Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Etudes, Preludes | Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Etude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2 / Etude in A minor, Op. 25 No. 11 / Preludes, Op. 28 Nos. 9 (E major), 13 (F-sharp major), 14 (E-flat minor), 18 (F minor), 24 (D minor) / Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45 | |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| Chopin's Etudes are the known as the first concert etudes to be composed for the piano. Op. 10 No. 2 explores the playing of chromatic scales with fingers 3-4-5, and Op. 25 No. 11 ("Winter Wind") is a study of tone and character, as well as velocity. The preludes are perhaps best described by Cortot's nicknames for them. Prelude No. 9 "Prophetic Voices", No. 13 "On foreign soil, under a night of stars, thinking of my beloved faraway", No. 14 "Fear", No. 18 "Divine Curses", and No. 24 "of blood, of earthly pleasure, of death". The Op. 45 Prelude features widely extending basses and highly expressive and effective chromatic modulations. | |
| Mazurkas, Op. 24 | Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| 1. Lento (G minor) / 2. Allegro non troppo (C major) / 3. Moderato con amina (A-flat major) / 4. Moderato (B-flat minor) | |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| The first mazurka in Op. 24 is a reflective kujawiak, with overtones of sadness and longing. No. 2 is bright and joyous, illustrating the mazurka's folk-dance history. The third mazurka shows Chopin's characteristic style of hinting at sadness and longing while in a major key and lighter mood, and the fourth moves from elegance to passion, at the end fading away to silence. | |
| Le Départ, op:31 | Napoleon Coste (1805 - 1883) |
| Clancy McLeod, Classical Guitar | |
| This piece was written for a composition prize for guitar in 1856. Coste came second and J.K. Mertz was awarded first place. Unfortunately and tragically he died just before they announced the winner. The piece was written in response to the depart and victorious return of Napoleon Bonaparte's army in 1856. The army was successful however the number of casualties was shocking, it is debatable whether this really is a march 'triumphal.' | |
| Fantasie Hungroise | J.K Mertz (1806 - 1856) |
| Clancy McLeod, Classical Guitar | |
| This was one of Mertz's winner compositions against Costs. The piece evokes a sense of the traditional gypsy music of Hungary through the use of traditional syncopated rhythms and the emulation of instruments such as the fiddle and simbalon. | |
| Scherzo No.3, Op.39 | Frideric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Kane Chang, piano | |
| The Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39, in C-sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin, completed in 1839, was written in the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa on the Balearic island of Majorca, Spain. This is the most terse, ironic, and tightly constructed of the four scherzos, with an almost Beethovenian grandeur. Frédéric Chopin dedicated this composition to one of his closest pupils, Adolphe Gutmann. | |
| Rondo Op.16 | Frideric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Kane Chang, piano | |
| The piece is written in rondo form. It begins with a passionate introduction in C minor, followed by the joyful main theme in E-flat major. The second theme is still lively, but somewhat more subdued than the first. To conclude, the main theme returns, followed by the coda. The piece as a whole is varied and interesting, but challenging for the pianist. | |