make music part of your life series: Maurizio Pollini – Frederic Chopin – Barcarolle in F sharp op.60 (excerpt)

[youtube.com/watch?v=WH5NXUnwTr0]

Maurizio Pollini – Frederic Chopin – Barcarolle in F sharp op.60 (excerpt)

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  Maurizio Pollini

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historic musical bits: Sviatoslav Richter – Chopin – Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op 22

Sviatoslav Richter – Chopin – Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op 22

Classical Vault 1

Published on May 19, 2013

Frederic Chopin
Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op 22

Sviatoslav Richter, piano

London Symphony Orchestra
Kyrill Kondrashin, conductor

Historic Musical Bits: Dinu Lipatti – Chopin Grande Valse Brillante Op. 34 n. 2 in A minor (n. 3D)

Dinu Lipatti – Chopin Grande Valse Brillante Op. 34 n. 2 in A minor (n. 3)

GiovanniEMB

Uploaded on Jul 22, 2009

Dinu Lipatti, piano.
Frédéric Chopin: Grande Valse Brillante Op. 34 n. 2 in A minor n. 3
Genava, studio recording of 1950
(not from Besançon).

Beethoven’s 5th Piano E-flat major, Op. 73 (Emperor) – Daniel Barenboim, great compositions/performances

© Beethoven’s 5th Piano E-flat major, Op. 73 (Emperor) – Daniel Barenboim (whole concert)

mugge62

Published on Mar 16, 2012

Beethoven’s 5th Piano concert (Emperor) – Daniel Barenboim
Det kongelige kapel – Michael Schønvandt i Danmarks Radio Koncerthuset 2009 ved prisoverrækkelsen af Sonningprisen 2009 på 600,000 DKK ~ 125.000 US$ ~ The Sonning Prize Award! The copyright © owner to all content in this video with The Royal Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim conducted by Michael Schønwandt, is entirely Danmarks Radio!
Also listen to Barenboims version of Noctune op. 27 no 2 by Chopin: http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=7EcER..
**************************************************************************

Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s patron and pupil. The first performance took place on 28 November 1811 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig under conductor Johann Philipp Christian Schulz, the soloist being Friedrich Schneider.^[1][2] On 12 February 1812, Carl Czerny, another student of Beethoven’s, gave the Vienna debut of this work.

The epithet of Emperor for this concerto was not Beethoven’s own but was coined by Johann Baptist Cramer, the English publisher of the concerto.^[3] Its duration is approximately forty minutes.

Instrumentation

The concerto is scored for a solo piano, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B-flat (clarinet I playing clarinet in A in movement 2; flute II, oboe II, clarinet II, both trumpets, and timpani are tacet during this movement), two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani in E-flat and B-flat, and strings.

Movements

The concerto is divided into three movements:

1. Allegro in E-flat major
2. Adagio un poco mosso in B major
3. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo in E-flat major

As with Beethoven’s other concertos from this time period, this work has a relatively long first movement. (At twenty-five minutes, the Violin Concerto has the longest; Piano Concerto Nos. 4 and 5 each have opening movements of about twenty minutes.)

Recordings

• In March 1927 Ignaz Friedman recorded the Emperor Concerto with the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra under Henry Wood but this recording no longer exists.
• Also in the 1920s, Wilhelm Backhaus recorded the 4th and 5th concertos very successfully. He would later record all five concertos with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and Vienna Philharmonic in stereo.
• In the early 1930s Artur Schnabel recorded all five Beethoven concertos under Sir Malcolm Sargent and the London Symphony Orchestra.
• Edwin Fischer recorded it with Karl Böhm in 1939 and Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1951.
• Josef Hoffmann recorded it with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hans Lange on May 12, 1940.
• Arthur Rubinstein recorded it three times, with Josef Krips, Erich Leinsdorf, and Daniel Barenboim.
• Walter Gieseking and Artur Rother made a stereophonic tape recording in 1944, apparently the earliest surviving such recording, for German radio.
• Vladimir Horowitz recorded it in a 1952 live performance at Carnegie Hall with Fritz Reiner and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.
• Wilhelm Kempff recorded it with Paul van Kempen in 1953 and with Ferdinand Leitner in 1961.
• Rudolf Serkin recorded it four times: in 1941 with Bruno Walter and the New York Philharmonic; in 1953 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra; in 1962 with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic, and in 1981 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa.
• Bernstein recorded a live performance of the concerto in September 1989, shortly before his death, with Krystian Zimerman and the Vienna Philharmonic. The performance was filmed and released on DVD.
• Leon Fleisher recorded all the Beethoven piano concertos with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra from 1959 until 1961.
• Claudio Arrau recorded it four times: with Alceo Galliera in 1958, Bernard Haitink in 1964 and twice with Sir Colin Davis, first with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and later with the Staatskapelle Dresden.
• Glenn Gould recorded this concerto with Leopold Stokowski (the only recording the two ever made together) using somewhat non-traditional phrasings and tempi, as was typical of Gould’s interpretations.
• Maurizio Pollini recorded the five piano concertos twice for Deutsche Grammophon. First with Karl Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic and later with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic.
• Alfred Brendel recorded all Beethoven’s piano concertos at least three times over his career.
• Paul Lewis recorded all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra with conductor Jiří Bělohlávek.
• Murray Perahia recorded all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Bernard Haitink, 1988.

 

Gotta listen! Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor #7 Valentina Lisitsa, WOW!

Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor #7 Valentina Lisitsa

ValentinaLisitsa

Uploaded on Jan 11, 2011/ 951,882 views

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Happy Birthday Mozart – Week: Mozart – Piano Sonatas – Classical Music (COMPLETE)

Mozart – Piano Sonatas – Classical Music (COMPLETE)

sadeq Ghanem

SONATAS
1. Sonata in C, K279
2. Sonata in F, K280
3. Sonata in B flat, K281
4. Sonata in E flat, K282
5. Sonata in G, K283
6. Sonata in D, K284 “Durnitz”
7. Sonata in C, K309
8. Sonata in A minor, K310
9. Sonata in D, K311
10. Sonata in C, K330
11. Sonata in A, K331
12. Sonata in F, K332
13. Sonata in B flat, K333
14. Fantasia in C minor, K475
15. Sonata in C minor, K457
16. Sonata in C, K545 “fur Anfanger”
17. Sonata in B flat, K570
18. Sonata in D, K576
19. Sonata in F, K533 & 494

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 — 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, cuyo nombre completo era Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,1 (Salzburgo, 27 de enero de 1756 – Viena, 5 de diciembre de 1791), fue un compositor y pianista austriaco, maestro del Clasicismo, considerado como uno de los músicos más influyentes y destacados de la historia.

