Bach Well Tempered Clavier

The Well-Tempered Clavier (German: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier), BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, dated 1722, composed "for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study". Bach later compiled a second book of the same kind, dated 1742, with the title Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues. The two works are now considered to make up a single work, The Well-Tempered Clavier, or "the 48", and are referred to as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, respectively. This collection is generally regarded as being among the most influential works in the history of Western classical music. The first set was compiled in 1722 during Bach's appointment in Köthen; the second followed 20 years later in 1742 while he was in Leipzig. Both were widely circulated in manuscript, but printed copies were not made until 1801, by three publishers almost simultaneously in Bonn, Leipzig and Zurich. Bach's style went out of favour in the time around his death, and most music in the early Classical period had neither contrapuntal complexity nor a great variety of keys. But, with the maturing of the Classical style in the 1770s, the Well-Tempered Clavier began to influence the course of musical history, with Haydn and Mozart studying the work closely. Each set contains twenty-four pairs of preludes and fugues. The first pair is in C major, the second in C minor, the third in C-sharp major, the fourth in C-sharp minor, and so on. The rising chromatic pattern continues until every key has been represented, finishing with a B-minor fugue. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Bach Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 Maurizio Pollini
 

Handel - Water Music Suite No. 3

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717 after King George I had requested a concert on the River Thames. The Water Music is scored for a relatively large orchestra, making it suitable for outdoor performance. Some of the music is also preserved in arrangement for a smaller orchestra; this version is not suitable for outdoor performance, as the sound of stringed instruments does not carry well in the open air Suite in G major (HWV 350) There is evidence for the different arrangement found in Chrysander's Gesellschaft edition of Handel's works (in volume 47, published in 1886), where the movements from the "suites" in D and G were mingled and published as one work with HWV 348. This sequence derives from Samuel Arnold's first edition of the complete score in 1788 and the manuscript copies dating from Handel's lifetime. Chrysander's edition also contains an earlier version of the first two movements of HWV 349 in the key of F major composed in 1715 (originally scored for two natural horns, two oboes, bassoon, strings and continuo), where in addition to the horn fanfares and orchestral responses, the original version contained an elaborate concerto-like first violin part. The music in each of the suites has no set order today. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Hervé Niquet conductor Le Concert Spirituel Royal Albert Hall, 18 July 2012
 

Handel - Water Music Suite No. 2 in D-Major, HWV 349

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717 after King George I had requested a concert on the River Thames. In Chrysander's Gesellschaft edition of Handel's works it is noted (in volume 47, published in 1886), where the movements from the "suites" in D and G were mingled and published as one work with HWV 348. This sequence derives from Samuel Arnold's first edition of the complete score in 1788 and the manuscript copies dating from Handel's lifetime. Chrysander's edition also contains an earlier version of the first two movements of HWV 349 in the key of F major composed in 1715 (originally scored for two natural horns, two oboes, bassoon, strings and continuo), where in addition to the horn fanfares and orchestral responses, the original version contained an elaborate concerto-like first violin part. First performed on the evening of Wednesday, 17 July 1717, WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: The English Concert, on period instruments. Trevor Pinnock, conductor. Composed by G.F. Handel (1685-1759).
 

Handel - Water Music Suite No. 1

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717 after King George I had requested a concert on the River Thames. The Water Music is scored for a relatively large orchestra, making it suitable for outdoor performance. Some of the music is also preserved in arrangement for a smaller orchestra; this version is not suitable for outdoor performance, as the sound of stringed instruments does not carry well in the open air The first performance of the Water Music suites is recorded in the Daily Courant, a London newspaper. At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a royal barge at Whitehall Palace for an excursion up the Thames toward Chelsea. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Hervé Niquet conductor Le Concert Spirituel Royal Albert Hall, 18 July 2012
 

Wagner - Die Walküre: "The Ride of the Valkyries"

