Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Le Merle Noir | Oliver Messiaen (1908 - 1992) |
| Gabriella Alberti, Flute | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Le Merle Noir was written in 1952 and composed by Oliver Messiaen. It translates to 'The Blackbird', and was written as a test piece for the Paris Conservatoire, where Messiaen was a professor. Messiaen had a great interest in bird noises, with this piece mimicking a blackbird in an idiomatic and virtuosic manner. | |
| Quejas, ó la Maja y el Ruiseñor | Enrique Granados (1867 - 1916) |
| Anna Gao, Piano | |
| Quejas o La Maja y el Ruisenor the fourth piece of the Goyescas. The piece is based on a folksong Granados of the Valencia countryside. It is the scene where the heroine Rosaria sings mournfully to the nightingale. | |
| Toccata op.36 no.5 | Pancho Vladigerov (1899 - 1978) |
| Anna Gao, Piano | |
| Composer Pantcho Vladigerov came into the world after the major nationalist movement in music, and so his status as Bulgaria's leading composer of the 20th century was perhaps neglected. The Toccata is in the style of Schumann and Prokofiev in technique and form, the melodies depicting a strong, folk-like character. | |
| Ytpo | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| Callum MacDonald , Voice | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Russian Art Song | |
| Que Les songes Heureux | Charles-Francois Gounod (1818 - 1893) |
| Callum MacDonald , Voice | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Bass aria from Philémon et Baucis | |
| Deux Arabesques, L. 66 | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Arabesque 1, Andantino con moto Arabesque 2, Allegretto scherzando | |
| Bethany Clarkson, Piano | |
| Claude Debussy composed his famous Deux Arabesques while still only in his twenties, but they artfully embody the Impressionistic goal to produce flowing musical lines that mimic nature. The first Arabesque, Andantino con moto, is a gentle flowing work that swells and sinks like a boat on the sea. By use of duplet against triplet rhythms, the melody floats above the oscillating accompaniment. The second Arabesque, Allegretto scherzando, is much more playful than its gentle predecessor. Semiquaver triplets scamp up and down the keys like a young animal in the Springtime, interspersed by more fluid and meditative moments. | |
| Scherzo No.3, Op.39 | Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Sam Liu, Piano | |
| The piece begins in the key of C-sharp minor with a motif in octaves of pent-up energy, then moves to D-flat major with a chorale-like subject , interspersed with delicate arpeggios. The piece then moves back to the main motif, along with a swift key change to E-major, Chopin then ends with a ferocious coda and a Picardy third. | |
| Suite for flute and piano, Op. 34 | Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937) |
| 1. Moderato 2. Scherzo: Allegro vivace | |
| Jirene Beh, Flute | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| This work by Charles-Marie Widor was composed for Paul Taffanel, a fellow professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The idiom of this suite is conservative where the style of this piece is surprisingly pre-Wagnerian. The opening movement is more introductory and lyrical in nature whereas the second movement is a very deft, leaping piece with a nearly breathless pace. | |
| Sonata No.2 in G sharp minor | Alexander Scriabin (1871 - 1915) |
| first movement | |
| Kane Chang, piano | |
| Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp minor, (Op. 19, also titled Sonata-Fantasy) took five years for him to write. It was finally published in 1898, at the urging of his publisher. The piece is in two movements, with a style combining Chopin-like Romanticism with an impressionistic touch. The piece is widely appreciated and is one of Scriabin's more popular pieces. | |
| Sonata in E flat major, Hob.52 | Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) |
| first movement | |
| Kane Chang, piano | |
| The Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI/52, L. 62, was written in 1794 by Joseph Haydn. It is the last of Haydn's piano sonatas, and is widely considered his greatest. It has been the subject of extensive analysis by distinguished musicological personages such as Heinrich Schenker and Sir Donald Tovey, largely because of its expansive length, unusual harmonies and interesting development. The sonata is sometimes referred to as number 62 based on the numbering of Landon instead of the numbering of Hoboken. | |
| Caprice No. 23 - Opus 1 | Niccolò Paganini (1782 - 1840) |
| Transcribed by Jules Herman | |
| Wil Rigby, Flute | |
| Niccolò Paganini was the most celebrated Violinist of the early 19th century. He was influential in the development of new techniques that heralded the age of the Virtuoso. It is thought the 24 Caprices for Solo Violin were written as encore works. Caprice No 23 in E flat is in ternary form with the opening marking of Posato - or well balanced. The middle section switches to its relative minor with a succession of fast runs and significant interval jumps before finishing back with the more balanced theme. | |
| Caprice No. 11 - Opus 1 | Niccolò Paganini (1782 - 1840) |
| Transcribed by Jules Herman | |
| Wil Rigby, Flute | |
| The second caprice to be performed is no.11 in C Major. This caprice and is in ternary form with an opening lyrical theme followed by a capricious and technical second theme encompassing the whole range of the instrument. | |
| Sonata in C minor Op. 13 no. 8, “Pathétique” | Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) |
| 1. Grave: Allegro di molto con brio | |
| Matthew Serelis, Piano | |
| The Pathétique Sonata was written in 1798, and dedicated to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. The name “Pathétique”, was in fact, chosen by the publisher. The first movement has a slow introduction (grave), followed by the fast exposition (allegro di molto con brio), which introduces the main theme with a tremolo octave left hand accompaniment. The development starts slow, similar to the introduction, but in G minor, then returns to the fast speed of the exposition. It also contains a coda which starts slowly, then once more, brings back the main theme of the exposition. This movement uses a large dynamic range, which Beethoven is renowned for. | |
| Premier Quatour | Jean-Baptiste Singlée (1812 - 1876) |
| Transcribed by Jean-Marie Londeix | |
| Movements I, III and IV | |
| Terence Liu, Saxophone Quartet | |
| Joel Cassidy - Soprano Saxophone, Nicholas Roney - Alto Saxophone, Bailey Hume - Tenor Saxophone, Terence Liu - Baritone Saxophone | |
| Jean-Baptiste Singelée (1812-1876) was born in Brussels and studied at the Royal School of Music in Belgium. He was the violin soloist with the Royal Theatre of Brussels and directed orchestras there and in Gand. Singelée was one of the first composers to treat the saxophone as a serious classical instrument, evidenced by his composing over 30 Solos de Concours for Sax and his students at the Paris Conservatory. As a longtime friend of Adolphe Sax (they met as students at the Royal School of Music) he encouraged Sax to develop the four principal members of the saxophone family, and composed what is very likely the first work ever written for | |