Arriaga - Symphony in D Major

Juan Crisostomo Arriaga (1806 - 1826) was a Spanish musical prodigy who without any regular musical studies composed an opera in 1821 when he was 15 years old.  An opera that was being performed in public no less. He finally went to the Paris Conservatory due to the generosity of some wealthy patrons in his home town that had seen his opera and recognized his talent.

Arriaga completed his studies at the Conservatory after only three years and immediately wrote three string quartets for publication. He also became an associate professor under the guidance of his teacher at the Conservatory. He wrote the Symphony in D major in 1825 while still in Paris.  It was the only symphony he wrote, and the work reflects the stylistic trends he learned about in his studies.

The symphony is said to be in D major, but in the first movement the composer uses D minor as much as the major. The final movement also doesn't establish the dominance of the principle key of D major, a unique thing for a symphony written at the time.

Arriaga died of a lung ailment, exhaustion, or both in Paris when he was 19 years old.

Bruckner - Symphony No. 3

When Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896) paid a visit to Richard Wagner in 1873, he brought along his 2nd and 3rd Symphonies.  He wanted to dedicate one or the other to Wagner, his musical idol, and he wanted to give the master his choice.

Wagner welcomed Bruckner, whereon Bruckner began to shower him with praises and idol worship. Wagner's ego was at least as large as his genius for composition, so he took the praise as usual, like he deserved it. He poured a glass of beer for Bruckner and himself (an act that sent Bruckner into rhapsodies of "Imagine the master pouring a beer for me!" in a later letter) and began to read through the symphonies. They drank beer and talked, or at least Wagner talked. He usually did all the talking. Bruckner was most likely too awe-struck to say much.

Wagner made his choice, and Bruckner left.  But Bruckner being Bruckner, after he got back to his room he couldn't remember which symphony Wagner chose for the dedication, either because of the excitement of the occasion (or the beer).  So Bruckner had to write him and ask, "Symphony in D minor, where the trumpet begins the theme?"  Wagner wrote back and answered, "Yes! Best wishes! Richard Wagner." Wagner always referred to  "Bruckner the Trumpet" after the incident.  Wagner did seem to be impressed with symphony, especially the opening. He later said that Bruckner was the only symphonist that came close to Beethoven.  And the silhouette of Wagner offering a pinch of snuff to Bruckner is misleading. Bruckner was a tall, large-framed man who would have dwarfed Wagner's 5'5" frame. As for Bruckner's dedication, he called Wagner "the unreachable world-famous noble master of poetry and music."

The 3rd Symphony was premiered in 1877. The conductor who was to lead the orchestra died at the last minute so Bruckner lead the orchestra. Bruckner was not a very good orchestral conductor and by the time the symphony was over most of the audience and even some of the orchestra had left.  This depressed him so much he immediately began to revise the score. After many different editions, the original manuscript was found and it is the original version of the symphony edited in 1877 that is generally played.

Bruckner's  Symphony No. 3 in D minor is in 4 movements:

I. Gemäßigt, mehr bewegt, misterioso - In typical Bruckner fashion, the first movement is in his own style of sonata form. Bruckner's use of groups of themes begins with the trumpet playing the opening over a constant string accompaniment. This opening is continued until it reaches a huge climax with the orchestra playing in unison. The next part of this theme group is calmer and leads to another loud outburst from the orchestra. This first theme group is repeated, with slight variations and leads into the second theme group. The second group of themes is more lyrical and begins in the strings. The so-called Bruckner rhythm (two beats followed by three beats is contained within this second group. The second group develops into a climax for full orchestra, after which a third theme group is ushered in by the brass. The brass play a variant of the very opening trumpet theme. The exposition ends with a climax dominated by the brass. The development begins mysteriously and soon concentrates on the opening trumpet theme. The theme is varied, and some of the other parts of the first theme group are commented on. Bruckner uses bits of themes, offers themes in counterpoint, and the development section slowly grows to a tremendous climax as the brass utilizes the trumpet theme. Parts of themes appear after the brass climax and lead directly to the recapitulation where all the theme groups are repeated, with some parts varied and modulated to keys different than the opening. The first movement ends in a coda that contains a repeat of the trumpet theme in a from the brass with thundering. This alternates with a gentle repeat of other material until the brass takes control and blares out the opening trumpet theme in a faster tempo with the strings churning out an accompaniment along with the roaring timpani.

II. Adagio, Bewegt, quasi Andante - This movement is built upon three themes. The serene opening theme is carried by the violins and slowly expands chromatically and in volume until it reaches yet more chromatic shifting. It suddenly grows soft, then returns to intensity in the violins with underpinnings by the horns. Again it grows softer, the music expands once again until the woodwinds make a comment followed by the strings and the brass. The second theme is first carried by the violas and expands to other instruments. The second theme ends with a pause, and the third theme begins softly in the violins. This theme is expanded and developed at length. The second theme returns and undulates in tension and volume until it reaches a huge climax. The first theme has to make several attempts to gain a foothold as the brass keep trying to shoo it away. But it finally prevails and reaches its own high point. The movement ends with gentle strings, woodwinds and horns.

