Music Set #212 - Chopin

Frédéric Chopin 

[fʁe.de.ʁik ʃɔ.pɛ̃]  (1810 – 1849) 

"Chopin was a Polish composer, virtuoso pianist, and music teacher, of French–Polish parentage. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called 'the poet of the piano'." 

The best of Chopin

   (jukebox of 30 pieces)

Waltz Op.64 No.1 - "Minute Waltz" - "Little Dog Waltz"

* Yuja Wang                                                                    

* Two savvy back-to-back pianists each playing 30 seconds to add up to 1 minute [MINit], although Minute [mai-NJUT] is intended to mean petite.

Waltz Op.64 No.2 
* Yuja Wang 

             
                       

Grande Valse Brillante 

* Valentina Igoshina playing Op.18 

Chopin wanted to exceed Strauss, by adding elegance into his 19 waltzes written for the piano.  It turned out that the dancers stopped dancing in order to appreciate the rich music.

Piano Sonata No. 2  in B flat minor Op.35 

The 3^rd movement, sad and sincere, is popularly known as the "Funeral March".

* Marche Funèbre 

Hear the solemn church bells?  See the long and slow funeral procession with heavy foot-steps?  Now, recall the words and deeds when the dead was still alive?  Then, the solemn church bells again.  The long and slow funeral procession again.

Nocturne Op.9 No.2 --- the most famous of his 21 nocturnes (夜曲)   

* Yundi Li 

 

  

Ballade No. 1  

* play to live - from The Pianist movie 

Fantasie Impromptu  

* Valentina Igoshina 

Grande Polonaise Brillante   

* Yundi Li  

                   

Prelude Op.28 No.20

* Tzvi Erez 

Music Set #211 - Chopin DoB+200

200^th Anniversary of the Birth of Chopin

Fryderyk Chopin 

[1810 – 1849]

With a French father and a Polish mother, Chopin regarded Poland his motherland.

On 10/10/10, a concert in commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Chopin (birthday on March 1) was held in the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre. The selection of works was very unusual. The following are the same pieces available on YouTube, but by other performers.
       
              

Polish Songs / Chants Polonais [op.74]

Where 18 of the 19 Chopin’s Polish songs were nicely sung: soprano, tenor or baritone, solo.  Here are 3:

* No.1 - A Maiden’s Wish: "A maiden longing to be transformed into the sun and a bird, so that she could near her beloved’s window all day long." 

* No.11 - Two Deaths: "Separated from one and other, a maiden and her Cossack lover died prematurely.  While the maiden spent her last moment surrounded by grieving loved ones, the soldier’s body was accompanied by wolves and ravens in the field."  

* No.4 - A Drinking Song by 4 singers in turn.   

Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano in G minor [op.8]

Where niece Winty was on the violin, though not in the following:
Mvt.1 Allegro con fuoco
Mvt.2 Scherzo con motto
Mvt.3 Adagio sostenuto
Mvt.4 Finale: Allegretto 

Godowsky’s version of Chopin’s Etudes / 練習曲

* Op.10 no.6   Notice anything unusual?
* Op.10 no.11 

* Op.25 no.3 

* Op.25 no.2 

* Op.10 no.3   Notice anything unusual?   "Tristesse" (Sadness) – Chanson de L’Adieu (Farewell Song)

Music Set #210 - Brahms

Johannes Brahms 

[joːˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]  (1833 – 1897) 

    
Lullaby / Cradle Song 
(Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht)

Which performance could help you sleep, baby?
* violin 

* cello + piano 

* mother singing  (by Celine Dion - French Canadian)

 

Sixteen Waltzes for Piano, Four Hands 

* No.15 in A flat major - Evgeny Kissin  (two hands)

 

Of his compilations of 21 Hungarian Dances, 
* No.5 in F♯ minor (G minor for orchestra) Allegro-Vivace is better known 

- four hands 
- solo piano

Originally he wrote them for piano four-hands and later arranged the first 10 dances for solo piano.

Music Set #209 - Brahms - Violin Concerto

Johannes Brahms 
[joːˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]  (1833 – 1897) 

His Violin Concerto in D is one of the three greatest concertos on earth.
* Gil Shaham - 3 minutes of the third movement
* 庄司紗矢香 - 3 full movements - totaling 44 minutes

Symphony No. 1 in C minor 
* Mvt 1 - Un poco sostenuto – Allegro – Meno allegro
* Mvt 2 - Andante sostenuto 
* Mvt 3 - Un poco allegretto e grazioso
* Mvt 4 - Part 1   Part 2 - Adagio – Più andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio – Più allegro

Music Set #208 - Borodin - Polovetzian Dances

Alexander Borodin 

(1833-1887)
  

Written mainly by Borodin, <Prince Igor> is an opera about a Russian prince Igor against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185.  Polovtsy, which the old Russians called the Cumans, was a nomadic tribe migrated from China to the Black Sea area in the 11^th Century.  

The best-known theme from the opera is the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens". 

* on stage - with lyrics in Russian and Spanish

* in movie -  ('Polovetzian Dances from Prince Igor')

Ring a bell? 
It has been adapted in the "Stranger in Paradise" song.

* Andre Rieu on violin

* Sarah Brightman singing behind the Phantom of the Opera

* Tony Bennett singing to the beauty of the late Hedy Lamarr

Music Set #207 - Boccherini - Minute

Luigi Boccherini 
(1743 - 1805)

Boccherini is most widely known for one particular
* minuet from his String Quintet in E.

= = = = =

Bonus:

* Le Concert des Nations and baroque notation
* Basic Steps in the Minuet
* Napoleonic Ball - Menuet

Complete cello concertos (3.5 hours)

Boccherini's Fandango (G448)

Fandango is a lively couples dance from Spain, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping ("palmas" in Spanish). Fandango can both be sung and danced.

 

(R) "Goya en Burdeos" (1999) film

Music Set #206 - Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suite

Georges Bizet 

(1838-1875)

  

L'Arlesienne Suite 

(The Girl from Arles) 

- love tragedy in ballet presentation

* Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6

Totaling about 37 minutes.

* flashmob at Paris North Station

     

Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) opera
- Je crois entendre encore (I think I still hear) song 
* Alain Vanzo  (with French lyrics)  *** It is beautiful.