroque music discovered in Telemann a genuine, inspiring, unbound and accomplished composer. His ability to co-talk creatively with any kind of musical expression was truly enviable. Cosmic and religious, instrumental and vocal music had no secrets for him. Testimony undeniable are his works, the ones that were saved. They provoke immediate admiration both with the variety of their style and with their quantity.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">He composed a thousand and seven hundred or so Cantatas, numerous operas - forty only for the Hamburg Opera - and a host of others extremely prolific and pioneered in the effort to detox the composers from the royal courtyards and the patrons.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Telemann's music was strongly challenged as devoid of substance and content. But music isn't meant for the few. And there's no doubt Telemann's music was written for everyone. Charming, spontaneous, gentle, light, often graceful, with a wide range of colour and rhythmic moods, it miraculously match the characteristics of the French and Italian style that his century. Besides, it was one of the important harbingers of classicism.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-54795111868224207582022-04-04T14:00:00.003-07:002022-04-05T02:22:28.927-07:00Maurice Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major<p>The <i>Piano Concerto in G major</i> was composed between 1929 and 1931. Ravel was ill at the time and did not perform at the premiere himself, although he conducted the orchestra. <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/ravel-joseph-maurice-1875-1937.html">Ravel</a> claimed that the work was composed in the manner of <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/mozart-wolfgang-amadeus-1756-1791.html">Mozart</a> and <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/charles-camille-saint-saens-1835-1921.html">Saint-Saëns</a>, although influences from Stravinsky and <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/gershwin-george-1898-1937.html">Gershwin</a>, as well as from the Spanish folk music of the composer's hometown, the Basque region, can be seen. The concerto was Ravel's penultimate composition.</p><h2><u>Μovements</u>:</h2><div><h3><i>Ι. Allergamente</i></h3><div>This concerto has no orchestral introduction. At the beginning of the first part marked <i>Allegramente</i>, the piano appears immediately, although the original theme in a folk style, is introduced by the piccolo. The melody is repeated by the trumpet. In the theme of the piano that follows, the influence of jazz, which exists throughout the work, is felt for the first time.</div><p style="text-align: left;">The piano then introduces a third theme, which adopts the saxophone and the trumpet. The lively part of the development continues the strong, rhythmic feeling of the first part and a part in the form of a canteenza for a solo harp moves mainly in the harmonics. Later, a solo piano cadenza completes the part with a deliberately dissonant descending scale.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1wDHMFziDTw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1wDHMFziDTw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3><i>ΙΙ. Adagio assai</i></h3></div><div>The slow and lyrical second part, <i>Adagio assai</i>, begins with a theme surprisingly beautiful and simple. A trill completes the extensive piano solo. The music that follows is dominated by woodwinds with the flute in front. The piano, when it does not play a solo role, accompanies.</div><p style="text-align: left;">Towards the end, the English horn appears as a solo instrument, while the piano weaves and decorates. During an extended piano trill, the strings with sourdina reflect the original theme for the last time and complete the part.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yUnYA0DxRz4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yUnYA0DxRz4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3><i>ΙΙΙ. Presto</i></h3></div><div>The third part, <i>Presto</i>, begins with a fanfare for tambourine and trumpet. The strange, screeching first theme is presented by the clarinet, while the piano provides the joyful accompaniment. The atmosphere is generally light and happy, with a cheerfulness reminiscent of the music of the circus and reflecting the influence of jazz.Then the music is restless, while the piano passages are combined with the strings and the bassoon. </div><p style="text-align: left;">Later the music is lowered and a quick return of the piano follows. An extensive scale where all the instruments are combined, leads to strong, dissonant chords that complete the work.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fa6ZDl5YL_o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fa6ZDl5YL_o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-5267954959577414342022-03-31T14:00:00.003-07:002022-04-05T02:20:20.069-07:00Giueseppe Verdi - Aida <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Q0KIA-lZ-6qahZLotMs2RyT0OjI8LnZWxDjLQWmC96gn5dqKRswndS4RJXQgR5EdTiMh9XY4wa1WIhQZqGd3YRdhJUrYCTSGxg7DLjUwfK2uBC2hgeb8v_H7aJ1xhWO8DHlo8KBk7POF/s600/verdi-operas-aida.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Colorful scenery like an Egyptian palace." border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="600" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Q0KIA-lZ-6qahZLotMs2RyT0OjI8LnZWxDjLQWmC96gn5dqKRswndS4RJXQgR5EdTiMh9XY4wa1WIhQZqGd3YRdhJUrYCTSGxg7DLjUwfK2uBC2hgeb8v_H7aJ1xhWO8DHlo8KBk7POF/w400-h309/verdi-operas-aida.jpg" title="Aida" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set design by Philippe Chaperon for Act 4, Scene 2 of Aida by Verdi</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/verdi-giuseppe-fortunino-francesco-1813.html">Giuseppe Verdi</a> to compose an opera for performance to celebrate the opening of the Khedivial Opera House, but the premiere was delayed because of the Siege of Paris, during the Franco-Prussian War. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Aida</i> eventually premiered in Cairo in 24 December 1871, conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. It was an immediate success and has remained Verdi's most popular opera ever since. Aida is an opera in four acts and the libretto was writter by Antonio Ghislanzoni.</p><i><b>- Celeste Aida</b></i><br /><i><b>- Gloria all' Egitto</b></i><br /><i><b>- Triumphal March</b></i><br /><i><b>- Vieni, o guerriero vindice</b></i><br /><i><b>- O terra, addio</b></i><br /><br />"Aida" is a story of love, war and betrayal and focuses on the love between a captive Ethiopian princess Aida by the Egyptians and Radamès, the Egyptian captain of the Guard who defeats the invading troops of her father. Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the King of Egypt. To complicate the story further, the King's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.<div><br />In <b>Act One</b>, Radamès sings his fiery love for Aida, in aria <i>Celeste Aida</i> (Divine Aida), one of Verdi's most beautiful love songs.