Tag: piano
-
Yunchan Lim and the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto
Sometime before the pandemic I heard Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 live for the first time. The piece, known as the Rach 3, is among the most gargantuan in the standard repertoire, a vast structural complexity with knotty technicalities and tender souls. Long ago, I stretched my talent to learn its notes; I’ve probably encountered…
-
What am I listening for? Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 and the paradox of classical piano
This is the third post in an audio series about classical piano. Listen to the first two posts: (1) Classical piano is awesome, and problematic and bumbling, but still, it’s awesome (2) You know it when you hear it: A long, brief journey through classical piano Transcript: It is unfortunate that one big barrier to classical piano’s…
-
You know it when you hear it: A long, brief journey through classical piano
This is the second post in an audio series about classical piano. Listen to the intro post: Classical piano is awesome, and problematic and bumbling, but still, it’s awesome * * * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Fantasy in D minor is mysterious and foreboding, and you’re never quite sure what it’s building toward. Later, it suddenly…
-
Classical piano is awesome, and problematic and bumbling, but still, it’s awesome
This is an audio post, so I suggest listening. This is Kreisleriana, a fantasy by Robert Schumann. It’s the seventh movement, a contrast within contrasts. The first part is intensely melodic. Then it turns plush. A perfect bridge to an ineffable final movement. I begin with this piece not because I think Schumann’s creation is…
-
The melodies of Schubert pass through Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Mr Rogers
This is an audio post, so I suggest listening. Mister Rogers made Franz Schubert famous I’ve been playing a lot of Schubert recently. I rarely played him when I was younger. Just the Musical Moment 3, in F-Minor. It’s a popular piece, in no small part because, in the ’80s, André Watts played it on…
Nathan Schiller 