zygis on Apr 17th, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Op. 18 No. 2 in C minor
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, is a work in C minor for piano accompanied by orchestra, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900. The complete work was premiered, again with the composer [...]
zygis on Apr 10th, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 10 in G flat major
By Emil Gilels
By Abdel Rahman El Bacha
By Vladimir Ashkenazy
By Grigory Sokolov
By Evgeny Kissin
Prelude Op. 23 No. 10 in G flat major sheet music
zygis on Apr 10th, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor
The Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 is a composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff completed 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes despite having been written two years earlier than the other nine. It is an epitome of Rachmaninoff’s Russian nationalism, rife with full chords and evocative melodies.The Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 is a composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff completed 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes despite having been written two years earlier than the other nine. It is an epitome of Rachmaninoff’s Russian nationalism, rife with full chords and evocative melodies.
zygis on Apr 10th, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 in B flat major
By Evgeny Kissin
By Emil Gilels
By Valentina Igoshina
By Vladimir Ashkenazy
By Grigory Sokolov
Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 in B flat major sheet music
zygis on Apr 2nd, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor
By Evgeny Kissin
By Alexander Gavrylyuk
By Alexei Sultanov
By Vladimir Horowitz
By Nikolai Lugansky
By Vladimir Ashkenazy
Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor sheet music
zygis on Apr 1st, 2009Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 1 in C minor
This agitated, passionate étude exploits some of the piano’s resources almost unrelentingly, demanding a tireless right hand, an often daringly syncopated left hand and considerable dexterity to illuminate inner voices. Technically, the music is in an almost continual climax. It bares a resemblance to Chopin’s Prelude in E flat minor.
zygis on Mar 16th, 2009Frédric Chopin Waltz Op. posth. in E minor
By Evgeny Kissin
By Solomon Cutner
Waltz Op. posth. in E minor sheet music
zygis on Mar 16th, 2009Frédric Chopin Waltz Op. 64 No. 2 in C sharp minor
Waltz in C# minor is the second work of Chopin’s opus 64 and the companion to the Minute Waltz (Opus 64 no. 1). It consists of three main themes
zygis on Mar 12th, 2009Frédéric Chopin Waltz brillante Op. 34 No. 1 in A flat major
The Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18, was composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1833. It was first published in 1834 and is Chopin’s first waltz composition for solo piano.
zygis on Mar 10th, 2009Frédric Chopin Mazurka Op. 68 No. 4 in F minor
By Arthur Rubinstein
By Evgeny Kissin
Mazurka Op. 68 No. 4 in F minor sheet music
zygis on Mar 10th, 2009Frédric Chopin Mazurka Op. 67 No. 4 in A minor
By Evgeny Kissin
By Arthur Rubinstein
By Julio Garcia Casas
Mazurka Op. 67 No. 4 in A minor sheet music
zygis on Mar 10th, 2009Frédric Chopin Mazurka Op. 50 No. 3 in C sharp minor
By Stephen Ham
By Stanislav Bunin
By Evgeny Kissin
By Arthur Rubinstein
By Maurizio Pollini
Mazurka Op. 50 No. 3 in C sharp minor sheet music
zygis on Feb 24th, 2009Frédéric Chopin Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante Op. 22 in E flat major
Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22, was composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1830 and 1834. The Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat, set for piano and orchestra, was written first, in 1830-31. In 1834, Chopin wrote an Andante spianato in G, for piano solo, which he added to the start of the piece, and joined the two parts with a fanfare-like sequence. The combined work was published in 1836 as Op. 22, and was dedicated to Madame d’Este.
zygis on Feb 23rd, 2009Frédéric Chopin Polonaise Op. 44 F sharp minor
The Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44 is a solo piano composition by Frédéric Chopin composed in 1841. The piece is less popular than some of Chopin’s other polonaises such as the Military Polonaise and the Heroic Polonaise.
The polonaise is in ternary form, with a central Mazurka section in A major.
zygis on Feb 17th, 2009Frédéric Chopin Scherzo Op. 31 No. 2 B flat minor
The Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31 is Frédéric Chopin’s most famous scherzo. The work was composed and published in 1837, and was dedicated to Countess Adele Fürstensein.
The scherzo is in sonata form. The beginning is marked Presto and opens in B flat minor. However, most of the work is written in D flat major and A major. The opening to the piece consists of two arpeggiated pianissimo chords, and after a moments pause,goes into a set of fortissimo chords,an unmistakable use of contrast, then returning to the quiet arpeggiated chords.
zygis on Feb 17th, 2009Frédéric Chopin Prélude Op. 28 No. 16 B flat minor
Following the “Raindrop”, the angry Prelude No. 16 starts with six heavily accented chords before progressing to an impromptu-like passage in the right hand. The left hand mainly supports the right hand and repeats the same melody repeatedly. This piece is considered the most difficult of the set.
zygis on Feb 10th, 2009Frédéric Chopin Ballade Op. 23 No. 1
The Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 is the first of Frédéric Chopin’s four ballades for solo piano. It was composed in 1835-36 during the composer’s early days in Paris and is dedicated to “Monsieur le Baron de Stockhausen,” Hanoverian ambassador to France.
Chopin cited the poet Adam Mickiewicz as an influence for his ballades[citation needed] (this according to a rumour based on a remark by Robert Schumann concerning the genesis of Chopin’s second ballade). The exact inspiration for each piece is not clear.
The music is built from two main themes, the first introduced in bar 7 after the short introduction, and the second in bar 69. Both themes return in different guises. The piece is in compound duple time (6/4) except for the short introduction (in 4/4) and the coda (in 2/2). Sections of the piece are technically demanding, requiring complex fingering, wide chords, octaves, extremely fast chords, and even a section of chromatic chords near the end. Its complex structure combines ideas from sonata and variation forms.
