Silence
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Alexander Tcherepnin's (1899-1977) Bagatelles, Op. 5: 10 Pieces for Piano
No. 1 -- Allegro marziale
No. 2 -- Con vivacitÃ
No. 3 -- Vivo
No. 4 -- Lento con tristezza
No. 5 -- Dolce
No. 6 -- Allegro con spirito
No. 7 -- Prestissimo
No. 8 -- Allegro
No. 9 -- Allegretto
No. 10 -- Presto
Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin was influenced by the Russian Romantic masters and by classical Chinese music. His ten Bagatelles, Op. 5 range from the intermediate level to early advanced (moderately difficult). These short miniatures offer variety and charm. Some pieces demand bright, rapid finger
Bagatelles are among his finest and most popular keyboard works. The 10 miniatures each span only two to four pages, yet are filled with a variety of mildly contemporary techniques. The more brilliant pieces help to develop a rapid finger technique, while the lyrical works are studies in the balance of melody and accompaniment figures.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Etude op.10 no.3
The Etude Op. 10, No. 3, in E major, is a study for solo piano composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1832. It was first published in 1833 in France, Germany, and England as the third piece of his Études Op. 10.
Chopin himself believed the melody to be his most beautiful one. It became famous through numerous popular arrangements. Although this étude is sometimes identified by the names "Tristesse" (Sadness) or "Farewell (L'Adieu)", neither is a name given by Chopin, but rather his critics.
Lutoslawski : Variation on a them of Paganini 2 piano
Lutosławski spent the years of the German occupation earning his living as a pianist. Initially, he performed on his own, then later in a piano duo with Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991), his friend from the conservatory who also became a distinguished composer. Their repertoire included mainly transcriptions of well-known symphonic works as well as improvisations. Following some advice by a fellow musician in 1941, Lutosławski wrote a transcription of Paganini’s popular Caprice in A minor, op. 1 No. 24 for violin solo.
His Variations are a paraphrase, not an original composition, like Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini or Boris Blacher’s Variations on the same theme. The theme from the Paganini Caprice is not accompanied by versions created by Lutosławski, but by those comprising the original work. The paraphrase consisted in recomposing them, as with a version of the Caprice for violin and piano composed by Szymanowski in his op. 40.
Lutosławski made sure that the original would be enriched in its harmony and texture. What emerged is a spicy composition, a display of pianistic and compositional virtuosity. Such music might have been composed by Paganini had he lived in the times of Bartók and Szymanowski, and had he become a pianist and, most importantly, a composer with Lutosławski’s talent.
With time the Variations became a great hit, becoming part of the repertoire of the important piano duos in the world. Today they are the composer’s most performed work. Lutosławski made a transcription for piano and orchestra in 1977.
Shotstakovic : concerto no.2
Allegro
The first movement is in sonata form. The jolly main theme of the first movement is played first by the bassoon, then soon accompanied by the clarinets and oboes. The piano enters unobtrusively with an answering theme, played as single notes in both hands an octave apart. This evolves into a march-like theme. A new melodic theme in D minor is then introduced, with unisons two octaves apart on the piano, winding down to nothing. Then, an abrupt blast from the orchestra leads into tumultuous and low jumping octaves on the lower piano, while the orchestra plays a variation on the original piano melody fortissimo. The piano builds in a triplet pattern to introduce the D minor theme (now in D major) in an augmentation in a triumphant tutti. At the climax, everything comes to a silent pause, and the piano comes in with a fugue-like counterpoint solo. After a minute of the fugue, the orchestra comes back in, playing the melody in the high winds. The orchestra builds on the main melody while the piano plays scales and tremolos, which lead into a joyous few lines of chords and octaves by the piano, with the main theme finally resurfacing and bringing the movement to a close.
Andante
The second movement is subdued and romantic.It presents two different themes that are in variation form. The mood can be considered tender with a touch of melancholy. Strings start gently in C minor, with a short introduction before the piano comes in with a gentle triplet theme in C major.This type of rhythm is also found in his other compositions such as the Prelude in C major Op. 87 No. 1. Although it remains slow throughout, and works within a comparatively small range, it is marked by the recurrence of two- or four-on-three rhythms.
Allegro
The finale is a lively dance in duple time, making much use of pentatonic scales and modes. Soon, the second theme is introduced, in 7/8 time, with the piano accompanied by balalaika-like pizzicato strings. It gives an impression of what parades and processions were like in the Soviet Era. This carries on for a short time before a new motif arrives in "Hanon" exercise mode, with scales in sixths and semiquaver runs, this being the joke for Maxim's graduation. These three themes are then developed and interwoven before a final statement of the 78 theme and finally a virtuoso coda in F major.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102, by Dmitri Shostakovich was composed in 1957 for his son Maxim's 19th birthday. Maxim premiered the piece during his graduation at the Moscow Conservatory.This piano concerto was intended to be the last piece he wrote for piano. It contains many similar elements to his other composition, Concertino for Two Pianos. They were both written to be accessible for developing young pianists. It is an uncharacteristically cheerful piece, much more so than most of Shostakovich's works.