2 mvmt appassionata > pathetique, I said what I said haha; actually one of the best 2nd mvmts ever for piano 😍

Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, simplified version with original cadenza - Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886)

Pianist: Ryo Fukaura, UCL medical student, playing the piece from memory, in the Peter Samuel Hall at the Royal Free Hospital.

soundcloud.com/uclsound/sets/ryo-fukaura-piano

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Ryo Fukaura: Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

Antonin Dvorak - Humoresk

A cello quartet arrangement of the second movement from J S Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068.
Cello arranged and performed by Deryn Cullen
Mix and mastering by @dan-cullen

J S Bach - Air on the G - String

Franz Liszt must have really been blown away by the cities of Venice and Naples on his travels with Marie d'Agoult, because he ended up composing four pieces named after them: Venezia e Napoli. But apparently, the original four pieces weren't good enough for old Franz, so he went back and revised them until only the last two were left: the Andante placido (aka Gondoliera) and the Tarantelles Napolitaines (aka just plain ol' Tarantella). Then he stuck a sad song called Canzone in between them and voila! The triptych known as Venezia e Napoli was born. It was published as a supplement to Deuxième Année in 1861, so if you want to check it out, you better hit up this recording!

Liszt must have been feeling pretty darn romantic when he composed Gondoliera, because it's based on a love song by Giovanni Battista Peruchini called "La biondina in gondoletta." But unlike the original version, Liszt's revision starts off with a fancy introduction in the key of F-sharp minor. The music sounds all calm and serene, like a peaceful Venetian canal (or at least what I imagine one would sound like). And then, once it hits that F-sharp major chord, it's like BAM! The melody comes in and it's all lovey-dovey and stuff. And let me tell you, it's so sweet and soft, it'll make your teeth hurt. But don't worry, there's some fancy flourishes in there to keep things interesting.

The Canzone that comes after Gondoliera (or "Gondolier's Song") is actually part of a larger piece, and it leads directly into the Tarantella without missing a beat. It's based on a song called "Nessun maggior dolore" from Rossini's opera Otello, which is weird because the opera is set in Venice but it premiered in Naples. Anyway, Liszt messed around with the melody and rhythm a bit, and he also changed the key from G minor to E-flat minor, which makes it sound all dark and moody. It starts off with some creepy tremolo, and then the melody comes in and it's all woe is me. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom, because there's some fancy piano stuff in there to keep things interesting. And at the end, the music gets all happy and major-key-y, so it's not a total downer.

The Tarantella is like a firework show on piano. It's based on some themes by a French composer named Guillaume-Louis Cottrau, who lived and worked in Naples. It starts off with a Presto tempo, and the introduction leads you from the E-flat key of the Canzone to the G minor key of the first theme. And let me tell you, this thing is full of energy! The music shifts between different meters, so it's like a never-ending party. Then the second theme comes in, and it's like BAM! Fortissimo! And then the music goes to the relative major key, but it doesn't stay there long because it sidesteps into D-flat major with a funny little passage in contrary motion. And then it's back to G minor, and the first theme returns, and it's like a three-part design or something. And then the music closes in B-flat major, and there's a pause, and then there's a new theme in E-flat major, and it's all lyrical and stuff. And then there's some fancy flourishes and variations, and then it goes to E major, and then to G major, and then there's a coda and it's like WHAM! Prestissimo! And the music is rushing towards the end, and it's all virtuosic and impressive.

I. Gondoliera
II. Canzone
III. Tarantella

Recorded live from Dublin City Gallery - The Hugh Lane on July 27th, 2014 as part of the concert series of the Dublin International Piano Festival & Summer Academy.

