Learning Log

Project 1 : Orchestras and Virtuosos

I was given two short extracts from Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan”, written for horns in E and a clarinet in A. Both are written in different key signatures due to them being transposing instruments. The aim of the exercise was to write these two extracts down the way they would sound if being played.

I used the same approach for both of them: First of all, I looked at the key signature, which was C-major for the horns and G-major for the clarinet. For the horns, I just moved to E-major, knowing that C-major doesn’t have any flats or sharps and added the four sharps of the E-major key signature (F#; C#, G#, D#) to it. For the clarinet I already had one sharp at the beginning, to which I added the three sharps of A-major, which left me again with four sharps and therefore E-major.

Any other key signature would have been a mistake, seeing, that the whole piece is written in the same “sounding” key-signature, therefore both of the above had to end in the same one.

Horns:

(I had to change the audio to a piano, because it wasn’t possible for me to add any sharps or flats for the horns)

Clarinet:

Project 2: Der Ring des Nibelungen

„The Ring“is a musical drama consisting of four operas, which’s whole length would take up to around 16 hours. The four parts are called “Das Rheingold” (The Rhinegold); “Die Walküre” (The Valkyie);” Siegfried”; and “Götterdämmerung” (Twilight of the Gods). For the orchestration Wagner even had a few instruments built particularly for this piece. ¹

-General Background to the work

Apparently, Wagner first came to the idea of writing “Der Ring des Nibelungen” when he was reading the myth about the plot in Joacob Grimms’ “Deutsche Mythologie” (=German mythology). These stories were based on the legend of the Nibelung. Apart from this legend, Wagner also included another, northern myths collection, but he changed a few characters and motifs.

In 1848 he began to write the text for the drama and finished it five years later. Nevertheless, it took him until the end of 1874 to finish writing the music for it. Wagner created this massive piece as a new form of the romantic opera, which connects not only the art of music, but also text, acting, scenery and costumes. ¹′²

The whole plot is incredibly ramifiedand in my personal opinion quite confusing. At the beginning of the plot, the “Nibelung” Alberich steals the so called “Rheingold” (=Rhinegold) from the river Rhine, which has the power to controleverything, and forgesa ring from it. In order to get the gold, he has to pay the price of not being allowed to fall in love anymore.

In the meantime, the God Wotan seems to be having a completely different problem: He asks the giants “Fafner” and “Fasolt” to build a castlefor him, in return he promises to give them the Goddess “Freia”. But Wotan changes his mind in the end and wants to pay the Giants by giving them Alberich’s ring. The god steals the ring, onto which Alberich curses it. The curse seems to work, and shortly after receiving the ring, Fafner kills his brother.

Years later a new person joins the story: Siegfried, who was brought up by Alberichs’ brother and doesn’t know, that he is part of Wotans plan to get rid of the rings’ curse. He (Siegfried) kills Fafner, who has transformed into a dragon takes the ring. He falls in love with a girl called Brünnhilde, and offers her the ring as a sign of his affection, but Alberichs’ son “Hagen” gets Siegfried to drink a magical potion, which makes him forget Brünhilde, and he falls in love with another gilr called Gutrune. Therefore, he takes Brünnhildes ring back again, whereupon she tells Hagen his weakness. Hagen kills Siegfried, who was able to think clear again within his last minutes and remembers that he loves Brünnhilde. She has built up a pyre and troughs herself into the flames as her beloved is about to die.

After Alberichs death the daughters of the Rhine come out of the river and take their ring back. The curse is reversed due to Brünnhilds’ love to Alberich, but the flames of the pyre also reaches Wallhall, the residenceof the Gods. A new era starts. ^2,3,4

The whole piece involves around 30 actors, some of the main roles are the following: The cast of the first three cycles was played by: Karl Hill as Alberich; Franz Betz as Wotan; Georg Unger as Siegfried, Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde; Luise aide as Erda; Albert Niemann as Siegmund; Josephine Schesky as Sieglinde. It was conducted by Hans Richter.

The instrumentation for all four operas stay almost the same. For the first one “The Rhinegold” Wagner uses the following:

3 flutes, 1 piccolo flute, 3 oboes, 1 English horn, 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons

8 tubas (of which 2 are”Tenor- Wagnertubas” and 2 “Bass-Wagnetubas”, 4 triangles, 3 trombones, 1 contratrombone, 1 contrabasstuba

2 timpani, 1 cymbal, 1 big drum, 1 tam-tam,

6 harps

16 first violins, 16 second violins, 12 violas, 12 violoncelli, 8 contrabasses

On stage: 1 harp, 16 anvils. ⁵

I personally already had the opportunity to watch the first part of the circle “The Rhinegold” myself in Bayreuth a few years ago. The music was really amazing, the whole atmosphere, size of the concert hall and orchestra, the stage set, it was just a really breath-taking experience. Nevertheless, I wasn’t informed about the plot of the play and even though my first language is German I found it really difficult to understand the text and therefore could hardly follow the plot. In addition to that, as already mentioned earlier, I find the order of the plot generally a bit chaotic, even though I read through the text.

I found a recording of the other three parts of the drama, and watched them throughout a whole week whilst taking notes. Unfortunately, all of them where from another location with a different set of actors. This of course, had the advantage, that I saw how different the scenery and costumes can be interpreted, but on the other side, it led to even more confusion about the characters and the plot.

Even though I was amazed by the length of the piece and the amount of characters involved, I had to make pauses quite often in order to stay focused. Knowing, that Wagner always went into the extreme with his pieces I expected this piece, which took him over 25 years to write to be astonishing. But for my personal liking nevertheless, terribly long. It was still interesting to see in which ways he used his leitmotifs. Often, he introduces new scenes with a long intro, which involves (in a hidden way, and woven into one-another) most of the motifs which follow in the corresponding scene. Furthermore, I noticed, that the leitmotifs, which are linked to a character or an object are (except for minor changes) the same throughout all of the four operas.

