Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Grande Sonate concertante in A minor. Opus 85 | Friedrich Kuhlau (1786 - 1832) |
| Edited by Nikolaus Delius | |
| 4. Rondo - Allegro poco agitato | |
| Wil Rigby, Flute | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Friedrich Kuhlau was a German-Danish composer who composed during the classical and early romantic periods. He wrote extensively for the Flute and in his time was known as the 'Beethoven of the flute'. This sonata has an unusual length for a flute sonata of the time at around 30 minutes. The rondo is the finale and continuously interplays the theme between the flute and piano culminating in a coda ending the work somewhat triumphantly in its parallel key of A major. | |
| Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor Op. 30 | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| Allegro ma non tanto | |
| Tian Tian Lan, piano | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| 'Rach 3' has become a staple of the standard classical repertoire, labelled by Rachmaninoff himself as his favourite concerto, and revered for its technical and musical challenges. The opening theme is deceivingly simple, with each iteration becoming more complex. The second subject builds towards a series of fierce climaxes, culminating in a huge chordal cadenza. This cadenza is the original ossia cadenza, and is comparable to the final toccata climax in the 3rd movement. The second subject returns tranquilly in Eb major, before the original theme is restated. The movement ends quietly, a fitting segue into the lush, romantic second movement | |
| Blue Wolf for Unaccompanied Trombone | Brad Edwards (1963 - ) |
| Jessica Gilham, Trombone | |
| Brad Edwards is best known for his pedagogical works for trombone including 'Lip Slur Melodies' and 'Trombone Craft'. 'Blue Wolf' explores many of the techniques - both idiomatic and extended - that appear in his trombone craft books. The work features multiphonics and glissandi which help to conjure the illusion of a wolf's howl. | |
| Die schöne Müllerin (Op. 25, D795) | Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) |
| II. Wohin? III. Halt! VI. Der Neugerige | |
| Alexander Owens, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| The first of Schubert’s great song cycles, die schöne Müllerin, is a setting of Friedrich Muller’s text telling the tale of a young man seeking work at a mill who falls in love with the miller’s daughter, and drowns himself in a brook (which he talks to throughout the cycle) when she falls for another man. This selection of the 20 songs demonstrates the intricate and sensitive way Schubert writes music, arguably cementing him as the master of German Lied. | |
| Chansons de Don Quichotte | Jacques Ibert (1890 - 1962) |
| I. Chanson du Depart | |
| Alexander Owens, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Based on the classic Spanish story of Don Quixote, the ageing nobleman who imagines himself as a knight-errant after reading tales of chivalry, and sets out on hapless quests of nobility, Ibert’s cycle sets 4 famous episodes to music. The first song, Chanson du Depart (song of departure), tells of his departure on his grand quest. It was originally written for a competition in which Ibert beat out the preeminent French composers of the time, including Maurice Ravel, a close friend of his. | |
| Poem for Flute and Orchestra | Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920) |
| Lindsay Hicks, flute | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| This piece by American impressionist composer Charles Griffes was debuted by Georges Barrère with the New York Symphony Orchestra in 1919, the year before the Griffes' death. The New York Tribune described it as a “composition of much grace and variety of expression, rich in melodic ideas and written with an unusual feeling both for the solo instrument and for the orchestra. If Americans can but continue to produce such works, all talk of the unrequited native composer will be speedily set at rest.†| |
| Variations in F Minor Hob. XVII-6 | Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) |
| MINGZE SUN, Piano | |
| The Andante with variations in F minor (Hoboken 17/6) is among his most popular piano works. The variations here are a set of double variations, the first theme is in F minor and the second theme in F major. Two variations of each theme and an extended coda follow. This piece is arguably Haydn’s most original and concentrated double-variation movement, with a coda (added in revision) of Beethovenian power. | |
| Piano Concerto No. 3 | Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) |
| Movement 1 | |
| Sophia Lai, Piano | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Beethoven\'s C minor Piano Concerto, which was not completed until 1803, displays a unified music vocabulary and tight structure.The model for this startlingly dramatic concerto was Mozart\'s C minor (K. 491), which Beethoven played in public concerts. The opening movement has an aggressive tone with a bluntly stated main theme. | |