III. Scherzo - Ziemlich schnell - The music begins softly with not so much as a theme as a rhythm, and rapidly builds in volume. It reaches the top of the crescendo falls back slightly, reaches the top of another crescendo and pauses. The soft beginning starts the second section of the scherzo and the music dies down for a repeat of the opening.  The trio is an Austrian ländler in a major key. The scherzo is repeated verbatim, and in the edition played in the accompanying video there is a short coda that sums up the scherzo.

IV. Finale, Allegro - This movement is also in Bruckner's version of sonata form. The first theme begins with strings playing a rapid figure while the brass put forth a fanfare similar to the trumpet theme in the first movement. There is an abrupt halt and the second more casual theme is played in the strings.  Another halt and a loud third theme is brought forth from the orchestra. The music works up to a huge climax with some mellow after thoughts by the horns and the exposition section is complete. The development concerns itself mostly with the opening brass fanfare but some snippets of other themes are sprinkled throughout it. There is a repeat of the second theme, then the third. The music flows to the end, repeating parts of themes along the way until the trumpets play the theme of the very opening of the symphony. The full orchestra plays  a tremendous accompaniment as the trumpet theme ends the symphony.

Mozart - Symphony No. 25 In G Minor K. 183/173dB

Wolfgang Mozart was only seventeen years old when he wrote his 25th Symphony in G minor. Not only had he written 25 symphonies by then, he had written about 175 other compositions as well.

Mozart and his father Leopold had traveled to Vienna in the summer of 1773 and while there the young composer heard many works from contemporary composers. While he was influenced by many, he was especially influenced by the works of Joseph Haydn and the now almost forgotten Czech composer Johann Wanhal. The 25th Symphony In G Minor is in the Sturm und Drang style of Haydn's symphonies of the time, and is one of only tw osymphonies in minor keys written by Mozart, with the other being Symphony No. 40, also written in G minor. To differentiate between the two works Symphony No. 25 is sometimes referred to a the Little G Minor Symphony.

Mozart composed the work in the fall of 1773 in Salzburg

It is Mozart's earliest symphony that found a place in the active concert repertoire. It is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, four horns, and the usual strings. It is in four movements:

I. Allegro con brio -  The movement begins with a short 4-bar section that appears to be an introduction but is actually part of the first theme. The violins and violas play a syncopated figure across the bar lines while the basses play on the beat which creates tension while the oboes play the outline of the beginning of the theme in whole notes. The first theme continues with an upward arpeggiated G minor chord in the style of a Mannheim Rocket:

The theme is repeated and slightly varied as a solo oboe plays the whole note outline while the strings play an accompaniment that is not syncopated. After a short transition, a second theme is played by the violins in the key of B-flat major:

A transition section of arpeggiated chords in tremolo strings leads to a third theme in the strings and also in B-flat major:

Another transition section of arpeggiated chords in tremolo is played by the strings and the exposition is repeated. The short development section continues the arpeggiated chords and tremolos until the opening outline of the theme in whole notes played by the oboe alternate with outbursts from the orchestra. The horns signal the end of the development as the recapitulation begins with the first theme. The second theme modulates to the home key of G minor, as does the third theme. A short coda brings back the first theme and expands the syncopated section until the viol;ins play a figure in running 16th notes as the horns lead to the end.

II. Andante -  A simple theme in E-flat major is heard in the strings and echoed in the bassoons.  The music is relatively tension free and is a a short respite from the tension and stress of the other three movements.

III. Menuetto & Trio -  Mozart goes back to the home key with a minuet that has a subtle hint of tension brought about by dymanic attacks of forte-piano (loud then suddenly soft). The trio is in G major and is written for the woodwinds and horns.

IV. Allegro -  Written in sonata form, the tension of the first movement returns with all four horns, syncopations and a first theme firmly in G minor. A second theme flirts with B-flat major. A short development section creates further tension and leads to the recapitulation. All the themes are repeated in the home key of G minor. The horns play a prominent part, a dramatic string part is added upon the repeat of the first theme by the horns. A short coda brings the symphony to a close.

Balakirev - Piano Concerto No.2

Mily Balakirev (1837 - 1910) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. He was instrumental in creating a sense of musical nationalism in Russia in the 19th century.  He promoted the music of Tchaikovsky and was the leader of the Russian group of musicians known as The Five.

As a composer he had the habit of beginning a composition but not finishing it until years later. He began his first symphony in 1864 but did not complete it until 1897.  His influence on Russian composers is not as obvious because of this. One piece that he did start and complete in  1869 was  Islamey ,an oriental fantasy for solo piano that was highly advanced technically. 

Balakirev was exposed to much music in his youth, but had no formal training in composition, harmony, or counterpoint. His musical talents were recognized early on and he had opportunity to study piano and attend many concerts. his natural musicality and keen mind allowed him to begin composing early on.
Balakirev urged the composers he knew to learn the art of composition by composing without wasting a lot of time on formal study of music theory. Rimsky-Koraskov, one of  The Five, came to thses conclusions about his former mentor:

"Balakirev, who had never had any systematic course in harmony and counterpoint and had not even superficially applied himself to them, evidently thought such studies quite unnecessary.... An excellent pianist, a superior sight reader of music, a splendid improvisor, endowed by nature with a sense of correct harmony and part-writing, he possessed a technique partly native and partly acquired through a vast musical erudition, with the help of an extraordinary memory, keen and retentive, which means so much in steering a critical course in musical literature. Then, too, he was a marvelous critic, especially a technical critic. He instantly felt every technical imperfection or error, he grasped a defect in form at once."