Apart from the few negative things I mentioned before, I found in incredibly interesting to learn something about this massive piece. I was surprised to notice that some of the motifs are still now often used in the media industry for example “Ride of the Valkyries”.

(1) Neumyer, I. (2018). Der Ring des Nibelungen-Wagners Hauptwerk. [online] Planet Wissen. Available at: https://www.planet-wissen.de/geschichte/persoenlichkeiten/richard_wagner/pwiederringdesnibelungenwagnershauptwerk100.html [Accessed: 5 Jul. 2019]

(2)Frank, M. (2013). Das böse liebt Geld. Zeit online (newspaper) [online] p.1-2. Available at: https://www.zeit.de/2013/21/richard-wagner-ring-des-nibelungen. [Accessed: 5 Jul. 2019]

(3) Richard Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen – Vortragsseminar von Hanskarl Kölsch mit Musikbeispielen. 1st ed. [pdf] Munich. Available at: http://www.hk-koelsch.de/V101031.pdf [Accessed: 4 Jul. 2019]

(4) Sadie, S and Macy, L. (2008). The Grove book of Operas. 2nd ed. [ebook]. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www-oxfordreference-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780195309072.001.0001/acref-9780195309072-e-216 [Accessed: 4 Jul. 2019]

(5)Bayreuth.Bayern-online.de (2016). Das Orchester de Oper Das Rheingold – Wagner. [online]. Available at: https://bayreuth.bayern-online.de/die-stadt/kultur/richard-wagner-festspiele/wagnerportal/wissen/opern/der-ring-des-nibelungen/das-rheingold/orchester/ [Accessed: 4 Jul. 2019]

Project 3: Exploring Chromatism

This project included the task for me to write three different ornamented versions of the following melody written for the piano:

The ornamented versions are the following:

I was furthermore encouraged to add four bars of my own to the piece and put ornaments in it again. The basic melody is the following, after which the ornamented version can be seen:

Research Points

The orchestral score

I was asked to create a list of instrument names in other languages, whenever I see new ones within my studies. I will, in addition to keeping a hand written vocabulary book, come back to this page to add new content. The first ones are from Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan” in the following order:

German:

Große Flöte	large flute
Piccolo	piccolo (flute)
Oboe	oboe
Englisch Horn	English horn
Klarinette	clarinett
Fagott	bassoon
Contrafagott	contrabassoon
Hörner	horns
Trompeten in E	trumoet in e
Posaune	trombone
Pauken	timpani
Triangel	triangle
Becken	cymbals
Glockenspiel	chimes (Glockenspiel)
Harfe	harp
Violine	violin
Viola	viola
Violoncello	Violoncello (cello)
Basso (Kontrabass)	contrabass

Italian

Flauti (Flauto)	flute
Oboi (Oboe)	oboe
Clarinetti (Clarinetto)	clarinet
Corni (Corno)	horn
Fagotti	bassoon
Trombone	trombone
Cornetti (Cornetto)	Cornett/Cornetto/ Corneta Renacentista
Tromboni (Trombone)	trombone
Timpani	timpani
Triangolo	triangle
Arpa	harp
Viola Solo.	(solo)-viola
Violino	violin
Viola	viola
Violoncello	violoncello
Contrabasso	contrabass

Harold en Italie

For this research point I was asked to listen to the Symphony “Harold en Italie” , by the French composer Hector Berloiz.

I found a score of the piece on the Petrucci Music Library, which can be found under the following link: https://imslp.org/wiki/Harold_en_Italie%2C_H_68_(Berlioz%2C_Hector)

Even though the title „ Harold en Italie, Symphonie en quatre partes avec un Alto principal, Op 16“ and the composer „Hector Berloiz“ are French, the names of the instruments are in Italian, fitting to the title of the piece. It takes about 40 minutes and is written for an instrumental orchestra with one solo instrument, a viola. The pace is given as: One quaver note =76 (adagio).

The composition is divided into four parts, which are similar to the four movements a symphony normally has, with the difference that these ones always resemble a certain scene. The separate parts are called :

“Harold aux montagnes. Scènes de mélancolie, de bonheur et de joie” (=Harold in the mountains, scnenes of melancholy, luck and joy)
“Marche des pèlerins chantant la prière du soir” (= March of the pilgrims, which sing the evening prayer)
Sérénade d’un montagnard des Abruzzes à sa maîtresse (=Evening song from a mountaineer to his beloved one)
Orgie de Brigands. Souvenirs de scènes précédentes (=Feast of the bandits, reminder of bygone scenes)

Whilst having a look at those parts in detail I found the following aspects:

The first movement of the piece seems to consist of several independent sounding parts, which are well connected with one another. Berloiz mainly uses chromatic movements for the cello and contrabass to create tension (and a picture of big mountains), he also creates waves between the dynamics. The Solo-viola part only has its entry quite late, but with a sudden change of character, much calmer than the previous introduction. A theme, or clear “motif” can be heard from the viola, firstly only accompanied by the harp, but the rest of the orchestra slowly comes back again as well.
At the beginning of this movement one can notice a long crescendo, which probably refers to a pilgrimage coming nearer. This theme nonetheless, ends after a while and is replaced by another one. After a while one can hear the solo viola again playing a new motif consisting of arpeggios, followed by a decrescendo from the orchestra, which probably indicates that the pilgrims continue their journey.
It seems like Berloiz worked with contrapuntal themes for this movement. Having the in the title mentioned warm “Evening song” sometimes working with, and sometimes working more against the theme of the viola. The pace seems to vary but the piece nevertheless stays fluent.
This movement starts with a long introduction, which includes a few motifs from the former movements, played by the viola. It seems as if the single phrases were always interrupted by a theme, that comes at the very end.

