Lofty goal. Yes I know. Starting at the top of the list, which is comprised of 244 works (according to http://www.pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=636), is Ballade no.1 - Op.23: G-minor (1835). The recording I chose to listen to was by Vladmir Horowitz (one of my piano gods).
When I started listening, the first few notes were instantly familiar. Apparently I had heard this somewhere before. Not surprising. There is obvious yearning during the beginning measures of the piece: a melody of consistent dotted half-notes accompanied by a driving quarter note accompaniment. The composer seems to vent this yearning desire in the first passage of sixteenth notes, a kind of musical "sigh." This sigh turns into a frustrated cry during the sempre piu mosso section, which means that the tempo is "more fast throughout." After this release, the composer goes back to a gentle, calm melody that is supported by a river of eighth notes. This builds up to another peak with pounded chords that goes into another showy section of eighth note runs. Melting back gradually to the minor theme from the beginning, there is a moment of parallel sixths before the yearning desire explodes and the feeling is that of someone "losing it." This can be felt by the tempo marking that Chopin expressed, namely "Presto con fuoco," which means fast with fire. After some crazy sections that include chromatic scales, Chopin ends the piece on a booming G octave chord.
What an experience! I think this is going to be fun...
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What a fun project. I would rather hear you play all Chopin's works, of course. I am impressed if you have all his works. That is quite a library. Do you have a particular order in mind?
ReplyDeleteI'm just following the order that is in http://www.pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=636
ReplyDeleteAnd Youtube is a really great music source, so hopefully that's where I'm getting most of the music from. Playing all of Chopin's works would be AWESOME!!! That would be more of a lifetime feat, however.