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XP1vp_G9mLc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XP1vp_G9mLc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />The majestic spectacle for which this opera is famous culminates in <b>Act Two</b>, Stage II, when the King of Egypt and his ministers, the priests, the army and the people, celebrate the triumphant victory. </div><p style="text-align: left;">The wonderful choral <i>Gloria all' Egitto</i> (Glory to Egypt), which begins with a melody in the form of a march, impressed so much the Hevid of Egypt that he wanted to use it as the National Anthem of his country. At the moment the song has slowly slowed down, three "Egyptian" trumpets introduce the most famous music of this opera, the <i>Triumphal March</i>, one of the most impressive and shocking marches ever written. </p><p style="text-align: left;">A lively ballet follows and the choral <i>Gloria all' Egitto</i> returns with the same melody but with other lyrics, <i>Vieni, the guerriero vindice</i> (Come, victorious warrior), who welcome Radamès and proclaim him the savior of Egypt.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JXMdei-UTfw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JXMdei-UTfw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />The opera ends with the exquisite and heartbreaking duet <i>O terra, addio</i> (Goodbye Earth). Radamès and Aida accept their death and sing this charming melody, at first separately and then together. The chanting of the priest and the sorrow-broken voice of Amneris (The Princess of Egypt who fell in love with Radamès) are joined by the dying hymn of the two lovers.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_r9-FBavcgA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_r9-FBavcgA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-78114743702167168322022-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:002022-03-25T08:36:55.866-07:00Johannes Brahms - Forbidden love<div style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVpoD8e-nrXBkASchWHZqwgz_EZg-2xacVRJ-SOzdNhRliN6ePKuUGPNeItBu_-p0JuXisnGXzdayUnqvV4LUxvpi13VVVMLZvGeIw1fuaVs1ONRWEm3K6nMYevZymG3OoO39aqxLF2fy/s1600/Love-Story.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVpoD8e-nrXBkASchWHZqwgz_EZg-2xacVRJ-SOzdNhRliN6ePKuUGPNeItBu_-p0JuXisnGXzdayUnqvV4LUxvpi13VVVMLZvGeIw1fuaVs1ONRWEm3K6nMYevZymG3OoO39aqxLF2fy/s400/Love-Story.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />In the summer of 1853, twenty-year-old <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/brahms-johannes-1833-1897.html">Johannes Brahms</a> was desperate. He had just had a fight with his best friend, the Hungarian violonist Eduard Remènyi, who had mediated for a meeting with the great pianist <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/liszt-franz-or-ferenc-1811-1886.html">Liszt</a>, whom he hoped to impress. But Brahms failed to praise Liszt's latest work, thereby undermining any hope of progress from that direction.<br /><br />Faced with failure, Brahms wrote to violonist Joseph Joachim, who had supported him along the way, asking for his help. Joachim recommended him to visit Dusseldorf in order to meet the distinguished composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara. On September 30th, thronging with excitement, Brahms sat down to play in front of the woman who was destined to steal his heart forever.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>A brilliant young pianist</strong></h3><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucqRxewkGRR_wTdKYzbZD_DKSRyrlmcLGhRVQ-lC99u7e5efIdLdtYwRRooLthHU_kH1k61GnUecqLgemaWiOcvOxr5GXdcjUyR-ftgjkBYb_4L5rfvuAUXp3N0OR7itX9Ez2x1xJs_D8/s1600/unnamed1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="370" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucqRxewkGRR_wTdKYzbZD_DKSRyrlmcLGhRVQ-lC99u7e5efIdLdtYwRRooLthHU_kH1k61GnUecqLgemaWiOcvOxr5GXdcjUyR-ftgjkBYb_4L5rfvuAUXp3N0OR7itX9Ez2x1xJs_D8/s320/unnamed1.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sketch of 20-year-old Brahms.<br />It was done on Robert Schumann's<br />behalf.</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/schumann-robert-1810-1856.html">Robert Schumann</a>, middle-aged and afflicted by various nervous disorders, distinguished Brahm's face as the billiant young pianist he once had. He was heaped praise on him and wrote praise for him in his newspaper, the <i>New Journal for Music</i>. Although he learned not to reveal his feelings, Brahms responded warmly to these expressions of excitement, thus sealing a close friendship with the Schumann family.<br /><br />His devotion was so great that six months later, in February 1854, when Robert attempted suicide by falling into the Rhine waters, Brahms abandoned everything and rushed to Clara's side. He found a woman on the verge of collapse. She may have made ends meet with the household, her seven children and her flourishing career, but not with a mentally ill husband, who would soom be locked up in a mental hospital and forbidden to visit him.<br /><br />Though inexperienced in managing a house, Brahms filled the void Schumann had left, as if he were born for that role. He kept detailed accounts of the proceeds from Schumann's published projects and investments, as well as all expenses - from rent, servant's wages and tuition, to the steepest expenses for buying stamps.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Family routine</b></h3>He rented a room nearby and adapted to a family routine that was meant to last two years. Clara had blind confidence in him. When she returned to the concertow, after the birth of her eighth child, Brahms willingly took on the role of educator. He helped care for younger children while overseeing the progress of the older children at school.<br /><br />Meanwhile, his own career as a concert pianist had been halted, much to the concern of his parents. They admired him for being there for his friends, but they were anxious for his career. Brahms had no such qualms. He was not fascinated by the idea of earning a living playing the piano and preferred to try his luck as a composer. As his cramped apartment could not fit a piano - which he couldn't get with his meager allowance - he took advantage of the amazing Schumann instrument.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBQQNJF9gG2ghfFZPNM5yZzeUp7HD9k9AzJYsPKauunNa4qFWgKa25wd721l_CRHtAtkDu8dinU6GlI2Gv0pPjHDwDLqDixKMZ5ejS6Tjr-jVmZ_dSN45VXl2Ulvkr7EgRQIoyLAatqpV/s1600/440px-A_Kneisel_nach_C_Brand_-_Clara_Schumann_geb._Wieck_%2528Lithographie_1838%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBQQNJF9gG2ghfFZPNM5yZzeUp7HD9k9AzJYsPKauunNa4qFWgKa25wd721l_CRHtAtkDu8dinU6GlI2Gv0pPjHDwDLqDixKMZ5ejS6Tjr-jVmZ_dSN45VXl2Ulvkr7EgRQIoyLAatqpV/s320/440px-A_Kneisel_nach_C_Brand_-_Clara_Schumann_geb._Wieck_%2528Lithographie_1838%2529.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clara Schumann, whom Brahms fell<br />desperately in love.</td></tr></tbody></table><h3><strong>Strong, romantic love</strong></h3>In 1856, after two excruciating years, Schumann died in the asylum, without having found his sanity again. At the time, Brahms's deep devotion to Clara had turned into a great, romantic love. However, he didn't dare talk to her about his feelings. His extremely restrained nature, combined with the tragic circumstances that had brought them together, forbade such a confession.<br /><br />After Robert's death, Brahms took almost a year to find the courage and confess his love to her.<br /><br />Clara always knew that the talented young composer loved her, and it didn't discourage him when she needed him so much. Although fourteen years older than him, she was also interested in him and, now that Robert was gone, she was increasingly seeking his friendship and support. At the same time, however, he knew that they had become the subject of gossip and was always trying to keep up appearances.