Schubert - Impromptu No.3 in G flat major


Pianist - Krystian Zimerman
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Impromptus (Schubert)
Franz Schubert's Impromptus are a series of eight pieces for solo piano composed in 1827. They were published in two sets of four impromptus each: the first set was published in the composer's lifetime as Op. 90, and the second set was published posthumously as Op. posth. 142. They are now catalogued as D. 899 and D. 935 respectively.
Three other unnamed piano compositions (D. 946), written in May 1828, a few months before the composer's death, are alternatively indicated as Impromptus or Klavierstücke ("piano pieces").
The Impromptus are often considered companion pieces to the Six moments musicaux, and they are often recorded and published together.
It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7 (1822) of Jan Václav Voříšek and by the music of Voříšek's teacher Václav Tomášek.[
Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90)
The Opus 90 impromptus consist of 4 typical Romantic-era pieces, each with distinct elements. The name Impromptus was given by the publisher.
No. 3 in G-flat major
This serenade is a classic example of Schubert's outstanding lyrical facility, as well as his penchant for long melodic lines. There is little interruption in the fluttering harp-like broken triad accompaniment, creating a tense contrast with the spacious and languid melody—an anticipation of Felix Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. Without repeats, the melody develops into a shadowy and frequently modulating middle section before returning to its relaxed flow. Though written in G-flat major and 4/2 meter, the work was printed by the first publisher, almost 30 years later, in G major and 4/4 meter. The original version is now generally preferred.
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Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 - Krystian Zimerman


Piano - Krystian Zimerman / Conductor - Leonard Bernstein
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Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.

Musical forces and movements

The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of a flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. As is standard for classical concertos, it is in three movements:

I. Allegro moderato (G major)

II. Andante con moto (E minor)

III. Rondo (Vivace) (G major)

Premiere and reception

It was premiered in March 1807 at a private concert of the home of Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz. The Coriolan Overture and the Fourth Symphony were premiered in that same concert. However, the public premiere was not until 22 December 1808 in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien. Beethoven again took the stage as soloist. This was part of a marathon concert which saw Beethoven's last appearance as a soloist with orchestra, as well as the premieres of the Choral Fantasy and the Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Beethoven dedicated the concerto to his friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolph.

A review in the May 1809 edition of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung states that "[this concerto] is the most admirable, singular, artistic and complex Beethoven concerto ever" [Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, May 1809]. However, after its first performance, the piece was neglected until 1836, when it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn. Today, the work is widely performed and recorded, and is considered to be one of the central works of the piano concerto literature.

Cadenzas

Cadenzas for the Fourth Piano Concerto have been written by a number of pianists and composers throughout its history; these include Clara Schumann, Ferruccio Busoni, Hans von Bülow, Ignaz Moscheles, Camille Saint-Saëns, Anton Rubinstein, Nikolai Medtner, Eugen d'Albert, Leopold Godowsky, and Samuil Feinberg.

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Beethoven - Violin Concerto - Itzhak Perlman






Violin - Itzhak Perlman / Conductor - Carlo Maria Giulini / Philharmonia Orchestra London 1981
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Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.
The work was premiered on 23 December 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, who had earlier given him helpful advice on his opera Fidelio. The occasion was a benefit concert for Clement. However, the first printed edition (1808) was dedicated to Beethoven’s friend Stephan von Breuning.
It is believed that Beethoven finished the solo part so late that Clement had to sight-read part of his performance. Perhaps to express his annoyance, or to show what he could do when he had time to prepare, Clement is said to have interrupted the concerto between the first and second movements with a solo composition of his own, played on one string of the violin held upside down; however, other sources claim that he did play such a piece but only at the end of the program.
The premiere was not a success, and the concerto was little performed in the following decades.
The work was revived in 1844, well after Beethoven's death, with performances by the then 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim with the orchestra conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Ever since, it has been one of the most important works of the violin concerto repertoire, and it is frequently performed and recorded today.
It is scored, in addition to the solo violin, for single flute, and pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and timpani along with strings. Cadenzas for the work have been written by several notable violinists, including Joachim. The cadenzas by Fritz Kreisler are probably most often employed. More recently, composer Alfred Schnittke provided controversial cadenzas with a characteristically 20th-century flavor; violinist Gidon Kremer has recorded the concerto with the Schnittke cadenzas.
Alternative versions
Perhaps due to the Violin Concerto's lack of success at its premiere, and at the request of Muzio Clementi, Beethoven revised it in a version for piano and orchestra, which was later published as Opus 61a. For this version, which is present as a sketch in the Violin Concerto's autograph alongside revisions to the solo violin part,Beethoven wrote a lengthy, somewhat bombastic first movement cadenza which features the orchestra's timpanist along with the solo pianist. This and the cadenzas for the other movements were later arranged for the violin by the 20th-century violinists Max Rostal and Wolfgang Schneiderhan.
More recently, it has been arranged as a concerto for clarinet and orchestra, by Mikhail Pletnev.
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Liszt - Piano Concerto no.1 - Sviatoslav Richter




