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On this week's episode of Music in the Making, we’re listening to some of our favorite things, including a solo piano prelude followed by chamber music both new and old!
Music in this episode:
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Prelude in G minor (1901)
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Duncan Recital Hall
1/25/2012
Like the many piano greats before him such as Liszt and Chopin, Rachmaninoff also wrote a series of piano preludes that still remain very popular today. Our first selection, his Prelude in G minor, begins with a militaristic style that stays in strict time. However, Rachmaninoff surprises us by taking us to a more colorful and lyrical soundscape.
Pierre Jalbert – Dual Velocity (1998)
Fischer Duo: Norman Fischer, cello; Jeanne Kierman Fischer, piano
Duncan Recital Hall
2/16/2012
We weren’t kidding about the Rach! Our next selection was inspired by American blues and rock, along with the Fischer Duo, for whom it was written. Mixing these elements together, Jalbert created a piece that features sharp rhythms, pitch bending and the virtuosic playing of the Fischer Duo.
Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dances, No. 5, 7, and 21 (1869)
Webster Trio: Leone Buyse, flute; Michael Webster, clarinet; Robert Moeling, piano
Duncan Recital Hall
9/7/2011
Our next selection, like many other classical compositions, draws inspiration from native folk tunes. In this particular work, Brahms writes 21 short pieces inspired by Hungarian folk tunes. While a few of these tunes are entirely original, Brahms borrowed heavily from pre-existing songs to create these next three dances.
Gabriel Fauré – Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor (1879)
Lucie Robert, violin; Wayne Brooks, viola; Lachezar Kostov, cello; Jeffrey Cohen, piano
Dudley Recital Hall
6/23/2015
Our final selection is a work by Faure, whose compositions could be considered one of the main turning points for French classical music. As a student of Saint-Saens and a predecessor of Berlioz, Faure fueled the transition to the later French styles of Debussy and Ravel. These changes can even be heard in this work!
This episode originally aired Sunday, November 29th, 2015. Catch Music in the Making every Sunday at 7:06 PM on Classical 91.7.