Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 1) | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| I. Vivace II. Andante Cantabile | |
| Timothy Kan, Piano | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| Rachmaninoff's first concerto is often eclipsed by the overwhelming popularity of his second and third concertos. However, the first concerto is a masterpiece in its own right. This was the first work of the young Rachmaninoff at age 18 in 1891. Filled with the hot-bloodedness and energy of a young teenager, the loud and vibrant starting chords of the first movement could be compared with the boisterous starts of both the Grieg and Schumann concertos. Later in 1917, Rachmaninoff had thoroughly revised the concerto. Hence the beautiful lyricism and orchestration of this piece gained a deeper level of maturity. | |
| Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 845 | Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) |
| 1. Moderato | |
| Jamie Kim, Piano | |
| Piano Sonata No. 16, D. 845 by Franz Schubert is in A minor. It was written in 1825. | |
| Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 | Anton Arensky (1861 - 1906) |
| I. Allegro moderato; II. Scherzo (Allegro molto); III. Adagio | |
| Trio Ardiente, Piano Trio | |
| Anna Bao En Sing (violin), Mingyi Wu (cello) & Hannah Shin (piano) | |
| Arensky's Piano Trio in D minor is a very romantic chamber composition in four movements, written in 1894. The first movement begins gently and lyrically, the gently undulating triplets of the piano accompanying the lush melodies of the solo violin and cello. The works builds to excitement towards the end of the exposition, followed by a capricious development, and ends with a coda marked "Adagio". The second movement is in D major, and features cascading runs and a cheerful atmosphere. The middle section is waltz-like, and in the rather distant key of B-flat major. The third, slow movement is described by Arensky as an "Elegia". | |
| Etude in G-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 6 | Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| Chopin was the first composer to write 'concert etudes' for the piano. He composed two books of 12 etudes each, opp. 10 and 25. This etude from the second set, rather unimaginatively nicknamed the "Thirds", this is a study that develops the technique of double thirds. It is considered one of the more difficult of Chopin's etudes. | |
| Etude-Tableau, Op. 33 No. 3 | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| Rachmaninoff called his sets of etudes "Etudes-Tableaux", or "picture etudes". They are so named, due to their nature of being musical evocations of external visual stimuli. This etude from the op. 33 set, published posthumously, is later quoted by Rachmaninoff in his fourth piano concerto. | |
| Etude-Tableau, Op. 33 No. 6 | Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| This etude from Rachmaninoff's first set of "Etudes-Tableaux" is considered to be one of the most difficult of his etudes. Nicknamed in Russia 'The Snow Storm', the work features a constantly running right hand figuration with numerous octave leaps and chromatic scales. | |
| Etude pour les octaves, Etudes premier livre (Book I), No. 5 | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Hannah Shin, Piano | |
| Debussy was greatly inspired by Chopin. In the Etudes, considered his late masterpieces, he explores various techniques. The first book focuses on surface technical elements, including etudes for the 'five fingers', thirds, fourths, sixths, octaves, and 'eight fingers'. This etude, for octaves, is marked to be played 'joyously and carried away' - an expression that perfectly describes the exuberant character of this piece. | |