5/5 Wrapping Up ScoreVideos

Here's the last of the ScoreVideo posts...this one covers everything not previously covered in piano sonatas, symphonies (in full score and in piano reductions) and chamber works. I'm going to try and keep these ScoreVideo playlists updated as long as I can (or at least for a few more weeks..?).

As this blog is as much a project for self-education as it is anything else, I've definitely gotten better at score-reading through following these videos, so I hope this has helped my readers as well...

Rondo Op. 51, No. 1 
Jenö Jandó, piano

Piano Works:

• 12 Minuets (Jando)
• Rondo a Capriccio Op.129 "Rage over a Lost Penny" (Jando)
• Rondo in A (Jando)
• Rondo Op.51 No1, 2 (Jando)
• Andante Favori, WoO.57 (Jando)
• Symphony 7, Piano Arr by Franz Liszt (Howard)
• Bagatelle Op.33, No.1, 7 
• Fur Elise
• Diabelli Variations (Sokolov)
• Ecossaise WoO.83 (Gyorgy)
• Symphony 9, 4th Mvmt, Piano Arr by Franz Liszt (Katsaris) 
• Fantasia Op. 77(Ciani)
• Sonatina WoO.50 (Brautigam)
• Bagatelle "Lustig - Traurig" WoO.54 (Cascioli)
• Prelude WoO.55 (Cascioli)
• Minuet WoO.82
• Bagatelle Op.126, No.3 (Biss)
• Kurfürstensonaten WoO.47 M1, M2
• Bagatelle in F (Last work?)
• Piano Concerto 1, Op.15
  

11 Piano Bagatelles, Op. 119 (Brendel)
6 Piano Bagatelles Op.126 (Brendel)
Eroica Variations for Piano (Kempff) Op.35 w Manuscript

Symphony 6 Op.68 (Boult) w Manuscript

Overtures in Full Score

• Coriolan, Op.62
• Egmont, Op.84
• Leonore II, Op.72a
• Wellington's Siege, Op.91
• Choral Fantasia Op.80
• King Stephen
• Ruins of Athens

4/27 Chamber Music, Lieder ScoreVideos

Continuing my mini-series listing "ScoreVideos" (Youtube videos where the score is displayed as the music plays) we now get to the chamber works.  These include the complete cello sonatas, most of the best violin sonatas, some song lieder, complete string trios, etc...(Previously I listed the extant piano sonatas and symphonies with piano scores).

These have basically just one or two staffs more than the piano scores I've listed so far, so it shouldn't be too hard to follow these if the previous ScoreVideos are under one's belt.  In general the piano lines are on the 2nd and 3rd staffs (right and left hands respectively) and the violin, cello, or voice is on the first line. Have fun!  Remember - the scores are just for additional enjoyment.  Even without the visual scores, these are all masterpieces of beauty.  Click on the links below to be taken to the appropriate playlist.

(Some of these were featured on the blog before, like the cello sonatas and the string trios)

5 Cello Sonatas and 2 Sets of Variations (Brendel)

5 Violin Sonatas: No. 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 (Staier, Sepec, Kreisler, Rupp)
This set also includes 12 Variations in F for Violin and Piano on "Se vuol ballare" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, WoO.40 (1793):
Andreas Staier: pianoforte
Daniel Sepec: Beethoven's violin (!)


4 String Trios & Serenade Op.8 (Grumiaux, etc)

Lieder, Aria and Other Chamber Works:

• Serenade Op. 41 for flute and piano
• Resignation (Lieder, Fritz Wunderlich)
• Der Kuß (Lieder)
• Adelaide, Op. 46 (Lieder)
• Ich Liebe Dich (Lieder)
• Ah, Perfido, Op. 65 (Aria, Regine Crespin)
• Six National Airs Op. 105
• Piano Quartett in C, WoO 36/3 - III.Rondo
• Messe in C major Op.86 - Credo
• 3 Equali
• Wind Trio Op. 87 (Piano Transcription)
• Fugue for String Quintet Op. 137 in D (Piano Transcription)
• String Quartet in E-flat Op. 127 (Mvmt 3 & 4)
• String Quartet Op.74 "Harp" (Mvmt 3 & 4)
• Unfinished Piano Cto 6 
• Grosse Fugue (Talich)
•  Elegie auf den Tod eines Pudels, WoO 110 (Schreier)
•  Zärtliche Liebe, WoO 123 (Fischer-Dieskau, Demus)
• Canon in 3 Voices, WoO 159 
• An die Geliebte, WoO 140 
• Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109, Prestissimo Arranged for String Quartet

