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Jim

Cello Couperin Hey - what about Couperin?! Piano

Hey – what about Couperin?!

Posted on August 1, 2009

Francois Couperin popped into my mind the other day. I thought:

‘Wasn’t he an important Baroque composer?… Then how come I only have one piece by him in my library?”

So I went surfing in my paid download sites. I found that Bach loved his 4 volumes of harpsichord music – Richard Strauss and Ravel admired his music and Brahms piano music was inspired by him.
Since I don’t like the harpsichord or vocal (and that’s mostly what he composed) – I was looking for other stuff. I found these pieces adapted for the piano (originally for harpsichord) AND some killer cello!

The piano artist  on these pieces, Alexandre Tharaud, says about the first piece below: ” I have a particularly soft spot for Duphly’s La Pothoïn, which for me is one of the loveliest pieces ever composed for keyboard.”

duphly-la-pothouin

 

More ‘piano adapted’ pieces from the Tic Toc Choc series. I like these two from the series: La Visionnaire and Les Jumeles

la visionnaire

 

les jumeles

 

And then some ‘killer cello’ I love this first one

Pieces en concert / Prelude

couperin-cello

 

more lovely cello Pieces en concert / Plainte

pieces en concert plainte

Brahms Just for fun Piano

Just for fun (a short piano piece by Brahms)

Posted on July 18, 2009

Brahms Intermezzo in C major, op. 119 no. 3 just for fun! I’ll bet Brahms had fun composing it, and the pianist playing it

brahms intermezzo in c major op 119 no 3

 

* AFTERWORD: This post has become very interesting as a result of Taneyev’s comment below! I’ve learned so much from his astute comments. The most important lesson so far has been not to put on the site the first rendition of a piece that I hear: But rather to listen to as least several and try to get a sense of what the composer might have really intended. Or … to go with an Artist who is known to specialise in interpreting the particular composer. I hope you find this piece interesting enough to read the comments (click on comments above – just under the Post title), listen to all the versions here … and maybe even come back with “THE ANSWER” (that is: What is closest to Brahm’s original score?)

Here’s Wilhelm Backhause

Brahms intermezzo op. 119 C major

 

Here’s Idil Biret *note: a 3 second delay

Brahms Intermezzo in C major Idil Biret

 

And here’s Jon Nakamatsu

intermezzo grazioso e giocoso

Piano Scarlatti

Scarlatti

Posted on June 19, 2009

Reading how Scarlatti was admired by Horowitz, Chopin, Brahms and others; I had a look in my files and found I only had 2 pieces by him! Quite an oversite. So I downloaded a collection of his sonatas played by Yevgeny Sudbin. Scarlatti (b. 1685 d. 1757) was born the same year as Bach and lived 7 years longer.

From Wikipedia:

The many sonatas which were unpublished during Scarlatti’s lifetime have appeared in print irregularly in the two and a half centuries since. Scarlatti has, however, attracted notable admirers, including Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Heinrich Schenker, Vladimir Horowitz and Marc-André Hamelin. The Russian school of pianism has particularly championed the sonatas.

Scarlatti’s 555 keyboard sonatas are single movements, mostly in binary form, and are almost all intended for the harpsichord (there are four for organ, and a few where Scarlatti suggests a small instrumental group). Some of them display harmonic audacity in their use of discords, and also unconventional modulations to remote keys.

555 keyboard pieces! Wow. Well here are just 4 of his Sonatas. The first two “exuberant” and the next two “thoughtful”.

Yevgeny Sudbin_01_Keyboard Sonata in B flat major, K 545

 

Yevgeny Sudbin_03_Keyboard Sonata in F minor, K 365

 

keyboard-sonata-in-g-minor-k-30

 

another in g minor, not sure what K#!

Yevgeny Sudbin_11_Keyboard Sonata in G minor

Bach LONG PLAYING SELECTIONS Music for the mundane! Piano

Music for the Mundane

Posted on May 9, 2009

In this LONG PLAY selection – J.S.Bach provides the perfect “background music” for mundane tasks! Cleaning out that junk drawer, ironing (does anyone iron anymore?!), gardening or just wandering around the house wondering what to do next. His Goldberg Variations provide the background. First the Aria, followed by 8 of the variations.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t give up! There is a pause before the music kicks in on this one. About 10 seconds.

