Random Programme Notes Sample

Debussy Arabesque No. 2.
Allegretto scherzando
Achille-Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. The Two Arabesques (Deux arabesques), L. 66, is a pair of Arabesques composed for piano by Debussy. They are two of Debussy's earliest works, composed between the years 1888 and 1891, when he was still in his twenties. The second arabesque in G major is noticeably quicker and livelier in tempo as compared to the first. It opens with left hand chords and right hand trills. The piece makes several transpositions and explores a lower register of the piano. A hint of the pentatonic scale can be noted. The style more closely resembles some of Debussy's later works. Like the closing bars of the first arabesque, this arabesque closes in a similar fashion.
Dmitri Schostakovich Three Fantastic Dances Opus 5

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Schostakovich (25 September 1906 9 August 1975) was a Soviet Russian composer and pianist and a prominent figure of 20th century music. He was born at 2 Podolskaya Ulitsa in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Schostakovich was the second of three children. The 3 Fantastic Dances were completed when Schostakovich was 16. Each of this trio of short piano pieces is well crafted and at least contains a good measure of humor and charm. The first, marked allegretto, is a mixture of Prokofiev and Debussy suggesting of an individual voice emerging, with echoes here and there. The second piece, marked Andantino, is dreamy in the outer sections, brash in the brief inner portion. Marked Allegretto, the last of the three Fantastic Dances is playful in its jaunty and humorous main theme, and while hardly free of influences, perhaps the most individual of the trio. These were his very first piano compositions, with many more splendid compositions to come.
Mozart - Rondo in D major KV485

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Mozart wrote three rondos for solo piano in the period 1786 - 1787, the K. 494 and K. 511 being the other two. The piece offers an infectiously chipper and graceful melody. The work opens with this jaunty, playful theme gracefully skipping across the keyboard in spirited writing. After the second appearance of the melody, Mozart begins transforming it, adding greater weight and muscle to its previously delicate frame. The melody appears in various colorful guises throughout and also periodically reappears in its original form, making this a fairly complex rondo form.
Haydn - Sonata in D major No. 37

Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 31 May 1809), known as Joseph Haydn, was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form. Haydn wrote this Sonata for the Auenbrugger sisters. The piece is noted to be is quite challenging for even talented performers today. The first movement, marked Allegro con brio, opens with a playful, energetic theme. The mood is bright and carefree until the development section is reached, about midway through. Here, the music turns a bit toward the serious side, but the repetition of the lighter, brighter mood from the opening returns. In the second movement (Largo e sostenuto), things become utterly serious, the main theme darkening to its almost funereal character. Just when the listener senses the bleakness will worsen or even turn violent, the third movement of Presto finale begins, without the usual pause from Haydn. The mood is bright, once again, and even more playful than in the first movement.
Schubert - Impromptu Op. 142 No. 2

Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. In modern days, Schubert is seen as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music and he remains one of the most frequently performed composers. 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 after his death as Op.142. The Four Impromptus Op. 142 have been accused of being a sonata in disguise. Number 2 in A-flat major is written in the standard minuet form. Its main section features a melody with chordal accompaniment. The middle section of the Impromptu marked Trio as standard in minuets, is contrasted in character with the main section. It is written in D-flat major, featuring continuous triplet motion. The second part of the Trio moves to D-flat minor (written in the same key signature but with accidentals added), then climaxes on A major (written without a key signature), fortissimo, and finally calms down and repeats the major-mode first phrase.
Chopin Nocturne in F minor Op. 55 No. 1

Frdric Franois Chopin (1 March or 22 February 1810 17 October 1849), was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is widely considered one of the greatest Romantic piano composers. Chopin was born in elazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw. The two Nocturnes, Op. 55 by Chopin, the fifteenth and sixteenth of his nocturnes, were composed between 1842 and 1844, and published in August 1844. Chopin dedicated them to his pupil Jane Stirling. Composed in 1842-1844, the piece is in ternary form (ABA). Its main theme has a slow 4/4 with a heavy, steady crotchet beat. It starts with the main theme, which repeats once with only minor variations. The right hand plays a slow melody and the left hand accompanies with a bass note and then a chord, in crotchets. The second section is then played with the right-hand playing the melody and the left-hand accompanying with bass notes and a chord A tempo change to pi mosso speeds up the piece. Afterwards, there is a large variation on the first theme where the main tune is played with other notes in between. There is then a large section of arpeggios and finishing off on 6 final chords.

Random Programme Notes Sample

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Random Programme Notes Sample

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Random Programme Notes Sample

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Debussy Arabesque No. 2.

Dmitri Schostakovich Three Fantastic Dances Opus 5

Mozart - Rondo in D major KV485

Haydn - Sonata in D major No. 37

Schubert - Impromptu Op. 142 No. 2

Chopin Nocturne in F minor Op. 55 No. 1

You might also like