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Spent passion</b></h3>So it seems rather doubtful whether this relationship ever crossed the line of platonic love. Two years after Schumann's death, Brahms had fallen in love again and his passion for Clara faded. A deep, mutual love took the place of this passion and the two of them remained close friends for forty years.<br /><br />Clara returned to the concert circuit, captivating Europe for the next 35 years, while Brahms became Germany's gratest living composer. They met whenever they could. Sometimes he'd accept some invitations to towns near where Clara liver, just to see her.<br /><br />In 1862, having gone to attend the Rhine Music Festival in Cologne, he visited her in Bad Munster am Stein-Ebernburg, while in 1887 he interrupted his summer vacation in Hofstetten to visit her in Frankfurt, where she was giving a concert.<br /><br />They kept correspondence and sent scores to each other for comment. Brahms was interested in Clara's opinion of his compositions, but he rarely changed anything unless he fully agreed with her. However, Clara first performed ten of his works, in Leipzig in 1854, with the <i>Sonata in F minor</i>.<br /><br />Clara also comforted him when his First Piano Concerto was staged five years later. He often checked Brahms's compositions for any mistakes. In their rare encounters, such as when he had attended the unveiling of a monument in hor of Schumann in Bonn, in 1880, Clara was fighting him for "sloppy playing" because he did not study regularly. She wrote him endless letters about her family woes, especially when three of her children died, and Brahms spent countless pages of paper reminding her of his eternal support. And, as if she wanted to pay him back for the days when he took care of her home, she took over to put his finances in order when the profits from the versions of his works began to arrive.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Clara's death</b></h3></div><div style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Suddenly, in 1890, Brahms inexplicably destroyed many of his personal documents, including Clara's first responses to his fiery love confessions. The magnitude of their passion and the nature of their relationship remained so unclear. The secred died with Clara on May 20, 1896.<br /><br />Brahms was shocked to hear the news the next day. Although he had realized that Clara's end was nearing, after she had suffered two strokes, the fait accompli of the event severd him mentally. He missed his train and did not make it to her funeral, but he was present in Bonn when she was vuried by her husband's side.<br /><br />Several of Brahms's friends said Clara's loss also physically shattered him. He managed to compose in her memory his best vocal works, <i>The Four Serious Songs</i>, before succumbing to liver cancer less than a year later, on April 3, 1897, a month before his 64th brithday.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-75244142506750664262022-03-15T15:00:00.004-07:002022-03-28T08:23:09.008-07:00Gioachino Rossini - Famous works<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5PX7zdvjo28VK5WhKnrVOvGZ62oE33vIZU4V9pyvg8EpRbd88wguG0iaXTjDqnqz7_580L3ISNBxp7ZZnAnolOPkz9z0rPhuUpuW_2hQ0cxr0oVdxbiksNaJWzx4xQkI-prkygx8CSU/s634/rossini-famous-works.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="634" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5PX7zdvjo28VK5WhKnrVOvGZ62oE33vIZU4V9pyvg8EpRbd88wguG0iaXTjDqnqz7_580L3ISNBxp7ZZnAnolOPkz9z0rPhuUpuW_2hQ0cxr0oVdxbiksNaJWzx4xQkI-prkygx8CSU/w400-h216/rossini-famous-works.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set for <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/gioachino-antonio-rossini-1792-1868.html">Rossini</a>'s opera <i>La Donna del Lago</i> (The Lady of the Lake), written in 1819.</td></tr></tbody></table><h3><br />Operas:</h3><div><ul><li>Tancredi</li><li><a href="https://www.musillection.com/2022/02/gioachino-rossini-litaliana-in-algeri.html">L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers)</a></li><li>Il turco in Italia</li><li>Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra</li><li>Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione (The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution)</li><li>Otello, ossia Il Moro di Venezia</li><li>La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie)</li><li>Armida</li><li>La donna del lago (The Lady of the Lake)</li><li><a href="https://www.musillection.com/2021/07/gioachino-rossini-semiramide.html">Semiramide</a></li><li>Le siège de Corinthe (The Siege of Corinth)</li><li>Mosè in Egitto (Moses in Egypt)</li><li>Le comte Ory</li><li>Guillaume Tell</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><h3>Sacred music:</h3><div><ul><li>Messa di Gloria</li><li>Stabat mater</li><li>Petite messe solennelle</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><h3>Instrumental music: </h3><div><ul><li>Duetto per Violoncello e Contrabasso</li><li>Variazzioni di clarinetto</li><li>Trois marches militaires</li><li>Concerto per fagotto ed orchestra</li><li>Fantaisie</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><h3>Vocal music:</h3><div><ul><li>Les soirées musicales</li><li>Francesca da Rimini</li></ul></div><div><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-23227661829304826782022-03-10T14:00:00.001-08:002022-03-11T07:26:16.230-08:00Camille Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 (The Organ Symphony) <div>The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in England to commemorate its seventy-third anniversary. It was presented in London on May 19, 1886 at St James's Hall, conducted by the composer. It is the last composition of <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/charles-camille-saint-saens-1835-1921.html">Camille Saint-Saëns</a> for this instrument and the most popular. The composer dedicated the work to the memory of his friend <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/liszt-franz-or-ferenc-1811-1886.html">Franz Liszt</a>, whom he admired immensely.</div><br />The Symphony is also popularly known as the Organ Symphony, even though it is not a true symphony for organ, but simply an orchestral symphony where two sections out of four use the pipe organ. The composer inscribed it as: Symphonie No. 3 "avec orgue" (with organ).<div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><u>Movements</u>:</h2><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><b>I. Adagio - Allegro moderato</b></i></h3><div>The serious beginning of <i>Adagio - Allegro moderato</i> is slow and hesitant - but the mood is brightened as more vivid material offered by the violins and drums, means the actual start of the symphony, where wide melodies of the wind instruments emerge and sink. After the opening section is repeated and enlarged, the music becomes quieter, preparing the serene, contrastingly slow part.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3h4bJx3QZM8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3h4bJx3QZM8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><b>II. Poco adagio</b></i></h3></div><div>With the launch of the <i>Poco adagio</i>, the organ is heard for the first time, but it initially has an accompanying role. With the exception of double bass, the strings play the expressive original melody, producing a rich, pulsating sound. Later, an elaborate variation of this theme is played by the violins. Finally, the original melody is heard for the last time with the instrument and the accompaniment of the strings' pizzicato.