Classical Music: Piano Sonatas – Mozart
Musique classique: Sonates pour piano – Mozart
Música Clásica: Piano Sonatas – Mozart
Klassische Musik: Klaviersonaten – Mozart
Musica classica: Piano Sonatas – Mozart
Música clássica: Sonatas para Piano – Mozart

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Liszt Consolation D flat major No.3 (S.172), Valentina Lisitsa: Great compositions/performances

Liszt Consolation D flat major No.3 (S.172) Valentina Lisitsa

   ValentinaLisitsa

Recorded in November 2012 at medieval church in Blumenstein, Switzerland .
Learned in less than an hour at the same church 🙂
What you see and hear is basically my first performance, LOL!
Piano is Boesendorfer Imperial owned by http://www.leclavier.ch/
http://www.piano-suisse.com/contact.php
Free sheet music download is available, as always, at IMSLP library:
http://tinyurl.com/cuenc44

This little piece is the best answer to all those “music critics”, self-proclaimed experts and other snobs who throughout the years and years belittled, ignored or attacked Liszt music as primitive kitsch designed to pander to primitive tastes of gullible public.
What can be closer to perfection than these few pages sparsely “populated” with few notes , easy enough for any amateur to tackle – yet profound and comforting to turn to in the moment of quiet happiness and contemplation – or in the moment of utter hopelessness and despair?

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Valentina Lisitsa plays Chopin Variations Op 2 (1 and 2): great compositions/performances

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsG_YL-o9ZE[/embed]

Chopin Variations Op 2 (1 and 2) Valentina Lisitsa

  ValentinaLisitsa

Valentina Lisitsa, Black & Pink DVD.”La ci darem la mano”

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Chopin – Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni: great compositions/performances

Chopin – Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart‘s Don Giovanni

   Fledermaus1990

Frédéric Chopin’s Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” for piano and orchestra, Op. 2, was written in 1827, when he was aged only 17. “Là ci darem la mano” is a duet sung by Don Giovanni and Zerlina, from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. It was one of the earliest manifestations of Chopin’s incipient genius. It inspired Robert Schumann‘s famous exclamation, Hats off, gentlemen! A genius!

The work was premiered on 11 August 1829 at the Vienna Kärntnertortheater, with Chopin as the soloist. It received very positive audience and critical acclaim.

The work is in B-flat major throughout, except for the Adagio of Variation 5, which is in the minor key.

– Introduction: Largo – Poco piu mosso 0:00
– Thema: Allegretto 5:20
– Variation 1: Brillante 6:53
– Variation 2: Veloce, ma accuratamente 7:52
– Variation 3: Sempre sostenuto 8:54
– Variation 4: Con bravura 10:20
– Variation 5: Alla Polacca 11:24

CZIFFRA – LISZT Transcendental Etude No.9 in A flat major, “Ricordanza”: great compositions/perfofrmances

CZIFFRA – LISZT Transcendental Etude No.9 in A flat major, “Ricordanza”

   Filip Peoski

CZIFFRA – LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 9 in A flat major, “Ricordanza”

Valentina Lisitsa. Chopin Nocturne Op 27 # 2 D Flat Major: great compositions/performances

Valentina Lisitsa. Chopin Nocturne Op 27 # 2 D Flat Major

ValentinaLisitsa

Uploaded on Sep 25, 2010

English: Pianist Valentina Lisitsa during an interview in Leiden, Netherlands Deutsch: Pianistin Valentina Lisitsa während eines Interviews in Leiden, Holland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I went through love-hate “relationship” with this Nocturne. When I was asked by Lanaudiere Fesitval to select 7 Nocturnes for the concert ( I never played any before – to my utter shame ) I had to quickly flip through the sheet music and pick ones I thought I might stand 🙂 This one was number “last” on my list of things to do. I didn’t start learning it until it was almost too late ( those who watched my webcast of practice can confirm :-)). I dreaded the moment when I will get sick and tired of this sweetest thing ever written with its gorgeous but repetitious melody….
Then I had my “eureka” moment . it happened when I started looking at Chopin’s metronome markings – in all other Nocturnes they were perfectly in sync with today’s consensus – maybe little faster here , slower there… But this one – oh my God ! Lento Sostenuto marked as 50 beats per minute in half-measure ( 150BPM in eights ). You know how fast is it ???? Check-it out and see if you can keep up with Mr. Chopin LOL ….. i can’t , I still play it waaaaaay under tempo .Let’s see how many “critics” will leave comments saying it is too fast …..But , no matter what it makes a perfect sense- and suddenly my dread turned into astonishment at Chopin’s genius.The whole piece is suddenly transformed from overly long sugary-syrupy chant to an exalted and impassioned speech- you make whatever you want of this speech , maybe it is a declaration of love ? after all – the piece ends with the most beautiful duet of two voices….

Martha Argerich plays Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16: greaat compositions/performances

Martha Argerich plays Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16

jgmfestvideos

***”Kreisleriana, Op.16: 7. Sehr Rasch”

***by Martha Argerich

***(Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3)
**********************************************

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kreisleriana

Kreisleriana, Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled Phantasien für das Pianoforte. It was written in only four days in April 1838 and revised in 1852. The work was dedicated to Frédéric Chopin, but when a copy was sent to the Polish composer, “he commented favorably only on the design of the title page”.^[1] Kreisleriana is a very dramatic work and is considered to be one of Schumann’s finest compositions. Schumann himself often called it his favourite work.^[2]

	Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (1838) No. 1 “Äußerst bewegt“ No. 3 “Sehr aufgeregt“ No. 8 “Schnell und spielend“ All played by Giorgi Latso
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The work’s title, and possibly the basis for a depiction of psychological music-drama, was inspired by the character of Johannes Kreisler from works of E. T. A. Hoffmann. Like the kaleidoscopic Kreisler, each number has multiple contrasting sections, resembling the imaginary musician’s manic-depression, and recalling Florestan and Eusebius, the two imaginary characters of Schumann’s inner vision (representing his impulsive and dreamy sides, respectively). Johannes Kreisler appears in three books by Hoffmann, most notably in the Kreisleriana section of Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier, published in 1814.

Emil Gilels – Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op 13: Great compositions/performances

Emil Gilels – Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op 13

  Opus 13

Robert Schumann:  Symphonic Etudes, Op 13
Emil Gilels, piano
*****************************************************

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Symphonic Etudes (French: Études Symphoniques), Op. 13, is a set of études for solo piano by Robert Schumann. It began in 1834 as a theme and sixteen variations on a theme by Baron von Fricken, plus a further variation on an entirely different theme by Heinrich Marschner.