I generally quite enjoyed listening to this symphony. For the time it was written in, it seemed to have a modern character, especially because one could clearly hear a story being told by the music. I would say, that the viola probably resembles Harold, his experiences and emotions as he travels through Italy. I found it interesting to see, that Berloiz seemed to work with Leitmotifs (Themes which are linked to a character or object), even though they were only officially used later on in the musical history. Generally, Beloiz managed it quite well to put this story into a musical piece, even though, I’m not convinced that if one were only given the title of the piece (no subtitles to the movements), whether one would still be able to recognise the different parts of the story. Nevertheless, I especially enjoyed the second movement, because for this one could quite clearly notice what Berloiz was trying to say with the music.

Music and Globalisation

The term “globalisation” generally describes the intregration of markets worldwide. In a coherence with music, one could therefore see it as: How was/ or is music distributed from around the world. ¹

A few centuries ago,composers of new music usually stayed within the musical ranges of their cultural circle. Due to globalisation, one can now hear Arabic music as often as Indian Ragas or Rhythms from Africa. Musical globalisation hasn’t only been around for the last few years. The influences between music from different cultures already existed a few decades ago. For example, the folk-musicfrom Switzerland was influenced by Jazz and Rock’n’Roll for the first time in the 1950’s by the USA. These music-genres, anondeveloped, among other countries as well,in Africa. ^2,3,4

The oldest way of “transporting” music, is the movement of people. Around the globe, there were and still are always people travelling. Whenever someone travels, they usually take a part (or most) of their culture with them and therefore their music as well. It is often the case, that, they cause minor changes in the musical style of the new culture and vice versa.

Another, more modern cause of musical globalisation, is the digital production of music. This causes changes in the musical tastes of people and has the advantage that it often doesn’t even have to be performed by someone, which makes it easier to produce it. On the other hand, one could see exactly that (having no one to perform it) as a downside. ⁵

One can also obviously say, that globalisation, not only concerning music, but any other subject as well, has increased due to modern technology. In addition to that it where especially the following things, which made a major change to musical globalisation:

The record-industryis controlled by a few important companiesfrom the USA, Japan and Western-Europe. It is those companies, who decide, what is being published on CDs and what isn’t.
The music made in the USA became more and more a touchstonefor nearly the entire world.
Worldwide, it has become possible, to download any kind of music from a computer ( ofteneven illegally). ²
Streaming devices give anyone the opportunity to share their music with the rest of the world.
With the possibility of live-streaming people from all around the world have the possibility to watch one single performance online. ⁶

Through my research about this subject there was one term “Worlmusic” which I saw more than once. This term is often discussed because it generally describes either (suitable to the name) all the music being written and played around the world or all the non-Western sounding music. It can furthermore be described as the “mixed” music, mentioned earlier, which can occur when two cultures clash with one another, this kind of music is often quite colourful and probably to anyone rather unusually sounding. ^7,8

(1) Economics online. (2018). Globalisation. [online]. Available at: https://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Globalisation_introduction.html [Accessed: 5.Jul.2019]

(2)Globalisierung der Musik. (2016). 1st ed. [doc]. Available at: https://www.swisseduc.ch/allgemeinbildung/globalisierung/docs/musikkultur.pdf [Accessed: 6.Jul.2019]

(3) Walshe, J. (2006). Was hat die Globalisierung aus der Musik gemacht ? (Zeit online),[online]. Available at: https://www.zeit.de/2006/18/KS-Komp__Walsh [Accessed: 6.Jul.2019]

(4) Romanou, K. (2015). Globalisation and Western Music Historiography. Crypus. pp. 9-12. [online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304419832_Globalisation_and_western_music_historiography [Accessed: 7.Jul.2019]

(5) Letts, R. (2003). The Effects of Globalisation on music in Five Contrasting Countries. [pdf]. Australia: Music Council of Australia: pp. 1-5. Available at: http://www.imc-cim.org/mmap/pdf/int-dl-finrep-brief-e.pdf [Accessed: 7.Jul.2019]

(6) Teyland. (2017). Globalisation in the Music industry. [online]. Available at: https://de.slideshare.net/Teyland/globalization-in-the-music-industry [Accessed: 7.Jul.2019]

(7) J.A (2015). Erklär’s mir: Was ist Weltmusik ?. [online] Available at: https://www.badische-zeitung.de/erklaer-s-mir-was-ist-weltmusik–100723781.html [Accessed: 7.Jul. 2019]

(8) Lunsqui, A. (2012) Music and Globalization: Diversity, Banalization and Culturalization. [online]. Available at: http://revues.mshparisnord.org/filigrane/index.php?id=161 [Accessed: 7.Jul.2019]

Performance Practice – Part 1

For this research point, I had the task to do some research about performance practice as well as musical interpretation:

In the Oxford Dictionary of Music, the term „performance practice “is described as the following:

The way in which music is performed, especially as it relates to the quest for the ‘authentic’ style of performing the music of previous generations and eras. Its study covers notation, ornamentation, instruments, voice production, tuning and pitch, and the size of ensembles and choruses. (Kennedy, Rutherford; 2013)

In order to play a piece historically correct and as the composer had it in mind, performers should first of all know about the era it comes from. The version of the instrument as well as performance directions should be considered. For example, one of the earlier versions of the piano, the harpsichord, wasn’t able to produce huge dynamic variations but had a high range in pitch. Therefore, there are hardly any dynamic changes given from pieces of this era or earlier.¹

The older the music, the more difficult it becomes to read scores, not only because fewer scores still exist, but also because performance directions only just developed over time and were virtually non-existent before that.²

Another difficult aspect of performance practice is probably also the use of historical instruments. Almost every instrument has gone through some sort of change throughout the last few centuries, which, in most cases, also affected the sound they made. Therefore, some industries tried to rebuild the “starter”-versions of instruments, to bring back the original sound.³

