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    Originally posted by Daphnis View Post
    Brahms Piano Pieces op. 118. Wonderful, should try to play them again by myself.
    Welcome to the forum Daphnis. Yes aren't those Brahms pieces wonderful? Also Op.116,117 and 119 - these late piano pieces are so reflective and isn't it amazing how Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn and Brahms all produce such special masterpieces towards the end of their lives?
    'Man know thyself'

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      Originally posted by Peter View Post

      Welcome to the forum Daphnis. Yes aren't those Brahms pieces wonderful? Also Op.116,117 and 119 - these late piano pieces are so reflective and isn't it amazing how Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn and Brahms all produce such special masterpieces towards the end of their lives?


      Are we allowing advertising now? and it is all in German.
      🎹

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        Sibelius Symphony 1 in E Minor. A splendid piece that starts slowly and mysteriously and then explodes with the full force of the brass section. What a wonderful symphonist Silbelius was:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCIw_4oJ4Gg

        And my absolute favourite work by Sibelius; his Violin Concerto, I saw Kavakos playing this with the Concertgebouw/Gergiev in 2015 and, in the same year he played it again - with only a separation of a couple of weeks - with the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Sadly Chailly wasn't there on the podium, as I was looking forward to seeing him.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW1gzUlcCn8

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          Originally posted by Megan View Post



          Are we allowing advertising now? and it is all in German.
          Well spotted Megan, I didn't notice the link before, thanks.
          'Man know thyself'

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            Originally posted by Schenkerian View Post
            Sibelius Symphony 1 in E Minor. A splendid piece that starts slowly and mysteriously and then explodes with the full force of the brass section. What a wonderful symphonist Silbelius was:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCIw_4oJ4Gg

            And my absolute favourite work by Sibelius; his Violin Concerto, I saw Kavakos playing this with the Concertgebouw/Gergiev in 2015 and, in the same year he played it again - with only a separation of a couple of weeks - with the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Sadly Chailly wasn't there on the podium, as I was looking forward to seeing him.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW1gzUlcCn8
            Yes I've always loved the 1st which is rarely played, being overshadowed by the more popular 2nd. The one Sibelius symphony I've always struggled with is the 4th which is generally regarded as his greatest, but it is very austere and I can't say I like it.
            'Man know thyself'

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              Something not so very far from heaven; Ravel Piano Trio in A minor. (Something I return to over and over, along with his String Quartet in F Major.)

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_0FFyxSnZE

              Why do I love it? Firstly, because there isn't anything else like it and Ravel always pleases (except "Bolero" - eew). Secondly, it has that ethereal quality you often find in Ravel, eg. "Daphnis and Chloe" but it can be very muscular when and as required. Ravel had both the refinement and the chops for the heavy-hit. Piano Trio in A Minor fills the bill. The last movement leaves me feeling like an absolute wreck. Not the Hesperus, but an exhausted wreck who has just...... well......

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                Paul Lewis playing Beethoven Opus 101 - starting at 20:57 here. You can read along with the score. I like Lewis's more tender and gentle approach in the first movement. It isn't forced as so many readings of these Beethoven Piano Sonatas can be; he just lets the music do the talking, if I can put it that way.

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n74kKqwWViU

                What an absolute glory these sonatas are. Over the years I've grown bored with Mozart and cast him to one side, tired of Berlioz, Grieg, 19th century opera, Shostakovich, Faure.....but never Beethoven and especially never these sonatas.
                Last edited by Schenkerian; 11-10-2021, 10:54 AM.

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                  Tired of Mozart? I'm actually not a fan of Lewis after I saw him live some years ago performing the last 3 Beethoven sonatas - very clinical.
                  'Man know thyself'

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                    [QUOTE=Peter;n117564]Tired of Mozart? ...
                    Do I detect a slightly arched eyebrow on your part?

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                      Today I was teaching my first-year undergraduate students about 7th chords, in particular major and minor 7ths.
                      For the former, I used Satie as an example (Gymnopedie 1); for the latter, Debussy's "Girl with Flaxen Hair" (where the opening melody is based on an arpeggiated minor 7th).
                      Satie: https://youtu.be/315XN6VPi8U?t=1www....?v=315XN6VPi8U
                      Debussy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYLjHziapRs

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                        Originally posted by Peter View Post
                        Tired of Mozart? I'm actually not a fan of Lewis after I saw him live some years ago performing the last 3 Beethoven sonatas - very clinical.
                        I feel the same way about Andras Schiff and Rudolf Buchbinder, both of whom I saw a couple of times in Vienna. Not sure why the latter has been such a regular there in that city, to be honest.

                        I was a Mozart fan in my 30s but not anymore, preferring Haydn when I listen to music of that period (not often these days). The last few symphonies of Mozart are excellent but the rest isn't for me.

                        Here's a favourite from Haydn, a composer I grew to love through his late symphonies and having visited his homes in Vienna and Eisenstadt. I love "The Creation" and "The Seasons".

                        Horowitz recorded this favourite of mine in the 1930s, and he's not a pianist one usually associates with Haydn: listen to the way he brings out the voices!!

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5ttAiBNxM
                        Last edited by Schenkerian; 11-10-2021, 08:46 PM.

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                          Originally posted by Peter View Post

                          Yes I've always loved the 1st which is rarely played, being overshadowed by the more popular 2nd. The one Sibelius symphony I've always struggled with is the 4th which is generally regarded as his greatest, but it is very austere and I can't say I like it.
                          I have to agree with you here, but I don't say I won't come to appreciate it eventually with more effort and investigation.

                          Here's a performance of it with Harding on the podium. As a conductor he's a very good airline pilot!!

                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZPrYT90TA
                          Last edited by Schenkerian; 11-10-2021, 09:35 PM. Reason: Daniel Harding

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                            A lovely performance, to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Haydn, in 2009, of "The Creation". (I recognize some musicians from the Wiener Philharmoniker.) Thomas Quasthoff; what a singer!! Adam Fischer, Dirigent. Recorded at the Palace in Eisenstadt where Haydn spent his long years, dressed in servant's livery!! The high point for me is right at the end: Singt dem Herren alle Stimmen.


                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIpSNMQZH9M

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                              A man, short of stature, big of voice and singing the music of an absolute giant:

                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJETtWr47PY

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                                I'm listening live now to Andras Schiff from Wigmore Hall playing the "Hammerklavier" and it's deadly dull; where's the tension and the drama, the fire in the belly? Drowning in pedal, which is just making matters worse. This must be one of the most boring musicians on the planet and why people fawn over him never ceases to amaze me.

                                Schiff's performances lack vigour, but I note there are lots of old people in the audience!! When he's not soporific Schiff is making his asinine political commentary. The high priest of mediocrity. Where's Salieri when we need him?
                                Last edited by Schenkerian; 11-12-2021, 08:41 PM.

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