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K9nrPQ2xs4Y/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9nrPQ2xs4Y?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><b>III. Allegro moderato - Presto</b></i></h3></div><div>The restless mood of the opening part returns to the inventive <i>Allegro moderato - Presto</i>. In the presto section, turbulent string designs release the wordy plays of wind instruments. This is where the piano first appears - its upward scales contribute to a sense of haste and excitement. In Presto's iteration, a distinctly new theme emerges from brass bass and deep strings - and a sense of competition between two orchestral elements prevails. But the calm gradually returns towards the end.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RgzRmpCmD4E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RgzRmpCmD4E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><b>IV. Maestoso</b></i></h3></div><div>A magnificent full chord in the organ announces the mighty <i>Maestoso</i>. The theme played on the piano and strings, is repeated on the instrument accompanied by the orchestra. The mood is joyful and triumphant. Towards the end of it, the pace accelerates causing excitement. The short final section with the processed shapes of the scales, leads the section to a glorifying conclusion.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M68gT9XQMEw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M68gT9XQMEw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-64125336081296139812022-03-04T14:00:00.002-08:002022-03-05T09:18:07.587-08:00Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ceLwdGHG4lS_tWWbZljRAqkeZwbJS0i8LCAEgaYiy0L1ls82QMoR9Qiq5dION2Gx8tLSLYjKS8zvTycdurz6oLuFJyLtob6jMTKGUsRaZ3ACDjf4iMjYRu8K9pEzlj2CRL3MJHt-O8E1/s618/rimsky-korsakov-biography-introduction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ceLwdGHG4lS_tWWbZljRAqkeZwbJS0i8LCAEgaYiy0L1ls82QMoR9Qiq5dION2Gx8tLSLYjKS8zvTycdurz6oLuFJyLtob6jMTKGUsRaZ3ACDjf4iMjYRu8K9pEzlj2CRL3MJHt-O8E1/w389-h400/rimsky-korsakov-biography-introduction.jpg" title="Rimsky-Korsakov" width="389" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">He renounced the glory, confidence and adventure guaranteed by the career of the naval officer, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/rimsky-korsakov-nikolai-andreyevich.html">Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov</a>, and was thrown into the adventure of music without hesitation. As an amateur and self-taught musician, the aristocrat started from Tikhvin to settle down as a conscientious professional. He enjoyed every honor that any of his peers would dream of, becoming the most popular, after <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-1840-1893.html">Tchaikovsky</a>, composer of 19th century Russia.</div><p style="text-align: left;">A member of the famous group of "Five", Rimsky-Korsakov, after his first transcendence and the change of his professional course, had to fight with the academicism and lack of self-confidence that were alive nourished by the sense of non-existent musical education. When he overcame any inhibitions - his love for music helped him a lot - and gained the confidence of musical discourse, he was easily able to exploit his innate gifts.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A master of orchestration and an imaginative creator, he produced a rich musical work in which all the requested components of the place and the era were included.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Although he was a worthy and devoted servant of the Russian National Music School, he did not imprison his imagination in the narrow confines of the fatherland, but he complemented the color scale of the sonic traces with melodic sighs of the East (<a href="https://www.musillection.com/2021/03/rimsky-korsakov-scheherazade-opus35.html">"Scheherazade"</a>) and with rhythmic rituals of the West ("Spanish Capricio").</p><p style="text-align: left;">However, he assimilated with exemplary delicacy every imported or domestic folk sound, so that every phrase of his music screams first the personality of the composer and then its national origin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(George V. Monemvasitis)</p><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-73288119456750961942022-02-28T14:00:00.000-08:002022-03-01T10:23:18.319-08:00Johann Strauss II - Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214 in A major<p><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/johann-strauss-ii-1825-1899_6.html">Johann Strauss II</a> composed "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka" in 1858 after a successful tour of Russia where he performed in the summer concert season at Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg. It was first performed in a concert in Vienna on 24 November 1858.</p><p>The German word "trarch" means gossip, while the word "tritsch" has no meaning. The title is a sample of Johann Strauss II's habit of creating puns. In this case he wanted to imitate sonically the English expression "chit-chat" (drizzle, gossip).</p><p>The music is lively and Strauss hypothesized that many dancers could wait while chatting until a waltz is played. The composer wrote in his diary that at the time he was conducting a series of concerts in London, the audience asked for this polka 38 times! </p><p>It is a lively, rhythmic work, in A major, which uses brilliant brass and percussion instruments and is widely decorated with trills and a multitude of musical ornaments. Interpretively it is a demanding work, but its unique cheerfulness makes it enjoyable to both play it and listen to it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GXczOS5K3Rg" width="320" youtube-src-id="GXczOS5K3Rg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-8405966728304013982022-02-24T14:00:00.002-08:002022-02-25T13:26:27.124-08:00Gioachino Rossini - L'italiana in Algeri <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIu1YsgXH2gtl-ApAtQjim-YIOvUK-100ryjWP0OcOY9M-2Ylo-HKUYdxa6VzeA5Y2AAJech6NHnasKaccSvOV3QwET_s5U2r4BrZQf0XehWpb8gOUF8_VUtFYWVr1WSIUQwwwz6L7BUw/s842/rossini-opera-italiana-in-algeri.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIu1YsgXH2gtl-ApAtQjim-YIOvUK-100ryjWP0OcOY9M-2Ylo-HKUYdxa6VzeA5Y2AAJech6NHnasKaccSvOV3QwET_s5U2r4BrZQf0XehWpb8gOUF8_VUtFYWVr1WSIUQwwwz6L7BUw/w301-h400/rossini-opera-italiana-in-algeri.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costume designed for the Italian woman in Algiers. </td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/gioachino-antonio-rossini-1792-1868.html">Gioachino Rossini</a> was only 20 years old when he composed this work, which proved to be his first major success in the "opera buffa" and gave him international recognition. It took less than a month to complete the score and the premiere of the play was given at the San Benedetto Theatre in Venice on May 22, 1813. After this success, young Rossini began a career that would make him the most popular opera composer in Italy. Surprised by the favorable acceptance of his opera, Rossini commented: "I believed that when the Venetians would listen to my opera, they would consider me crazy. But they proved they're crazier than me." Indeed, the French writer Stendhal considered it "an organized and absolute madness".</p><p>The opera was written within a few weeks in order to fill an unpredictable gap in the San Benedetto program. Rossini had just emerged with the recent opera "Tancredi", which was a huge success.