Composition

The first edition in 1837 carried an annotation that the tune was “the composition of an amateur”: this referred to the origin of the theme, which had been sent to Schumann by Baron von Fricken, guardian of Ernestine von Fricken, the Estrella of his Carnaval Op. 9. The baron, an amateur musician, had used the melody in a Theme with Variations for flute. Schumann had been engaged to Ernestine in 1834, only to break abruptly with her the year after. An autobiographical element is thus interwoven in the genesis of the Études symphoniques (as in that of many other works of Schumann’s).^[1]

Of the sixteen variations Schumann composed on Fricken’s theme, only eleven were published by him. (An early version, completed between 1834 and January 1835, contained twelve movements). The final, twelfth, published étude was a variation on the theme from the Romance Du stolzes England freue dich (Proud England, rejoice!), from Heinrich Marschner‘s opera Der Templer und die Jüdin, which was based on Sir Walter Scott‘s Ivanhoe (as a tribute to Schumann’s English friend, William Sterndale Bennett). The earlier Fricken theme occasionally appears briefly during this étude. The work was first published in 1837 as XII Études Symphoniques. Only nine of the twelve études were specifically designated as variations. The sequence was as follows:

• Theme – Andante
• Etude I (Variation 1) – Un poco più vivo
• Etude II (Variation 2) – Andante
• Etude III – Vivace
• Etude IV (Variation 3) – Allegro marcato
• Etude V (Variation 4) – Scherzando
• Etude VI (Variation 5) – Agitato
• Etude VII (Variation 6) – Allegro molto
• Etude VIII (Variation 7) – Sempre marcatissimo
• Etude IX – Presto possibile
• Etude X (Variation 8) – Allegro con energia
• Etude XI (Variation 9) – Andante espressivo
• Etude XII (Finale) – Allegro brillante (based on Marschner’s theme).

Other titles had been considered in September 1834: Variations pathétiques and Etuden im Orchestercharakter von Florestan und Eusebius. In this latter case the Études would have been signed by two imaginary figures in whom Schumann personified two essential, opposite and complementary aspects of his own personality and his own poetic world. ‘Florestan and Eusebius’ then signed the Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6; but only in the 1835 version of the Études symphoniques were the pieces divided so as to emphasize the alternation of more lyrical, melancholy and introvert pages (Eusebius) with those of a more excitable and dynamic nature (Florestan). In the 1837 version Florestan prevails.

Fifteen years later, in a second edition (Leipzig 1852), the 1837 title Études symphoniques became Études en forme de variations, two etudes (Nos. 3 and 9) that did not correspond to the new title (not being exactly variations) were eliminated, and some revisions were made in the piano writing.

The entire work was dedicated to Schumann’s English friend, the pianist and composer William Sterndale Bennett. Bennett played the piece frequently in England to great acclaim, but Schumann thought it was unsuitable for public performance and advised his wife Clara not to play it.

Later publication history

In 1861, five years after Schumann’s death, his father-in-law Friedrich Wieck published a third edition under the editorial pseudonym “DAS” (an acronym for Der alte Schulmeister). This edition attempted to reconcile the differences between the earlier two, and bore both the previous titles XII Études Symphoniques and Études en forme de variations.

On republishing the set in 1890, Johannes Brahms restored the five variations that had been cut by Schumann. These are now often played, but in positions within the cycle that vary somewhat with each performance; there are now twelve variations and these five so-called “posthumous” variations which exist as a supplement.

The five posthumously published sections (all based on Fricken’s theme) are:

• Variation I – Andante, Tempo del tema
• Variation II – Meno mosso
• Variation III – Allegro
• Variation IV – Allegretto
• Variation V – Moderato.

Orchestrations

Two sections, including the Allegro brillante, were orchestrated by Tchaikovsky, and have been recorded.^[3]

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Daniil Trifonov – Glazunov Piano Concerto No 2 in B major: great compositions/performances

Daniil Trifonov – Glazunov Piano Concerto No 2 in B major

  newTheDoremika

Royal Albert Hall, August 13, 2013 at BBC Proms
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev conductor

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, in E minor, Op. 11 – Emil Gilels/Phylarmonia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy: Great compositons/performances

Chopin:  Piano Concerto No. 1,
in E minor,  Op. 11

  Kanaal van viool7

Emil Gilels: piano-Philadelphia Orchestra–Eugene Ormandy: conductor-(1967)
**************************************************************
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, is a piano concerto written by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. It was first performed on 11 October of that year, in Warsaw, with the composer as soloist, during one of his “farewell” concerts before leaving Poland.

It was the first of Chopin’s two piano concerti to be published, and was therefore given the designation of Piano Concerto “No. 1” at the time of publication, even though it was actually written immediately after what was later published as Piano Concerto No. 2. It is dedicated to Friedrich Kalkbrenner.

The concerto is scored for solo piano, pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, tenor trombone, timpani and strings.

Structure

It contains the three movements typical of instrumental concertos of the period:

1. Allegro maestoso
2. Romanze – Larghetto in E major
3. Rondo – Vivace in E major

Opinions of the concerto differ. Some critics feel that the orchestral support as written is dry and uninteresting. Others feel that the orchestral backing is carefully and deliberately written to fit in with the sound of the piano, and that the simplicity of arrangement is in deliberate contrast to the complexity of the harmony.

Both the first and second movements feature unusual modulations; in the opening Allegro, the exposition modulates to the parallel major, i-I, instead of the expected i-III. This tonal relation (i-III) between the second and the third theme finally occurs in the recapitulation, where an actual i-I modulation would have been expected, producing a different effect. The Romanze, although not strictly in sonata form, has its second theme of the exposition ascribe to the classical model of modulating to the dominant (I-V), and, when it returns, it modulates to the mediant (III).

Mily Balakirev re-orchestrated the concerto (using the same orchestral forces as Chopin employed), and also wrote arrangements for violin and orchestra as well as for piano solo of the second movement.

First movement

Chopin followed the structural example of concertos in the style of Jan Ladislav Dussek and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, with which he was familiar. He was interested in neither the Beethoven-style dialogue between orchestra and soloist, nor in a Weber-style interweaving of voices.

The first movement of the E minor concerto has three themes, which are introduced by the orchestra. The piano then plays the first theme (bar 139), followed by the lyric second theme (bar 155), accompanied by the main motif of the first theme in bass counterpoint. The third theme is in E major, introduced in the exposition by the orchestra and taken over by the piano (bar 222). The development begins in bar 385, with the piano opening with the second theme; the orchestra then develops the first theme. The recapitulation begins in bar 486 again with the orchestra playing its opening theme. The coda, whose bass trill paints a gloomy backdrop, requires utmost care by the pianist.

