Classical and jazz…
Posted in Classical on Feb 16th, 2012
The final movement of Beethoven’s 18th piano sonata (op 31/3 in E flat major) is one of my favorite movements of all piano sonatas because it is one of the most special ones ever written by Beethoven. I think Beethoven did something in this movement that no other composer before or after him ever thought [...]
Posted in Classical on Jan 17th, 2012
The life and music of the great Czech composer Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) are filled with tragedy, despair, and sadness. Nevertheless, he always finds a way to inject some kind of humor in his music, and if not humor, his music has a sense of “contentment.” That contentment is present at the end of the Sinfonietta, [...]
Posted in Classical on Sep 11th, 2011
Chopin’s Scherzo No. 3 Op. 39 is unique among the four that he wrote. There is a “motif” that repeats throughout the scherzo, which I call the orchestral motif.
Posted in Classical on Aug 4th, 2011
To be played freely or not? The fourth (and final) movement of Leoš Janáček’s beautiful Violin Sonata (written in 1914, first performed in 1922) is a slow movement (Adagio). However, frequently, when performed, it doesn’t give the impression of a slow movement but of a very energetic one, and if played well, it gives the [...]
Posted in Classical on Dec 1st, 2010
Liszt, who was the “man of the big occasions,” was still an intellectual pianist. He was the one to combine bombast with thoughtfulness. Brendel says that the “bombastic pianists” who play Liszt (Cziffra, Richter, Kissin, Ginzburg, Berman, Horowitz, Jando and many others) completely changed the conception of the composer. It can be said that they “brainwashed” the audience with their ideas.
Posted in Classical on Nov 11th, 2010
Dinu Lipatti’s performance is very much in the style of baroque. However, in this sonata he starts the trills from the note of the trill, something that is not typical for baroque music. His dynamics are “minimal.” This is something that I would prefer not to do in Scarlatti, who was a “futurist” composer and was ahead of his time. Lipatti remains in the “quiet” style of playing throughout the exposition, and starts a mild crescendo in the second section of the piece. Shortly after, he returns to the same quiet style of playing. In my opinion, Scarlatti sonatas must be played with a lot of contrast. I think that Horowitz plays this particular sonata better than Lipatti because of the Scarlattian qualities that Horowitz displays in his playing.
Posted in Classical on Nov 3rd, 2010
I have been practicing Schumann’s Faschingschwank aus Wien (Viennese Carnival), Op. 26 (1839-1840). It is a rather unusual work in five movements; it is more integrated than a suite, but not quite a sonata. The first movement, Allegro in B-flat major, is very nearly a dance suite in and of itself. A principal idea in 3/4 time alternates with six contrasting episodes. The second movement is a brief Romanze in G minor, wistful and characteristic of a romance. The third movement, a Scherzino in B-flat major, is a scherzo (with no trio) laid out in continuous two-bar phrases. The most distinctive movement is undoubtedly the Intermezzo in E-flat minor, a passionate melody with an undulating accompaniment. The lengthy Finale in B-flat major, the most technically demanding of the movements, is in a conventional sonata form. The word “Faschingschwank” contains the letters ASCH SCHA in that order of appearance. Schumann used these notes in sequence as melodic material for this work.
Posted in Classical on May 21st, 2010
Why would Schumann add a piano accompaniment to Bach’s perfect music for violin solo? When I started playing the violin part of the Partita, I finally understood the meaning of Schumann’s piano accompaniment. It is amazing how identical it is to the phrasing of the Bach Partita. Schumann studied Bach extensively and his accompaniment can be used as an exercise in counterpoint and in phrasing. Schumann might have thought that Bach needed more counterpoint and polyphony in his violin Partitas, so he added his piano accompaniment which makes it sound more harmonically and polyphonically present.
Posted in Classical on Apr 13th, 2010
When I arrived at the concert, a few minutes before it was to begin, Pogorelich was on stage playing Islamey with two fingers, dressed in a gym suit and wearing a Santa Claus hat. Islamey was not on the program. Some people applauded, but he told them that the concert hadn’t started yet. He then left to change and returned later with a page turner who stayed with him throughout the concert.
Posted in Classical on Apr 3rd, 2010
I recently heard an opera called Kullervo by Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen. I had no idea about Sallinen until I heard Kullervo (although I know quite a few contemporary composers), but right now he is (to me) one of the most amazing composers around.