</p><p>In 1808 another opera entitled "L' Italiana in Algeri" was performed in Milan in a libretto by Angelo Anelli and music by Luigi Mosca. To buy time, Rossini adapted Anelli's libretto and composed his own two-act "opera buffa".</p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3>With the old Algiers in the background</h3><p>Rossini's eleventh opera is set in Algiers during the Ottoman occupation. The tyrannical Mustafà, the Bey of Algiers, decides to marry his wife Elvira to his Italian slave Lindoro and find a new wife for himself. Isabella, a young Italian girl, is shipwrecked on the shores of Algiers in search of her beloved, who is none other than Lindoro. Mustafa falls in love with Isabella, who lures him into an illusory wedding ceremony, during which he escapes with her beloved Lindoro.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgRysLQvWGRVc2i76YP4iPapGkFR_5fSYZyqCfMAtuwFuIDk_Am-nNgZHpc0WwOxKQJFs7ZoqFIrUQP6FHxSz17HeWxIWiRKbbOdMKVNLppgH1tBzdMHxf1BRyecHl8VmTb_nfGxLYsc/s810/rossini-italiana-in-algeri-announcement.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgRysLQvWGRVc2i76YP4iPapGkFR_5fSYZyqCfMAtuwFuIDk_Am-nNgZHpc0WwOxKQJFs7ZoqFIrUQP6FHxSz17HeWxIWiRKbbOdMKVNLppgH1tBzdMHxf1BRyecHl8VmTb_nfGxLYsc/s320/rossini-italiana-in-algeri-announcement.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The poster of <br />"The Italian woman <br />in Algiers"<br /> in San Benedetto Theatre <br />in Venice in 1813.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Amidst a seemingly light, glittering music that serves the comic plot, Rossini encapsulates a range of intertwined techniques, contrasting moods and dramatic moments. Lindoro, for example, mourns with a touching aria, the lost love of Isabella.</p><p>In contrast, The First Act develops in a sonic tornado, as the confusion of the faces is expressed by a different percussion instrument "tin tin" (a bell), "tak tak" (a hammer). Rossini exalts these sounds in a solid construction.</p><p>An unforgettable melody played by the oboe and accompanied by the pizzikato of strings, is the main feature of the beginning of this introduction. After a brief climax, the melody returns, this time to the oboe and clarinet to finally lead to a more lively section.</p><p>A hilarious theme of woodwinds is highlighted by loud chords played by the entire orchestra. A bridge follows with intense harmonic chords of the strings and then the music gradually calms down, while a solo bass introduces the second theme. A shocking climax and a short solo violin complete this section.</p><p>Rossini uses the music of The Second Act to develop the characters as they move towards the climax of the illusory ceremony. The finale of the opera reveals the composer's love for the pure rhythm of the voices and instruments, while the characters of the work join the orchestra to conclude that a woman in love can fool anyone.</p><p>The original themes come back and the first melody develops more. The second melody is introduced by the flute and the bassoon and then the music ends in a noisy way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tT_WjT3rNQc" width="320" youtube-src-id="tT_WjT3rNQc"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-20886694324217803012022-02-21T14:00:00.000-08:002022-02-22T10:37:42.111-08:00Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 4, "Italian", in A Major, Op. 90<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqvV8ma53lLZw6dEANNwz9Ditdw0VlwH9LSATAFQ5q1Lb1XPgCuKbbX2SyyI-JGetxga_DJVd1SbKqCXVSEqPUV77BzQCtyuNsbfpG2YnrFXT6xeSLzPTtcZ5pJGTACRBOUXoS_VepYo/s600/mendelssohn-italian-symphony.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="600" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqvV8ma53lLZw6dEANNwz9Ditdw0VlwH9LSATAFQ5q1Lb1XPgCuKbbX2SyyI-JGetxga_DJVd1SbKqCXVSEqPUV77BzQCtyuNsbfpG2YnrFXT6xeSLzPTtcZ5pJGTACRBOUXoS_VepYo/w400-h217/mendelssohn-italian-symphony.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Bay of Naples" by William James Muller<br />When Mendelssohn visited Naples, he was shocked by the great poverty he saw, but he liked the Neapolitan saltarello dance, on which he based the main theme of his "Italian" Symphony in A Major.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><br /></div><div>At the urging of his good friend, the German poet Goethe, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/mendelson-jacob-ludwig-felix-bartholdy.html">Mendelssohn</a> made a long journey to Italy in 1830-31. He arrived in October and was berested by the noise and vitality of the country. He visited Venice and then Rome, where he was impressed by a procession of cardinals and a choir at the church of St. Peter's.The echo of that chorus can be heard in the second part of the symphony.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mendelssohn was shocked by the poverty she saw in Naples, but fascinated by its folk dances. The impetuous saltarello at the end of the symphony is directly influenced by these local folk dances.</div><div><br /><div><h2><b><u>Movements</u>:</b></h2><h3><i>Ι. Allegro vivace</i></h3><div>The first part, <i>Allegro vivace</i>, begins with a cheerful and energetic outburst that soon subsides. After a transitional part the second theme is introduced. It is a wonderful illuminating piece that in turn prepares the return of the first theme with variations. Then it is repeated with subtle variations. The part ends with a wonderful crescendo and a final bow.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k_4Byb4DGtA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k_4Byb4DGtA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><i><b><br /></b></i><h3><i>ΙΙ. Andante con moto</i></h3><div>The second part, <i>Andante con moto</i>, completely alters the mood. Oboe, bassoons and violas, supported by soft string pizzicatti, introduce a charmed melody. For a moment the melody repeats itself distantly and a glowing theme appears in a major tone to disappear soon after. Variations follow the main theme before finishing the part with a gentle splash of deep strings.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5f7UHtvcRUk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5f7UHtvcRUk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /><h3><i>ΙΙΙ. Con moto moderato</i></h3></div><div>The third part, <i>Con moto moderato</i>, is a cute piece reminiscent of a minuet. Here, a sense of mystery is added, when an attractive trio of horns knocks on the door asking to enter. After the trio of horns reappear once again, the main theme of the minuet comes back short and fades, finishing the part.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6YuXRI0GyFQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6YuXRI0GyFQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /><h3><i>IV. Saltarello: Presto </i></h3></div><div>The last part, <i>Saltarello:Presto</i>, is a fast and lively place based on a Neapolitan dance similar to tarantella. Almost immediately the dance begins its frenetic rhythm, at first quietly and then with gradual increase in intensity. Somewhere, the rhythm relaxes, but then the almost infernal swirl of dance reappears in strings and is scanned by the entire orchestra. At the end of the last part, the music returns for a while to the original theme before returning to the dance.