Pianist - Sviatoslav Richter
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Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt)

Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes. It premiered in Weimar on February 17, 1855, with Liszt at the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting.

History

The main themes of Liszt's first piano concerto are written in a sketchbook dated 1830, when Liszt was nineteen years old. He seems to have completed the work in 1849, yet made further adjustments in 1853. It was first performed at Weimar in 1855, with the composer at the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting. Liszt made yet more changes before publication in 1856. Béla Bartók wrote of the work as being "the first perfect realisation of cyclic sonata form, with common themes being treated on the variation principle".The movements of the piano concerto are played without a break.

Form

The concerto consists of four relatively short movements:

1. Allegro maestoso

2. Quasi adagio

3. Allegretto vivace - Allegro animato

4. Allegro marziale animato

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Chopin - Grand Valse Brillante


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Grande valse brillante in E flat major (Chopin)

The Grande valse brillante in E-flat major (The Brilliant Grand Waltz), Op. 18, was composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1833 and published in 1834. This was his first published waltz composition for solo piano. However, prior to 1834 he had written at least sixteen waltzes that were either destroyed or eventually published posthumously.

Chopin also gave the title Grand valse brillante to the next three waltzes in the Op. 34 set, published in 1838.

In 1909, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky made an orchestral arrangement of this waltz for Serge Diaghilev's ballet Les Sylphides.

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Vivaldi - Four seasons - summer - David Garrett


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Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5 - Yevgeni Svetlanov








USSR Symphony Orchestra / Conductor - Yevgeni Svetlanov
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Symphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky)
The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed between May and August 1888 and was first performed in St Petersburg at the Hall of Nobility on November 6 of that year with Tchaikovsky conducting. It is dedicated to Theodore Avé-Lallemant.

Like the Symphony No. 4, the Fifth is a cyclical symphony, with a recurring main theme. Unlike the Fourth, however, the theme is heard in all four movements, a feature Tchaikovsky had first used in the Manfred Symphony, which was completed less than two years before the Fifth. The theme has a funereal character in the first movement, but gradually transforms into a triumphant march, which dominates the final movement. Tchaikovsky was attracted to this particular theme because the topic of the Fifth Symphony is Providence, according to the composer's notebook page dated 15 April 1888, which was about one month before he began composition of the symphony. The composer stated, in describing the introduction, "a complete resignation before fate, which is the same as the inscrutable predestination of fate." The changing character of the motto over the course of the symphony seems to imply that Tchaikovsky is expressing optimism with regard to providence, an outlook that would not return in his Sixth Symphony.
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Beethoven - Fantasia In C Minor - Op. 80 ''Choral Fantasy''




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Choral Fantasy

The Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80, was composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Fantasia was first performed at the Akademie (benefit concert) of 22 December 1808, which also saw the premières of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies as well as a performance of portion of the C major Mass. To conclude this memorable concert program, Beethoven wanted a "brilliant Finale" that would unite in a single piece the different musical elements highlighted in the concert night: piano solo, chorus and orchestra. The Fantasia op. 80, written shortly prior, was thus written expressly to fulfill this role. Beethoven himself played the piano part and the opening solo offers an example of his improvisational style (at the première he did, in fact, improvise this section).

Beethoven wrote the piece during the second half of December, an unusually short time by his standards. He commissioned a poet—whose identity is disputed—to write the words shortly before the performance to fit the already written parts.

