Piece of the day: Piano sonata in G minor by Fanny Mendelssohn

Today's piece of the day is a very unheard of piece by the female composer Fanny Mendelssohn. She was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn, and her compositions are elegant, yet grandiose and rich.

Fanny Mendelssohn

In her catalogue of works one can find a rather popular Piano trio in D minor, shed-loads of songs, an oratorio on scenes from the Bible, more songs, some string quartet writing and a fair amount of little piano pieces. 

If I am to be honest with you, I'd expect this composer to be much more well known, like her brother. The piano sonata in G minor is a pianistic and grand piece. In spite of this, its short, sweet melodies make is somewhat fluffy and feathery, despite the rather sullen key of G minor.

This piece in its entirety is unavailable on youtube, apart from the first movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtlCpIoWQUo (Courtesy of Demian Panello)

However, the whole piece, with more piano Stücke, is contained in a fine album by the pianist Beatrice Rauch, who performs the pieces sublimely. Thoroughly worth listening to.

Enjoy!

Piece of the day: Little suite by Witold Lutosławski

Today I wanted to share a rarely-played piece by the Polish composer Witold Roman Lutosławski (25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994), who composed some great music.

Witold Lutoslawski

His compositions use traditional folk melodies of his native Poland, and in his mature years take on an individual sort of twelve-tone atonality that he developed.

This piece is absolutely brilliant, and has some great moments, like the alternating meter sections in the first movement, the joyful second movement, the languishing but discrete melodies in the third, and the up-beat feeling to the fourth. Enjoy!


Witold Lutosławski, Little Suite

Review: Chloë Hanslip, Ben Gernon and the Bristol Ensemble (20-3-14)

On Thursday the 20^th March the Bristol Ensemble conducted by Ben Gernon played an all-Sibelius program at the Colston Hall, with internationally renowned British violinist Chloë Hanslip performing his passionate Violin concerto in D minor. The program consisted of the Violin concerto, Sibelius’ 5^th symphony and the great Finlandia, inspired by the Finnish patriotism of the nationalist composer.

The first piece, Finlandia, was executed with great musicality and with a flawless sense of sonority in all its musical colours, as is typical of the Bristol Ensemble – a group that is especially musical and reaches out to audiences brilliantly. Ben Gernon took to the stage with confidence and plenty of expression and freedom in his conducting, which proved effective and clear with the orchestra. The musicians played with technical accuracy and a heightened sense of performance which made the piece a pleasure to listen to amongst its sumptuous string melodies and fortissimo brass calls.

Ben Gernon

After Finlandia, violinist Chloë Hanslip gave the most fantastic performance of Sibelius’ violin concerto in D minor (op. 47), which proved to be a breathtaking and heart-wrenching performance. The soloist played with technical flawlessness and produced a rich, earthy sound on her 1737 Guarneri del Gesù violin. The first movement was tranquil, emotional and ecstatic in its opening and through the rest of its duration. The orchestra’s interpretation was sonorous and rich. This was then followed by an impassioned interpretation of the second movement, which was well executed both by the soloist and orchestra. 

Chloe Hanslip

The tempestuous third movement was performed with great passion and true feeling from the Hanslip, which was matched in its bravado by the orchestra. Later on in the third movement, the soloist played with hear-felt emotion and produced a wonderful sound: at times crystalline and at times gritty and stirring. This penetrated the concert hall with its brilliance and passion. 

Overall, the concerto was inspiringly performed both by the Bristol Ensemble and by the brilliant Chloë Hanslip. I expect her to become a household name in the near future.

Sibelius’ 5^th symphony (op. 82) was heard after the interval. This uplifting piece provided a great contrast against the dark and moving violin concerto which was very well received by the audience. Ben Gernon managed the orchestra beautifully and the musicians played very well. The conductor rose to the occasion with zest and vigour in his free, yet fairly traditional conducting style. Some general slips occurred during the performance of this piece, which were very sparse. However, these did not detract from the musicality of the performance. This piece was well executed and showed the stamina and passion of the musicians, especially the brass, who all delivered this well after playing a difficult and musically exhausting programme.

This concert was thoroughly worth watching, and I highly recommend attending future concerts given by the Bristol Ensemble, Chloë Hanslip, or Ben Gernon.

What is classical music? A not-so-easy question

What is classical music? A not-so-easy question

Many times, when I've told people that I enjoy listening to classical music, I have been given a reply along the lines of "classical music? That's so old!".

I usually try to explain to these people that classical music spans over four hundred years of music, but I'm sure that plenty of classical musicians have thought this through to themselves along with many non-musicians: "When did classical music stop and when did everything else begin?".