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8nRfZqPWMfw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8nRfZqPWMfw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-70880730689496347572022-02-09T14:00:00.001-08:002022-02-10T09:32:44.786-08:00Carl Maria von Weber - Clarinet Concerto No.2 in E-flat major, Op.74<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrmTYfTnRwKPE9vZVCeQS2mFzFWpvmKK1H4ECr-PI7XYMVecyLp5BmE-4OHlEYMBtxUp9IfAPLFnGw1GhJzoF2n0Fr6NQ5IW05QMbgeg6HCCXAf9_zA12UMUCVV45NlWK4wgZWyMlllE/s628/carl-maria-von-weber-clarinet-concerto-in-e-flat-major.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="628" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrmTYfTnRwKPE9vZVCeQS2mFzFWpvmKK1H4ECr-PI7XYMVecyLp5BmE-4OHlEYMBtxUp9IfAPLFnGw1GhJzoF2n0Fr6NQ5IW05QMbgeg6HCCXAf9_zA12UMUCVV45NlWK4wgZWyMlllE/w400-h266/carl-maria-von-weber-clarinet-concerto-in-e-flat-major.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The graceful and lyrical music, which brings to mind the clean atmosphere and the serenity of the countryside, characterizes many orchestral works composed by Carl Maria von Weber during his short life.</td></tr></tbody></table><p> <br /></p><p>Just as <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/mozart-wolfgang-amadeus-1756-1791.html">Mozart</a> and <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/brahms-johannes-1833-1897.html">Brahms</a> composed works for clarinet for a specific performer, so <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/weber-carl-maria-friedrich-ernst-von.html">Carl Maria von Weber</a>, again, was inspired by the performance of Heinrich Joseph Baermann, the first clarinetist of the Munich Court orchestra.</p><p>In 1811, the King of Bavaria, Maximilian the First, ordered Weber to compose two concertos for Baermann, which he would perform in Munich. After the premiere of this concerto, Weber wrote in his diary about "the tumultuous applause caused by Baermann's divine performance."</p><p>This concerto follows the usual classical form, although in this interpretation there are no cadences - extensive sections only for solo instruments.</p><h2><i><u>Movements</u>:</i></h2><h4>Ι. Allegro</h4><p>The inaugural <i>Allegro</i> begins in a heroic style with the participation of the entire orchestra. The second theme, presented by the violins, is a sweeter melody. It is worthy of attention the original phrase of the solo clarinet, which includes the first of many difficult passages along the spectrum of the instrument.</p><p>The solo clarinet is joined with the orchestra in a general rework of the introductory theme, before leading to the main section. A rapid ascending scale for the soloist, performed in staccato (each note isolated), leads the melody to its recapitulation as well as a powerful finale.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5lQzdW58-hw" width="320" youtube-src-id="5lQzdW58-hw"></iframe></div><h4>ΙΙ. Romanza: Andante </h4><p>In the melancholic <i>Andante</i> the soloist appears after two meters of pitsikato cellos. Strings and woodwinds alternate, illuminating the music. Then follows a "Recitativo ad lib.", where the solo clarinet and the orchestra adopt the free style of a vocal recitativo accompanied by chords - reminiscent of Weber's operas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ht1AEWvCR30" width="320" youtube-src-id="Ht1AEWvCR30"></iframe></div><h4>ΙΙΙ. Alla Polacca</h4><p>The concluding <i>Alla Polacca</i>, a Polonaise, is brilliant and exuberant. A more serene episode ensues, but the pace soon speeds up again with many exciting solo sections. Three long trembling notes, followed by more passages from high tonalities to low and vice versa, complete the concerto.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6zgpYdik7CM" width="320" youtube-src-id="6zgpYdik7CM"></iframe></div><p><br /></p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-7246163571597430852022-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:002022-01-19T11:14:00.937-08:00Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 8 in B minor, "Unfinished"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_-7l1jl8iy0y7uywgOQt0m2ua0TL0yvRuaaVmXm_ZiPJuuE5fhXD1BRz3RRhe1o581sQFcyWSBz-7OSz1RZMmYu0LFdt-3IAZM37Wt5mkJzpGol5dj5PogxJx3rX2umwNhVpWLAIAO0/s727/schubert-unfinished-symphony.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_-7l1jl8iy0y7uywgOQt0m2ua0TL0yvRuaaVmXm_ZiPJuuE5fhXD1BRz3RRhe1o581sQFcyWSBz-7OSz1RZMmYu0LFdt-3IAZM37Wt5mkJzpGol5dj5PogxJx3rX2umwNhVpWLAIAO0/w330-h400/schubert-unfinished-symphony.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dark and dramatic mood expressed in Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony is represented in this romantic setting, painted by his older brother, Ferdinand.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Schubert's S<i>ymphony No.8</i> puzzles why it's a masterpiece and why no one knows why he didn't complete it. By October 1822 he had finished the two opening parts and had started working on the third, the <i>Scherzo</i>. At this point he stopped and turned his attention to another work, the <i>Wonderer Fantasie</i>. The following year <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/franz-peter-schubert-1797-1828.html">Schubert</a> sent the unfinished score of the 8th Symphony to his friend Joseph Hüttenbrenner who gave it to his brother Anselm, who kept it for forty years.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1865, Hüttenbrenner was persuaded to assign Schubert's scores by Johann Ritter von Herbeck, director of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The Symphony was first performed in Vienna on September 17, 1865 in front of an ecstatic audience.</div><div><br /></div><div>Around 1890, <i>Symphony No. 8 </i>acquired the nickname <i>"Unfinished"</i> and since then the fans have been wondering why Schubert didn't complete it. Some claim that Schubert linked its composition to the terrible mercury treatment he underwent for syphilis he got in early 1822. His desperation is reflected in the music - and it was perhaps emotionally too painful for the composer to complete it. Others feel that he just got tired of the work and continued with some other composition. This, after all, was common for Schubert - he left many of his other compositions unfinished.</div><br /><h2><u>Movements</u>:</h2><div><h3><b><i>Ι. Allegro moderato</i></b></h3><div>The first movement, <i>Allegro moderato</i>, is in sonata form - a part in three interrelated sections - structured in a brilliant way, with a music of great dramatic intensity. It begins with a calm and rather restless theme in the cellos and double bass. Violins and violas appear with more restless play, accompanying a melody first heard by oboes and clarinets. This builds the first point of escalation. Here's a truly magical moment: bassoons and horns hold a long note and lead the music to a whole new tone.</div><div><br /></div><div>The melody that follows is played on the cellos and then on the violins with a kindly pulsating, syncope chord and is one of the most beautiful and beloved melodies ever written. Shortened by more dramatic chords, he then returns to a fragmentary form, helping the music build another sensational escalation. The opening section where the main themes are introduced is repeated. The middle section begins in the same calm way on cellos and double bass, but their theme is now used to create a tempestuous piston before the music is led back to a repeat of the first section by the entire orchestra.