Today has been a particularly restless Monday! I've been glancing at the clock counting down the seconds till it's time to get away from the office. In an attempt to calm my frustrations from work, I thought of this lovely tango as the perfect song to relax me before my long battle with afternoon rush hour traffic.
Originally written for solo piano as part of the suite España, Op. 165 in 1890, the Tango in D is one of composer Issac Albéniz's most well-known work. Ironically, the transcribed version for classical guitar is more important today than the original piano piece. Personally, I love them both, but agree with general consensus that the guitar version breathes more life and Spanish flare into the piece. It's a juxtaposition of calm and serenity with the seductive rhythms of a tango.
If this is your first time getting to know Albéniz, I suggest you google the rest of his translated repertoire for classical guitar. They are definitely all gems!
I was watching the 2015 Oscars Sunday night, and saw this witty and artistic McDonalds Big Mac commercial. It's also being used as Youtube commercials right now, so maybe many of you have also already seen this.
What is that lovely piano piece playing in the background? In my last post, I was just praising Claude Debussy as an outstanding composer of the Impressionistic movement, and specifically talked about Clair de Lune, the third movement of Suite Bergamasque. The piano sheet music can be found on here courtesy of the International Music Score Library Project, otherwise known as the Petrucci Music Library.
This was one of the piano pieces I learned in middle school, but still play often. In my opinion, it has gained somewhat of a 'cheesy' reputation for serious piano pupils, and is rarely chosen for recital or competition. This is probably due to its overwhelming popularity in mainstream media, and the fact that everyone has played this at some time or other and has their own interpretation that they prefer. But even so, its melodies are incredibly serene, and really sets the mood for reflection. Even though the title translates to moonlight, I often randomly come back to this music on a quiet afternoon or a soft rainy day. Enjoy!
I recently visited the Chicago Art Institute where I saw works by great Impressionistic artists Monet and Renoir. Impressionism is a 19th Century movement originating in Paris. It started as a movement of visual art, before catching on in literature and music. The style of art emphasizes movement and the changing qualities of light, often depicting ordinary subject matters such as scenery. The music focused on creating the tones and texture of sound that would describe a subject, rather than follow traditional melodic structures or composition styles.
Arguably the most well known composer during this movement is Claude Debussy. His more romantic and melodic works are commonly featured in films. For example, Clair de Lune is heard at the Bellagio fountain scene during the end of the heist in Ocean's 11. A quick IMDb search reveals 200 other credits of Debussy's works in films, majority of them being Clair de Lune. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is another favorite due to its softness and soothing melodies.
However, other gems of impressionist music are not as popular in mainstream media. The main reason is they don't feature harmonies and melodies that are 'catchy'. Instead, they are composed of passages, chords, arpeggios that create a mood, or describe an object. For example, in Jeux d'eau "Water Game", Ravel masterfully uses the piano to convey the idea of water. The music allows you to envision the free falling water, flowing fast and slow, strings of tiny droplets at times, and a full force of the current during others.
Wow! This year has gone by in a flash. Because I've been tackling a new job, I've unfortunately neglected to share the one piece of music I was most excited about from the Sochi Olympic Figure Skating competition. Although the original composer of this song is not by any means from the classical music era, rather it was written by Stephen Sodheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, Yuna Kim skated so beautifully to it I just have to add it to this blog for future viewing purposes.
The piece is called "Send In the Clowns" from Kim's short program. In the musical, this melancholy song was sung by the character Desirée after feeling rejected from her past lover. She reflects on her life, including the disappointments and shortcomings, and her frustration that her past lover is now dedicated to his new younger wife. In my opinion, Kim really captures the raw emotions of this song with her brilliant artistry and builds a strong connection with her audience. Even though during her program the orchestral version of this piece has no words, the listener can sense something delicately beautiful, sad, with a tinge of regret and longing.
Check out her flawless performance!
Here is a version without the skating and TV commentary.
Now that the Sochi Winter Olympic games are over, I thought it would be nice to look back at some of the beautiful classical music pieces featured in the free skate program by American figure skaters Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner.
Today we will start with Gracie, who skated first adorned in a beautiful interpretation of Sleeping Beauty's blue ball gown at the end of Disney's film. Her music? A montage of scenes from the ballet Sleeping Beauty composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Previously, I've made posts about the Nutcracker, another famous ballet score composed by Tchaikovsky. Together, Sleeping Beauty, the Nutcracker, and Swan Lake are a trio of masterpieces by the composer and arguably the most famous ballet scores of all time.
It was hard finding a good youtube version of Gracie's free skate without annoying commentary, so instead I've chosen to showcase the more famous waltz from the ballet suite instead.
In the waltz below, if you watched the disney movie you'll recognize the song "Once upon a Dream" that was written based on the original melody Tchaikovsky composed for the ballet. In a creepy rendition, Angelina Jolie also sings the originally bright and cheerful melody in the sinister preview of the upcoming Disney movie Maleficent. Check it out!
Waltz (Act 1 no. 6) from the Sleeping Beauty Suite (Op. 66) - Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
I was listening to Spotify recently and this gem popped up. The song is from the movie Anastasia, called Once Upon a December. Emile Pandolfi created his own piano arrangement, and of all the one's I've heard (scoured Youtube for hours) this one is by far the best.
Emile Pandolfi - Once Upon a December (Piano version)
This past Saturday I had the great fortune of seeing the Houston Ballet perform The Nutcracker. It was amazing! I wish they posted videos on youtube of their rendition of the ballet, I really liked the set, props, and most of all the choreography. My favorite was the Arabic dance, which I will post about later.
We last left off at the house party where Clara and her family and friends were celebrating Christmas Eve. After the party ends and Clara goes to bed, she is suddenly awoken by a swarm of rats attacking the toy soldiers inside her house. Her nutcracker comes to the rescue, and at the end of the battle he turns into a price and whisks her away to another land.
As they travel to this new land, they meet the snow queen and her snowflakes, and together they perform a charming dance, set to beautiful music written by Tchaikovsky. In some versions, Clara and the nutcracker prince are the soloists, such as the video below. In the Houston Ballet version I saw on Saturday, the Snow queen performs as the soloist with the prince. Both are equally stunning!
The Nutcracker Ballet - Act I - Waltz of the Snowflakes Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
