My most recent “obsession” has been with Haydn (*see the Post, “Heeer’s Haydn) – and in particular his piano concertos – which I wasn’t familiar with when I did the Heeeer’s Haydn post.
In the course of listening and researching I found out about the close relationship between Mozart and Haydn. They seemed to have formed a “mutual admiration society”! There are many quotes where they praised each others work and expressed a high personal regard for each other. Good buddies! (Haydn was crushed by the news of Mozart’s early death)
Regarding their piano concertos, there seems to be a concensus that Mozart went further, deeper and that his were the more accomplished. The elements I love in both of their piano concertos, you could describe as the ‘sublime’ / ‘spiritual’ / ‘lyrical’ or contemplative. Just love that kind of piano. So here is one movement each from one of their Piano Concertos that express these qualities. Which one do you like most?!
Haydn P.C. #3 in F major. HOB XVIII. Second movement / Largo Cantibile
Haydn piano concerto in F major
Mozart’s P.C. #21 in C major KV 467 / Andante
Sorry! I think I’ve put Haydn at an immediate disadvantage! This piece by Mozart is SO beloved and SO well known, because of the film Elvira Madigan. I didn’t “rig” this in Mozart’s advantage on purpose!
What an incredible difference 20 plus years can make in the life of a musician! First we hear how Glenn Gould played/interpreted this piece by Bach (Goldberg Variations BWV 988 / Aria) in 1955 or 56; and then again how he played it in 1981.
What happened? There is an almost double – or half – the length of play in the two version. Did he just get older and slow down? (the 1980’s version) … Or -Â Did more evidence emerge as to what Bach intended?
Hmmm. Fascinating to compare the versions. I certainly enjoy, and feel Bach’s Spirit more in the later version. What do you think? Leave a comment if you wish.
Just now reviewing some playlists, and I came upon a CD I made for a guy who didn’t know much (oranything at all?) about Classical Music – But he was very interested to hear / learn / investigate.
So I made a CD of what I thought was the very, very Best of the Best. (*Bach/Mozart/Chopin/Liszt/Shostakovich/Satie/Tchaikovsky/Brahms/Beethoven - etc.*) Amazing response! … When I asked what he liked – he could only name this ONE piece!!!
A listener wrote and asked what this piece was. It’s from the Movie “Green Card” that I refer to on the right hand side as: “Did you see the movie Green Card”?
They sent me this link to find out what piece is being played.
Having been raised on Chopin (see About Me) I knew I’d heard this a thousand times! Therefore, I knew it had to be Chopin. BUT .. I’m not so good on titles. I started searching in Waltzes and Mazurkas … it must be one or the other.
Since what she plays in the video is quite short (and it sounds complete!) – I was only listening to the first notes of all the Waltzes and Mazurkas. Then I even went on to unlikely Nocturnes and Etudes! Going crazy! My library of Chopin pieces is very comprehensive – it HAD to be there! But it wasn’t.
WHY couldn’t I find it? Because she’s playing the very end of the piece!
So here’s the exquisite Chopin Waltz #9 in a Flat Op. 69 “Farewell” played by Ashkenazy.
It took me long enough to get around to him! I just had no idea how inovative, spontanous and delightful his music is. I’d only heard a handful of pieces and they brought to mind folks in powdered wigs dancing around stiffly! How wrong I was. Here are a few comments about him and his music:
By one estimate, Haydn produced some 340 hours of music, more than Bach or Handel, Mozart or Beethoven. Few of them lack some unexpected detail or clever solution to a formal problem. …. – In many ways Franz Joseph Haydn, the quintessential composer of the period of eighteenth century Enlightenment, is the father of modern music.
Haydn treated composing more as an exalted craft in which he delighted in endlessly experimenting. A close look at his music reveals many daring gambits of harmony and form. His endless humor and wit are palpable as is the warmth of his humanity. As Haydn once wrote, “Since God has given me a cheerful heart, He will forgive me for serving him cheerfully.”
***I also found a reference to his being the ‘least neurotic’ of the Great composers! ***
Inventive, playful and humorous, not neurotic!, willing to experiment … and a Master composer. What else could you want?!
This first piece is so cool! So Zen. BUT Not for everyone!
The silences are as important as the music … AND you have to wonder: “What’s gonna’ happen next?! Keep in mind this is the 18th century! – not a modern L.A. or Paris jazz pianist! UPDATE 18 months later: I only just heard it now. This is one of those pieces where Glenn Gould would hum along with his piano playing! You can just hear him in the background. I think most recording companies removed the humming!
