http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncr1BMTtvOQ Burgmuller, a German composer living in France during the Romantic era composed these delightful programmatic pieces in order of "progressive" difficulty; I've chosen 3 favorites to showcase: "Arabesque," "La Chasse" (The Chase) and "L'Harmonie des Anges" (Harmony of the Angels) Arabesque ("beautiful decoration") is a sprightly, fast paced miniature in "A" minor, that basically… Continue reading More piano teaching favorites: Burgmuller’s 25 Progressive Pieces, op. 100
Tag: music history
Piano Instruction: Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, 3rd mvt. Sonata in C, K. 545
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6oSo-WC9OM http://youtu.be/Meb-yhioUIo In this instructional video I analyze the form and musical content of Mozart's Sonata in C Major, K. 545, Rondo: Allegretto, Third movement. (I play behind tempo to make the commentary and musical phrases more understandable) The Rondo, more often than not, is the form used in the last movement of a Classical… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, 3rd mvt. Sonata in C, K. 545
Piano Instruction: Part 3, Harmonic Rhythm and Phrasing, Mozart Sonata in C, K. 545, Shirley Kirsten, Piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrLWMN8e-84 In part 3 of this video presentation, I explore the Development section and Recapitulation of the Mozart Sonata in C Major, K. 545 Hare are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u00VjBtn-t0 (Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8cBg_qKSeU (Part 2)
The Fritz Piano of Vienna: A Romantic Era Reborn
On a wind swept day in March, while I was shopping in a busy Northwest Fresno plaza, I spotted a curvaceous baby grand piano through the open door of the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop. Its sunbathed, feminine profile and polished wood exterior drew me to it with the force of a magnet. Decades before, I… Continue reading The Fritz Piano of Vienna: A Romantic Era Reborn
Chopin Etude op. 10, no. 3 and the devil in music
Who would believe the Chopin Etude, Op. 10 no. 3, opening with a somber melody that melts the heart away, would venture into the devil's realm with a splash of "tritones." Music historians characterize the interval of a "tritone" (A whole step progression of three notes) as the diabolus in musica. Dating back to medieval times it… Continue reading Chopin Etude op. 10, no. 3 and the devil in music