Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1
I - Waltz-Scherzo (The Bolt) / II - Polka (The Limpid Stream) / III - Galop (The Limpid Stream) IV - Romance (The Limpid Stream) /V - Lyric Waltz (Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1) VI - Dance (The Limpid Stream) / Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Home
Related:
The Bright Stream (ballet)
The Bright Stream (Russian: Светлый ручей, "Svetlyi ruchei", also translated as "The Limpid Stream") is a ballet score, Op. 39, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich on the libretto by Adrian Piotrovsky and Fedor Lopukhov and choreography by Fedor Lopukhov, premiered in Leningrad in 1935. The other two ballet scores written by this Russian composer are The Golden Age (Russian: Золотой век, "Zolotoi vek"), from 1930, and The Bolt (Russian: Болт), from 1931. "All three were banned shortly after their premieres, leaving Shostakovich's reputation so damaged that he was reluctant ever to write for the lyric stage again."
The Bright Stream's deliberately simple-minded melodies, banal harmonies, straightforward rhythms, and garish colors had the work playing successfully in both Leningrad and Moscow from June 1935 through February 1936. However, an editorial in Pravda in early February 1936 condemned the ballet and, by implication, its musical suite, Op. 39a, and both works were withdrawn
Alexei Ratmansky, currently an artist in residence at the American Ballet Theatre and the former director of the Bolshoi Ballet, first came across the full score of the ballet in a recording made by Gennady Rozhdestvensky in Stockholm in 1995. Unable to restore the original choreography of the ballet, which was never notated, Ratmansky wrote his own choreography and staged the new version of The Bright Stream with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow in 2003.
In July 2005 the Bolshoi performed The Bright Stream at the Met, and in August of 2006, at the Royal Opera House, London.
In January 2011, American Ballet Theatre performed The Bright Stream in Ratmansky's choreography, at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C..This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Bright Stream (ballet)
Pachelbel - Hexachordum Apollinis (Aria Prima)
Home
Related:
Hexachordum Apollinis
Hexachordum Apollinis (PWC 193–8, T. 211–6, PC 131–6, POP 1–6) is a collection of keyboard music by Johann Pachelbel, published in 1699. It comprises six arias with variations, on original themes, and is generally regarded as one of the pinnacles of Pachelbel's oeuvre. The collection includes a preface in which Pachelbel dedicates the work to Dieterich Buxtehude and Ferdinand Tobias Richter and briefly discusses the nature of music.
General information
Hexachordum Apollinis (the title roughly translates to "Six Strings of Apollo") was published in 1699 in Nuremberg by Johann Christoph Weigel, a publisher who had worked with Pachelbel before. The frontispiece, created by Cornelius Nicolaus Schurz, describes the collection as "six arias to be played on the organ, or the harpsichord, to whose simple melodies are added variations for the pleasure of Friends of the Muses." The instruments mentioned are referenced on the frontispiece: two cherubs are pictured, one playing a pipe organ (possibly with a pedalboard), the other a single-manual harpsichord or clavichord.
Pachelbel wrote a short preface (dated November 20, 1699), in which he dedicated the collection to Dieterich Buxtehude and Ferdinand Tobias Richter and expresses a hope that his eldest son Wilhelm Hieronymus might study with one of them (it is unknown whether this hope was realized). Pachelbel also confesses that "something weightier and more unusual" than this work should have been written for the occasion, apparently feeling that this is not his best work. Pachelbel alludes to the "friendly nature" of Buxtehude and Richter, which might indicate that he knew one of them or both, perhaps through correspondence.
Another topic discussed in the preface is the nature of music. Pachelbel writes that music is the finest of the arts, governing human emotions and desires, and expresses the "belief of many" that music comes from the "Dreymal-Heilig" sung by angels and from the movement of celestial bodies (a belief, Pachelbel points out, shared by Pythagoras and Plato). Secular variations were rarely accompanied by such ideas; and apparently there is also a cabalistic aspect to the collection (Johannes Pachelbelius Organista Noriberghensium = 1699) which has yet to be researched.
Of all published works by Pachelbel, Hexachordum Apollinis had the widest distribution and survives in more than 10 copies in various libraries in Berlin, London, The Hague, Rochester, and other cities.