The meaning of musical interpretation has gone through slight changes over the last few decades. Within the first 100 years of musicology, it was primarily seen as a philological study of texts, history and musical analysis. By now, especially within the last 25 years, the practical side of performing a piece has become a study-term itself, but is still seen together with the other terms named under “musical interpretation“.⁴

When it comes to the musical interpretation of a piece, it is suggested to follow the following things; Despite following all the rules, a performer can still make a composition to a unique piece of art, by making small adaptions towards their own liking. It is nonetheless still important to understand what the composer wanted to express with his music, this can also depend on the time era a piece was written in.⁵

Despite the fact, that we have all this knowledge about performance, interpretation and former instruments it is still a question of whether one shouldn’t perform it differently in any case. It obviously makes sense to stay as close as possible to what the composer had in mind. On the other hand, is it the audience which really makes the music of today, one could interpret a big piece in a slightly different way than the original and therefore just make it a bit more interesting. In addition to that, it is impossible to tell, how music, from the Baroque era was actually performed.⁶

(1) Hsueh, S. (2017). Understanding Style: A Practical Application of Historical Performance Practice. [ebook] Illinois: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, pp.1-3. Available at: https://search-proquest-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/docview/1914683810?accountid=14178&pq-origsite=summon [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].

(2) Seedorf, T. (2019). HISTORISCHE AUFFÜHRUNGSPRAXIS – EINST UND HEUTE [online] Goethe Institut. Aailable at: https://www.goethe.de/de/kul/mus/gen/alt/7999415.html [Accessed: 9 Jul.2019]

(3) Hinrichs, C. (2012). Das Ende der Alten Musik. Rondo Magazin. p. 3.

(4) Hinrichsen HJ. (2013) Musikalische Interpretation und Interpretationsgeschichte. In: Calella M., Urbanek N. (eds) Historische Musikwissenschaft. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-476-05348-0_9 [Accessed: 10.Jul.2019]

(5) Silverman, M. (2008). Musical interpretation: philosophical and practical
issues. [pdf]. New York University: USA. pp: 17,18. Available at: http://www.marissasilverman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/M.-Silverman-IJME.pdf [Accessed: 10.Jul.2019]

(6) Hinrichs, C. (2012). Das Ende der Alten Musik. Rondo Magazin. p. 4.

Performance practice – Part 2

For the following research point, I was asked to compare five different interpretations of Chopin’s Nocturne Op.9 No. 3 in B-Major. To the piece itself: It has a simple A-B-A’ form and, suitable to the chapter of this course, chromatic movement is often used. The A parts a generally a bit calmer and one can clearly notice the main voice in the right hand. The B parts tend to be a bit wilder, and due to some chords, which are being played by the right hand alongside with the melody it’s sometimes difficult to define where the main voice is.

I listened to the versions of the piece from the following five performers:

Arthur Rubenstein: He added many rubati (the first one already in the third bar) which weren’t stated in the score. He seemed to be using them in waves, but always fitting really well. In terms of dynamics he generally stayed rather quiet, even at small crescendo parts, he only got louder for crescendos which went over more than three bars. Within the B-part of the piece he pays more attention to Chopin’s performance directions (concerning dynamics and delays such as fermatas and ritardandos. Compared to all the other performers, I would say Rubenstein managed the B-part in the best way, the chords which are played by the right hand alongside with the melody are barely noticeable. The time it takes him to play the piece is around 6:50.

Jenny Linn: She played much generally much louder and stronger than any of the other performers. Therefore, one can barely notice a difference where Chopin added Crescendos. Within the A-parts, the only moments were she gets quieter is for longer ornaments. She mainly stays in the same pace (except for fermatas) and therefore doesn’t add many rubati. For the B-part the left-hand chords are being played rather loudly, therefore the melody is not really recognisable. On the other hand, she seems to be adding more dynamic changes for this part. It took her about 6 minutes and 40 seconds to play it.

Garrick Ohlson: Generelly much quieter but he varies a lot between dynamics. He includes a few rubati but they’re barely noticeable. Whilst playing ornaments, even really long ones, he seems to stay within the same time, which one can notice by listening to the left hand part. Fort he B.part the right hand chords seem to be more penetrating than Rubenstein’s version, but one can still hear the melody. Due to Ohlson not adding any delays for ornaments it only takes him 5:40 to play. Because of the strong dynamic changes, the strong B-part and the pace I personally would say, that from all the interpretations I liked this one most.

Elisabeth Lenskaja: Her playing technique is rather soft, but not as quiet as indicated. She also often adds crescendos which aren’t statedbut it makes the piece sound more vivid. For the longer ornaments she adds perceivablerubati and sometimes smaller once for other parts of the piece. Her fermatas are extremely long. For the B-part the chords stay in the background and dynamic changes vary more. For the last two bars she stretches the ritardando enormously. Due to all those delays it takes Lenskaia around / minutes and 30 seconds.

Maurizio Pollini: Even though there’s a pace given fort he score (One bar = 66), Pollini plays it incredibly fast. Similar to Lenskaja, he adds his own small crescendos, the longer, indicated ones, are strongly emphasized. Furthermore, he mainly stays within the same pace even for longer ornaments. He seems to even increase the pace for the B-part, but therefore did’t manage to emphasizethe music properly. Like for Ohlson’s version, one can barely notice a difference in pace when it comes to ornaments or fermatas. It takes him about the same time as Ohlson.

It surprised me in how many different ways one piece can be interpreted. Even though there were many performance directions given, all of the performers either added a few more, ignored others, or both. Being a pianist myself I wondered whether I would follow all the directions given if I had to perform the piece. After playing a few bars, I came to the conclusion, that would probably add some dynamic changes as well, probably more impulsive, whilst playing, rather than purposely.