From the last 6 Sonatas: Hoboken XVI – no. 48 Andante con espressione
Hoboken-xvi-no-48-i-andante-con-espressione
One of his famous Symphonies: “The London” / Finale
Symphony-no104-London op180 finale spiritoso
Symphony #3 in G major / second movement Just “kick back”!
Symphony 3 g-major 2nd movement
Haydn is often called the father of the symphony: in fact Haydn is more literally the father of the string quartet … Re: The following “Sun Quartets” – The music is broader and richer than in Haydn’s earlier, simpler quartets, with more interesting interplay (interesting for both listeners and performers) among the instruments.
String-Quartet-no-25-fuga-a-quattro-soggetti
String Quartet 28 third movement affetuoso-e-sostenuto
String-Quartet-no-25-moderato
And finally – here is a fascinating look into the man himself.
A friend recently returned a CD favour after I’d given him one of my “favourites.”
His offering had a preponderence of Glass pieces.
Phillip Glass is lauded and beloved by many. But where did his inspiration come from? Has he acknowledged ‘The Greats” who have influenced him? I’m not sure. I wasn’t willing to GoogleForever to find out.
He’s loved by millions for his Popular themes, including those used in Blockbuster movies and such. BUT – is there substance there? When he decides to “sock it to us”; Do we feel the real guts of a Tchaikovsky melody? The emotional intensity of Chopin/ Liszt/ Rachmaninoff? Or the hypnotic magic of an Eric Satie number? (*Whatever! … it is irresistable stuff isn’t it?*)
You – Beloved Listener – decide!
From Wikipedia:
Many describe his music in the minimalist vein as mesmerizing; others hear it as numbingly repetitive and devoid of variety in its simplicity. The latter view of his style is itself simplistic and fails to take into account the many subtleties and complexities found in his methods. Glass’ mature style embraces more to take into account the many subtleties and complexities found in his methods. Glass’ mature style embraces more than just minimalism and thus must be viewed being more eclectic and far less dogmatic.
These Opera lovers! They just can’t believe or accept – that a Classical Music “buff” wouldn’t enjoy Opera. So they keep trying to convert me! Out of the 6 opera pieces a friend gave me … This one I like a lot.
Quintet in E flat major for 3 horns, oboe and bassoon / second movement
Absurd and Zen-like! (the Diabelli variations are in the “Piano freaks only” section)
In the second half, there is a remarkable pianissimo passage where the treble holds a chord for four full bars while the bass repeats a little three-note figure over and over, eight times, after which the melody proceeds as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened! I love it.
Diabelli variation 3
Can Do: “Spooky”
The Ghost Trio was so named by Czerny because the second movement reminded him of Hamlet’s Ghost in Shakespeare. In fact, Beethoven’s notes reveal that he was working on an idea for an opera based on Macbeth, and interspersed with these notes are the sketch of a slow movement for the Trio.
Piano trio 5 in d major second movement
Fun, humorous, “cheeky” ala Mozart
Piano sonata 15 third movement
Simple/Profound
These two pieces are examples of the “simplest” pieces of music being the most difficult to play properly! He “casts a spell” with the most basic melody, and I think epitomizes claims to his being “The Greatest”
Bach / Beethoven / Mozart are usually argued about and compared as the greatest composer.
Bach created “music” as we know it today. (with the introduction/elaboration of Contrapuntal)
Mozart they say is the sound of God and/or Angels.
Beethoven? The Master of everything? Symphonies. Piano. Chamber. etc.
Who else? Chopin / Liszt / Brahms / Handel / Tchaikovsky and a handful of others. But usually it’s an argument about the BIG 3!
I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and proclaim: (after a short 3 year intense period of listening to and collecting Classical Music) Beethoven as The One! The Greatest.
At this point there are only a few pieces by him (on the right side under Beethoven) but I will be adding more from now. Comments welcome!
Here is the second movement of Bruch’s violin concerto #1
Perhaps a ‘perfect’ example of Romantic violin?
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
“The slow second movement is often adored for its powerful melody, and is generally considered to be the heart of the concerto. The rich, expansive themes, presented by the violin, are underscored by a constantly moving orchestra part, keeping the movement alive and helping it flow from one part to the the next.”