Goldberg variations by 9 Andras Shiff.mp3

 

UPDATE: see the comment on this one. My “source” slightly retracted his claim that Shiff was “the man” for Bach piano! So let’s hear Gould do the Aria.

glenn-gould_04_goldberg-variations-bwv-988-i-aria

Mozart Piano Very Special Mozart?

Very Special Mozart?

Posted on April 30, 2009

Renowned pianist Alfred Brendel has referred to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, known as the Jeunehomme, as a “wonder of the world,” going so far as to assert that Mozart “did not surpass this piece in the later piano concertos.”

Later in the same article: How did Mozart, at age 21, find the burst of courage needed to write the No. 9, which pushes the boundaries of concerto convention and accepted harmonic complexity? Furthermore, after writing a great work, how does a composer move on to write pieces that are more mature but perhaps less ambitious?

Mozart Piano Concerto #9 / Second Movement

Piano concerto #9 second movement

Chopin Piano Show Emotion? or be a "machine"? Worth Watching

Show Emotion? Or be a “Machine”? It’s worth watching!

Posted on April 17, 2009

Many musicians these days are either accused of being over-emotional in their presentation; or machine like. Yundi Li apparently has attained something like rock star status since he’s nice looking, young and really puts it out there. But to judge him by how moved he becomes by the music (*some say the Modern Crop of artists  ‘put it on’ a bit) – I think this does Yundi a real injustice. This is “real” emotion as far as I can see.

More importantly: I’ve heard Chopin all my life and I’d place Yundi’s presentation up against even the “Old Masters”

Another thing: I had no idea that when these Artists competed in Major competitions, that they had to play for this long. Wish I’d been there! Anyway – out of the entire hour or so – I think I might have heard one, two or three missed, or  miss-played notes!

Hang on a minute. I’m assuming that this Video was a single presentation? It just occured to me that maybe Yundi played all these pieces over several days?!  Whatever.  Did he win?  Google it and find out!

So Dear Listener: What do you think? Has Yundi “got it”?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo82ipPkTRY&feature=related

Bach Bach Long Play LONG PLAYING SELECTIONS

Bach Long Play

Posted on March 30, 2009

Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude (Bwv 147)

Arioso from Cantata No. 156.

Master and Commander 09-Prelude from the Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007

Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland (Bwv 659)

Goldberg Variations; BWV 988_Aria

Siciliano BWV1031

Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins Vivace

Brandenburg Concertos, No. 6_ Adagio ma non tanto

bach-long-play

Liszt Liszt update - when he's "Sweet"! Piano

Liszt Update – when he’s sweet, light, spiritual and romantic

Posted on March 19, 2009

NOTE: Some of the pieces and information here are contained in a previous posting titled: Totentanz

Liszt – Devil or Angel. That was him and his music. Througout his life he was focused on the “seeming”! two extremes. Love/Light/God – Evil/Devil/Death. (Eastern/Oriental philosophies might argue: Two sides of the same coin)

His compostitions of  a spiritual, meditative or romantic nature, (including “Passionate” Romantic, as in the piece below: Un Sospiro) have few equals in the annals of Great Composers.

Un Sospiro (meaning a sigh – probably not a title Liszt himself applied to this piece)

un-sospiro

 

Nocturne En Reve

en reve nocturne

 

Standchen, Serenade from Schwanengesang

standchen-serenade-from-schwanengesang

 

Liebestraum number 3

liebestraum-no-3

 

Consolation no. 3 in D flat Major

Consolation

Cello LONG PLAYING SELECTIONS Piano Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff Long Play

Posted on February 21, 2009

My quick 2 cents worth about Rachmaninoff! I feel that although he composed some of the most exquisite melodies, somehow he never quite “gets there”. In the way Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart (amongst others!) construct a melody/theme; and when they want to Climax – they do. Rachi, on the other hand, I feel, just almost takes us there!

Any comments?

Enjoy this Long Play.

Prelude Op. 23, #6

Sonata for Cello & piano

Italian Polka

Prelude Op. 32 #5

“Lilacs: Lilacs”

Melodie in E, Op. 3 #3

Four Pieces # 1

Merge Rachmaninoff

Beethoven Beethoven composed crap? On purpose?! Piano

Beethoven composed crap?! On purpose?!

