Antonin Dvorak - Serenade for strings
Mov. 4 - Larghetto
Chamber Orchestra of Belgium - conducted by Benjamin Haemhouts
Live recording @ Concertgebouw Amsterdam
20-03-'13

Dvorak - Serenade for strings - Mov. 4

This piece originates from Robert Schumann's 'Album für die Jugend' - a collection of 43 short works that were composed for his three daughters. The opus 68 'Album für die Jugend' is, unlike 'Kinderszenen', meant to be played by children, although the collection is divided in two parts - and the second is marked 'Für Erwachsenere', from no. 19, 'Kleine Romanze', onwards. 

'Wilder Reiter', or - as it is more commonly referred to, 'The Wild Horseman', is the eight piece of the collection. It is a short and easy, albeit wonderful piece due to its evocative, enthralling composition. It is essentially a lesson in staccato phrasing (one can really imagine the horseman trotting about), and teaches the pianist how to lead the cantabile with both hands, while accompanying with the other. The first section, where the melody is led by the right hand, is repeated. What follows is an intermezzo, if you will, where the left hand leads the melody - an inverse variation on the first section. The piece concludes with a third repetition of the first section. 

I am fascinated by the images that the piece conjures. Is the horseman clad in medieval armour, riding past you in a jousting roundabout? In measures 5 through 8 I deliberately retained some intensity in favour of conveying how the horseman has galloped past the listener (who is of course, stationary), and is making another pass. The second section, measures 9 through 16, seem to indicate the 'wild' in the horseman. Is he perhaps struggling to contain the horse, who has run amok? But then the first section is repeated, and the controlled, frivolous atmosphere reassures and consoles the listener. 

illustration: Géricault - 'Head of White Horse', ca. 1810, Musée du Louvre, Paris

R. Schumann - Wilder Reiter (The Wild Horseman) op. 68 no. 8 in A minor

Dreamer - Chill Music After Sex Vibe

1907

two acoustic guitars playing an instrumental version of  Billy Holiday's song Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do

Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do

Chopin Polonaise Opus 53 Heroisch - Korg Kronos 2 Berlin Grand

https://www.aleksandramikulska.com​

https://bio.to/aleksandra​

European Melodies

Mazurka in B-Flat Minor, Op. 24, No. 4

Chopin - Mazurka in B-flat minor, Op. 24, No. 4 (Live)

Recorded with my Amalio Burguet 3M. The theme is doubled with a dubbed stakkato play that creates the chorus.

J.S. Bach Bourree (from Suite in E-minor BMV 996)

54 Mozart Overture Don Giovanni

The Borromeo String Quartet with pianist Emely Phelps perform Dvorak: Quintet for Piano and Strings no 2 in A major. Recorded live February 26, 2012 at Jordan Hall.
For more information: http://necmusic.edu

J.S. Bach Bourree (from Suite in E-minor BMV 996)

Fajin