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Ivo Pogorelich plays Schumann Toccata Op. 7: make music part of your life series

Ivo Pogorelich plays Schumann Toccata Op. 7

  truecrypt

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Chopin – Etude Op.25 No.11 (‘Winter Wind’) – Sviatoslav Richter – Video: Unique musical moments

Chopin – Etude Op.25 No.11 (‘Winter Wind‘) – Sviatoslav Rich

   ext271828

Chopin – Etude Op.25 No.11 (‘Winter Wind’) – Sviatoslav Richter – Video.avi

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Brahms Rhapsody Op 119 No 4 in E Flat Major Rubinstein Rec 1941: great compositions/performances

Brahms Rhapsody Op 119 No 4 in E Flat Major Rubinstein Rec 1941

  Beckmesser2

“The composer whose music was first to make the biggest impression upon the young Rubinstein was not Chopin but Brahms. Rubinstein first heard the music of Brahms when he was about thirteen. On pages 33 and 34 of his memoirs My Young Years, he writes, “It is impossible to describe my enthusiasm as I heard this music—-From that day on, Brahms became my obsession. I had to know everything he had written. I would read with ecstasy anything of Brahms which fell into my hands. I would buy his music on credit; I would have stolen money to get it!” There is no other composer that Rubinstein mentions in his memoirs that he describes with such fervor. However, it is interesting to note that considering the near completeness of his recordings of Chopin’s works, Rubinstein only recorded four complete solo piano compositions of Brahms. They are Op. 5, Op. 10, Op. 79 and Op. 117.”

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Francisco Tarrega – Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Emmanuel Rossfelder): make music part of your life series

Francisco Tarrega – Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Emmanuel Rossfelder)

  kovacsalmosFrancisco Tarrega – Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Emmanuel Rossfelder)

Schumann: Études Symphoniques, Op. 13 (Emil Gilels, piano): great compositions/performances

Schumann: Études Symphoniques Op. 13 [Emil Gilels, piano]

   entre88teclas
– Schumann: Études Symphoniques Op. 13 [Emil Gilels, piano]
– http://www.entre88teclas.es/atdr/robe…

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Frédéric Chopin – 24 Études Op. 10 & Op. 25 and 3 Nouvelles Études | Claudio Arrau, piano: make music part of your life series

Frédéric Chopin – 24 Études Op. 10 & Op. 25 and 3 Nouvelles Études | Claudio Arrau, piano

Frédéric Chopin – 12 Études Opp. 10 & 25. 3 Nouvelles Études. (Claudio Arrau, “The Philosopher of the Piano”, 1956) (2007 Digital Remastering)
Recorded: 15-22 & 29.VI. and 5.IX.1956, No.3, Abbey Road Studios, London. First issued in 1957 by Columbia Ltd. Mono/ADD
“Great Recordings of the 20th Century”. EMI Icons, EMI Classics, 2011 & Warner Classics, 2013.

I. Book No.1: 12 Etudes for Piano Op.10, 1830-32.
Before Chopin, there was a tradition of writing studies for the development of keyboard technique, but the pieces were primarily didactic. This set of 12 Études, dedicated to Liszt, represents a new form: concert pieces that serve a secondary function as development of advanced piano skills. Each étude begins with a pattern of pianistic figuration, which creates the specific technical problem for the étude and persists for the duration of the piece. That Chopin was able to create poetry in spite of such controlled and limited means of expression is a testament to his creative genius. The twelve Études published as Chopin’s Opus 10 are an indispensable tool of the modern pianist’s craft: they are a rite of passage that no serious pianist can ignore.
00:00 Nº 1 in C major. Allegro
01:59 Nº 2 in A minor. Allegro
03:23 Nº 3 in E major. Lento ma non troppo (Tritesse – L’intimite) – http://youtu.be/FKDir13g7ow
07:55 Nº 4 in C sharp minor. Presto (Torrent)
10:10 Nº 5 in G flat major. Vivace (Black Keys)
11:55 Nº 6 in E flat minor. Andante
14:49 Nº 7 in C major. Vivace (Toccata)
16:26 Nº 8 in F major. Allegro
18:51 Nº 9 in F minor. Allegro molto agitato
21:00 Nº 10 in A flat major. Vivace assai
23:14 Nº 11 in E flat major. Allegretto
26:17 Nº 12 in C minor. Allegro con fuoco (Revolutionary – Fall of Warsaw)

II. Book No.2: 12 Etudes for Piano Op.25, 1835-37.
This Op.25 collection bears a dedication to Liszt’s mistress, Countess Marie d’Agoult, a writer who used the pseudonym Daniel Stern (the Op.10 Études are dedicated to Franz Liszt). One reason Chopin attempted to capture Liszt’s sympathies with the dedications had to do with the performance design of the pieces in the two sets: each was written to highlight some facet of pianism.
28:57 Nº 1 in A flat major. Allegro sostenuto (Aeolian Harp – Shepherd Boy)
31:21 Nº 2 in F minor. Presto (Balm)
33:05 Nº 3 in F major. Allegro (Carwheel)
35:08 Nº 4 in A minor. Agitato
37:28 Nº 5 in E minor. Vivace
40:52 Nº 6 in G sharp minor. Allegro (Thirds)
43:00 Nº 7 in C sharp minor. Lento (Cello)
48:21 Nº 8 in D flat major. Vivace (Sixths)
49:30 Nº 9 in G flat major. Allegro assai (Butterfly)
50:35 Nº 10 in B minor. Allegro con fuoco
55:04 Nº 11 in A minor. Lento – Allegro con brio (Winter Wind)
58:41 Nº 12 in C minor. Allegro molto con fuoco (Ocean)

III. Trois Nouvelles Études for piano, 1839-40.
Chopin composed this set of etudes for the Méthode des methods, a publication of Ignaz Moscheles, a leading pianist and composer of his day who was not always in agreement with Chopin’s compositional techniques, and François-Joseph Fétis, a now largely forgotten Belgian musicologist.
1:01:26 Nº 1 in F minor
1:03:31 Nº 2 in A flat major
1:05:56 Nº 3 in D flat major

As always with Arrau, the Pianist takes a back seat to Music Making, are a prime example of how myth making regarding Arrau’s Recordings. Arrau approaches Chopin’s Etudes as a genuinely mature musician and sensitive interpreter. In Opus 10, No. 3, for instance, he infuses the music with a deep sadness that recalls its XIX Century title, “La Tristesse.” Incidentally, this record received the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin from the Warsaw Chopin Society when it was re-released in 1990.