Analysis
The collection contains six arias with variations, all on original, secular themes. The practice of composing variations on original themes was a relatively new one (one previous instance was Frescobaldi's Aria detta la Frescobalda from the 1627 Secondo libro di toccate; of Pachelbel's contemporaries Bernardo Pasquini was one of the main exponents of this trend), and Pachelbel was among the first in Europe to explore the form. The overall plan of Hexachordum Apollinis is as follows:
Piece / Key / Number of variations
Aria Prima / D minor / 6
Aria Secunda / E minor / 5
Aria Tertia / F major / 6
Aria Quarta / G minor / 6
Aria Quinta / A minor / 6
Aria Sexta Sebaldina / F minor / 8
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Hexachordum Apollinis
Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 1 - 3
III - Orchestration: Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Martin Schmeling & Albert Parlow (1822-1888) / Orchestra: North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Home
Related:
Hungarian Dances (Brahms)
The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1869. Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. In fact, number 5 was based on the csárdás by Kéler Béla titled "Bártfai emlék" which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong. They vary from about a minute to four minutes in length. They are among Brahms' most popular works, and were certainly the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four-hands and later arranged the first 10 dances for solo piano. The most famous Hungarian Dance is No. 5 in F♯ minor (G minor in the orchestral version).
List of Hungarian Dances
Book 1. (Published in 1869)
1 In G minor: Allegro molto
2 In D minor: Allegro non assai - Vivace
3 In F major: Allegretto
4 In F minor (F♯ minor for orchestra): Poco sostenuto - Vivace
5 In F♯ minor (G minor for orchestra): Allegro - Vivace
Book 2. (Published in 1869)
6 In D♭ major (D major for orchestra): Vivace
7 In A major (F major for orchestra): Allegretto - Vivo
8 In A minor: Presto
9 In E minor: Allegro ma non troppo
10 In E major (F major for orchestra): Presto
Book 3. (Published in 1880)
11 In D minor: Poco andante
12 In D minor: Presto
13 In D major: Andantino grazioso - Vivace
14 In D minor: Un poco andante
15 In B♭ major: Allegretto grazioso
16 In F minor: Con moto
Book 4. (Published in 1880)
17 In F♯ minor: Andantino - Vivace
18 In D major: Molto vivace
19 In B minor: Allegretto
20 In E minor: Poco allegretto - Vivace
21 In E minor: Vivace
The Hungarian Dances bear many resemblances to, and may have influenced, the similarly profitable and popular Slavonic Dances of Antonín Dvořák.
Orchestrations
Brahms wrote orchestral arrangements for No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10. Other composers, including Antonín Dvořák, orchestrated the other dances. These composers were Andreas Hallén for No. 2, Paul Juon for No. 4, Martin Schmeling for Nos. 5 to 7, Hans Gál for Nos. 8 and 9, Albert Parlow for Nos. 11 to 16. Dvořák orchestrated the last numbers.
Brahms' Hungarian Dances were influential in the development of ragtime. See, for example, the role of German-American piano teacher Julius Weiss in ragtime composer Scott Joplin's early life and career.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Hungarian Dances (Brahms) .
Mozart - "Vesperae Solennes de Confessore"
Related:
W.A. Mozart "Vesperae Solennes de Confessore"
Edda Moser - Soprano / Julia Hamari - Mezzo-soprano / Nicholai Gedda - Tenor / Dietrich / ischer-Dieskau - Bass / Eugen Jochum - Director / Chor & Orchester des Bayerichen Rundfunks
Paintings: Simone Martini (c. 1284 -- 1344)
I - Part l, K.339 / l. Dixit / ll. Confitebor / lll. Beatus vir
II - Part ll,K.339 / lV. Laudate pueri / V. Laudate Dominum / VI. Magnificat
Bizet - L'Arlésienne Suite no.1
II& IV - Orchestre National de France / Cond. by Seiji Ozawa / Recorded 1983
III - The South Carolina Governor's School's Sinfonia concert of 2007.
Home
Related:
L'Arlésienne (Bizet)
The incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne (usually translated as 'The Girl from Arles') was composed by Georges Bizet for the first performance of the play in 1872. It consists of 27 numbers (some only a few bars) for voice, chorus, and small orchestra, ranging from short solos to longer entr'actes.
Bizet wrote several folk-like themes for the music but also incorporated three existing tunes from a folk-music collection published by Vidal of Aix in 1864: the Marcho dei Rei, the Danse dei Chivau-Frus, and Er dou Guet. The score achieves powerful dramatic ends with the most economic of means. Still, it received poor reviews in the wake of the premiere and is not much performed nowadays in its original form. It has survived and flourished, however, in the form of two suites for orchestra.
