Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Nocturno, Op.7 | Franz Strauss (1822 - 1905) |
| James Coomans, French Horn | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Franz Strauss (1822-1905), the father of the notable composer Richard Strauss, was an equally capable composer in his own right. The Nocturno, Op. 7, for horn and piano was published in 1904. In his youth Franz Strauss was an exceptional Horn player. This piece is a beautiful lyrical work and has become a standard in Horn repertoire. | |
| Nocturne Op.48 No.2 | Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| I. Andante. | |
| Abraham Naim, Piano | |
| The second of two Nocturnes composed by Chopin in 1841, it equally embodies a unique melodic gift as well as a strong sense of musical craftsmanship. According to Chopin himself, the middle section can be compared to a recitative where “a tyrant commands, and the other asks for mercy†which is indicative of the operatic qualities to be found in Chopin’s compositional output. | |
| Montagues and Capulets Op.75 No.6 | Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) |
| Transcribed by Sergei Prokofiev | |
| I. Allegro pesante. | |
| Abraham Naim, Piano | |
| Prokofiev’s musical treatment of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ reveals him to be just as interesting a composer as he was technically proficient. The latter is particularly evident in his transcriptions of his orchestral music for piano which are well written pianistically while remaining true to the original score. In this piece we see not only Prokofiev’s inclinations towards the dark and menacing but also his lyrical side which he inherited partly from composers such as Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. | |
| Piano Sonata No. 23 in f minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata†| Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) |
| I. Allegro assai | |
| Anastasia Tionadewi, Piano | |
| One of his greatest and most technically challenging piano sonatas, the Appassionata Sonata was considered by Beethoven to be his most tempestuous piano sonata until the twenty-ninth piano sonata (Hammerklavier). It was composed in 1804-1805, which was the years Beethoven came to grips with the irreversibility of his progressively deteriorating hearing. | |
| Night Piece | Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937) |
| Arranged by Eleanore Zverov | |
| Wil Rigby, Flute | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Arthur Foote was an American Composer who was mnown as a member of the 'Boston six' amongst other composers including Amy Beach. His Music is more "European" in its composition against the more "American" sounds propegated by composers such as Aaron Copland. Night Piece in its original form is the first movement of the 'Nocturno and Scherzo' for flute and string quartet. | |
| Adiós Nonino | Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992) |
| - | |
| Yiing Yiing Chuah, Piano | |
| Yiing Yiing Chuah, Kathy Wang | |
| Piazzolla was exposed to tango music since young, and he wrote this as a tango with some influence of jazz and classical music. Depression got to him when he found out his father’s death, and this was written after as a tribute to him. It has a highly rhythmical, improvisatory and articulated introduction, which is then followed by a sorrowful and heartfelt section in the middle section; showing his grief and sorrow for his beloved father. | |
| Hence, Iris hence away | George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) |
| Act II | |
| Kristin Astouroghlian, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| ‘Hence, Iris Hence Away,’ a highly dramatic aria is sung by Queen Juno in Act II of Handel’s opera "Semele". Just after receiving news from Iris, messenger of the gods, that her husband Jupiter, king of the gods has abducted a young lady named Semele. In her jealous rage, she sings this aria as she schemes on how to gain revenge on Jupiter. She swears to destroy her rival, Semele, who is being guarded by a dragon in a palace, given to her by Jupiter. To do this she plans to enlist Somnus the god of sleep to help her. | |
| Una voce poco fa | Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) |
| Act I | |
| Kristin Astouroghlian, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| ‘Una voce poco fa’, is a Cavatina sung by Rosina during Act I of Rossini’s opera "Il Barbiere di Siviglia". After having read a letter from Lindoro, who is really Count Almaviva. Rosina is completely lovestruck and determined to out-smart her guardian Dr. Bartolo. | |
| Op.139 D. 815 Gebet | Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) |
| Sofia Laursen Habel, Voice | |
| 5 | |
| The poem Gebet, which means prayer, was written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque after fighting in the Napoleonic campaign of 1813. It contains strong patriotic language, heroising war and death for the mother country. Schubert composed music to this in the last four years of his life, and it has musical links to La Marsailles and other national, patriotic themes. | |
| Polar Vortex | Chris Evan Hass (1993 - ) |
| I - Snowfall. II - Bloodthirsty Blizzard | |
| Mitchell Flynn, Alto Saxophone | |
| Justinn Lu, Soprano Saxophone. Mitchell Flynn, Alto Saxophone. Jason Ji, Tenor Saxophone. Kristie Thai, Baritone Saxophone. | |
| Polar Vortex for Saxophone Quartet is a two movement work with loose programmatic ties to a winter storm in Michigan in 2014. The first movement, Snowfall, finds its mood through slow moving melodic and textural figures directly mimicking a short flurry of snow. Modulations provide interest to an otherwise calm and stable piece. The second movement, Bloodthirsty Blizzard, heavily contrasts this first movement. With a much faster tempo, intense and jagged rhythmic activity, and a ubiquitous use of subito dynamic changes, this movement depicts the heart of the storm, or the polar vortex itself. | |
| Mephisto Waltz No.2, S515 | Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) |
| JiaYi Huang, Piano | |
| Mephisto was originally a devil within the opera " Faust". Liszt arranged it as a symphonic poem at first place, later on he rearranged it for three piano pieces as " Mephisto Waltz". No.2 Waltz describes a scene of the fight between devil and heaven. | |