Form

The Choral Fantasy, which in most performances lasts about twenty minutes, is divided into two movements:

1. Adagio

2. Finale. Allegro – Meno allegro (Allegretto) – Allegro molto – Adagio ma non troppo – Marcia, assai vivace – Allegro – Allegretto ma non troppo quasi andante con moto »Schmeinchelnd hold und liebliech klingen« – Presto

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Mozart - Don Giovanni - La ci darem la mano


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Là ci darem la mano

"Là ci darem la mano" (Italian for "There we’ll be hand in hand") is an aria for the title character in Mozart's 1787 opera Don Giovanni.

Mozart's aria was the basis for several other works:

  • Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" for two oboes and English horn, WoO 28 (1796) by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Fantasy on "Là ci darem la mano" for clarinet and orchestra by Franz Danzi (1763–1826)
  • Variations on "Là ci darem la mano", Op. 2 (1827) by Frédéric Chopin
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Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music Of The Night - Sarah Brightman


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Lyrics:

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation; Darkness stirs and wakes imagination; Silently the senses abandon their defenses;
Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour; Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender; Turn your face away from the garish light of day; Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light; And listen to the music of the night;
Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams; Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before; Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar; And you'll live as you've never lived before;
Softly, deftly, music shall caress you; Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you; Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind; In this darkness which you know you cannot fight; The darkness of the music of the night;
Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world; Leave all thoughts of the World you knew before; Let your soul take you where you want to be; Only then can you belong to me;
Floating, falling, sweet intoxication; Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation; Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in; To the harmony which dreams along can write; The power of the music of the night;
You alone can make my song take flight; Help me make the music of the night.

The Music of the Night
"The Music of the Night" is a song from the musical The Phantom of the Opera. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart.
Initially made famous by Michael Crawford, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in the West End and on Broadway, the popular song has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. The Really Useful Group filmed a video starring Crawford and Sarah Brightman (who did not sing), which featured the original lyrics to the song. Crawford later recorded the song as duet with Barbra Streisand for her album "Back to Broadway" (1993).
In the musical, it is sung after the Phantom lures Christine Daaé down to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with "his music" of the night, his voice putting her into a type of trance. He sings of his unspoken love for her and urges her to forget the world and life she knew before. The Phantom leads Christine around his lair, eventually pulling back a curtain to reveal a life-size doll of Christine dressed in a wedding gown, causing her to faint. The Phantom then carries Christine to a bed, where he lays her down and goes on to write his music.
Sarah Brightman declared at the London's Royal Albert Hall Concert in 1997, that the song was originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for her, the first time he met her. That version had different lyrics and was called "Married Man". The lyrics were later rewritten and the song was added into The Phantom of the Opera. After her run as the original Christine, she began using the song in her solo concerts.
A year before The Phantom Of The Opera even opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, the original version of the song was performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's own theatre at Sydmonton, along with the first drafts of the show. The audience were a specially gathered group of Webber's acquaintances. The Phantom was played by Colm Wilkinson, who sang "The Music Of The Night" in Act One. As Charles Hart had not yet become involved in writing the song, in places the lyrics were very different from the ones used in the three variations of the song.
One version of "The Music of the Night", as performed by Sarah Brightman, has alternate lyrics, as well as an alternate ending, replacing the line "To the power of the music that I write," with "To the harmony which dreams alone can write".
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Music of the Night.

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Scala Ballet) - Complete Ballet


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Wagner - Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin


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Bridal Chorus
The "Bridal Chorus" "Treulich geführt", from the 1850 opera Lohengrin, by German composer Richard Wagner, is a march played for the bride's entrance at many formal weddings throughout the Western world. In English-speaking countries it is generally known as "Here Comes the Bride" or "Wedding March" (though actually "wedding march" refers to any piece in march tempo accompanying the entrance or exit of the bride, notably Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March").
Its usual placement at the beginning of a wedding ceremony is not entirely in accordance with its placement in the opera. In the opera, the chorus is sung after the ceremony by the women of the wedding party, as they accompany the heroine Elsa to the bridal chamber. In addition, the marriage between Elsa and Lohengrin is an almost immediate failure.
The "Bridal Chorus" is seldom played at Jewish weddings. This is often because of cultural objections, due to Wagner's well-documented and public reputation as an antisemite. It is also opposed by many pastors of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod because of pre-First World War Lutheran opposition to the theater and to the pagan elements of Wagner's operas. The Roman Catholic Church generally does not use the "Bridal Chorus"; one diocese's guidelines regarding the piece states that the chorus is a secular piece of music, that it is not a processional to the altar in the opera, and especially that its frequent use in film and television associate it with sentimentality rather than worship.
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