All Aligned Again

Early listeners called the third Prelude, in E flat minor, "Spanish", but modern ears may find this description puzzling. (This is analogous to the description of Mozart’s Rondo alla turca by his contemporaries as “Oriental”; in the present day, it sounds Viennese more than anything else.) After a brief and dramatic introduction, the main theme is revealed: two melodies that together form a question-and-answer pair. This pair is used throughout to provide harmonic structure, with the question harmonised using E-flat minor chords, while the answer is harmonised with E-flat major chords. After a brief, highly syncopated middle section, the melodic pair returns assertively in octaves, causing a battle between major and minor. Major eventually wins, and the piece concludes with a flourish.

Prelude no3 gershwin

Improvisation No. 15 in C minor ( Hommage à Edith Piaf , Trés screw), FP176
Clearly dedicated to the composer's friend, the famous singer Édith Piaf . The sound reminiscent of the cabaret. Performed by Michael Sellers, www.MichaelSellersPianist.com. 

15th improvisation Francis Poulenc

He painted with notes. He painted the people, the scenery, and the moods of Norway. In the immortal Peer Gynt Suites, Grieg captured the rising of the sun and the lamenting of a death, and, in "The March of the Trolls"; a very macabre vision. This march is often called "march of the dwarves", which is not exact. Trolls are (mythological) creatures who live in the forest: big, dumb and very dangerous. 

When playing Grieg's very famous the march of the trolls (from Lyric pieces op 54 no 3), one must be ironic but threatening. 

His works contained what are yet today readily recognizable "tunes." As Grieg and his wife, Nina, strolled through the streets of Bergen, children would follow after, whistling these tunes, in tribute to the great composer. In the centuries ahead, surely the works of Grieg will continue to be whistled and hummed, and played by orchestras worldwide.

This version is by renowned concert pianist, Michael Sellers, www.MichaelSellersPianist.com

Dan Locke 1

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