#arthur schnabel

[artsculturevienna]

Arthur SCHNABEL (1882-1951) Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: II. Andante sostenuto

[johnzimmer]

The pause that refreshes

Today’s post is inspired by a 1929 ad from Coca-Cola.  In that year, the company came up with a truly great slogan that you still sometimes hear today: “The pause that refreshes.”

As speakers, we can learn a lot from that slogan.  Knowing when and how to pause is a great skill, and one that will greatly enhance our effectiveness.

Too many people speak too quickly.  This shortcoming is…

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[miamiclasica]

Aplauditis & aplausómetro

Dame Joan Sutherland ovacionada Que estamos a la deriva en una pesadilla discepoliana ya no hay quien lo niegue. Que la exageración manda, que todo agota y está fuera de control tampoco. Cambalache siglo XXI reflejo del profético “koyaanisqatsi” de los hopi, revolcados en un merengue sentimos acortarse los plazos en una rara aceleración del tiempo. Igual mientras dure, hay que subsistir, seguir…

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[shirley-kirsten7777]

Murray Perahia's earliest piano teacher and her influence on him

Murray Perahia’s earliest piano teacher and her influence on him

Jeannette Haien is rarely recognized for her role in Murray Perahia’s musical development, though it’s clear through her own words, (rekindled posthumously) that she must have had a profound effect on him. (She was Perahia’s mentor from age 4 to 18.)

Reminiscences

I knew Murray as a classmate at the NYC High School of Performing Arts where his musical presence was poignant and pervasive. Many…

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[clavierissimo]

[chopinuppianos]

Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3 (1798)

I. Presto 0:00  II. Largo e mesto 6:33  III. Menuetto & Trio: Allegro 18:12  IV. Rondo: Allegro 20:41 

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Performer: Arthur Schnabel

Time for the daily Beethoven sonata! I thought I’d pick an earlier one today since I’ve focused so heavily on the late sonatas. As someone who loves the Romantic Era the most this isn’t surprising, but each period is equally significant to understanding Beethoven’s development over time.

"The design of the D major Sonata op. 10 no. 3 is unusual in that Beethoven maintains the tonic major or minor throughout all four movements.  One reason for this tonal plan is found in the expressive relationship between the inner movements--an extended Largo e mesto of tragic character in D minor, whose solemn darkness is broken by the beginning of the gentle Menuetto in the major, marked dolce.  This wonderfully sensitive and gradual effect of light dispelling darkness depends crucially on the use of a common tonality.  A different sort of complementation holds between the bold and energetic, first movement, marked Presto, and the grave slow movement in the minor.” - William Kinderman

[chopinuppianos]

Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a “Les Adieux” (1811)

I. Das Lebewohl (The Farewell): Adagio - Allegro  0:00 II. Abwesenheit (The Absence): Andante espessivo  7:02 III. Das Wiedersehen (The Return) Vivacissimamente 10:14

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Performer: Arthur Schnabel

“Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 26 would seem to be a programmatic piece of music, but there is some disagreement over the authenticity of that program -- or at least over the degree to which Beethoven desired that program to be publicly known. In the spring of 1809, the French army attacked Vienna, and Beethoven's friend, patron, and pupil Archduke Rudolph was forced to flee the city for many months. It is known that on May 21, 1809, Beethoven inscribed the words "On the departure of His Majesty the revered Archduke Rudolph" (originally in French) at the head of the score of his latest project, Op. 81a; but the first published edition of the sonata (1811) goes a step further, assigning to the sonata's three movements the titles "Les adieux," "l'absence," "et le retour" (the farewell, the absence, and the return), respectively. According to some, this assignment of a movement-by-movement program was at Beethoven's express directions; but other sources maintain that Beethoven was absolutely beside himself with fury that his publisher took such a liberty with his music. Whatever the case may be, there can be no doubt that Les Adieux is real and touching evidence of one friend's care for another, and it comes as no real surprise that the piece is far better known for its titles than for its superb music.

If the programmatic titles of the three movements are authentic, then it must be said that the idea of focusing the sorrow of farewell (the first movement, Adagio-Allegro) into an E flat major vessel is a brilliant one; for, against so warm a tonal background, the resigned falling chromaticisms introduced in the slow, 16-bar introduction and then taken up with a vengeance at the start of the symphonically-conceived Allegro pull the heartstrings far better and more believably than a melodramatic, minor-mode dirge could. The central movement is a slender Andante espressivo through the cracks of whose grim, dissonant C minor occasionally bursts a glimmer of brightness (the hope for reunion, or perhaps a warm memory, if one is following the program): twice a shimmering left-hand figuration provides the right hand with enough courage to come up with a lovely cantabile melody, first in G major, then later in F. A transition passage makes the way directly into the rousing third movement, Vivacissimamente.” - Blair Johnston, AllMusic

[clavierissimo]