The 24 Études of Frédéric Chopin (divided into two separate opuses, 10 and 25, but actually composed almost simultaneously) remain the most significant entries in that particular musical genre. Chopin refers, in a letter dating from the fall of 1829, to having written a study “in [his] own manner,” and indeed, a great chasm stands between his achievements and the far drier études of his predecessors (one thinks of Moscheles, Czerny, and Hummel in particular). It was not Chopin’s intent, as it was with many nineteenth-century pianist-composers, to create studies of mere technique and raw dexterity; here, instead, are works with an inexhaustible array of textures, moods, and colors to explore. These are works meant for the concert hall as well as for the practice room

Despite the slightly cramped, airless sonics, Arrau’s characteristically warm and ample sonority makes itself felt in these 1956 recordings. The pianist uncovers layers of depth and disquiet in the slower Études that others merely prettify. The treacherous extensions in the E-Flat Étude, for instance, are distinctly projected and balanced, rather than strummed. Arrau’s spectacularly honest technique enables him to articulate Chopin’s sparkling figurations with a liquid legato unaided by the pedal.

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• Arthur Rubinstein plays Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto N.º 2 Op. 21 in F minor with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn
• Great Compositions/Performances: Liszt 3 Concert Etudes No 3 Un Sospiro Arrau Rec 1974
• Claudio Arrau
• Vladimir Horowitz 1950 / Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Funeral March”: unique musical moments

Vladimir Horowitz 1950 / Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Funeral March”: unique musical moments

From:    ss sabu

Vladimir Horowitz 1950 / Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Funeral March”

Vladimir Horowitz 1950
Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Funeral March”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frédéric Chopin‘s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, popularly known as The Funeral March, was completed in 1839 at Nohant, near Châteauroux in France. However, the third movement, whence comes the sonata’s common nickname, had been composed as early as 1837.

The sonata comprises four movements:

1. Grave – Doppio movimento

2. Scherzo

3. Marche funèbre: Lento

4. Finale: Presto

Funeral march

As noted above, the third movement is structured as a funeral march played with a Lento interlude. While the term “funeral march” is perhaps a fitting description of the 3rd movement, complete with the Lento Interlude in D-flat major, the expression “Chopin’s Funeral March” is used commonly to describe only the funeral march proper (in B-flat minor).

It was transcribed for full orchestra in 1933 by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar (in D minor), and its first performance was at his own memorial concert the next year. It was also transcribed for large orchestra by the conductor Leopold Stokowski; this version was recorded for the first time by Matthias Bamert.

The emotive “funeral march” has become well known in popular culture. It was used at the state funerals of John F. Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher and those of Soviet leaders, including Leonid Brezhnev. It was also played in the funeral of the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández and at thegraveside during Chopin’s own burial at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

 

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Fryderyk Chopin, Scherzo E-dur Op.54 nr 4, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska,1954: great compositions/performances

From: 

Czarmuzyki Ewa Chamiec

Fryderyk Chopin, Scherzo E-dur Op.54 nr 4, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska,1954

(Fryderyk Chopin, Scherzo E-dur Op.54 nr 4, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska –1954! — Archiwum Polskiego Radia.)

Gustavo Dudamel Johannes Brahms variations sur un thème de Joseph Haydn en si Majeur opus 56a: great compositions/performances

Gustavo Dudamel Johannes Brahms variations sur un thème de Joseph Haydn en si Majeur opus 56a

FROM:

Maxime Brisole

From Wikipedia

Johannes Brahms

Les Variations sur un thème de Haydn, op. 56 (allemand : Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn) est une œuvre orchestrale en variations de Johannes Brahms, composée pendant l’été 1873. Cette œuvre est constituée d’un thème en si bémol majeur, de huit variations et d’un finale.

Le thème est extrait du choral Saint-Antoine de la Feldpartie en si bémol majeur, Hob. II/46 de Joseph Haydn. Brahms a écrit huit variations sur ce thème, plus un final. Le finale est une passacaille magnifique, dont le point culminant, une reformulation du choral, est un moment d’une grande transcendance, au point que Brahms, habituellement austère, se permet l’utilisation d’un triangle.

Deux versions existent : une version pour deux pianos, celle que Brahms a écrite en premier (mais désignée Op. 56b), et une version pour orchestre, dénommée op. 56a.

Cette dernière version est considérée comme « la première série de variations indépendantes pour orchestre dans l’histoire de la musique »¹. L’orchestre contient un piccolo, deux flûtes deux hautbois, deux clarinettes, deux bassons, un contrebasson, quatre cors (2 en mi bémol, 2 en si bémol), 2 trompettes, des timbales, un triangle ainsi que la composition habituelle des cordes (premiers et seconds violons, altos, violoncelles et contrebasses).

Les Variations sur un thème de Haydn, op. 56 (allemand : Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn) est une œuvre orchestrale en variations de Johannes Brahms, composée pendant l’été 1873. Cette œuvre est constituée d’un thème en si bémol majeur, de huit variations et d’un finale.

Le thème est extrait du choral Saint-Antoine de la Feldpartie en si bémol majeur, Hob. II/46 de Joseph Haydn. Brahms a écrit huit variations sur ce thème, plus un final. Le finale est une passacaille magnifique, dont le point culminant, une reformulation du choral, est un moment d’une grande transcendance, au point que Brahms, habituellement austère, se permet l’utilisation d’un triangle.

Deux versions existent : une version pour deux pianos, celle que Brahms a écrite en premier (mais désignée Op. 56b), et une version pour orchestre, dénommée op. 56a.

Cette dernière version est considérée comme « la première série de variations indépendantes pour orchestre dans l’histoire de la musique »¹. L’orchestre contient un piccolo, deux flûtes deux hautbois, deux clarinettes, deux bassons, un contrebasson, quatre cors (2 en mi bémol, 2 en si bémol), 2 trompettes, des timbales, un triangle ainsi que la composition habituelle des cordes (premiers et seconds violons, altos, violoncelles et contrebasses).

 

Sviatoslav Richter plays Schubert Sonata D.575: Great compositions/performances

FROM:  FirstPublicChannel

Sviatoslav Richter plays Schubert Sonata D.575

The Piano Sonata in B major, D. 575 by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano, posthumously published as Op. 147. Schubert composed the sonata in August 1817.

