Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Violin Concerto No.1 G minor Op26 | Max Bruch (1838 - 1920) |
| First Movement | |
| Hui Yan Yap, Violin | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| Bruch wrote this piece to his former teacher Ferdinand Hiller. It was first completed in 1866. However, it was withdrawn by the composer after a single performance on 24 April. Bruch then sent the manuscript to Joseph Joachim for his comments. He still feels insecure about his work, Bruch then sent the score to his conductor friend Hermann Levi and the composer and violinist Ferdinand David for their comments. After having been rewritten, in Bruch’s words, “at least half a dozen times”, the concerto was completed to his satisfaction and given its first performance in its final and definitive version on January 7, 1868. | |
| Jeux d'eau | Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) |
| Ian Mercado, Piano | |
| Jeux d'eau, which translates as "Play of Water", "Fountains," or literally "Water Games", is a piece that draws inspiration from the noise of water, and is inspired by Franz Liszt's 'Les Jeux d'eau à la Ville d'Este. The atmosphere of water is captured throughout the piece with arpeggiations, chromatic flourishes, beautiful sonorities and is also reflected by the quotation at the front of the score, "The river god laughs as the water tickles him". | |
| La Cathèdrale Engloutie | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Ian Mercado, Piano | |
| La Cathèdrale Engloutie is the tenth prelude in Debussy's first of two volumes of preludes. This piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Sounds can be heard of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea. Accordingly, Debussy uses certain harmonies to allude to the plot of the legend, in the style of musical symbolism. | |
| Concertino in Eb Major Op.26 | Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826) |
| Chang Dae Yoo, Clarinet | |
| Jacob Abela, piano | |
| Carl Maria von Weber wrote his Concertino for Clarinet in E♭ Major, Op. 26, J. 109 for clarinetist Heinrich Bärmann in 1811. Weber wrote the work in three days between March 29 and April 3; Bärmann learned the work over the next three days; and the command performance, for which King Maximilian I of Bavaria purchased 50 tickets, took place on the evening of April 5. | |
| Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa D'este | Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) |
| Meyrem Ogutveren, Piano | |
| The fourth piece in the third suite of the Years of Pilgrimage. Starting in F# Major, this piece details Liszt's impression of the spectacular fountains of the Villa D'este. When the piece transitions into a breathtaking D Major, Liszt places an inscription from the Gospel of John, "sed aqua quam ego dabo ei, fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam" which translates to "but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life". The piece goes from being a pre-Impressionistic water scene to an intensely spiritual introspection. | |
| Triana | Isaac Albeniz (1860 - 1909) |
| Meyrem Ogutveren, Piano | |
| Iberia is a suite for piano composed between 1905 and 1909 by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. It is Albéniz's best-known work and considered his masterpiece. It was highly praised by Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen, who said: "Iberia is the wonder for the piano; it is perhaps on the highest place among the more brilliant pieces for the king of instruments". Triana - a popular Sevillian district - is a fireworks' spectacle of Andalusian essence with an important gitana influence. | |
| Gaspard de la nuit | Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) |
| Ondine | |
| Lesley Yim, Pianoforte | |
| Gaspard de la nuit, widely considered as one of Ravel's most revered works for solo piano. The three movements of the suite are based on the poem by Aloysius Bertrand. The first movement, Ondine follows the narrative of a water nymph singing to a mortal, trying to seduce him to visit her kingdom at the bottom of the lake. The piece is very much a back and forth encounter between the two protagonists, ending in Ondine bursting in laughter and vanishing in a shower that streamed down the blue stained glass window. | |
| Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Motzart | Fernando Sor (1778 - 1839) |
| Clancy McLeod, Classical Guitar | |
| This work is based on a melody from Motzart's Opera The Magic Flute. I love this piece for it's drama, as it moves sensitively between playful virtuosity and moments of melancholy. | |
| Koyunbaba | Carlo Dominiconi (1947 - ) |
| 1. Moderato 2. Mossi 3.Cantabile 4. Presto | |
| Clancy McLeod, Classical Guitar | |
| This piece was inspired by the wild dry region of southeast Turkey of Koyunbaba. Domeniconi relates the story of how the area is seemingly cursed- numerous people who have attempted to rent or purchase the land from the Koyunbaba family have died or been stricken ill. Domeniconi tells of two persons: one was a German woman who wanted to keep the area in its natural and unspoiled state, but was soon stricken with cancer. The other was one of three sons of the Koyunbaba family, who suddenly sold some of the land, but then hung himself. | |
| Six Duets, op. 63 | Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) |
| 1. Ich Wollt meine lieb ergoss sich 2. Abschiedslied der Zugvögel 3. Gruss | |
| Chloe Toh, Esther Gresswell, Ian Mercado, Voice and Piano | |
| Chloe Toh (Voice) and Esther Gresswell (Voice), Ian Mercado (piano) | |
| Although published in 1844 in the last few years of his life, the pieces that comprise Mendelssohn's Six Duets, Op. 63, were written over the preceding decade. These duets are perhaps not his most daring works, but they are masterfully put together and incredibly pleasant. | |
| Sonata for viola and piano, Op.11 No.4 | Jin Tong Long (1895 - 1963) |
| I. Fantasie | |
| Jin Long, Viola | |
| Nicole Ng, piano | |
| The Fantasie from Hindemith's first viola sonata is the shortest of the movements from the work. It is the most harmonically free movement, travelling through 10 keys. The work was written during the period that Hindemith decided to switch from violin to viola. | |
| Miroirs | Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) |
| III. Une barque sur l’océan | |
| Zac Wang, Piano | |
| The title Une barque sur l’océan translates to ‘A Boat On the Ocean’. It is the third piece from Ravel’s piano suite Miroirs. First published in 1906, this piece was dedicated to Rave’s close friend and painter Paul Sordes. Une barque sur l’océan begins with a barcarolle that is interrupted by the swell of the open sea, savage waves and bursts of wind. The first performance of this piece was at a recital of the Société Nationale and it was an immediate success. Une barque sur l’océan is the longest in the set and technically very difficult. | |