Posted on February 3, 2009

On the one hand you have a serious conductor and musician insisting that this Piano Sonata is a send-up / parody. At the same time some Beethoven scholars claim that it’s a legitimate effort by him! If you review compilations of Beethoven’s sonatas, you’ll find that not many pianists play this one. Isn’t that a clue? … that if it’s not a “joke” – then at least it’s not one of his better works. I feel that everything  Anton Kuerti says about this sonata rings true. (in fact I laughted out loud several times while listening – don’t see how anyone could take it seriously) What do you think/feel/hear?!

See  below for Kuerti’s negative assesment, and others who disagree

Piano sonata 22 in F major Op. 54 / First Movement tempo d’un menuetto

piano-sonata-no-22-in-f-major-op-54-tempo-dun-menuetto

 

Second movement: Allegretto

piano-sonata-no-22-in-f-major-op-54-ii-allegretto

 

Kuerti lays waste to this ‘thing’!

  1. In tempo d’un menuetto: Anton Kuerti refers to this piece as a parody of uncreative composers. The melody commences, but grinds to a halt, and after doing this again, it decides to suddenly end the phrase in an attempted friendly way, which is anything but friendly, and nothing but awkward. This piece gradually redeems itself (but not much) when it garners variations for its main theme. Only at the coda does a virtuoso performance take place.
  2. Allegretto: “If the first movement was constipated, then the second movement suffers from the opposite ailment.” (Anton Kuerti) This is shown in the piece, as the main melody has a non-stop continuous, sixteenth-note pattern that does not stop for even a second in this piece. The piece gradually gets more and more agitated in the coda, almost similar to a mechanical mixer going out of control and splattering its ingredients throughout the entire room.

 

A full article including the opposing view:

http://raptusassociation.org/son22e.html#1

Baroque LONG PLAYING SELECTIONS

Long Play Baroque

Posted on February 2, 2009

Bach Brandenburg Concerto,  No. 1 Allegro

Handel Oboe Sonata In B Flat Major Andante-Grave-Allegro

Handel- Voli Per L’aria – Largo

Corelli Concerto grosso /Andante largo

Corelli Concerto grosso /Adagio

Rameau Les Indes galantes / Gavotte

Rameau\Philippe Herreweghe_18_Air pour Zéphire.mp3

Torelli\Torelli 04_Concerto In D Major For Trumpet And Strings (Movement 1)

Vivaldi – Concerto For Cello In B-Flat Major- Largo

Vivaldi – Concerto Nr- 11 D-Moll, Rv565-I Allegro-Adagio Spiccato E Tutti-Allegro

Baroque long play

Baroque Corelli

Corelli

Posted on January 11, 2009

Arcangelo Corelli (February 17, 1653 – January 8, 1713) Coming just before Bach, Vivaldi and Handel. “His compositions are distinguished by a beautiful flow of melody and by a mannerly treatment of the accompanying parts, which he is justly said to have liberated from the strict rules of counterpoint” (from Wikipedia)

Three pieces from his Concerto Grosso Opus 6. He really worked hard on the pieces in opus 6 – or so my sources tell me!

concerto-grosso-allemanda-allegro

 

concerto-grosso-allegro

 

concerto-grosso-vivace-allegro3

Balakirev Enlightened Comments! Thanks Madmen of the Piano Piano

Enlightened Comments! Thanks

Posted on December 2, 2008

Here’s another example of why I love to get comments: Because sometimes they are so enlightening! – the commenter really knows what they’re talking about. The same person who commented on the post:  “Better Brahms”-  had this to say about the first version of Balikirev’s Islamey (played by Paul Wee): About Islamey, it’s played too fast. The excesive tempo make confuse and without meaning the piece. And on the slow parts he/she fall into mannerisms and use excesive rubato “a la Chopin”.

Too fast indeed! With “mannerisms” too! The Wee version runs 8:02

balakirev-islamey-wee

 

So … I went “shopping” for a better version! I found this one by Lang Lang who is pretty well respected.(it runs 9:19) Much better methinks! Thanks again Sergei

Lang Lang_15_Balakirev Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)

 

NOTE: I originally posted this in “Madmen of the Piano” and mentioned how some consider it one of the hardest of all piano pieces to play