Ludwig van Beethoven

As requested, this week’s musician is Beethoven, a composer who was important in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras.

Here are some of his famous works:
– Symphony No.3 in E flat, op.55 – ‘Eroica’
– Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (listen to this fun version with commentary on what’s happening in the music)
– Symphony No.7 in A, op.92
– Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 – ‘Choral’ (“Ode to Joy” at 14:20)
– String Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor, op.131
– Violin Concerto in D, op.61 (soloist starts at 3:45)
– Violin Sonata No.9, op.47 – Kreutzer Sonata
– Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (Fur Elise)
– Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2: Sonata quasi una fantasia (Moonlight Sonata)
– Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major “Emperor” (last completed piano concerto)
– Piano Sonata No.30 in E, op.109
– Fidelio, op.72 (opera)

Frédéric Chopin

A few weeks ago, we featured Mahler, my husband’s favourite composer. This week, I want to share with you MY favourite composer: Frédéric Chopin! He is known as a Polish composer of music for piano in the Romantic Period. Some of his works are so patriotic they were banned during WWII.

Some of his famous works:
– Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10 No. 12)
– Heroic Polonaise (Op. 53 in A Flat Major)
– Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp Minor, Op. posth.
– Nocturne in E flat, Op. 9, No.2
– Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58
– Mazurkas, Op.24
– 24 Preludes, Op.28: Like Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (minus the fugues), Chopin’s Preludes travel one by one through every key in a strict sequence (one of my piano students played No. 4 in E Minor but No. 6 and No. 15 “Raindrop” are also beautiful)
– Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66
– Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.35
– Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 60
– Fantaisie in F minor
– Grande Polonaise Brillante In E-flat Major, Op. 22 (start at 5:00)
– Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11

Grade 6/7 students: Talk to your parents about watching The Pianist (available on Netflix), a movie based on the autobiography of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, a Holocaust survivor who persevered through difficulties during Nazi German occupation with the help of Chopin’s music.

Claude Debussy

You’ve probably talked in your classrooms about this week’s Earth Day (some classes have even volunteered to help clean up in the neighbourhood)! One composer who was inspired by nature and wrote many pieces about nature was Claude Debussy, a French Impressionist composer. I’ve played several of his piano works =)

Some of his famous pieces:
– Suite Bergamasque (1890, rev.1905): a four-movement suite – ‘Prélude’, ‘Menuet’, ‘Clair De Lune’ and ‘Passepied’ – for piano. The relaxing music is inspired by a poem, written by French poet Paul Verlaine, and pre-echoes the hazy, impressionistic textures of Debussy’s later work, especially in his best-loved piano piece ‘Clair De Lune’.
– La Mer (1905)
– Prélude à l’Aprés-Midi d’un Faune (1894): A faun mythological half human–half goat creature appearing in Roman mythology. It is often said that the era of modern music began with a single work in 1894: Claude Debussy’s Prélude à L’Après-Midi D’Un Faune for orchestra. Based on Mallarmé’s poem, Debussy considered the Prélude to be evocative “of the successive scenes in which the longings and desires of the faun pass in the heat of the afternoon”. Debussy stretched the traditional system of keys and tonalities to their limits. The Prélude, one of Debussy’s best works, is one of the most popular pieces of music of all time and inspired many composers including Leonard Bernstein and Boulez.
– Pelléas Et Mélisande (1902): the only opera Debussy ever completed and is considered a landmark in 20th-century music (watch the concert suite here or a short summary of the opera here)
– Deux Arabesques (1888/1891)
– Children’s Corner (1908): Enchanting suite in six movements evoking scenes from childhood – including the riotous ‘Golliwog’s Cake-Walk’ – dedicated “To my dear little Chouchou with her father’s gentle apologies for what follows”.
– Images (1905 – 1907) (recorded in the Chan Centre at UBC)
– String Quartet In G Minor (1893)
– Préludes (1910 – 1913)
– Jeux (1913): This unforgettable ballet features two girls and a boy, who upon losing their ball during an evening game of tennis, hunt for it in the moonlit undergrowth, playing the odd game of hide-and-seek along the way.

Gustav Mahler

This week’s musician is my husband’s favourite composer, Gustav Mahler; we go to see the VSO every time they play a symphony by Mahler! Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, nicknamed “Resurrection” is timely for Easter this past weekend.

Some of his famous works:
– Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” (Read 9 fun facts about it, or the more detailed overview of the movements.)
– Symphony No. 6 “Tragic” (Known for its use of a hammer, see the variations here)
– Symphony No. 5
– Das Lied Von Der Erde (Song Of The Earth) (text based on Hans Bethge’s Chinese Flute, an adaptation of poems by Chinese poet Li Bai)
– Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ (Nicknamed because it requires many musicians to play)
– Symphony No. 9
– Kindertotenlieder (Songs On The Death Of Children) (written out of grief for his daughter who died from Scarlet Fever)
– Symphony No. 1, ‘Titan’
– Piano Quartet In A Minor
– Symphony No. 3 (the longest symphony performed – approximately 95 minutes)

Clara Schumann

Today (March 8th) is International Women’s Day! “International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.” There are many talented female musicians in the past and present.

One example is Clara Schumann, a pianist and composer from the Romantic Period. Evidence suggests that her works and performances were more favoured than her husband, Robert Schumann‘s, yet she tirelessly promoted his works. He in turn supported her but they were constricted by the expectations of a patriarch society. Her picture was on the 100 Deutsche Mark from 1989 to 2002.

Some of her works:
– Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, Op. 16, No. 1
– Scherzo No 2, Opus 14
– Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22
– Trio in G Minor, Op. 17
– ‘Liebst du um Schönheit,’ Op. 12, No. 2 (translation “If you love for beauty”; performed by our local Elektra Women’s Choir)
– Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 7 (written when she was only 16)
– Scherzo, Opus 10
– Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann
– Liebesfrühling (Love’s Spring), Op. 37, No. 2, 4, and 11 (collaboration with her husband Robert Schumann)

Piotr Tchaikovsky

Our musician of the week is Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from the Romantic Era. We listened to selections from his famous ballet, The Nutcracker, including March and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Div. 1’s flashlight performance in the Virtual Winter Concert). Other famous pieces from this ballet include Waltz of the Flowers, Trepak, and Chinese Dance. Many have made movie adaptions based on this, including a 1990 version and a more recent 2018 version. Take time to watch a movie adaptation, ask your family if they’ve heard of or even seen this ballet live, and remember how to pronounce the name “Tchaikovsky” (chai-cough-ski)!
We discussed another famous ballet called Swan Lake (we watched the Dance of the Little Swans). You can watch the full ballet here! We also watched an excerpt from the 1812 Overture, with canons (sometimes replaced with fireworks) timed to match the music. It has been VSO‘s tradition to end with the 1812 Overture when they play at Deer Lake Park in the summer. Hope you’ll get to see it one summer after COVID!