Listening Log

Clara Schumann – Piano Trio

This piece for a violin, cello and a piano was written in 1846 by Clara Schumann (1819-1896) and probably had its first publication in 1847. The key is G-minor and it takes about 30 minutes for the four movements: Allegro moderato; Scherzo. Tempo di menuetto – Trio; Andante; Allegretto. ¹

The version I listened to was performed by Anna Kalandarishvili on the violin, Bridget MacRae on the cello and Masako Otha on the piano, it was recorded in Munich on the 19^th of February 2016.

The first movement is the longest one. The music is generally really calm, often involves chromatism and echoing themes. Even though all the instruments seem to be equally important, they all have at least one solo, whilst the remaining instruments fill the background.

The second movement can be divided into three parts: One, more funny sounding one, probably a scherzo, a more dramatic sounding slower theme in the centre and is finished by a scherzo theme again.

For the third movement a long piano introduction is put in front of the movement. The melody played is shortly after taken over by the violin and it takes another short period of time until the cello makes an entrance as well. This part of the piece seems to be the most emotional one. Unlike the two previous ones, a melody can always be heard clearly.

The fourth and last movement is similar to the very first one, but towards the end it seems to be really difficult to find.

I generally really enjoyed listening to this piece, but the movement I liked most was definitely the third. The way the melody is passed on from one instrument to another one I found particularly interesting. I was also surprised by the piccicato for the cello and violin, which created a nice change at the end of the movement.

¹IMSLP-Perucci music library, Piano Trio n G minor, Op. 17 (Clara Schumann) [online]. Available at: https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Trio_in_G_minor,_Op.17_(Schumann,_Clara) [Accessed 21.08.2019]

Die schöne Müllerin – Franz Schubert

„Die schöne Müllerin “is a lieder cycle involving 20 lieder telling a story of a young miller who is unhappily in love with a girl. Unfortunately, she is unaware of his feelings and chooses to be with a hunter instead, whereupon the miller kills himself.¹

The recording I listened to is from 1957, with Ritz Wunderlich singing and Kurt Heinz Stolze on the piano.

The whole cycle takes up about an hour. All the parts are for one voice and piano accompaniment.

Das Wandern (To Wander)

Generally, the miller is singing about how much he enjoys wandering, he compares himself to a stream (always travelling) and rocks (never moving).

The first lied has a cheery tune, involves 5 stanzas, which always have the same structure.

Wohin? (Whither)

This part is slightly calmer, some sequences seem to become slightly more dramatic. The story continues with the miller going along a stream and/or asking it in which direction to go.

Halt! (Stay)

The miller takes a break from his journey to look at a mill from distance, he enjoys the view as the sun shines onto it and spots a woman, who he instantly falls in love with.

After a long piano intro, with a theme which stays the same until the end of this lied, the voice starts, adapting to the piano part. Even though the stream is rarely mentioned in this part, the voice of the piano seems to represent one.

Danksagung an den Bach (Thanks to the Brook)

In the fourth poem the protagonist gives thanks to the stream for leading him to the mill, he wonders whether the stream was sent out to find him.

This part was the calmest and most emotional one so far, really slow. Listening to it, one really gets the feeling as if the miller was incredibly thankful to have found the woman. The lied includes two stanzas, which are quite similar to one another. One difference can nevertheless be noticed as the second stanza starts in minor instead of major, but after a short while it modulates back to a major key-signature.

Am Feierabend (The Hour of Rest)

Whilst the day comes to an end, the miller starts to become tired. He seems to be complaining a bit that he doesn’t have any energy left and claims that he would do much more if he had any strength left.

This lied includes several different characters. Starting with a strong piano intro, just playing forte minor chords, it quickly modulates to something cheerier sounding as soon as the voice starts singing. In the centre of the piece the music suddenly becomes really slow and calm, fitting to the title. Rather suddenly Schubert jumps to a forte for both voices again.

Der Neugierige (The Eager Questioner)

In this poem the miller is wondering whether his feelings are reflected by the lady.

This slightly longer piece is overall really calm there are two different kind of stanzas Schubert includes but generally it stays quite monotonous.

Ungeduld (Impatience)

This part is a bit longer than the previous ones. The miller now starts to wonder if the woman is even aware of his feelings. He complains, that it should actually be obvious to anyone, that he’s deeply in love.

Suitable to the title the piano introduces with an urging theme, which the voice adapts to and is being kept until the end of the lied. Whenever a phrase “Dein ist mein Herz” (=My heart belongs to you) the music becomes louder and slightly more dramatic.

Morgengruß (Good Morning)

I found it difficult to interpret this part of the poem properly. The miller either went up to the lady to greet her, or he imagines doing so. In the end he watches her from the distance, sees her crying and speculates about what might be worrying her.

Making a huge contrast to the previous part, this one presents an incredibly slow theme, which is only “spiced up” by the sometimes occurring staccato-movements by the piano.

Des Müllers Blumen (The Miller’s flowers)

In this part he talks about how he could pick flowers near the stream and plant them beneath her windowsill, so that she would have something nice to look at when waking up.

A calm character again, a rather long piano solo opens the lied. The dynamic overall stays the same. In terms of structure there are four stanzas, always sung with the same melody, whilst the piano intro is played in between them.

Tränenregen (Shower of tears)

He managed to persuade the “millers-girl” to come out but just as they’re having a romantic moment, she leaves him.

This part is quite similar to the previous one, with a calm character and barely changing melodies for the sung stanzas, always separated by a short theme played on the piano. The only difference in dynamic and mood makes the very last stanza, which is in minor and starts much louder than the previous ones.

Mein! (Mine)

He doesn’t understand the rejection and claims, that the lady belongs to him and shouldn’t see anyone else.

Schubert introduces this part with an urgent theme, sounding slightly impatient. The piano as well as the singing voice are performing very fast. One can notice that there’s an accent any time the singer comes across the word “mine”.

Pause (Interlude)

This part of the piece has had the longest piano intro so far, fitting to the title, the music is really slow. As the second part of the lied starts, Schubert often modulates between forte and piano parts. The only thing, which seems to be memorable is the movement of the piano, which always plays the same motif in varied ways.