Suite No. 1
Background
Despite the poor reviews of the incidental music, Bizet arranged his work into a suite of four movements. Now known as L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1, the suite used a full symphony orchestra but without the chorus. The first performance was at a Pasdeloup concert on 10 November 1872.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article L'Arlésienne (Bizet)
Beethoven - The Ruins of Athens, Op. 113 - Overture and Chorus
Home
Related:
I - 1. Overture (Andante con moto - Allegro, ma non troppo) /2. Chorus: Tochter des mächtigen Zeus (Andante poco sostenuto)
II - 3. Duet (a Greek and a Greek girl): Ohne Verschulden Knechtschaft dulden (Andante con moto - Poco più mosso) /4. Dervish Chorus: Du hast in deines Ärmels Falten (Allegro, ma non troppo) / 5. Turkish March (Vivace)
III - 7. March with chorus: Schmückt die Altare (Assai moderato) /9. Chorus & Aria: Wir tragen empfängliche Herzen im Busen (Allegretto ma non troppo)
IV - 11. Final Chorus: Heil unserm König! (Allegro con fuoco)
Soprano: Neumar Starling / Baritone: Vladimir de Kanel
Conductor: Hans Hubert Schoenzeler / Berliner Symphoniker, Berliner Konzertchor
The Ruins of Athens
The Ruins of Athens (Die Ruinen von Athen), Opus 113, is a set of incidental music written in 1811 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The music was written to accompany the play of the same name by August von Kotzebue, for the dedication of a new theatre at Pest.
A second overture was written in 1822 for the same play. It was composed especially for the reopening of Vienna's Theater in der Josefstadt in 1822. The second overture is known as the Consecration of the House Overture.
Perhaps the best-known music from The Ruins of Athens is the Turkish March, a theme that even many who are not avid classical music listeners are familiar with. The overture and the Turkish March are often performed separately, and the other pieces of this set are not often heard. Another of Beethoven's composition, Six variations on an original theme, Op. 76, uses the Turkish March as its theme.
It was reworked in 1924 by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
Movements
1. Overture, Op. 113, (Andante con moto, G minor - Allegro, ma non troppo, G major)
2. Chorus: Tochter des mächtigen Zeus (Andante poco sostenuto, E-flat major)
3. Duet (a Greek and a Greek girl): Ohne Verschulden Knechtschaft dulden (Andante con moto - Poco piu mosso, G minor)
4. Dervish Chorus: Du hast in deines Ärmels Falten (Allegro, ma non troppo - G major)
5. Turkish March (Vivace - B-flat major)
6. Music from the back of the stage (Allegro assai ma non troppo - C major)
7. March with chorus, Op. 114: Schmückt die Altare (Assai moderato - E-flat major)
8. Recital: Mit reger Freude
9. Chorus: Wir tragen empfängliche Herzen im Busen (Allegretto ma non troppo - G major)
10. Aria and Chorus: Will unser Genius noch einen Wunsch gewähren? (Adagio - C major) Er ist's! Wir sind erhört! (Allegro con brio - C major)
11. Chorus: Heil unserm König! (Allegro con fuoco - A major)
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Ruins of Athens
Beethoven - 'Appassionata' Sonata No. 23 - Wilhelm Kempff
Pianist - Wilhelm Kempff Home Related:
Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (colloquially known as the Appassionata) is a piano sonata. It is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein, Op. 53 and Les Adieux, Op. 81a). It was composed during 1804 and 1805, and perhaps 1806, and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
Unlike the early Sonata No. 8, Pathétique, the Appassionata was not named during the composer's lifetime, but was so labeled in 1838 by the publisher of a four-hand arrangement of the work.
The Appassionata was considered by Beethoven to be his most tempestuous piano sonata until the twenty-ninth piano sonata, known as the Hammerklavier, being described as a "brilliantly executed display of emotion and music".1803 was the year Beethoven came to grips with the irreversibility of his progressively deteriorating deafness.
An average performance of the entire Appassionata sonata lasts about twenty-three minutes.
Form
The sonata, in F minor, consists of three movements:
1. Allegro assai
2. Andante con moto
3. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven) .
Mozart - Serenade No. 10 (Gran Partita)
Home
Related:
Serenade No. 10 (Mozart)
The Serenade No. 10 for winds in B flat major, K. 361/370a, is a serenade by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart scored for thirteen instruments (twelve winds and string bass). The piece was probably composed in 1781 or 1782 and is often known by the subtitle "Gran Partita", though the title is a misspelling and not in Mozart's hand. It consists of seven movements.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Serenade No. 10 (Mozart) .
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 - Glenn Gould and Karajan
I,II - 1st movement /II,III - 2nd movement /IV - 3rd movement /Pianist - Glenn Gould Conductor - Karajan
Home
Related:Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted. The composition was dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The first primary theme is reminiscent of that of Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto.
The concerto is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in E-flat, 2 trumpets in C, timpani, strings and piano soloist.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
Mozart - Symphony No. 41 in C, K. 551
Home
Related:
Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788. It was the last symphony that he composed.
The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony. This name stems not from Mozart but rather was likely coined by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon in an early arrangement for piano.
In an article about the Jupiter Symphony, Sir George Grove wrote that "it is for the finale that Mozart has reserved all the resources of his science, and all the power, which no one seems to have possessed to the same degree with himself, of concealing that science, and making it the vehicle for music as pleasing as it is learned. Nowhere has he achieved more." Of the piece as a whole, he wrote that "It is the greatest orchestral work of the world which preceded the French Revolution."
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)