I was listening to Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, when I came to the Adagio and started feeling increasingly nostalg...
I was listening to Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, when I came to the Adagio and started feeling increasingly nostalgic. Then I remembered something Milan Kundera, Czech writer best known for his work The Unbearable Lightness of Being, said about nostalgia. Paraphrasing Kundera, he said: "The Greek word for return is nostos. Algos means suffering. So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return."
I have been trying to understand what Kundera meant with these words. He might have been trying to say nostalgia is the pain inflicted by wanting to return to a certain place. He might also have been trying to say nostalgia is the pain caused by the reminiscing of the past. After all, the past is the only place, no matter how hard we try, to which we can never go back.
For those of you who may not know, the word "adagio" comes from the Italian "at ease". It implies one should play in a slow tempo. The movement is quite sentimental, sharing more similarities to an opera or a symphonic poem than to a piano concerto. The piano begins alone, solitude being a central theme to the overall mood of the piece, and is followed by unusually large symphonic gaps. Dynamics are soft, never greater than a mezzoforte. The theme seems to get more joyous near the middle only to fall back to its melancholic état d'esprit. Isn't this what happens when one reminisces of the past? It is a curious thing the human mind, letting you remember so fondly something you have forever lost.
Specifications
The Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, was written by Mozart. It has three movements.
Allegro (Fast)
Adagio (Slow)
Allegro assai: Allegro alla breve (Very fast / Fast in cut-time)
Elvira Madigan is the informal moniker of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467. Mozart never actually named this concerto. ...
Elvira Madigan is the informal moniker of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467. Mozart never actually named this concerto. The title comes from the 1967 Swedish film by the same name, based on the tragedy of the Danish tightrope dancer Hedvig Jensen. It appears as though this is not a unique occurrence, as many other of Mozart's works had their names coined by someone else. For instance, the Jupiter Symphony or Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 was dubbed by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon.
The serenity of Mozart's symphony parallels the stoic mood of the film. Listening to the Andante, one can imagine rolling waves gently rocking a boat in a lake. This is, as a matter of fact, a scene in the movie. Considering the movie ends with a double suicide, the use of Mozart's work seems at times improper. Nevertheless, the themes of nature and tragedy suit Mozart better than other classical composers. After all, Mozart's life, as well as Elvira's, ended in tragedy.
One can only wonder if Mozart ever imagined his piano concerto would be forever associated to a circus performance. The genius was known for being a satirist, so who knows.
Specifications
The Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, was written by Mozart. It has three movements.
A young Chopin composed a set of three nocturnes between 1830 and 1832, dedicated to Madame Camille Pleyel, the wife of a rich piano manufac...
A young Chopin composed a set of three nocturnes between 1830 and 1832, dedicated to Madame Camille Pleyel, the wife of a rich piano manufacturer. Their marriage broke down because of her disorderly behavior and persistent infidelity, which begs the question: "Why ever did Chopin dedicate three nocturnes to a married woman?" The dedication isn't really meant to Madame Pleyel as much a to Monsieur Playel, a close friend of Chopin and supporter of his work.
Marie-Félicité-Denise Moke known as Madame Camille Pleyel
All of the nocturnes are great pieces of work, ranging across many styles. The first notturno could be best described as melancholic. It's evocative, it's sentimental, and it has the rhythmic freedom that became characteristic of Chopin's later work. The third notturno alternates between a nostalgic main theme and a dramatic second theme. They're both very delicate and require a certain amount of virtuosity.
The second notturno is also imbued with melancholy. It's the most celebrated of the three, owing its critical acclaim to its simplicity and pensive nature. It has two repeating themes and a coda. The themes get more ornamented with each appearance. As the song progresses, it sways with rhythmic freedom, as indicated by the words senza tempo or without tempo. It has a contemplative aura until it suddenly becomes vehement near the end with the appearance of forceful octaves. It reaches its climax at the marked fortissimo (meaning very loud). After a thrill-like passage, the agitation gently descends into a harmonious ending.
Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2: opening bars and main theme
There is absolutely no living person that can resist the delicate themes of the deuxième nocturne. The virtuoso hands of the dilettante Arthur Rubinstein simply makes it more irresistible. This particular interpretation straight up melts into your ears, similar as to your consciousness melting into a dream when you're about to fall asleep.
Specifications
The Nocturnes, Op. 9 are a set of three nocturnes written by Chopin. The work was published in 1833.
Les tringles des sistres tintainent is the name of the gypsy dance from Carmen's Act II. It revisits the exotic nature of gypsy zingara...
Les tringles des sistres tintainent is the name of the gypsy dance from Carmen's Act II. It revisits the exotic nature of gypsy zingaras and zingarellas, dancing under the rhythm of strange and exotic music. Surely, Bizet is not the only classical composer who finds inspiration under gypsy music. As we know, Liszt wrote the Hungarian Rhapsodies playing homage to his own cultural origins and Brahms did too when writing his Hungarian Dances. Nevertheless, rest assured that Bizet's gypsy dance is so feverish and intoxicating that not even the great Horowitz could resist honoring his work. Furthermore, what makes these variations so special is the fact that Horowitz kept playing these and adding more exquisite measures throughout his entire repertoire.
Variations on a Theme from Carmen: first four bars
The piece demands extraordinary technical prowess from the executioner. It's full of intriguing chords, alternating chromatic scales, and mind-blowing cadenzas, which would be a challenge for any wunderpianisten, let alone Horowitz himself. You could argue that the same as there are no two equal versions of the Carmen Variations, there will never again be another Vladimir Horowitz. The genius eventually got tired of playing this theme, as audiences would often forget the rest of the program after the encore.
Horowitz clearly reminds us that you can only enjoy so much of a good thing. As time went by, the variations became clearly more sophisticated. This went on for over 50 years. Personally, I believe it wasn't the variations that were changing; it was the genius himself.
Specifications
Carmen is an opera in four acts written by Georges Bizet. It tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naive soldier who is seduced by the gypsy Carmen, yet loses Carmen's love to the toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage.
Les tringles de sistres tintaient translation:
The rods of the sistrums tinkled with a metallic lustre
and on this strange music the zingarellas rose.
Basque tambourines went their course and exaggerated guitars
squeaked under stubborn hands, same song, same refrain.
Money and copper rings glittered on the darkened skins;
of streaked orange or red, the fabrics floated with the wind.
The dance to the song is married, initially undecided and timid,
sharper then and more rapid... that went up, went up, went up, went up!
Gypsies, with turn of arm, their instruments made rage,
and this dazzling din bewitched the zingaras.
Under the rhythm of song, burning, insane, fevered,
they were left, intoxicated, to carry the whirlwind!
I've played this sonata whole, notwithstanding, I haven't played this sonata with the delicacy and accuracy it requires, as I'm...
I've played this sonata whole, notwithstanding, I haven't played this sonata with the delicacy and accuracy it requires, as I'm not but an amateur pianist. I did, however, enjoy playing the sonata with both devotion and emotion. I get ecstatic playing the Allegro di molto e con brio with its tremolos and staccato notes. I love how it so subtly modulates from a C minor to an E-flat minor and finally an E-flat major, all in one glorious first movement.
Grave introduction: first four bars
The sweats you get from playing the entire piece must be comparable to the night sweats of a patient with a Hodgkin lymphoma. The fever, the aggressive sweats... Playing Beethoven heals your mind but in the process of doing so your heart is beating faster than it can, your fingers tremble of excitement, you can't hold your own breath, your whole body feels warm, and that's when you start sweating. People ask me what's it like to play Beethoven. In a way, it's like being a cancer patient.
Undoubtedly, we're missing the final crucial symptom for our diagnosis: the weight loss. With Beethoven, your soul will never be hungry. Your body might be sick, but your mind is just starting to heal.
Specifications
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 8, known as the Sonata Pathétique, encompasses three movements and takes approximately 19 minutes to perform.
Grave (Slowly, with solemnity) - Allegro di molto e con brio (Quickly, with much vigor)
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.png "Variations on a Theme from Carmen")