Mit dem grünen Lautenbande (With the Green Lute-riband)

The end of „Pause“ seems to be well connected by the piano. The character is much brighter but the music is nevertheless staying calm.

Der Jäger (The Hunter)

Even though it’s one of the shortest poems of the cycle, the emotions the miller is confronted with are clear to understand. The singer lets the audience know that he’s upset, even ready to confront his opponent. (The hunter)

Eifersucht und Stolz (Jealousy and pride)

Not surprisingly, this part is similar to the previous one, almost aggressive sounding. There are only a few moments which are in piano.

Die liebe Farbe (The Favourite colour)

This part is in minor. It consists of three stanzas, anytime something is sung the piano doesn’t only accompany but also play the melody alongside the singing voice.

The miller starts singing about the colour green, which reflects the hunter and is therefore the “millers-maid” favourite colour. He realises, that the lady seems to be enjoying the hunter’s company.

Die böse Farbe (The Hated colour)

A lied in minor as well, nevertheless slightly more aggressive than the previous one.

The protagonist sings about the exact same colour, only from his point of few this time. As he is really jealous of the hunter he obviously describes “green” as an awful colour.

Trockene Blumen (Withered Flowers)

This part is really slow and sad sounding again. For the first two stanzas the piano only accompanies with slow played chords, at the end of every stanza it echoes the three notes from the singing voice. The second two stanzas are slightly different; the piano sometimes plays another melody along with the singer and ends the piece with a long outro.

Der Müller und der Bach (The Miller and the Brook)

The character is similar to the previous one. A sudden mood change gives the piece an interesting change, as if the miller had found something good in killing himself. At the end of the lied, Schubert comes back to the first theme. The piano finishes again with a long outro. This is one of the most emotional parts of the piece, not only in terms of music but also in terms of the plot.

Des Baches Wiegenlied (The Brook’s Lullaby)

This part is the only part which is not sung by the miller but by the stream.

Working really well with dynamics and mostly chords for the piano the stream is reflected really well. Unlike the interpretation of it at the beginning, it is now flowing much slower and calmer. There are several stanzas which are always performed in a similar way, the only difference probably makes the slightly louder verse as the very last stanza is played.

Even though Schubert’s music isn’t my personal favourite, I generally enjoyed listen to this piece, mainly to follow the story. What I really liked (as a German native) about this lied-cycle, is that the text was easy to understand, which is not often the case, especially with Romantic music. Even though most of the piece sounded like a classical “Schubert-style” I had the feeling that he involved other stylistic techniques from other musical periods as well; for example, n. 14 (“Der Jäger”) sounded similar to something Bach could have written.

¹Küllmer, E. Schuberts “Die schöne Müllerin“. [online] WDR. Available at: https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr3/musik/wdr3-werkbetrachtungen/werkbetrachtung-franz-schubert-schoene-muellerin-100.html [Accessed 20.08.2018]

Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 – Johannes Brahms

This symphony, written by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), was composed around 1885, it had its first performance in Meingen, Germany. It takes about 40 minutes and is traditionally separated in 4 movements.

The instrumentation includes 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, triangle and strings. ¹

I listened (and watched) a recording from the Proms in London 2011, the piece was conducted by Bernhard Haitink and performed by the “Chamber Orchestra of Europe”.

1: Allegro non troppo (E-minor)

The motif of the first theme consist of a sequel of downwards going thirds and upwards going sixths. This theme is being held throughout the whole symphony in varied ways. Brahms tried to follow the rules of the traditional sonata form, involving Exposition; Development and Recapitulation of the theme. The only thing that changes, is the Development, which starts in the tonic instead of another, to the tonic related key. Furthermore, one can notice question-answer motifs as well as arpeggios for the stings, which give the intention of a flowing “wavy” melody.

2: Andante moderato (E-major)

The second movement is more melancholic sounding. Before the main theme starts, an introduction is made by the oboe and horn, giving away the slow steady pace of the movement. After a second, more vivid theme is being presented, both themes are woven into one another at the end of the movement with more expression.

3: Allegro giocose (C- major)

The scherzo theme comes rather unexpected. Brahms presents a much cheerier sounding theme, creating a huge contrast to the previous two movements. Again, its separated into two themes, the second one being a bit calmer than the first one this time.

4: Allegro energico e passionate (E-minor)

The last movement is incredibly emotional, dark themed and in a minor key (e-minor = tonic of the piece) again. Its seems that one theme is varied in many ways. The very last alteration seems to contain the strongest, deepest emotions of the whole symphony. I personally would have expected that Brahms might modulate back to a major key, but he stayed in minor throughout the whole movement.

Overall I found it rather difficult to concentrate listening to this piece, which ironically indicates, that I really enjoyed it; through the flowing themes, which were mostly woven in within one another, I felt really relaxed listening to it. In the end I had to play it twice to make all the notes from above about it. Furthermore, I would consider the third movement as my favourite, even though I usually prefer pieces in minor, but I thought it made a nice contrast to the rest of the piece.

¹IMSLP-Perucci music library, Symphony No.4, Op. 98 (Brahms, Johannes) [online]. Available at: https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4,_Op.98_(Brahms,_Johannes) [Accessed: 20.08.2019]

Chopin Nocturnes

Between 1827 and 1846 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) wrote 21 “nocturnes” (A composition that suggest a nocturnal atmosphere…An expressive melody in the right hand is accompanied in the left by broken chords – Kennedy, M; Kennedy, J and Rutherford Johnson, T (2013)). ¹

Out of the 21 nocturnes I found seven particularly lovely to listen to: Op. 9 No. 1; Op. 9 No. 2; Op. 37 No. 1; Op. 37 No. 2; Op. 55 No. 1; Op. 72 No. 1 and P 1 No. 16.

I listened to recordings from different people to hear different interpretations, one person I often came across with was Arthur Rubinstein.