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), WWV 86B, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner with a German libretto by the composer. It is the second of the four operas that form Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). The story of the opera is based on the Norse mythology told in the Volsunga Saga and the Poetic Edda.[1][2] In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one in a group of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live. Die Walküre's best-known excerpt is the "Ride of the Valkyries". It received its premiere at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich on 26 June 1870. Wagner originally intended the opera to be premiered as part of the entire cycle, but was forced to allow the performance at the insistence of his patron King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was first presented as part of the complete cycle on 14 August 1876 at Wagner's Bayreuth Festival. The opera made its United States premiere at the Academy of Music in New York on 2 April 1877. The "Ride of the Valkyries" (German: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren) is the popular term for the beginning of act 3 of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen. Ride of the Valkyries Performed by the American Symphony Orchestra for Edison Records in 1921 Problems playing this file? See media help. As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often heard in a purely instrumental version, which may be as short as three minutes. Together with the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin, the Ride of the Valkyries is one of Wagner's best-known pieces.

  VIDEO: Conducted by Pierre Boulez

CHOPIN Waltzes Op Pos 70 Nos 1, 2, 3

The three Op. 70 waltzes by Frédéric Chopin were composed in 1829–1832 and were posthumously published in 1855, six years after the composer's death. These waltzes are among several unpublished works that the composer hoped would be burnt upon his death. Each of the three Op.70 waltzes lasts less than three minutes to perform in typical performances.

 VIDEO: "Valse No. 2 En Fa Mineur Op. 70". Performances by Samson François, Artur Rubinstein, Georges Cziffra.

 

CHOPIN Waltzes Op 64 No 1 No 2

The Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, Valse du petit chien, popularly known as the Minute Waltz, is a piano waltz composed by Frédéric Chopin. It is dedicated to the Countess Delfina Potocka. The Waltz in C-sharp minor is the second work of Chopin's opus 64 and the companion to the Minute Waltz (Op. 64, No. 1). It was composed in 1847. Chopin dedicated this Waltz to Madame Nathaniel de Rothschild.


 


VIDEO: Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor #7 Valentina Lisitsa 

CHOPIN: Waltzes Op 64

Frédéric Chopin’s waltzes are pieces of moderate length adhering to the traditional 3/4 waltz time, but are remarkably different from the earlier Viennese waltzes in that they were not designed for dancing but for concert performance. Some of them are accessible by pianists of moderate capabilities, but the more difficult of them require an advanced technique. Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation to the Dance was an early model for Chopin's waltzes. Chopin started writing waltzes in 1824, when he was fourteen, and continued until the year of his death, 1849. Probably the most famous is the so-called Minute Waltz in D-flat major of 1847, part of the last set of waltzes Chopin published (Op. 64).

                      

VIDEO: 1978 Vladimir Horowitz TV concert from the White House.

CHOPIN Waltzes

Frédéric Chopin’s waltzes are pieces of moderate length adhering to the traditional 3/4 waltz time, but are remarkably different from the earlier Viennese waltzes in that they were not designed for dancing but for concert performance. Some of them are accessible by pianists of moderate capabilities, but the more difficult of them require an advanced technique. Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation to the Dance was an early model for Chopin's waltzes. Chopin started writing waltzes in 1824, when he was fourteen, and continued until the year of his death, 1849. There are thirty-six separate compositions that are of interest to students of the Chopin waltzes. Chopin published eight waltzes in his lifetime. A further five were published with posthumous opus numbers in the decade following his death, and since then a further seven have been published, without opus numbers. Of these, two are considered doubtful. This brings the total to eighteen canonic waltzes, although often these are not numbered past the first fourteen. The eighteen waltzes include a piece that was untitled; it is in 3/4 time with the tempo indication Sostenuto, and it has some of the characteristics of a waltz, so it is often (but not universally) catalogued with the waltzes. Probably the most famous is the so-called Minute Waltz in D-flat major of 1847, part of the last set of waltzes Chopin published (Op. 64).