Movements

I. Allegro ma non troppo (B major)

II. Andante (E major)

III. Scherzo: Allegretto – Trio (G major, D Major)

IV. Allegro giusto (B major)

 

Chopin Etude Op 25 No.11 HQ – Valentina Lisitsa: great performances

Chopin Etude Op 25 No.11 HQ

 FROM:

ValentinaLisitsa

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© Beethoven’s 5th Piano E-flat major, Op. 73 (Emperor) – Daniel Barenboim (make music part of your life series)

© Beethoven’s 5th Piano E-flat major, Op. 73 (Emperor) – Daniel Barenboim (whole concert)

Beethoven’s 5th Piano concert (Emperor) –
Daniel Barenboim piano
Det kongelige kapel – Michael Schønvandt i Danmarks Radio Koncerthuset 2009
Ved prisoverrækkelsen af Sonningprisen 2009 på 600,000 DKK ~ 125.000 US$ The Sonning Prize Award! The copyright © owner to all content in this video with The Royal Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim conducted by Michael Schønwandt, is Danmarks Radio! Also listen to Barenboims version of Noctune op. 27 no 2 by Chopin: http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=7EcER…

make music part of your life series: Frederic Chopin – Nocturne In E Flat Major, Op.9 No.2

[youtube.com/watch?v=5ZUw78FXpG4]

Frederic Chopin – Nocturne In E Flat Major, Op.9 No.2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chopin composed his most popular Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 when he was about twenty.

This popular nocturne is in rounded binary form (A, A, B, A, B, A) with coda, C. The A and B sections become increasingly ornamented with each recurrence. The penultimate bar utilizes considerable rhythmic freedom, indicated by the instruction, senza tempo (without tempo). Nocturne in E-flat major opens with a legato melody, mostly played piano, containing graceful upward leaps which becomes increasingly wide as the line unfolds. This melody is heard again three times during the piece. With each repetition, it is varied by ever more elaborate decorative tones and trills. The nocturne also includes a subordinate melody, which is played with rubato.

A sonorous foundation for the melodic line is provided by the widely spaced notes in the accompaniment, connected by the damper pedal. The waltz-like accompaniment gently emphasizes the 12/8 meter, 12 beats to the measure subdivided into four groups of 3 beats each.

The nocturne is reflective in mood until it suddenly becomes passionate near the end. The new concluding melody begins softly but then ascends to a high register and is played forcefully in octaves, eventually reaching the loudest part of the piece, marked fortissimo. After a trill-like passage, the excitement subsides; the nocturne ends calmly.

In popular culture

make music part of your life series: Dalia Lazar performs Chopin’s Waltz, Op. 64 No. 3 in A flat Major

[youtube.com/watch?v=HUqMH9POAb8]

Dalia Lazar performs Chopin’s Waltz, Op. 64 No. 3 in A flat Major

Frédéric Chopin‘s Waltz, Op. 64 No. 3 in A flat Major
Performed by Dalia Lazar in Hrvatski Glazbeni Zavod.
May 17, 2012 recital, Zagreb, Croatia.
http://www.dalialazar.com/

 

great compositions/performances: Franz Schubert: 6 Moments Musical Op.94 (D780)

[youtube.com/watch?v=kj3ok01A7KU]

great compositions/performances – Shubert – 6 Moments Musicaux Op. 94, D790 Wilhelm Bachaus piano (click to enlarge)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	Moments musicaux No. 2 in A-flat Major   Menu       0:00   Performed by Raymond Smullyan
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Six moments musicaux, D 780 (Op. 94) is a collection of six short pieces for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert. The movements are as follows:

1. Moderato in C major
2. Andantino in A-flat major
3. Allegro moderato in F minor
4. Moderato in C-sharp minor
5. Allegro vivace in F minor
6. Allegretto in A-flat major

Along with the Impromptus, they are among the most frequently played of all Schubert’s piano music, and have been recorded many times. No. 3 in F minor has been arranged by Leopold Godowsky and others.

It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7, of Jan Václav Voříšek (1822).^[1][2]

They were published by Leidesdorf in Vienna in 1828, under the title “Six Momens [sic] musicals [sic]”. The correct French forms are now usually used – moments (instead of momens), and musicaux (instead of musicals). The sixth number was published in 1824 in a Christmas album under the title Les plaintes d’un troubadour.^[2]

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historic musical moments: Jan Ekier: Nocturne in G major, Op. 37, No. 2 (Chopin)

Jan Ekier: Nocturne in G major, Op. 37, No. 2 (Chopin)

Jan Ekier performs Chopin’s Nocturne in G major, Op. 37, No. 2. Issued in 1959 on the Muza label (Polskie Nagrania), SX 0071. From the Dziela Wszystkie (Complete Works) series.
——————–
Jan Ekier, pianist, music teacher, composer and editor, was born August 29, 1913 in Kracow. In 1932-34 he studied musicology with Zdzislaw Jachimecki at the Jagellonian University in Cracow. He went on to study piano with Zbigniew Drzewiecki and composition with Kazimierz Sikorski at the Warsaw Conservatory (1934-39). In 1940-41 he studied organ playing with Bronislaw Rutkowski. In 1937 he won the 8th prize in the 3rd International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Since that time he was an active concert pianist, touring Europe, South America and Japan. Jan Ekier began his teaching career in 1933 as a solfège tutor in the Wladyslaw Zelenski Music School in Cracow. After the war, he dedicated himself to the education of pianists: in 1946-47 he taught at the State Secondary Music School in Lublin, 1947-48 at the State Higher School of Music in Sopot, where he held the function of rector. In 1953 he became a professor at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, where in 1964-72 and from 1974 he held the chair of piano studies. Jan Ekier began his editorial work in PWM Polish Music Publishers. From 1959 he was editor-in-chief of the National Edition of Frédéric Chopin’s Works. It is to Chopin that he has devoted many of his publications. He has been honoured with numerous prizes, including the State Award, First Class for the preparation of the Polish team for the 4th Frédéric Chopin Competition in 1950, the Minister of Culture and Arts Award, First Class in 1964 and 1974, the Golden Cross of Merit in 1952, the Officer’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order and the 10th Anniversary Order in 1955, the Standard of Labour Order, 2nd Class in 1960. In 2004 he received the Polish Minister of Cultures Special Award, granted for the first time for outstanding contribution to the preservation and promotion of Chopin heritage, including the memorial National Edition of Frédéric Chopin’s Complete Works, which restored to European culture the art of the great Polish composer in a form which aims to be as close to the historical original as possible.

