A very rough demo of Moon River, played on my new Laubin Oboe. Dedicated to Amigo Boyd (1993-2015), my 17 year old Chihuahua. 

Moon River

Every day is a new day with "New Beginnings". Relax and feel the spirit of Majesty within this full Orchestra musical piece.  

NOTE: Full score and individual instrument sheet music available.

New Beginnings

Victoria Bragin - F. Chopin: Polonaise E flat minor op. 26 no. 2

While Bach was the end-all-be-all of the Baroque period, Chopin was the golden boy of the Romantic era. Just like the early Romantics rejected the cool objectivity of their predecessors, Chopin's music was all about expressing the self in all its various forms. In exploring new harmonic realms and tonal relationships, he had to come up with new forms to contain his highly individual creative messages. This resulted in his "character pieces" or piano miniatures - the shortest of which weighs in at just 16 measly measures. His Nocturnes, 19 in all, are particularly soulful and expressive, making them some of Chopin's most intimate pieces. Interestingly, Chopin has been wrongly credited with creating the genre of the romantic night piece. In fact, that honor goes to John Field, who composed 17 Nocturnes, the first three of which appeared when Chopin was just four years old. But don't let that take away from Chopin's supreme talent in the Nocturne genre. In short, Chopin was a true master of the Nocturne and his contributions to the genre will never be forgotten. Or at least until the next guy comes along and claims he invented it.

The Dublin-born Field was a pianist of wide acclaim throughout Europe. He was a student of Muzio Clementi and even worked in his piano shop. Field composed a ton of music, including eight piano concertos and 17 Nocturnes, the first three of which appeared in 1814 - when Chopin was just four years old. Most authors of books on Chopin try to downplay the influence of the Irish composer on the Polish master. Field may have invented the genre, but it was Chopin who really took it to the next level. You could say that Chopin took the essentials of the Nocturne and intensified them a thousandfold - like adding extra hot sauce to your already spicy burrito.

Even if you believe that Field invented the genre of the Nocturne, there's no denying that Chopin was a supreme practitioner in the field (pun intended). His piano style fully exploited the singing quality of the instrument and created a whole world of sonorities. He also used the sustaining pedal to amplify the piece's distinctive sonority, and his use of rubato contributed to the poetic ambiance. On a musical level, Chopin introduced the element of chromaticism into his harmonic structure, which influenced virtually all composers who came after him. Chopin's 19 Nocturnes are a real mixed bag - some are dreamy, some are tear-jerkers, and some are just plain stoic. The E-major Nocturne on this program is the 18th and final one that Chopin published in his lifetime (he did leave us with one more, but that was published posthumously). It's a real crowd-pleaser - it's got a nice, flowing melody and some fancy filigree, all held together by some sturdy chordal accompaniment. But don't worry, things don't stay calm for long - the left hand starts moving like crazy, and we get a new melody to go along with it. Then things get really interesting - we've got some syncopated, agitated music that really raises the tension. But don't worry, the main theme comes back to calm things down. And just when you think it's over, Chopin pulls out a little two-measure epilogue that some people might find a little unnecessary. But hey, who are we to question the master?

This is a live recording from Auer Hall at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music of one of Frederic Chopin's last works, the Nocturne in E major, op. 62, no. 2. 
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Piano: New York Steinway & Sons Model D

Frederic Chopin Nocturne in E major, op. 62, no. 2

Brodmann PE-187 piano. AKG microphones. Pro Tools recording.

Chopin Nocturne Fm op.55 no.1

Since selling my Kawai acoustic and moving to England, I have to contend with playing on the Casio Privia PX-110, which I bought 3rd hand for £150. Please forgive me for I do no justice to this beautiful Chopin waltz. My touch falls flat on the reverberation of plastic. It's harsh and unforgiving, and my archaic recording setup does not help. On a brighter note, I found this piece at a book clearance sale in the town library. It was part of a collection of graded pieces from the 1920s for Advanced Level, published by the ABRSM.

Pamela Chng's Album

Pamela Chng - Waltz in C sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2 by Chopin

Sonata 46 for violin and classical guitar

Sandra Haniszewska - Violin
Tomasz Kandulski - Classical Guitar

I was attending music school as an undergraduate in 1998 at the University of Texas at Austin. At the time, Matthew Gould (of Duo 46) was attending as a Doctoral student in guitar and living in Austin with his partner, violinist Beth Schneider. They had started Duo 46 maybe a few years before this. I was hanging out with them a lot in those days - just going over to their apartment or whatever. One day, Matt said to me, "Hey man, why don't you write us a piece?", and I said, "Umm.. ok."

At this point, I don't think they expected much. They hadn't had that many pieces written for them yet, and I was just starting as a composer, only in my second year of school. I decided I wanted to write something that would really show off what they could do technically and musically, and that would leave audiences breathless.

Not knowing how to begin, I lifted a line from a piece that I had just written - a solo flute piece titled "The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi". That became the opening line of the piece. Then, inspired by the one movement sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, I wrote the piece based on that line. The piece is full of things that I was just discovering and becoming influenced by at the time: baroque sonatas, renaissance lute music (hence the "lute" tuning of the guitar), the tangos of Piazzolla as well as the ever-present rock and heavy metal that has always been part of my music. Since Duo 46 premiered the piece in 1999, Sonata 46 has become one of my most frequently and widely performed pieces.

Notes

Sonata 46 (Haniszewska-Kandulski Duo)

Vals que Frederic Chopin dedicara a Maria Wodzińska

Valse de l'adieu

This track is from the album Saint-Saens violin Concerto, Beethoven Triple Concerto and is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/allaa

Camille Saint-Saens, violin concerto N.3 in B minor op 61, 2nd m

https://www.aleksandramikulska.com​

https://bio.to/aleksandra​

Expressions: Haydn, Szymanowski, Chopin

Mazurka in B Minor, Op. 33: No. 4

Chopin - Mazurka in B minor op. 33 No. 4

David Loebel conducts the NEC Philharmonia in a live concert performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37, featuring NEC Concerto Competition winner, Ji Yong Kim. The concerto is generally thought to have been composed in 1800, although it didn't receive it's first performance until 5 April 1803, with Beethoven himself as soloist. The composition is in three movements, and is dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia.

Camille Saint-Saens, violin concerto N.3 in B minor op 61, 2nd m

Alla Aranovskaya