I would have found it difficult to describe the nocturnes in detail, seeing that they’re in terms of structure and character all quite similar to one another.

Generally, Chopin’s’ Nocturnes are incredibly eclectic. The melodies for the right hand are usually the centre of the piece, whilst the left hand plays some arpeggios, or other versions of a chord-partition. As most of his other pieces, Chopin’s Nocturnes are written for the piano only. Furthermore, I noticed that most of the pieces are in an A-B-A form.

I personally count Chopin as one of my favourite composers. As a pianist I already had the opportunity to play a few of Chopin’s Nocturnes; His first one (Op. 9 No. 1), the second one (Op. 9 No. 2) and Op. 55 No. 1. Whilst listening to all of them again, I repentantly came to the opinion that it is incredible how much passion and emotion one can put in one short of piece of music which is also just written for one instrument. I certainly enjoyed both: playing and listening, presumably because of the relaxing atmosphere.

¹IMSLP-Perucci music library, Nocturnes (Chopin, Frederic) [online]. Available at: https://imslp.org/wiki/Nocturnes_(Chopin%2C_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric) [Accessed: 23.08.2019]

Paganini- 24 Caprices for Solo Violin

As well as for Chopin’s Nocturnes I didn’t always stay with the same performer for all 24 caprices, but always tried to look for someone new, to have a variety in performances.

This collection of short violin pieces, written by Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), were composed from 1802 to 1817 and published in 1819.¹All of the 24 pieces are musically and technically (for the instrument/ performer) incredibly sophisticated. Their key signatures and terms are the following:

Caprice in E major ‘L’Arpeggio’: Andante
Caprice in B minor: Moderato
Caprice in E minor: Sostenuto – Presto – Sostenuto
Caprice in C minor: Maestoso
Caprice in A minor: Agitato
Caprice in G minor ‘The Trill’: Lento
Caprice in A minor: Posato
Caprice in E-flat major: Maestoso
Caprice in E major ‘La chasse’: Allegretto
Caprice in G minor: Vivace
Caprice in C major: Andante – Presto – Andante
Caprice in A-flat major: Allegro
Caprice in B-flat major ‘Devil’s Laughter’: Allegro
Caprice in E-flat major: Moderato
Caprice in E minor: Posato
Caprice in G minor: Presto
Caprice in E-flat major: Sostenuto – Andante
Caprice in C major: Corrente – Allegro
Caprice in E-flat major: Lento – Allegro Assai
Caprice in D major: Allegretto
Caprice in A major: Amoroso – Presto
Caprice in F major: Marcato
Caprice in E-flat major: Posato
Caprice in A minor: Tema con Variazioni (Quasi Presto)

After having listened to all of them I picked out a few I enjoyed most listening to:

Caprice in B minor: Moderato

What I liked about this Caprice is, that it has a very classical character. Paganini alters between very high and very low notes. Even though the high notes, which also create the melody of the piece, are sometimes played in thirds, low and high ones are never played together. The deep tones create the bass. In very few occasions, for example at the end of the first theme or the end of the piece, there’s a short passage where only the melody can be heard.

Caprice in C minor: Maestoso

With around 6:30 minutes, this is one of the longest pieces from this collection. Apart from a few exceptional moments, the piece is for two voices, being woven into one another. The first few bars have a slow and dramatic character, which suddenly jumps to a staccato movement, creating a new theme. The melody of this second theme only develops slowly. Rather smoothly Paganini comes back to the first theme, only to jump back to another quick staccato theme, which is slightly different this time and finishes the piece.

Caprice in A minor: Agitato

The piece starts in quick legato waves, reaching incredibly high and low notes, before it continues in staccato, also playing scales up and down incredibly quickly. In the end the music comes back to a legato movement, always emphasising the highest played tone. Except for the chord at the end all notes are played on their own.

Caprice in G minor ‘The Trill’: Lento

This was the first caprice where I got wittingly noticed dynamic changes. It starts and ends in piano, becoming louder towards the middle. The whole piece contains thrills played all the way through, which gives it an ‘insecure’ character. Nevertheless, the constant flow of a sad melody played above the thrills kept me hooked to it.

Caprice in A minor: Posato

The melody of this caprice is clearly defined. Starting in legato, high pitched and in octaves, creating a strong sound. After s short into, one can hear staccato scales moving down which ‘interrupt’ the melody, creating a nice contrast. Towards the end there’s a long run of staccato notes moving in waves, before the piece comes back to its second, and lastly to its first theme.

Caprice in A minor: Posato

I chose this piece because with its medieval character it seemed somehow familiar. First starting with a solemnly melody, which is repeated slightly altered and lower pitched right after. To this theme all the emphasised notes are for two voices, mostly with another harmonic note under the melody. The middle part consists of an alteration of high/low and staccato/legato theme, which sometimes include parts of the main theme. In the end Paganini comes back to the initial solemnly motif.

Caprice in C major: Andante – Presto – Andante

This piece starts with chords being played, always followed by the continuation of a soft, slow melody. This motif is repeated before the centre part starts, which is contrary to the previous one; Again, Paganini uses a mixture of high/low, staccato and legato notes, before coming back to the first theme.

Caprice in E-flat major: Moderato

This caprice starts with a melody creating a “fanfare-like” sound, and therefore has quite a heroic character. I had the intention, that this starting theme is pulled through the whole piece, apart from a few exceptional moments when the violin was playing a short solo theme in between two different “fanfare-parts”.

Caprice in E-flat major: Sostenuto – Andante

This piece a an A-B-A form. Similar to no ??? this caprice generally has a very classical character. One might initially have the feeling, that the melody needs a bit of accompaniment. The melody mainly consists of scales going down interrupted by five or less longer, deep pitched notes. The short middle part of the piece is constructed by arpeggios moving in waves, always emphasizing the very high and very low notes. At the end it comes back to a slightly altered first theme.