My SoundCloud Channel: https://soundcloud.com/archie-chen
Official Website: http://www.archiechen.com
Youtube DIPF https://www.youtube.com/c/PianofestivalIe
Youtube Archie https://www.youtube.com/c/ArchieChenPianist
Festival Website: http://www.pianofestival.ie
Teaching Website: http://www.pianoacademy.ie

Piano: Bluthner Model 1
Piano Technician: Martin Walsh
Recording Engineer: Darby Carroll
Piano provided by Bluthner UK

Franz Liszt Venezia e Napoli, s. 159

Stromae - Formidable

Thomas Yu - F. Chopin:  Andante spianato and The Great Polonaise E flat major

Ponchielli. Dance of the Hours arranged for string quartet. Download PDF sheet music at <a href="http://www.musicforstrings.com/en/string-quartet-sheet-music/121-ponchielli-dance-hours-gioconda-string-quartet.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.musicforstrings.com</a>


Ponchielli. Dance of the Hours. String quartet arrangement

https://www.aleksandramikulska.com​

https://bio.to/aleksandra​

European Melodies

Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-Flat Major, Op. 22

Chopin - Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22 (Live)

J.S. Bach - Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude

Bodenseefestival 2011 - 10.06.2011

https://www.aleksandramikulska.com​

https://bio.to/aleksandra​

Beethoven - Sonata No. 23 in F minor op. 57 "Appassionata" (Live)

Chopin: Balladen

Fantaisie-Impromtu in C Sharp Minor, Op. 66

Chopin - Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor op. 66

While all these statements describe Aleksandra Mikulska’s playing, her art is perhaps best encapsulated by the phrase: sincerity and intimacy. In her concerts, the charismatic pianist lifts the curtain on new and unfamiliar worlds and aims to move her listeners – whether with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt or her compatriot Frédéric Chopin, with whom she feels a particularly strong connection – through her utter absorption in the music.

Growing up in Warsaw, Chopin’s home city, Aleksandra Mikulska developed an intense love of the composer’s piano music while still a child. Having, in her early years, followed the International Chopin Piano Competition on television, with scarcely room for a piano in the family’s tenth-floor apartment in a prefabricated block, she went on to win the “Best Polish Pianist” prize in the 2005 contest. 

Seeking freedom and new interpretative stimuli, Aleksandra Mikulska was drawn for her musical training initially to Mannheim and from there to Karlsruhe (where she studied for her degree under Peter Eicher), Imola in Italy (Lazar Berman, Michel Dalberto) and back to Hanover in Germany (Arie Vardi). She also drew significant inspiration from masterclasses with Diane Andersen, Kevin Kenner, Andrzej Jasinski and Lev Natochenny. Aleksandra Mikulska describes giving concerts as her passion. She has appeared with renowned orchestras under the batons of Michael Sanderling, Pawel Przytocki, Kaspar Zehnder, Johannes Schlaefli, Stefan Fraas, Philippe Bach and other well-known conductors – notably at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Brucknerhaus in Linz and the Tonhalle in Zurich. She is also a regular guest at international festivals such as the MDR Musiksommer, the Liszt Festival Raiding, the Bodenseefestival, the Usedom Music Festival and the Styriarte.

An issue particularly close to Aleksandra Mikulska’s heart is German-Polish cooperation. As President of the Chopin Society in Darmstadt, she is committed to fostering the up-and-coming generation of musicians and to promoting the rediscovery of less-well-known composers from her home country. She also brings her polish roots to bear by performing the music of composers such as Julian Fontana, Miłosz Magin, Artur Malawski and Karol Szymanowski, which is rarely played in Germany.

In addition to the solo repertoire to which she is first and foremost devoted, Aleksandra Mikulska also, at a young age, discovered an interest in chamber music – including Johannes Brahms’s violin and cellos sonatas and the piano concertos of Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, which she enjoys approaching in experimental arrangements for smaller ensembles. She also has a strong interest in Polish and German Romantic lieder. 

On her latest album, Reflections, released by GENUIN classics, Aleksandra Mikulska brings together two key works of the Romantic repertoire for piano: the B minor sonatas of Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. During the 2020/21 season, she will be giving a wide range of concerts with personally presented programmes featuring works by Scarlatti, Haydn, Schumann, Beethoven, Fontana and Szymanowski.

Beethoven - Sonata No. 23 in F minor op. 57 "Appassionata" (Live)

Aleksandra Mikulska

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