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Chopin – Rondo à la Krakowiak, Op. 14

[youtube.com/watch?v=OEXimFK0bU8]

Chopin – Rondo à la Krakowiak, Op. 14

Compositor: Frédéric Chopin.
Obra: Rondo à la Krakowiak, Op. 14.

Pianista: Garrick Ohlsson.
Regente: Jerzy Maksymiuk.
Orquestra: Sinfônica Nacional da Rádio Polonesa .

GREAT COMPOSITIONS/PERFORMANCES: ROBERT SCHUMANN – INTRODUCTION UND ALLEGRO APPASSIONATO OP. 92 – SVIATOSLAV RICHTER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnnxxrEvQ6I

ROBERT SCHUMANN – INTRODUCTION UND ALLEGRO APPASSIONATO OP. 92 – SVIATOSLAV RICHTER

Robert Schumann

Introduction und Allegro appassionato
[Konzertstück für Klavier und Orchester G Dur op. 92]

Sviatoslav Richter, Klavier

Sinfonie-Orchester der Nationalen Philharmonie Warschau –
Stanislaw Wislocki, Leitung

1959

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Great Compositions/Performances: Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

[youtube.com/watch?v=xnSp_JbvzqE]
Martha Argerich, piano
Wiener KammerOrchester
Dir. Erwin Ortner
Vienna – May 16, 2010

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Frederic Chopin- Nocturne no. 6 op. 15 no. 3 in G Minor

[youtube.com/watch?v=fpzzfGICBnQ]

Frederic Chopin– Nocturne no. 6 op. 15 no. 3 in G Minor
Performed by Adam Harasiewicz

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Great Compositions/Performances: Chopin Fantasy f minor Op 49. Valentina Lisitsa

[youtube.com/watch?v=5s2mtaQZQn0]

Chopin Fantasy f minor Op 49. Valentina Lisitsa

FROM VALENTINA:  “This is Chopin’s response to Liszt’s “Funerailles” ( I know, I know, Liszt wrote it AFTER Chopin died – so let’s say it was Liszt’s response to Chopin’s Fantasy) The same plan – starting with a funeral introduction , same f -minor, same abundance of octaves… But Funerailles is a great piano war-horse, favorite of any “virtuoso” with a decent octave technique – sure and cheap way to impress and thrill the audiences. Fantasy in comparison is a poor cousin , underappreciated and often misunderstood : the worst offenders are often female pianists ( LOL, huuuuuge grin goes here ) playing it in overly sentimental and romanticized way – complete with hands flailing , eyes rolling and hair flying 🙂 Guys just can’t do it  🙂
How did it happen? Liszt was a great self-promotion and marketing guy – he discovered a neat trick of “programming” in music , forcing music “to tell a story”- and listeners suddenly thought ” Gee, now we understand what this music is about , how cool !” This was his trademark -but it was certainly not his invention. In fact , most if not all music has a “program” , something composer thought of when composing and something we think of when we listen .It can be something very concrete and extremely detailed ( Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique for example)- or just a vague hint of an idea that makes us think further ( Beethoven 5th Symphony ).The problem with detailed programs is that music can become “dated” , tied to a certain event that might be of no importance to future listeners. People can relate in perpetuity to ” the fate knocking on the door” of the 5th symphony. But we can never again ( hopefully ) feel what French audience must have felt on Berlioz’ premiere during the third movement with its guillotine strike. I bet their hair was standing up and Goosebumps were covering the listeners who still remembered Terror some years before…I think that even watching Avatar in 3D is nothing in comparison to that experience 🙂
Chopin was much more subtle in his “programs”-he catered to more sophisticated smaller audience of salons rather than big concert halls. These people knew the historical context and could understand him without need to spell it out . In order to fully appreciate his music we must know at least a bit of history too. Then it becomes clear that Chopin was so different from a stereotyped effeminate ,sickly romantic virtuoso image. He was a true titan, not in body but in spirit – singlehandedly ( with few brethren poets ,artists etc.)keeping the whole people from oblivion and cultural destruction. For his people , his country, was at this time a mere geographic term . Formerly a proud and powerful nation ,one of Europe superpowers, Poland has fallen so low because of internal discord that it was picked piece by piece by strong and brutal neighbors until it disappeared. New “owners” were bent on wiping national identity and pride to secure their new acquisitions. They would have succeeded was it not for Chopin. You know that musicologists call him a first” national” composer. For a good reason – he created an epic of his nation in music just as Homer created his in Odyssey or Virgil in Aeneid… And we are not only talking about things like Polonaises or Mazurkas fitting into this “national” category. Fantasy is a prime example of thinly veiled national music. Why? Bear with me while I take you through last foray into history. Chopin and his family ended up in a part of Poland that was grabbed by Russian Empire. He traveled abroad with Russian passport ( Chopin , a Russian composer ? LOL) and he had to lie on his exit visa application ( yes, I am serious ) that he is in transit to New World, Americas. He lived for almost whole his life with a stamp ” in Transit”. The single event in history that changed his life was Polish uprising of 1830-31, a noble but doomed to fail attempt by patriots to overthrow occupying forces ( Revolutionary Etude was written the night he got the news of Russian Cossacks entering Warsaw , he didn’t know if his family even survived all carnage and rape ) . The rebels was brutally destroyed and all the hope of freedom was lost. Chopin realized that he will never see his native land – or even his family. All his life he was carrying in his soul – and in his music – the memory of this event and of its unsung heroes. Fantasy is an ode to all those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom.”

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GREAT COMPOSITIONS/PERFORMANCES: Schubert Impromptu op. 142 No.3 B flat major

[youtube.com/watch?v=8YFX-XQLToE]
Schubert Impromptu op. 142 No.3 B flat major

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valentina Lisitsa
Background information
Born	1973 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Classical pianist
Instruments	Piano
Website	www.valentinalisitsa.com

Valentina Lisitsa (Ukrainian: Валентина Лисиця, translit. Valentyna Lysytsya) is a Ukrainian-born and trainedclassical pianist who resides in North Carolina.^[1][2] Lisitsa is among the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube and is often praised as a highly commendable pianist.^[3][4] Lisitsa followed a unique path to success, independently launching the beginnings of her career via social media, without initially signing to a tour promoteror record company.^[3][4]

Biography[edit]

Lisitsa was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.^[5]

Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player.^[6]Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory,^[7] where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko.^[8] It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously.^[9] In 1991, they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida.^[7][10] That same year, they moved to the United States to further their careers as concert pianists.^[3] In 1992 the couple married.^[3] Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995.^[8]