Caprice in E-flat major: Lento – Allegro Assai

After a short intro by four notes being repeated an octave apart, a cheery quick melody can be heard. As well as for previous pieces, the first melody is often “interrupted” by harmonically fitting low pitched notes played in thirds. The middle part s played without any rests at all and with an increased pace. At the end the violin also comes back to its initial theme.

Caprice in A major: Amoroso – Presto

A slow staring almost “singing” melody in minor, which almost takes over the whole piece. Only at the very end a difference can be noticed: Paganini jumps rather abruptly to a much faster paced theme, which doesn’t seem to have any connection to the previous theme. Instead of coming back to the A-part, the piece finishes with two short chords, which are still part of the second theme.

Even though I usually don’t prefer the sound of a solo violin to other solo string- instruments, I was really amazed about the complexity of all of those pieces. Initially I was wondering whether it would be a good idea to listen to all 24 consecutively, in case I couldn’t concentrate anymore, listening to the last few ones. I was surprised that the pieces kept me interested until I finished the last one.

¹IMSLP -Pettruci Music Library, 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.1 (Paganini, Niccolò) [online]. Available at: https://imslp.org/wiki/24_Caprices_for_Solo_Violin%2C_Op.1_(Paganini%2C_Niccol%C3%B2) [Accessed: 23.08.2019]

Tchaikovsky- The nutcracker

“The nutcracker” is a Ballet from Alexandre Dumas, based on a story by E.T.A Hoffmann, with music written by Russian composer Pjotr Iljitsch Tchaikowski (1840- 1893). It was first performed on the 18. 12.1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Tchaikovsky started working on the piece about two years before the premiere. The ballet has always been considered as a classicfor Christmas and is after over a hundred years still played regularly. Tchaikovsky uses a wide range of instruments ^1,2,3,4:

It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat), bass clarinet (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in A, B-flat), 3 trombones, tuba + 3 timpani, tambourine, triangle; cymbals + celesta, harp, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses. ⁵

I listened to only the soundtrack of “The Nutcracker”, which was recorded on the 23^rd of December 2010 in De Doelen te Rotterdam, played by the “Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orchestra.

As I found out later on, there are different interpretations of the story, the one I personally heard of first, was the following: The plot of the ballet is about a young girl, Louise, whose parents want her to get married with to the son of some (presumably wealthy) guests, coming for Christmas. Louise nevertheless, feels much more attracted to Karl, the nephew of the guests, who was invited as well. As Louise gets a nutcracker as a present from her little sister, the guests start an argument and leave the house. Shortly after Louise and her sister fall into a deep sleep. In their dreams they experience the Christmas evening in a magically changed way; The nutcracker comes to live and one of the guests, the father of Louise’s potential husband turns into an evil magician. ⁵

Some of the most famous parts of the ballet are probably the March:

⁶

And the “Danse of the Sugar-plum fairy”

⁶

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see The Nutcracker live, but listening just to the music was really interesting as well. Through my former musical education, I already knew the story of the ballet as well as a few parts of the piece. Overall I would definitely say that I enjoyed listening to it, especially because Tchaikovsky didn’t only use the ‘usual’ instruments for orchestra and therefore created a wider ranged kind of music, which of course was also emphasised through his compositional skills.

¹Bourne, J. (2013). The Oxford Dictionary of Music. (6 ed.) [online]. Oxford University Press: Available at: https://www-oxfordreference-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780199578108.001.0001/acref-9780199578108-e-6569 [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

² Kultur-fibel. Der Nussknacker. [online] Available at: http://www.kultur-fibel.de/Ballett;Der_Nussknacker,Tschaikowsky.htm [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

³ Schwarm, B. The Nutcracker-Ballet by Tchaikovsky [online] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Nutcracker [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

⁴tchaikovsky-research, (2019). The Nutcracker (suite). [online]. Available at: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Nutcracker_(suite) [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

⁵ Steinböck, I (2016). Der Nussknacker. [online]. Kultur in Essen. Available at: https://www.theater-essen.de/spielplan/a-z/der-nussknacker/ [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

⁶Tchaikovsky, P. (1892). The Nutcracker. [online] Rotterdam. Available at: https://archive.org/details/TCHAIKOVSKYNutcrackerBalletcomplete [Accessed 25.08.2019]

Farrenc – Piano trio

After having listened to several of Louise Farenc’s (1804-1875) trios my personal favourite ended up being Op.45 in e for flute, cello and piano. It was composed in 1857 and published for the first time in 1862. ¹

The piece has a duration of around 22 minutes and consists of four movements; Allegro deciso, Andante, Scherzo, Finale: Presto. ²

After a short intro, which sounds similar to a fanfare the main theme of the first movement can be heard, which has a dramatic but somehow soft, mellowcharacter. For the second movement the flute mainly plays the melody, whilst the cello and piano accompany. A contrast is created by a stormy middle section before coming back to the first theme of the movement. The third movement “Scherzo” not surprisingly has a very vivid character. The piano and flute have rather quickly played notes, arranged as scales or arpeggios, whereas the cello plays long “dark” notes, which create an interesting contrast. Later within the movement the cello takes over a high melody and is therefore accompanied by the other two instruments. For the last movement Farrenc introduces another rather vivid theme, which’s pace is increased quickly. A second theme is played near the end of the piece before it comes to an end.

¹IMSLP-Petrucci Music Library, Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano, Op.45 (Farrenc, Louise) [online]. Avilable at: https://imslp.org/wiki/Trio_for_Flute,_Cello,_and_Piano,_Op.45_(Farrenc,_Louise) [Accessed: 25.08.2019]

²Tischhauser, Andres P. (2005) Louise Farrenc’s Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano: A Critical Edition and Analysis. [PDF] Florida State University College of Music. Available at: https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:175881/datastream/PDF/view [Accessed: 25.08.2019]