DipABRSM Music Performance

Piano
11 September 2012

[1207 words]

Prelude & Fugue no. 5 in D Major, BWV 874

Prelude: Allegro trionfale, in tempo moderato
Fugue: Andante maestoso, ma con moto

J.S.Bach (1685-1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of historys most widely admired composers. Born in
Germany, he was a virtuoso organist and keyboard player, a skilled violinist, and a
prolific composer in almost every genre then current besidesexcept opera. He
regarded himself more modestly, as a conscientious craftsman doing his job to the
best of his ability.
Before writing this songpiece, Bach was fascinated by the music of Vivaldi while he
was at Weimar. He arranged several Vivaldi concertos for organ/harpsichord solo,
writing out the ornaments and reinforcing the counterpoint or adding inner voices
occasionally, which led to a change in his own style. Under Vivaldis influence of
learning to write concise themes, clarifying the harmonic scheme and developing
subjects into grandly proportioned formal structures based on the ritornello ideas, he
composed this piece.

maybe more explicitly state how arranging Vivaldis concertos influenced this
piece?
more background about this oeuvre of works the well-tempered clavier as a
whole
mention that this piece is from the well-tempered clavier right at the start.
This piece is one out of the 48 preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys
included in The Well-Tempered Clavier, which is a combination of two similar yet
separate books composed in the year 1722 and 1742 respectively.

32 variations in C minor, WoO. 80

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He plays an important role in the
shiftwas an important transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic periods
and remains as one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.
This piece was a masterly chaconne which the composer himself
unaccountably criticized upon, to the extent of declining to give it an opus
number. (sentence structure sounds weird?) It was composed around the time
when Napoleon defeated the Austrian army and took over Vienna. There,
Beethoven was disregarded for his work, and with the fact that almost all the
aristocrats he had relied on for patronage had fled the capital, Beethoven lost a
great deal of his desire and love for his work.
(how did this context influence this piece?)
Showcasing Beethovens skills in transforming simple scales, arpeggios, chords,
running notes into a whole new world of an exciting composition, the 32 variations in
C minor has a certain musical sequence, which is given as a theme for variations.
Each different yet unique variation contrasts one another grandly and brings the
listener to a whole new horizon.

Fantasiestcke Op.12 Des Abends

Aufschwung

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Schumann was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He

was known for his unsurpassable sense of harmony and key, which never
seems to desert him. Being an artistic reformer with a fine sense of beauty,
Schumann was regarded as one of the greatest and most representative
composers of the Romantic era.
try to link Schumanns background to the piece
Des Abends and Aufschwung are two out of eight pieces for piano in Schumanns
Fantasiestcke Op. 12. They were composed with the characters Florestan and
Eusebius in mind, which representing the duality of Schumanns personality.
Indicating an indication of division within his psyche, Florestan represents
Schumanns passionate side while Eusebius depicts the dreamer in him.
Both pieces were composed in the year 1837, in the middle years of Schumanns
entire lifetime. Fantasiestcke Op.12 contains 8 pieces, most of which are in ternary
form and linked by tonality. Each of the pieces has a title reflective of the fantastical
and visionary implications of the general title for the set: Fantasiestke
Des Abends means In the Evening. Meant to be played very intimately, Schumann
intended the imagery to be a gentle picture of dusk.
Aufschwung means Soaring, literally Upswing. Meant to be played very rapidly,
the piece starts off with an impactful opening by its main theme, following which is a
soft and nice-sounding second section. It is also believed to be composed at the
height of Schumanns passions.

Intermezzo in A major, op. 118 no. 2

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

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(Intermezzo. Andante teneramente)

Brahms was a German composer and pianist, also one of the leading musicians of
the Romantic period. By adopting the structures and compositional techniques
belonging to the Baroque and Classical period in his music, Brahms was often
considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. He was a student of Schumann and
similar to his teacher, Brahms had little respect for the culture of piano virtuosity. He
was a key contrast to Franz Liszt, who represented for Brahms the darker side of the
pianos popularity in the nineteenth century
The piece was composed by Brahms just five years before his death, which was to
say, during the years of a mature him. The piece was one of the twenty piano pieces
contained in four collections composed in 1892. They were rank among the most
impressive and individual accomplishments of his final years.
This piece is lyrical in character, turned inward as if addressed primarily to the
composer himself. It has the ABA form and is employed in a harmonic language and
remained relatively uniform in rhythm and texture. Instead of residing on the surface,
the life of this music is partially hidden in its inner and deeper structure.

24 Preludes Op. 11 - 8
Op. 11 - 21

Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915)

Scriabin was a Russian composer and a pianist who initially developed a lyrical tonal
language inspired by the music of Frederic Chopin. Even though his musics appeal
has diminished in the current world, Scriabins works had been popular in the early
20th century. Now, Scriabin is generally respected for his harmonic exploits and
visionary multimedia experiments.
The pieces were composed after Scriabin had made his debut as a pianist in St.
Petersburg, performing his own works to positive reviews. Scriabin admired Frederick
Chopin then, and this proof could be found in the pieces themselves, in which he had
included music in many forms that Chopin himself employed.
The 24 preludes were modeled after Chopins own set of 24 preludes, 0p. 28.
Moreover, all of the twenty-four preludes followed exactly the same key sequence as
that of Chopins. The pieces, unlike other composers works, have their own unique
phrasings. They are characterized by an impressive finesse on nuances and one has
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to read between the lines in order to understand the whole harmony that Scriabin had
so amazingly shaped.

Trois Pieces III, Toccata

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He was
born at Pariss wealthy eighth arrondissement, into a rich family which was of more
than comfortable means and artistic inclination.
Poulenc was a fan of Debussy, Ravel and Chabrier, thus people at his time expected
him to be influenced by the three composers musical styles. However, Poulenc was
widely praised for his originality in midst of a mixture of musical styles he had learnt
from a wide variety of musicians he admired. Toccata is the third piece in Trois
pieces, which is a set of three songs which represent the earliest work of Poulenc.
Toccata starts off with a rhythmic and light-hearted introduction, which is followed by
a series of dry and quick semi-quavers that start off the main melody itself. The piece
would then gradually build up its climax which would suddenly pause for a short
moment, and then move into a soft and smooth transition. In the last moment, the
piece suddenly comes to life again and continues with a sharp yet breathtaking
ending.