MusiLLection

This short music piece of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was originally written as an add-on for the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". The opera was first presented in Moscow in 1900 with a libretto based on a story by the great Russian poet Pushkin. The "Flight of the Bumblebee" accompanies a scene where the main character - a prince - transforms into a bumblebee. The unusual nature and pure descriptive qualities of this piece, inspired other musicians to make their own adaptations, usually for solo instruments. The popularity of this piece is in contrast to the rest of the almost forgotten opera music. A quick descending scale on the piano begins this perfect miniature portrait (in the adaptation for the piano). The opening measures o f the play serve not only as an introduction, but also set the stage - we hear the piano's attempts to mimic the buzz. From this point, the piano paints a vivid picture of the insect that its flying reminds, as much as no other, of the ...

Liszt composed three songs called Liebestraume (Dreams of Love). He transcribed them for piano in 1850, describing them as "nocturnes", in the manner and style of Chopin .  This third Liebestraume is one of the most beloved romantic compositions for solo piano. This famous pianistic composition begins with a flowing melody played on the substrate of a cellar accompanying grab of the left hand. After a repetition, the melody is driven to a more fervent escalation and follows a part with wonderful flow. The original melody reappears and its last fleeting notes bode well for the fond memory of a wonderful dream.

Berlioz excruciatingly edited his operas to be accepted by the Paris audience. Berlioz's music is primarily an expression of emotions, often at the expense of the "classical" form. He wanted his audience to experience the emotions he felt when he composed his works, rather than being impressed by the craftsmanship of his style. The result is an incredible and unique freedom of expression. Les Francs-juges (translated as "The Free Judges" or "The Judges of the Secret Court") wanted it to be his greatest work. Berlioz began composing it when he was just 23 years old and spent many years of preparing it, constantly reviewing it to be accepted in the Paris operas. In the end, by accepting being defeated, he has fragmented his work. The introduction is the most extensive part of what's left. The introduction does not lag behind in imposing or youthful momentum from the origina. He retains the eerie power of the terrible story of hero Lenor and his corr...

Polka is a dance of Czech origin and has a lively 2/4 rhythm. It appeared in the early 18th century in rural areas and then spread over the course of the century in Europe and America, about at the same time as the waltz. Very lively, the polka is characterized by a typical half step that closes every meter, giving the movement of the couple who dances it a graceful svelte. Very famous polkas of J.Strauss II are Tritsch-Tratsch and Pizzicato . An also well known polka is from Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride. Jaromir Weinberger's Polka from Schwanda, the Bagpiper is also a very well known polka. Polka's popularity declined in the early 1900s with the emergence of American dances at the rate of contrattempo. Polka howerer, retains a prominent place in the world repertoire.

Edvard Grieg with friends in Leipzig. 1843 Edvard Grieg was born in June in Bergen, Norway. 1859 Begins studying at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany. 1862 First public appearance with the Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 1 1864 Meets Rikard Nordaak, who radically changes his life. 1867 Marries his cousin Nina Hagerup. He founds the Norwegian Music Academy. 1870 Meets Franz Liszt in Rome. 1874 Ibsen asks him to write stage music for his play "Peer Gynt" . 1876 First performance of Peer Gynt . 1888 First interpretation of the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 1894 PhD in Music from Cambridge University. 1898 Organizes the Norwegian Music Festival 1907 He dies in September in Bergen after a heart attact  Although he was buried with every honor from his grateful homeland, his ashes were buried in a niche on the mountain above Troldhaugen with no sign other than his name and his wife's.

Nicolas Poussin’s painting depicts spring, perfectly rendering the atmosphere of the season just like Vivaldi’s Four-Seasons music. I. Allegro "Springtime is upon us. The birds celebrate her return with festive song, and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven. Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more." “Spring has arrived and the birds welcome it by singing”,  Vivaldi  writes. The inaugural  Allegro  features a cool and cheerful melody. Soloists and violins mimic the singing of birds with trills. Some phrases bring to mind a stream and a gentle breeze, while a vigorous tremor, fast scales and a small rushing solo indicate a storm. II.  Largo e pianissimo sempre "On the flower strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-heard sleeps, his faithful dog beside him." The second part,  Largo , which is a ...

The music of the Russian romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , oversensitive, evokes the immediate emotion of the listener since they are often reflected in it - with rare immediacy and upretentious honesty - "episodes" of his turbulent life. Afailed marriage burdened him with guilt, from which he never managed to break free. But as it happens usually at that case, the pain proved to be a cause for stimulation of the composer's creative ideas. The tender melancholy and the restrained pessimism that redeem many of the pages of his music, are due not only to his Slavec chromosomes, but also to the frustrations he received during his life. He certainly did not turn his pain into joy. But he turned the pain into force, thanks to which he managed to resist the imperatives of his times, who wanted every expression of art to be subject to the rules of the Russian School. Tchaikovsky was indeed less Russian and more Western. And if his music was doubted while he was alive,...