Well, up to about the beginning of the 20th century most people have it very clear. Jazz hand only just started in New Orleans twenty years before, music in Europe was pretty much the same.

Music genres up to the dawn of the 20th century

Then came Schoenberg. (Brace yourselves) 

After a whole age of exploring tonality that Mahler, Debussy and Strauss had been participants in, the Second Viennese School (Comprised of Schoenberg, Alban Berg and more of his disciples) came to do with it. According to them, art was becoming kitsch and over-indulgent, and didn't reflect the realities of society, which as hard as they were to hear, still needed to be conveyed in new and expressive art forms. They overcame tonality in the midst of what could be considered its dying pains. From here on, classical music stops. There. Simple, right?

Well not really. Firstly, we must take into consideration that other romantic composers were still alive, such as nationalist Jean Sibelius (d. 1957). Surely classical music still existed whilst these composers were still alive?

Also, Stravinsky started writing boundary-defining, tonal music whilst Schoenberg was still on the block. Many people consider The Firebird classical music, whereas Pierrot Lunaire starts to get people thinking. (By the way, I recommend checking out all of the composers and their music that I've written about. They are all great).

Pierrot, the nostalgic clown that is the subject of Schoenberg's song cycle

After expressionism (think Schoenberg) music - which had already branched off into Jazz and popular music - started to slowly evolve into what we now know as contemporary music. Composers such as John Cage, Leon Kirchner and Olivier Messiaen started writing more and more dissonant music, experimenting with household sounds and silence. Does 4'33 count as classical music? Most people would say no. 

Therefore, somewhere between the Second Viennese School and the start of these composers' careers, the concept of classical music just stops in our minds. This period of music is called modernism. The limits of tonality, rhythm and harmony were challenged and re-invented, following German Romanticism and its Wagnerian and luscious extended tonality.

So far so good. Here classical music stops and modernism starts. But what are we to do about composers such as Sibelius, still writing till his death in 1957?

These composers weren't writing in the current genres that were being explored at the time; they were what was left of the older romantic school. The fact that they were alive doesn't mean that their style was alive; fashionable among the young artists, or new...

Or does it? Well that's for you to decide.

Back to modernism. At its end near the 30s, modernism ends and post-modernism starts, with composers such as John Cage shoving screws into pianos and playing with cacti in the 60s to explore the banality of household sounds, and silence. However, by that time the neoclassical composers such as Busoni and Prokofiev had written classical music in reference to older styles, such as Pulcinella by Stravinsky. Jazz influenced artists such as Copland and Gershwin. These were writing till the 50s, with West Side Story written by Bernstein in '57. Surely this is classical music?

John Cage's Branches for amplified cacti and plants

Minimalism starts in the 60s in New York, and sees the rise of Reich and Adams, writing repetitive and hypnotic music comprised of "cells" changing and evolving. By the 70s this form had reached its peak, and classical music "officially" ends with the start of contemporary music.

To conclude this turbulent journey through the 20th century, we can see that romantic music had branched out during the beginnings of the century into various musical forms, some of which evolved further (modernism into contemporary), and others were left behind (neo-classicism). We cannot really decide on a cut-off point for the concept of classical music, although the best guess is that "classical" music might have ended at the Second Viennese School, and with the jazz-inspired writers like Copland and Bernstein. 

To further conclude, let's say it's subjective. That's why I didn't want to call this the "classical music place" originally, or to refer to my tastes as "classical". The murkiness of the term and the rich variety of composers and movements make this such a difficult word or concept do describe. Should we be challenging it?

A lesson that we have learned from this is to use the word sparingly. Let's celebrate that we had composers a hundred years ago making our lives hard today by exploring, demolishing and redefining boundaries and conventions. The complexity of the 20th century in music is rich and full, and we've only just touched upon it here. However, as usual, there is some great music to listen to along the way, and that's what matters.

First post!

First post!

Hello world! It feels quite exciting starting out a blog... there's something slightly gripping about speaking out to a world of a few known listeners. 

I am a young musician in Bristol. I play the violin and the piano to an advanced level, compose, and just love listening to music, exploring it and analysing it. That's it. That's all there is to know. But that's not what the spotlight centers on.

On this blog I want to share some of my opinions, favourite pieces, news that stirs me, concerts that enthrall me and little snippets of goodness found online or through the wisdom of my friends or teachers. An unknown piece by an unknown composer, a recent discovery, a joke, a review, controversy, an artist, a little music theory gem, a book, a violin trick, a piano trick, a composing trick, a video, a masterclass...

So here I am starting out this blog, bursting with ideas. I honestly hope that you, dear reader, enjoy this blog. If your interest is classical music (what a broad and misty term that is today!), then read on!