After the death of her manager, and with the thought that she was “just another blonde Russian pianist”^[11] Lisitsa almost gave up on her career as a concert pianist, and contemplated becoming a local worker for the government in Washington, D.C., but changed her mind at the last minute influenced by one of her new fans in England. Lisitsa posted her first YouTube video in 2007, gaining even more online attention after uploading her own set of Chopin etudes online for free (in response to an illegal upload of the same set beforehand). Her set of Chopin etudes reached the number one slot on Amazon’s classical video recordings, and became the most-viewed online set of Chopin etudes on YouTube.^[3]

Furthering her career, Lisitsa and her husband put their life savings in recording a CD of Rachmaninov concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2010.^[3] In the spring of 2012, before her Royal Albert Hall debut, Lisitsa was signed on to Decca Records, who later released her Rachmaninov CD set.^[3] By mid-2012 she had nearly 50 million views on her YouTube videos.^[4]

Lisitsa has performed in various venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Benaroya Hall, Musikverein and Royal Albert Hall. She is well known for her online recitals and practicing streams. She has also collaborated with violinist Hilary Hahn for various recital engagements.^[7]

Discography

Lisitsa has recorded six CDs for Audiofon Records, including three solo CDs and two discs of duets with her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff; a Gold CD for CiscoMusic label with cellist DeRosa; a duet recital on VAI label with violinist Ida Haendel; and DVDs of Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Etudes, Schubert–Liszt Schwanengesang.^[12]

Her recording of the 4 sonatas for violin and piano by composer Charles Ives, made with Hahn, was released in October 2011 on Deutsche Grammophone label. Her album “Valentina Lisitsa Live at the Royal Albert Hall” (based on her debut performance at that venue 19 June 2012) was released 2 July 2012.

Lisitsa has recently recorded several projects from the composers Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Chopin, and Beethoven. Her complete album of Rachmaninoff concertos was released in October 2012 by Decca Records.^[13] The most recent album of Liszt works was released in October 2013 on Decca label in 2 formats – CD and 12″ LP which was cut unedited from analog tape.

External links

• Valentina Lisitsa’s website
• Valentina Lisitsa’s videos on YouTube
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Great Compositions/Performances: Vladimir Horowitz – Carmen Variations

Variations on a Theme from “Carmen” by Georges Bizet
Composed and performed by Vladimir Horowitz

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TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: DINU LIPATTI (1917)

Dinu Lipatti (1917)

Lipatti was a Romanian pianist whose career was tragically cut short by Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 33. Despite a relatively short playing career and a small recorded legacy, Lipatti is considered among the finest pianists of the 20th century. He was much admired for his pianistic technique, and he is noted for his interpretations of Mozart, Bach, and Chopin. As a teen, Lipatti came in second in the Vienna International Piano Competition. How did his failure to take first place impact his future? More… Discuss

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Great Compositions/Performances: Valentina Lisitsa plays Chopin “Heroic” Polonaise op 53 A flat major Valentina Lisitsa

Great Compositions/Performances: Valentina Lisitsa plays Chopin “Heroic” Polonaise op 53 A flat major Valentina Lisitsa

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Chopin Fantasia op.13 on Polish Airs – Sergio Fiorentino – Guilford Philharmonic – V.Handley

Chopin Fantasia op.13 on Polish Airs – Sergio Fiorentino, piano.
Guilford Philharmonic – Vernon Handley.
recorded: 14 February 1966 Guildford, Civic Hall

 

Great Compositions/Performances: Horowitz plays Schumann Toccata in C Major, Op.7

Robert Schumann 
Toccata in C Major, Op.7 
Vladimir Horowitz: piano

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Emil Gilels – Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op 13

Robert Schumann
Symphonic Etudes, Op 13

Emil Gilels, piano

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Antonín Dvořák – Czech Suite in D major, B. 93, Op. 39 – II. Polka

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice), Antoni Wit. Paint, A Village In Winter by Adrianus Eversen

 

F.Great Performances: Chopin : Nocturne op. 9 no. 1 in B flat minor (Rubinstein)

Chopin’s first nocturne op. 9 no. 1 in B flat minor played by Rubinstein.
The Nocturnes, Op. 9 are a set of three nocturnes written by Frédéric Chopin between 1830 and 1832 and dedicated to Madame Camille Pleyel. The work was published in 1833.
This nocturne has a rhythmic freedom that came to characterise Chopin’s later work. The left hand has an unbroken sequence of quavers in simple arpeggios throughout the entire piece, while the right hand moves with freedom in patterns of eleven, twenty, and twenty-two notes.
The opening section moves into a contrasting middle section, which flows back to the opening material in a transitional passage where the melody floats above seventeen consecutive bars of D-flat major chords. The reprise of the first section grows out of this and the nocturne concludes peacefully with a Picardy third.

MAKE MUSIC PART OF YOUR LIFE!

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Dinu Lipatti – Chopin Nocturne Op. 27, No.2 in D flat Major

Dinu Lipatti – Chopin Nocturne No2 op 27 in D flat Major
More information about Dinu Lipatti (and Clara Haskil, another great piano player) you can find on http://www.lipatti-haskil-foundation….

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Horowitz plays : Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major D899 No.3 (in Vienna)

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Classical Music Mix – Best Classical Pieces Part II (2/2)

A mix with some of the best classical pieces in the world. Part II

Compositions name list:

00:00 – Amilcare Ponchielli – Dance of the Hours
05:20 – Bach – Tocata And Fugue In D Minor
12:03 – Beethoven – 5th Symphony (1st movement)
19:08 – Beethoven – 9th Symphony (Ode To Joy)
25:23 – Beethoven – Für Elise (piano version)
28:18 – Carl Orff – O Fortuna (Carmina Burana)
30:57 – Georges Bizet – Habanera
33:06 – Frederic Chopin – Funeral March
38:16 – Delibes – The Flower Duet (Lakmé)
42:49 – Edvard Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King
45:17 – Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 (orchestra version)
55:48 – Georges Bizet – Les Toreadors
58:07 – Händel – Messiah – Hallelujah Chorus
1:02:08 – Mozart – Serenade No 13 (Allegro)
1:07:53 – Offenbach – Can Can
1:10:05 – Rossini – William Tell Overture
1:13:29 – Aram Khachaturian – Sabre Dance
1:15:53 – Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture
1:24:19 – Tchaikovsky – Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
1:26:48 – Vivaldi – Four Seasons (spring)

 

Great Composers/Compositions: Frédéric Chopin – Grande valse brilliante

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

‘Les Sylphides“, op. 18; Finale: Grande valse brillinate

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Erich Kunzel

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Arthur Rubinstein – Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu in C sharp Minor, Op. 66 Posth

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