Toccata (Prokofiev)

The Toccata in D minor, Op. 11 is a piece for solo piano, written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1912 and debuted by the composer on December 10, 1916 in Petrograd. It is a further development of the toccata form, which has been used by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Robert Schumann. Other composers of well-known toccatas include Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Kabalevsky and Aram Khachaturian.

Prokofiev's Toccata starts off with a persistent repetition of the note D, interchanged between the right hand (which plays the single note) and the left hand (which plays the same note but with the lower octave as well). After a brief development, there are chromatic leaps in the left hand while the right hand plays a repeated figuration. The two hands soon switch positions, although the leaps still continue for a while.

A series of split chromatic thirds leads upwards until a descending melody (in A) with chromatic third accompaniments begins, with the left hand traveling in contrary motion upwards. This leads back to the main repetition 'theme' before a very short pause. Both hands soon play a weaving series of the right hand's repeated figuration from the start, before the split chromatic thirds pattern reappears. This leads more violently to the descending melody pattern, but this time in D, before the D repetition 'theme' reappears, this time in alternating octaves in both hands. The Toccata slows down and halts temporarily before a chromatic rising scale leads to octave exhortations, followed by a glissando sweep up the keyboard to end on the top D.

Toccata (Schumann)

The Toccata in C major, Op. 7 by Robert Schumann, was completed in 1836. The piece is in sonata-allegro form.

When the work was completed in 1836, Schumann believed it was the "hardest piece ever written. A series of chords introduce the main theme, which is believed to be the passage that Schumann injured his hands trying to master. The development features rapid unison octaves.

A typical performance of this piece lasts about six minutes.

Schumann dedicated the work to his friend Ludwig Schuncke, who had dedicated his Grande Sonata in G minor, Op. 3, to Schumann.

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Brain Salad Surgery

Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Greg Lake wrote the lyrics for the album with the assistance (on two tracks, "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression" and "Benny the Bouncer") of former King Crimson bandmate (and, beginning with this album, frequent ELP collaborator) Peter Sinfield. This was the first Emerson, Lake & Palmer album to have no songwriting contributions from Carl Palmer. The cover art is by H. R. Giger.

Music

After the release of Trilogy, the band wanted to record an album that they could perform live; Trilogy was recorded on the newer 24-track machines with overdubbing that made the music difficult to recreate on stage. The band purchased a cinema and would perform the music "live" on stage, then write, perform again, write, etc., resulting in a feeling of addressing the audience directly.

Jerusalem

"Jerusalem" is an adaptation of Hubert Parry's hymn, with lyrics from "And did those feet in ancient time", a poem from the preface to William Blake's "Milton a Poem". Debuting on this track is the Moog Apollo, the first polyphonic synthesizer, still a prototype at the time.

Overload

Overload or overloaded may refer to:

Music

Bands

Albums

Songs

Overload (Pakistani band)

Overload (Urdu: اورلوڈ) is a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, formed in 2003. The group is directed by producer, lead vocalist and drummer, Farhad Humayun and keyboard/synth player, songwriter and composer, Sheraz Siddiq, who were soon joined by Hassan Mohyeddin on percussion along with dhol players Pappu Sain and Jhura Sain. The band is widely regarded by many critics as being the "Loudest band in Pakistan".

Since their inception, the band has released two studio albums and two live albums. The band released their debut self-titled album Overload in December, 2006. The album charted at the top in the local Pakistani music charts and singles from the album included instrumentals "Dhamaal", "Cursed" and "Storm". After the release of the album, Pappu Sain, regarded as the greatest dhol player in the world, left the band due to ill health and was replaced by Nasir Sain. In 2008, their single "Dhamaal" got nominated for the "Best Music Video" award at the Lux Style Awards. This was followed by the band releasing their second studio album, Pichal Pairee, in 2009. Although, the album released exclusively as a digital download album, and has not been released on any physical medium, it still topped the charts locally. Singles from the album, "Pichal Pairee", "Mela Kariyay" and "Dhol Bajay Ga!" [now known as Batti] were hits. In an online poll by Dawn News the band's video for their single, "Pichal Pairee", was voted as the third best music video of 2010.

Overload (novel)

Overload (1979) is a novel by Arthur Hailey, concerning the electricity production industry in California and the activities of the employees and others involved with Golden State Power and Light, a fictional California public service company. The plot follows many of the issues of the day, including race relations, corporate politics, business ethics, terrorism and journalism. (Hailey would later explore (television) journalism in another novel, The Evening News.)

Plot Synopsis

The novel is described from the point of view of vice-president of Golden State Power and Light, Nimrod "Nim" Goldman, who, despite being married, tends to be somewhat of a Lothario and has many extramarital affairs. The geographic area of service of the fictional electric utility, Golden State Power and Light, matches the actual Northern California footprint of the real-life Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Golden State Power and Light is a public utility, supplying two-thirds of California's electric power. During a hot summer, GSP&L as it is called, loses a major part of its capacity to supply power due to a terrorist attack on its largest "oil burner" (an oil-fired power plant), called Big Lil. There is a board meeting about the incident. The chairman of GSP&L, Eric Humphrey, leaves the matter in the hands of Nim Goldman, one of the utility's many vice-presidents, and head of security Ray Paulsen. After the explosion at Big Lil, which killed chief engineer Walter Talbot, Nim visits Ardythe, Walter's widow, and Wally, his son. After some time, Nim and Ardythe make love.