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a brief coda, Schubert repeats the first notes of the part, first in woodwinds, then in violins and finally in cellos and double bass. The part ends on a turbulent note.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/otZnsBVk1VY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/otZnsBVk1VY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><h3><b><i>ΙΙ. Andante con moto</i></b></h3></div><div>The second part, <i>Andante con moto</i>, begins with a serene and peaceful mood greeting listeners with yet another wonderful melody in violins and violas, with pizzicatti in double bass and chords in bassoons and horns. The answer is given by all the pines while the strings play in identification.</div><div><br /></div><div>A clarinet solo gently plays the second theme accompanied by the gentle sound of the strings. This leads to a more dramatic central episode. Schubert is working on the two main themes again before the new dramatic escalation. Crescendo is followed by a calm ending.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/trYQfDjpwmY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/trYQfDjpwmY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-71584088402467559172021-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:002021-12-26T08:47:06.772-08:00Ravel - Tzigane (Gypsy)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxgyEM2i6iqIhY9fG6fqw29E-cbsYgyFtEn7V_H1HBitceD3jIPnoYVqFybYijUJZIMW87qVKBYkU56zmgD_SeZJI7FA8YxgqkICQ2F88a53W67JoN5gZsVTCUzduQgOibv-eGPCQt5EY/s432/hungarian-violonist-jelly-aranyi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="324" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxgyEM2i6iqIhY9fG6fqw29E-cbsYgyFtEn7V_H1HBitceD3jIPnoYVqFybYijUJZIMW87qVKBYkU56zmgD_SeZJI7FA8YxgqkICQ2F88a53W67JoN5gZsVTCUzduQgOibv-eGPCQt5EY/w300-h400/hungarian-violonist-jelly-aranyi.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The hungarian violonist Jelly d'Aranyi</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 1922, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/ravel-joseph-maurice-1875-1937.html">Maurice Ravel</a> 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.</div><br />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.<br /><br />Other features are the chords of the violin and a multitude of string techniques, which make up this wonderful concerto-style work.<br /><br />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. At one point, the soloist plays bows and pizzicati (with his left hand) at the same time.<br /><br />The second half of the play is more "amiable", as the virtuoso part of the beginning is replaced by simpler melodies for the violin and the orchestra.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OEqS8oB3K-g/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OEqS8oB3K-g?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-39472411748331386742021-12-17T14:00:00.000-08:002021-12-18T08:00:13.889-08:00Chopin - Nocturnes, Op.9Chopin'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).<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Nocturne in B flat minor, Op.9, No.1</b></h3>When <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/chopin-frederic-francois-1810-1849.html">Chopin</a> 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.<br />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.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3TVCB9y2A7o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3TVCB9y2A7o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Nocturne in E flat Major, Op.9, No.2</b></h3>This nocturne expresses the mood of the private evening "lounges", where <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/chopin-frederic-francois-1810-1849.html">Chopin</a> was feeling relaxed. It has a serenity full of grace and charm.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tV5U8kVYS88/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tV5U8kVYS88?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3</b></h3>This nocturne is an excellent example of Chopin's unique approach to this style. A richly decorated melody rises and descends over a flowing melody for the left hand. Then a touching central section leads to the repetition of the inaugural music.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QrdK47U_VKA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QrdK47U_VKA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-490540335583799332021-12-07T14:00:00.000-08:002021-12-08T02:14:22.286-08:00Verdi - A peasant from Parma<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FfqgzXRd9hk1HnNA3zds4JKbJjls6EA8reOJ6NrwqGiRoPvozyJq7yekCu-Gvz6vZTeJr9TWEJiXsbicwgJPGgUXvLnLY_QldvNq-utqkvKJMCVK8OWybcLXPuAZGShDvuUSLN17nj-v/s600/verdi-biogaphy-and-works.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi" border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="600" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FfqgzXRd9hk1HnNA3zds4JKbJjls6EA8reOJ6NrwqGiRoPvozyJq7yekCu-Gvz6vZTeJr9TWEJiXsbicwgJPGgUXvLnLY_QldvNq-utqkvKJMCVK8OWybcLXPuAZGShDvuUSLN17nj-v/w400-h343/verdi-biogaphy-and-works.jpg" title="Giuseppe Verdi" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">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. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBQKiumzFAZOSpFDi4Ay1ynw1I2jxndKBwaHdyVCRQMaIgIqxR65f3t9sTevwkhTnjbcyv-3rlTRWKiQmKAexqsKChvHlDia-wqEbxg4W14REBfcrJeSbLTie9xQcYf9BkEzjhef63f_C/s650/verdi-house-biography.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBQKiumzFAZOSpFDi4Ay1ynw1I2jxndKBwaHdyVCRQMaIgIqxR65f3t9sTevwkhTnjbcyv-3rlTRWKiQmKAexqsKChvHlDia-wqEbxg4W14REBfcrJeSbLTie9xQcYf9BkEzjhef63f_C/w184-h200/verdi-house-biography.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The house where Verdi was born, <br />in the village of Le Roncole.</td></tr></tbody></table>Fortunately for <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/verdi-giuseppe-fortunino-francesco-1813.html">Verdi</a>, 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.</div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />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. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">At eighteen, Verdi applied to register at the Milan Conservatory, but was rejected because he had exceeded the normal age of registration. However, Barezzi rushed to help and took over the costs of his studies in Milan. After that Verdi returned to Busetto and although he was not yet 23 years old, he married the daughter of his protector, Margherita.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Success and tragedy</i></b></h3><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Verdi tasted the first success in 1839, when he managed to convince La Scala Theatre to put on his first opera, <i>Oberto</i>. The success was immediate and he was commissioned to write three more operas.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">But fate struck tragically. In 1838 his two young children died one after the other and in 1840, his <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5GgF46pXF6vTkptnIuvoTVuXWvppVZ3jN13ZYJFio9zm4A7qsMgUG_XtYMKLiPz8kr7fSg5palvhPvKP49NoH5DhzX5xkdr60t3uYxPlYtPnsiMH0_Z0wvrx8xKyqi0h1znjfxfhEYDl/s701/verdi-wife-life.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Portrait of Margherita Barezzi." border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5GgF46pXF6vTkptnIuvoTVuXWvppVZ3jN13ZYJFio9zm4A7qsMgUG_XtYMKLiPz8kr7fSg5palvhPvKP49NoH5DhzX5xkdr60t3uYxPlYtPnsiMH0_Z0wvrx8xKyqi0h1znjfxfhEYDl/w274-h320/verdi-wife-life.jpg" title="Margherita Barezzi" width="274" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Verdi's first wife, Margherita Barezzi. </span><br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Verdi loved her too much and her death, </span><br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">at a young age, crushed him.