4/10 Brendel Masterclass / Another Folk Song Set

“Alfred Brendel on Music—collected Essays”

Having Alfred Brendel accompany his son on the Beethoven Cello Sonatas yesterday inspired me to continue the theme and present excerpts from his masterclass at New England Conservatory from November 5, 2009.  Here he coaches Sangyoung Kim playing Beethoven's Variations in E-Flat Major (Eroica) Op. 35.  A fascinating and rare look at one of today's modern virtuoso performers in a teacher-student setting.  We only have 11 minutes here sadly...

Link

As a sequel of sorts to my set of all NON-English, Beethoven-arranged folksongs a few days ago, here is an ALL-English set from drtmuir's YT channel:
1. Scottish Folksongs: Songs from Op. 108: Behold my love, how green the groves / Oh, had my fate been join'd with thine / Come fill, fill my good fellow
2. Music, love and wine / O sweet were the hours / O swiftly glides the bonny boat
3. 2 Scottish Folksongs ?
4. 2 Irish Folksongs, WoO 154: Save me from the Grave and Wise / Put Round the Bright Wine
5. 3 Songs from Folksongs of Various Nations, WoO 157: Charlie is my darling / O Sanctissima / A Health to the Brave
6. My Harry / By the Side of the Shannon
7. 3 Folksongs from WoO 157, 156: The Wandering Minstrel / Robin Adair / Polly Stewart
(Total length: 52 minutes)

Linklist

4/9 Complete Cello Sonatas with Score

(www.get-tuned.com)

Last year I was fortunate to find the complete Beethoven cello sonatas on Youtube performed by Sviatoslav Richter and Mstislav Rostropovich.  Over the last few months Sonatas 2 and 4 got deleted so that post is no longer a complete survey... Fortunately I came across a set of complete cello sonatas with visual score on MagicDonDino's YT channel.  His set features Alfred and Adrian Brendel on piano and cello respectively.  Following Beethoven with a score is actually at least as satisfying as watching a live performance so this is a great set too in my opinion. The performance is superb as well...

No. 1-2: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 Op 5 No 1 in F major
No. 3-5: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 Op 5 No 2 in G minor
No. 6-7: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 Op 69 in A
No. 8-9: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 Op 102 No 1 in C
No. 10-11: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D major, Op 102 No. 2
No. 12: 12 Variations for Cello and Piano on "See the conqu'ring hero comes...
No. 13: 7 Variations on "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen" for Cello and Pi...
(Total length: 2 hours, 17 minutes)

Cello Sonatas 1-5 with Score

It seems pointless to save this next playlist for a future post since we're on cello sonatas today anyways - Here's Cello Sonatas 2-5 - all live performances, except No. 4, but that's Friedrich Gulda on piano so it's still worth posting even tho there's nothing to see....

Click below to go to the Youtube playlist I assembled...

Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor Op.5, No. 2 (Yo-yo Ma & Emanuel Ax)
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op.69 (Zara Nelsova & John Newmark)
Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op.102 No. 1 (Pierre Fournier & Friedrich Gulda)
Cello Sonata No. 5 Op.102 No. 2 (OLIVER ALDORT cello /  ILYA ITIN piano)
12 Variations on a theme by Mozart Op.66 (Mstislav Rostropovich, cello / Vasso Devetzi, piano)
Cello Sonatas 2-5 live

2/20 Diabelli Variations (Berezovsky, Puppulo, Brendel)

I know I've come back to the Diabelli Variations a few times before - but this is one of those works which traverses so much territory and so many emotions...it's one of those few piano works which can justifiably be performed in concert every 4 days without seeming over-played...

This performance by Mr. Berezkovsky is a superb traversal of "the 33", and excellently recorded - and it's not always true that you get both...
Diabelli Variations Op.120 (1823)
performed live by Boris Berezovsky: (1 Hour)
Linklist

This LINK will take you to a performance of the Diabelli Variations by Elsa Puppulo - I actually like this performance a great deal - but the sound quality is not the best. Still, well worth a listen - her accents are so fierce it sounds almost like a fortepiano at times (which I mean as a good thing)....her Bartok is also pretty exciting!

2/10 Moonlight and Appassionata Sonatas (Color Analysis)

Time for more visual analysis... I've posted about the Moonlight Sonata before (tho not all 3 movements) so I decided what the heck, might as complete that, and also throw in the Appassionata again, for old times' sake.... I'll eventually do all 32 sonatas but since these were handy I decided to do the "hits" first.



Piano Sonata #14 In C#m, Op.27/2, "Moonlight" (1801)
Piano Alfred Brendel
0:00 - I. Adagio sostenuto
6:05 - II. Allegretto
8:33 - III. Presto agitato
Channel Link

Movement 1. Adagio Sostenuto

Exposition

Introduction (LIGHT MAROON)

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

Development - 1st Theme (GREEN)

Recapitulation

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

Coda (MAROON 2)

Movement 2. Allegretto (starting at 6:05)

Theme A (MAROON)

Theme B (BROWN)

Theme A (reprise) (MAROON)

Movement 3. Presto Agitato (starting at 8:33)

Exposition

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

3rd Theme (OLIVE)

4th Theme (GREEN)

Exposition Repeat

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

3rd Theme (OLIVE)

4th Theme (GREEN)

Development (BLUE)

1st Theme Dev

2nd Theme Dev

Recapitulation

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

3rd Theme (OLIVE)

4th Theme (GREEN)

Coda (DARK BLUE)

Cadenza (VIOLET)

---

Piano Sonata #23 In Fm, Op.57, "Appassionata" (1805)
Since we just saw Professor Yui's masterclass on the Appassionata a couple days ago this should be a walk in the park now, right?

Piano Alfred Brendel 
0:00 - 1. Allegro Assai
9:52 - 2. Andante Con Moto
16:34 - 3. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Channel Link

Movement 1. Allegro Assai

Exposition 

1st Theme (BROWN)

2nd Theme (OLIVE)

1st Theme (variation) (BROWN)

3rd Theme (BLUE)

Development (DARK VIOLET)

1st Theme

2nd Theme

3rd Theme

Recapitulation

1st Theme (BROWN)

2nd Theme (OLIVE)

1st Theme (variation) (BROWN)

3rd Theme (BLUE)

Coda (VIOLET)

Movement 2. Andante Con Moto (starting at 9:52)

Theme (BLUE)

1st Variation (BLUE 2)

2nd Variation (BLUE 3)

3rd Variation (BLUE 4)

4th Variation (BLUE 5)

Movement 3. Allegro Ma Non Troppo (starting at 16:34)

Exposition

Introduction (BLUE)

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (OLIVE)

3rd Theme (var of 1st Theme) (BROWN)

Development - 1st Theme (PURPLE)

Recapitulation

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (OLIVE)

3rd Theme (BROWN)

Development - 1st Theme (reprise) (PURPLE)

Recapitulation (reprise)

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (OLIVE)

3rd Theme (BROWN)

Coda(BLUE)

(breakdowns from Alan Rich's book).

1/27 Beethoven's Sonata 'Pathetique' (Color Analysis)

I've posted about the Pathetique sonata before (1st Movement in somewhat more detail) but this time I'm trying a color analysis again - I'm getting kind of fond of these kinds of breakdowns (originally from Alan Rich's Play by Play).

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, "Pathétique", (1798)
Piano - Alfred Brendel
0:00 - 1. Grave, Allegro Di Molto E Con Brio
9:41 - 2. Adagio Cantabile
15:07 - 3. Rondo: Allegro

CHANNEL LINK: Click here to see this video on my YouTube Channel. Once there, click on "...(more info)" to scroll through the text description while the video stays in place.

1st Movement - Grave, Allegro di molto e con brio

Introduction (LIGHT GREEN)

Exposition

-1st Theme (MAROON)

-2nd Theme (BROWN)

-3rd Theme (GREEN)

Exposition (Repeat)

-1st Theme (MAROON)

-2nd Theme (BROWN)

-3rd Theme (GREEN)

Development

-Introduction reprise (LIGHT GREEN)

-1st Theme (BLUE)

Recapitulation

Publish Post

-1st Theme (MAROON)

-2nd Theme (BROWN)

-3rd Theme (GREEN)

Coda (LIGHT GREEN)

2nd Movement - Adagio cantabile (starting at 9:41)

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BLUE)

1st Theme (MAROON)

3rd Theme (GREEN)

1st Theme Variation (MAROON 2)

Coda (OLIVE)

3rd Movement - Rondo allegro (starting at 15:07)

1st Theme (MAROON)

2nd Theme (BROWN)

1st Theme reprise (MAROON)

3rd Theme (BLUE)

1st Theme Variation (MAROON)

2nd Theme Variation (BROWN 2)

1st Theme (Short Var.) (MAROON)

2nd Theme Variation (BROWN 2)

1st Theme reprise (MAROON)

1/23 Beethoven's Cello Sonata 5 w Yudkin Lecture on Concision

Beethoven's Cello Sonata 5 (in D Major Op.102, No. 2 (1815)) is another one of those pieces where the late-period Ludwig just floors me with "sublime feeling".  Here's Alfred Brendel and his son (?) Adrian Brendel on cello doing the entire work with one of those cool "accompanied score" videos.  These first 2 vids are followed by Micah Fusselman and Jeongin Kim in a Masterclass with Yehuda Hanani at CCM May 25, 2009.
(total time 1 hour).

Pt 1 - 2: (Brendel and Son recital)
Pt 3: Masterclass recital of the 2nd movement
Pt 4 - 7: Masterclass instruction


Linklist

I can't resist throwing in this performance of the 3rd and final fugue movement by Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky - explosive.

---

...As a follow-up "Sunday feature" - here's a very recent lecture (October 14, 2010) by Jeremy Yudkin, music professor and chair of the musicology and ethnomusicology department at the College of Fine Arts of Boston University.  He talks about "concision" and does a nice analysis of the 1st movement of Beethoven's 5th, and then moves on to Miles Davis' "Blue in Green" and Paul McCartney...
The Beethoven stuff starts around 28:20...

1/12 The 10 Essential Beethoven CDs

Sometimes I get asked - What do you recommend as far as essential Beethoven goes?
And someday I'll have to sit down and answer that question.  My knee-jerk response is "All of it", but if you don't feel up to listening to 87 CDs of Beethoven's music in one go, then here's a Top 10 list from "Classical CD Guide.Com.  Their choices are pretty solid and a good place to start when diving into Beethoven's music...here's a sampling:

Top 10 Essential Beethoven CDs (according to Classical CD Guide.com)
(for any artists who I couldn't find on YT, I subbed a pretty good rendition I think.  These are all excerpts (except #1)...you need to buy those 86 other CDs, right?)

1. Symphony 5, Conducted by Carlos Kleiber Herbert von Karajan
(Complete.  Play It Loud.) "The most famous piece of classical music ever written".


2. "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" Piano Sonatas, Alfred Brendel:
"Beethoven's more intimate medium of expression. "
(Moonlight 1st movement)


3. "Razumovsky" String Quartets Takács Tokyo Quartet:
"Revolutionary chamber works. "
(String Quartet 9, in C, Op.59 No 3 M4, excerpt)


4. Symphony 9, "Choral", Conducted by von Karajan,
"An inspiring journey, culminating in the "Ode to Joy." 


5 Violin Concerto, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Eugen Jochum:
"Inaugurating the era of the Romantic concerto." 


6. Piano Concerto 5, "Emperor" Kovacevich, Davis: Emil Gilels/Kurt Sanderling:
"The king of piano concertos."


7. Symphony 3, "Eroica" Szell    Arturo Toscanini '53:
"A revolutionary symphony." 


8. "Spring" and "Kreutzer" Violin Sonatas  Perlman / Ashkenazy, Heifetz/Moiseiwitsch
"The young composer at his most jubilant."
("Kreutzer" 1st movement)


9. Late String Quartets, Takács Quartet,
"Quartets that break all the rules." 
(Opus 131, Movement 5 - Presto)


10 Late Piano Sonatas, Maurizio Pollini,
"Complex works that set a new standard."
(Opus 111, excerpt)


From a purely musical perspective, I can humbly judge this post to be the greatest blog post in recorded history ;).

12/22 Keeping Score with Beethoven on Youtube

Following along to the score adds immensely to the experience of listening to Beethoven (or any classical music, really).  For most pop or rock music I can just put it on and bop around while doing some household chores (and you can happily do that to the 2nd movement of the 9th as well) but in B.'s music it's also quite cool to see the wheels and cogs at work in these things.  I've posted a couple times before (here and here) about some methods to throw on some Midi files and follow then through software, but for really low maintenance, casual score-following, these Youtube vids are very handy.  Also they are performed by real people on real pianos, that never hurts....Saturday I already posted one of these "Sonata-scores" (Pathetique by Annie Fischer) so here's a few more....

11 Bagatelles, Opus 119 (various composition dates) by Alfred Brendel (13 min)
(except No.8)

Linklist

Bagatelles 7-11 (performed by Roland Pöntinen at Stockholm Konserthaus, since Bagatelle 8 was missing in "Big Al's set")


Piano Sonata No. 2 Op. 2 No. 2 (Murray Perahia, pt 1-4)

Linklist

Of course nowadays there's Mario Paint, I suppose to get the kids interested?
"Moonlight Sonata"

12/11 Brendel's Hammerklavier (Beethoven Sonata Op.106)

(Infused with the energy of the Hammer-Piano!)

Beethoven's greatest piano work is "arguably" Opus 106, the "Hammerklavier" Sonata.  Literally, Hammer-Piano.  Of course that's not what is really means, it's just Beethoven's attempt to use German words in musical terms, as opposed to the traditional Italian terminology.  Nonetheless, I find it pretty "hammering".  Since this is a weekend post (i.e.- concert/documentary post), I'm not going to drone on about how brilliant and epic this work is, except to say that the 4th movement contains a "grande fugue" which many consider to be one of, if not the, most complex of Beethoven's piano works. It also rocks the house.

There are 4 movements:
1. Allegro ("virtually impossible")
2. Scherzo: Assai vivace ("a dark interlude")
3. Adagio sostenuto ("the apotheosis of pain")
4. Introduzione: Largo - Fuga: Allegro risoluto
         ("dramatic fury and dissonance...terrifying... strangely unstable")
(quotes from the purely-objective folks at Wikipedia)

Anyways, now I'm getting an itch to analyze this behemoth but I'm supposed to take it easy today!
Piano Sonata #29 In Bb, Op.106, "Hammerklavier" (1818)
Performed by Alfred Brendel and recorded in 1970.


I believe I posted this before but it seems appropriate to repost the 1st part of this Barenboim-Bax Hammerklavier Masterclass.  It's mostly about the fugue movement.  The rest can be found on Youtube...7 parts altogether.

8/24 The "Moonlight" Piano Sonata

Whenever I hear the words "Moonlight Sonata" I always initially think of the slow and hypnotic 1st Movement.  However the first time I heard the piece in its entirety, I was pretty floored by the churning 3rd Movement.  Did the moon suddenly hop onto a bullet train?  What made this first listening experience even more jarring was the fact that it was a computer version using synthesizer tones from 1982!

Here's my annotated version of the 3rd Movement Presto Agitato (played decidedly less mechanically by Alfred Brendel):

Alternate Youtube link

Timings from "Play by Play" (Rich)

Even tho this finale is quite the show-stopper, I still love the "neo-minimalist" nature of the 1st Movement Adagio Sostenuto.  Here's a detailed analysis of it in an online book by Neil Miller:


Finally, below you will find a whole site devoted to analyzing this one sonata - well done!