In the case of Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 – 1837) there doesn’t appear to be a good reason as to why he has become somewhat obscure. At the time he was composing; his music and compositions were spoken of in the same breath as Beethoven and Mozart. (see Hummel and Hummel Hunt on the right)
BUT … it’s a different story with SERGEI BORTKIEWICZ. He suffered every possible trauma from the Russian Revolution, The First World War … and the Second WW too! Even Nazi persecution! Constantly fleeing this, or losing that. How can a musician function? As he wrote:
“I’m writing to you from my bathroom where we have crawled in because it is small and can be warmed on and off with a gas light (!) The other rooms cannot be used and I cannot touch my piano. This is now! What awaits us further ? Life is becoming more and more unpleasant, merciless. I teach at the Conservatory with the heat at 4 degrees, soon even less! […]â€
So here’s the Second (the shortest) Movement to Borkiewicz’ Piano Concerto #1 in B minor Op. 16. The passionate “theme” in this movement is so beautiful it could probably spawn a Popular Hit! (maybe it already has and I just don’t know it)
Hey! – I just listened again … and wonder?! Is there inspiration for George Gershwin here?
Bortkiewicz piano concerto no. 1 second movement
Another one from the list Lance sent me of “obscure / underdog” Composers. Lance says that this is his favourite violin concerto! So it’s gotta’ be worth a listen. WARNING: it’s Long!
Glazunov violin concerto in a minor op-82-moderato-andante-allegro
Anton Rubinstein
Not to be confused with the great pianist Artur Rubinstein, born in 1887, Anton Rubinstein, an even greater performer in his time and a clear rival to Liszt and other great pianists of the 19th century, had a marked effect on the development of music in Russia, establishing the first system of professional musical training at a new Conservatory in St. Petersburg in 1862.
Rubinstein grand sonata for piano 4 hands second movement
ANOTHER “Underdog” Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France.
Talk about being cheated out of fame and posthumous recognition!!! Just read what was said about him … by “Them” – back then! And then listen to a movement from that vocal piece “They” raved about.
Posterity has a habit of elevating the obscure and neglecting the famous. Thus it is that Cherubini, hailed by Beethoven as ‘the greatest living composer’, is today often forgotten; ‘If I were to write a Requiem, Cherubini’s would be my only model’, Beethoven continued and the work was performed at his funeral in 1827. Schumann’s opinion was that it was ‘without equal in the world’. Berlioz considered that ‘the decrescendo in the Agnus Dei surpasses everything that has ever been written of the kind’.
How could he be so inconsiderate as to compose ONLY ONE Piano Concerto?! It’s a beautiful piece of music and I wonder why he  didn’t compose more? Very inconsiderate.
If you have the time,listen to all three movements. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Madmen of the Piano (*and the piano’s supreme emotional power - Inspired by, and dedicated to Tam from Retravision in Byron Bay, because he just loves the wild piano stuff! )
Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninoff
(*Yes indeed …Â there are lots of other ‘Madmen Pianists’ – but these guys take the cake)
I was thinking the other day – What instruments convey the most ‘intensity’? Drums? Electric guitar (ala Jimmy Hendrix!) … maybe the Sax? (John Coltrain)
For me it’s the piano. Done by the “Masters.â€
Here are some intense pieces; some supremely difficult to play: Pieces that blend that ‘wild’ quality – with emotional glory!
Sorry Tam! I didn’t do what I originally intended; which was to introduce only the purely ‘berserk’ numbers. I know you love ‘em … but hey – I might lose listeners!
Dear listener – if these pieces move you, click on the Title on the right, “My Personal Bias†You’ll find gorgeous piano pieces without as much intensity.
Chopin Ballade #1
Rachmaninoff prelude in G Minor (played by “THE Piano man” – no .. not Billy Joel !! but The Big H – Horowitz)
Rachmaninoff prelude in g- minor Vladimir Horowitz-piano
Liszt erlkonig-op1
Chopin Fanstasie Impromptu in C sharp minor
Rachmaninoff preludes-no-10-in-b-minor-lento
Liszt hungarian rhapsody no-2
Here’s another one. This piece is often mentioned in the “hardest to play” category. It is surely “Intense”!
Islamey an Oriental Fantasy by Mily Balakirev. And here’s what a critic said:
Despite some dismissal that the work is merely a showpiece, Islamey has had a lasting impact on piano solo music; Ravel once remarked to a friend that his goal in writing Gaspard de la nuit was to compose a piece that was “more difficult than Balakirev’s Islamey.”