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />beloved young wife died suddenly of some mysterious illness. Verdi was devastated and it is no wonder that his second opera, <i>Un Giorno di Regno</i> <i>(A Day of Reign)</i>, was not a success.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; border: medium none;">Fortunately, in his misery he found a supporter, the director of La Scala, who asked him to set a libretto that referred to the biblical history of the captivity of the Jews by the Nebuchadnezzar. The result was the <i>Nabbuco</i> opera, which was first presented in 1842 and made Verdi famous overnight.</div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; border: medium none;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><i>In the sweat shop</i></b></h3><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Within a very short time, Verdi became famous throughout Europe and started the business that he called "my life in the sweat shop", i.e. writing on demand offering what the audience was asking for. In the years between 1842 and 1851 he composed 14 operas and although few of them were truly remarkable, he at least gained wealth and established his reputation. In the early 1850s there appeared a major shift in Verdi's career with the composition of three of his greatest operas - the 1851<i> <a href="https://www.musillection.com/2020/11/verdi-rigoletto.html">Rigoletto</a></i>, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/2020/12/verdi-il-trovatore.html"><i>Il</i> <i>Trovatore</i></a> and<i> <a href="https://www.musillection.com/2020/12/la-traviata-verdi.html">La</a></i><a href="https://www.musillection.com/2020/12/la-traviata-verdi.html"> <i>Traviata</i></a> in 1853.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It was in the same decade that Verdi began to identify with the italian unification (Risorgimento). His name was used as a patriotic war cry, and "Viva Verdi" ("Long live Verdi") was carved into the walls. The Austrians, who ruled parts of Northern Italy at the time, did not realize that the world was not just exasuring its great composer, but was using the letters of his name as the initials for the name of the man he wanted for his king - Vittorio Emmanuele Re d'Italia (Vittorio Emmanuelle King of Italy). Meanwhile, Verdi's personal life has stabilized. He had met the singer Clelia Maria Joseph’s (Guiseppina) Strepponi and already in 1849 they lived together as a couple. They finally got married in 1859.</div><b><i><br /></i></b><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A selection issue</i></b></h3>By about 1860, Verdi had ceased to compose to order. His next operas were written because he wanted to write them. <i><a href="https://www.musillection.com/2021/01/verdi-don-carlos-opera.html">Don Carlos</a></i>, for example, it was the challenge of the "great opera" and the themes of Schiller's famous work that inspired him. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQTQWOmJacenq-GoZuZtoGP7iVwPWP4TtSheH4izqQHnfssca5C2zQTFe6qn8wMO_8I3M7ENX27FpTjNy22w98tHlVd-AaftqPIEcR7AJO-YyRwX5ZBpoCnhS05GharwoTheGFcgVaeNY/s882/verdi-biography-second-wife.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Portrait of Giuseppina Strepponi." border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQTQWOmJacenq-GoZuZtoGP7iVwPWP4TtSheH4izqQHnfssca5C2zQTFe6qn8wMO_8I3M7ENX27FpTjNy22w98tHlVd-AaftqPIEcR7AJO-YyRwX5ZBpoCnhS05GharwoTheGFcgVaeNY/w218-h320/verdi-biography-second-wife.jpg" title="Giuseppina Strepponi" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giuseppina Strepponi, the singer who <br />gave happiness to Verdi. The couple<br />married in 1859.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">From 1873 to 1885, Verdi did not composed any operas. Then surprisingly, at the age of 72, he began composing a new opera, <i>Otello</i>, into a libretto based on Shakespeare's work. It was a musical feast, a work infinitely melodic. But there was more. Arrigo Boito, Otello's brilliant poet and librettist, was now working on <i>The Merry Wives of Windsor</i>, Shakespeare's. So at the age of 80, Verdi created his latest masterpiece, <i>Falstaff</i>, a comic opera of great lyrical beauty. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In 1897, Giuseppina died of pneumonia at the age of 82. Verdi then lived in Milan, where he died in early 1901. He left instructions, his funeral to be simple without music and songs. But that didn't stop the crowding outside milan's cemetery from suddenly and spontaneously starting - at first very slowly and then louder - singing the amazing choral from <i>Nabucco</i>.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1493749367062556719.post-78636419928415348832021-11-24T14:00:00.001-08:002021-11-25T09:30:24.884-08:00Claude Debussy and the Piano<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiKhCVzOhnxxwSvP1IwfEvpGDtfsQJ5N87BmfqYN1UuwZmS_iEf3eguU4N7ToanboWbCUgBNNlGsPgjMiu6X0anRQ5SkGpx1QHpknhw6rMjA-f8L_0ghU0z0R_hnniv0pUdffbTFdjzw/s628/claude-debussy-playing-the-piano.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="628" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiKhCVzOhnxxwSvP1IwfEvpGDtfsQJ5N87BmfqYN1UuwZmS_iEf3eguU4N7ToanboWbCUgBNNlGsPgjMiu6X0anRQ5SkGpx1QHpknhw6rMjA-f8L_0ghU0z0R_hnniv0pUdffbTFdjzw/w400-h368/claude-debussy-playing-the-piano.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claude Debussy playing the piano at Ernest Chausson 's home.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/claude-achille-debussy-1862-1918.html">Claude Debussy</a> was one of the greatest composers of piano music. The "Pianoforte" (soft-loud) as is its original Italian name, evolved from the harpsichord during the 18th century. Only in the next century, however, did it grow in size, wealth and tonal power. <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/beethoven-ludwig-van-1770-1827.html">Beethoven</a>, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/schumann-robert-1810-1856.html">Schumann</a>, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/chopin-frederic-francois-1810-1849.html">Chopin</a>, <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/liszt-franz-or-ferenc-1811-1886.html">Liszt </a>and <a href="https://www.musillection.com/p/brahms-johannes-1833-1897.html">Brahms</a> wrote their best compositions for it.</p><p>At the time of Debussy, that is, at the beginning of the 20th century, the piano had reached the peak of its development. Debussy took full advantage of this fact, writing music that made full use of the spectrum of the keyboard and the dynamics of the piano (the degree of softness and intensity). </p><p>He also used the pedals in a special way, giving duration to certain notes or chords at the same time as others are played, thus mixing their sounds. In this way he utilized the piano as the composers before him had not even imagined.</p><p>Some of his pianistic compositions, with impressionistic titles such as "Goldfish", "Estampes", "Fireworks", were among the most revolutionary compositions of his time. For many listeners of that time, it was one of the strangest works they had ever heard.</p>Iterahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02577903925367440366noreply@blogger.com0