                                           WIKIPEDIA                                      

VIDEO: Ashkenazy plays the Piano Works of Chopin 

Telemann Suite Watermusic Hamburger Ebb und Fluth TWV 55

Water Music (Wassermusik), TWV 55:C3, is the common name of an orchestral suite by the German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann, with the full title Hamburger Ebb' und Fluth (Hamburg ebb and flood). Telemann composed the piece in ten movements to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Hamburg Admiralty (de) in a performance on 6 April 1723. The suite draws upon Hamburg's geographical location as an important and successful port on the river Elbe while Telemann illustrates the piece with mythological water deities and tone painting giving the nautical theme added depth. The overture begins by representing the physical movement of the ocean, followed by several dance movements: first, the sleeping sea goddess Thetis, the mother of Achilles, who then awakes; the sea god Neptune in love; playful water nymphs known as Naiads; Neptune's son and sea messenger Triton joking; Aeolus, ruler of the winds; and Zephir, god of the west wind. Two final pieces follow, one depicting the tides of Hamburg and finally, its happy sailors.WIKIPEDIA
 VIDEO: GP Telemann Suite Watermusic "Hamburger Ebb und Fluth" TWV 55 C3
 1. Ouverture (Grave - Allegro) 2. Saraband. Die schlaffende Thetis 3. Bourée. Die erwachende Thetis 4. Loure. Der verliebte Neptune 5. Gavotte. Spielende Najaden 6. Harlequinade. Der Schertzende Tritonus 7. Der stürmende Aeolus 8. Menuet. Der angenehme Zephir 9. Gigue. Ebbe und Fluth 10. Canarie. Die lustigen Bots Leute Musica Antiqua Köln Reinhard Goebel Conductor
 

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No 1 in g "Winter Dreams"

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Winter Daydreams (Russian: Зимние грёзы, Zimniye gryozy), Op. 13, in 1866, just after he accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory: it is the composer's earliest notable work. The composer's brother Modest claimed this work cost Tchaikovsky more labor and suffering than any of his other works. Even so, he remained fond of it, writing to his patroness Nadezhda von Meck in 1883 that "although it is in many ways very immature, yet fundamentally it has more substance and is better than any of my other more mature works." He dedicated the symphony to Nikolai Rubinstein.

  WIKIPEDIA   

VIDEO: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13 "Winter Dreams" Bernard Haitink Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra 

War Requiem ~ Britten

Britten War
Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962.[1] Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts are pasted, collage-like, settings of Wilfred Owen poems. The work is scored for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chorus, boys' choir, organ, and two orchestras (a full orchestra and a chamber orchestra). It has a duration of approximately 85 minutes. Wikipedia notes

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Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Showing prodigious talent from an early age – he composed his Quatre Chansons françaises for soprano and orchestra at the age of fourteen – he first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945 he leapt to international fame, and for the next fifteen years he devoted much of his compositional attention to writing operas, several of which now appear regularly on international stages. Britten's interests as a composer were wide-ranging; he produced important music in such varied genres as orchestral, choral, solo vocal (much of it written for the tenor Peter Pears), chamber and instrumental, as well as film music. He also took a great interest in writing music for children and amateur performers, and was considered a fine pianist and conductor.

Entire Wikipedia Bio

Warsaw Concerto

Richard Addinsell composed the Warsaw Concerto for a British made film- "Suicide Squadron" as it was known in USA release. The British film title was 'Dangerous Moonlight'. The film came out in 1941. The music became more popular than the film. And more popular than some of Addinsell's other film scores like 'Gaslight' in 1939, 'Blythe Spirit' in 1945 and 'A Christmas Carol' in 1951. The film's love-story plot revolves around the fictional composer of the piece, a piano virtuoso and "shell-shocked" combat pilot, who is a refugee in England from the World War II occupation of Poland and considers returning to Poland to rejoin the war. The actor, Anton Walbrook, was an accomplished amateur pianist, so his hands are seen playing in the film, but in fact the music on the soundtrack is played by an uncredited pianist, Louis Kentner. [Visit Wikipedia for more info...]

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Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 1904 – 14 November 1977)

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The film, "Dangerous Moonlight", VHS video is available: