Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22 | Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| William Soo, Piano | |
| This work began as the Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat for piano and orchestra, however it the orchestral composition is highly simplistic and thus the piece often played with solo piano. He later wrote the Andante Spianato in G, which he added to the start of the piece. Interestingly, this was the only time Chopin used the term "Spianato" (smoothed, even). | |
| Sonata No.6 Op.82 | Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) |
| Finale | |
| Lefei Chang, piano | |
| Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82 (1940) is a sonata for solo piano, the first of the Three War Sonatas. The sonata was first performed on 8 April 1940 in Moscow. | |
| Etude Tableau Op33, No.3 | Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943) |
| Lefei Chang, piano | |
| The Études-tableaux ("study pictures"), Op. 33, is the first of two sets of piano études composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. They were intended to be "picture pieces", essentially "musical evocations of external visual stimuli". This study Op33, no3 in c minor was re-used in the Largo of Rachmaninov's Fourth Concerto, which was completed in 1926. | |
| Tamerlano, HWV 18 | George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) |
| Cerco in vano | |
| Alexandra Amerides, Voice | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| The Greek prince Andronico presents his love Asteria to the Emperor Tamerlano in an attempt to soften the war lords hostile disposition toward her father, the Sultan of the turks, Bajazet. Instead however, Tamerlano fell in love with Asteria and agreed to spare her father only if they were to marry. Asteria - now mad at Andronico for betraying her - pretends to agree to this union with no intention of following through, and Andronico - believing his true love to be lost - is left feeling dejected and heartbroken. Leading into the aria: Cerco in vano (I try in vain). | |
| Piano sonata op.5 no.3 | Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) |
| 1st movement | |
| Da Young Wi, Piano | |
| This sonata was written in 1853 and was published the following year. This sonata consists of five movements, which is unusually large compared to traditional three or four movements. The first movement, with dramatic primary theme and subtle secondary theme presents great contrast. | |
| Romance no.2 in F major, 50 | Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) |
| Willard Zhong, Violin | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| At the same time as writing the Romance in F, Beethoven was forced to come to terms with his condition, probably for the first time. The delicate, youthful phrasing of the violin line suggests a composer finding some brief respite through the escapism of writing music. Indeed, Beethoven seems to have continually found solace in this way throughout the early 1800s, when his awareness of his deteriorating hearing was at its most acute. During this period, the Moonlight Sonata and his Symphony No. 2 were just two of the other works he composed. Here, all angst is absent from the page. In its place, we find music that suggests that all is well. | |
| Exsultate, jubilate, K.165 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) |
| I - Allegro - Recitarive II - Andante III - Allegro | |
| Emilia Bertolini, Voice | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| Mozart's three movement religious motet was composed during his studies in Milan in 1772 for the renowned castrato, Venazio Rauzzini. Mozart greatly admired Raizzini's technical expertise. The piece is composed like a virtuosic concerto for the voice; involving numerous coloratura passages and cadenzas, permitting the singer to demonstrate their abilities. However, the virtuosic elements of the motet should not interfere with the overall, musical integrity of the piece. Today, the piece is frequently performed by female soprano, particularly the finial 'Alleluia' movement. | |
| Mon Coeur | CamilleSaint Saens (1835 - 1921) |
| Rebekah , voice | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| This aria comes from the opera Samson and Dalila 'Mon Coeur' : 'my heart' is sung by Dalila to Samson and is an emotional piece from one love to another. | |
| Stride la vampa | Verdi (1813 - 1901) |
| Rebekah , voice | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| This aria comes from the opera Il trovatore It's sung by Azucena, and she's describing the scene of what we come to realise was her Mothers murder (even though she doesn't reveal that right now) | |
| Touches | Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990) |
| Priscilla Luu, Piano | |
| First commissioned as a piece required for the Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, ‘Touches’ begins with a chorale, followed by a set of eight variations and ending with a coda. This composition holds similarity to ‘Virgo Blues’ a piece Bernstein had written for his daughter Jamie’s twenty-sixth birthday. Its form and character also has resemblance to Copland’s ‘Piano Variations (1930)’, which was a piece treasured by the composer throughout his lifetime. | |