Balakirev suffered what has been called a nervous breakdown in 1871. After a few years of practically no music activity, he began to recover and slowly return to musical life in Russia. But he was never quite the same, and he demanded that his close associates be in complete artistic agreement with him or he would sever the relationship.  He reverted to a strict following of Russian Orthodoxy and became a rabid antisemite.

Balakirev's 1st Piano concerto was written when he was a teenager in 1856. It is in only one movement and it is a composition Balakirev never returned to. He preformed the one movement with orchestra in 1856.  The 2nd Piano concerto was begun in 1861 and is in the key of E flat. His influences for this concerto were Liszt's First Concerto in the same key, Rubinstein's Second Concerto and Litolff's Fourth Concerto.  By the end of 1862 he had completed the first movement and played through the second movement for his colleagues.  After that, Balakirev didn't resume work on the concerto until 1906 and by the time of his death in 1910 he still hadn't finished it.  His close associate Sergei Liapunov knew as well as anyone how Balakirev wanted the concerto to be finished so he completed the work.

The Concerto is full of spirit, dynamism and artistry and deserves to be heard more often than it is .

Balakirev Piano Concertos

Rossini - Overture To ' La Gazza Ladra'

Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) was an Italian composer most well known for his operas and their overtures.  He was a child prodigy and composed his first works, six sonatas for strings, when he was twelve years old.  His father was a horn player in the orchestra while his mother was an opera singer. He wrote his first opera at the age of fourteen.

He could play the horn, harpsichord and organ, and cello. The first performance of an opera he composed happened when he was eighteen, and by the age of twenty he was an internationally known composer.  By the time of his retirement in 1829 he had written 38 operas and was 38 years old. He wrote very little music after 1829 except for a set of pieces he called 'Sins of my old age' that were pieces for solo piano, a few songs and pieces for chamber ensemble. Attempts to explain Rossini's retirement from writing opera and practically all other music have mentioned physical and mental illness, which he did have both. But it could have simply been a case that he peaked very early in his career and simply was 'written out'.

The Overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)  is one of Rossini's most popular. After the middle of the 19th century the opera wasn't staged again until its revival in 1941.  The overture is a good example of the 'Rossini Crescendo', a trait of many of Rossini's overtures. The orchestra plays a tune or theme over and over, each time the music gets louder and louder until it reaches a climax.  A Rossini crescendo is most difficult to do. To keep the orchestra together, beginning quietly and gradually leading it up to full volume without increasing the tempo and having enough force left in the orchestra to reach the climax is a test of the players and the conductor. When done as it should be, it leaves an indelible impression on the ear. It is a force of nature.

Legend has it that the day before the premiere of this opera the producer had Rossini locked into a room with music paper and pen and told him he wouldn't let him out until he wrote the overture! Rossini would pass each completed sheet out the window for the copyists. What a first performance that must have been with practically no rehearsal, even no rehearsal at all1 Things have changed in the opera house and concert hall over the years.

Overture To La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie):

J. C. Bach - Keyboard Sonata Opus 5 No. 2

Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782) was the last child born to Johann Sebastian Bach. He studied with his father until his father's death in 1750. He then studied with his older brother C.P.E. Bach who was at the time considered one of the most influential composers in Europe. 

J.C. Bach spent some time in Italy studying and playing the organ. He went to England for the premiere of three of his operas there and secured his reputation so well he became Musicmaster to the Queen and spent the rest of his life in London. He is known as the English or London Bach because of this. He composed operas, orchestral works, concertos and works for keyboard. When Mozart was still a child he met J.C. Bach who influenced Mozart's concerto style.

He wrote many sonatas for keyboard, and the sonata Opus 5 Number 2 is in D major. It is written in the galant style,  simpler music in the style of melody with accompaniment with less ornamentation and counterpoint.  In Bach's day the piano had not yet taken over from the harpsichord so his sonatas can be played on either instrument, and have even been played on the clavichord.  the sonata is in three movements.

Salieri - Variations On 'La Follia'

Antonio Salieri (1750 - 1825) was an Italian composer most known for his operas. His 50+ operas played a large part in the development of late 18th century opera along with his hundreds of religious works. Although born in Italy near Venice, he was taken to Vienna at a young age after the death of his parents.  He was a very cosmopolitan composer as he wrote operas in three languages.

When he retired from writing and staging opera he remained a large influence on contemporary composers through his teaching.  He taught vocal composition to Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert and others. He also worked with many prominent singers. all but the most wealthiest of students got their lessons for free, Salieri's way of repaying kindnesses shown to him when he was a young student.

Salieri composed very little instrumental music. A few concertos, three symphonies and a handful of other compositions. One of this handful was also one of his last compositions, the Variations on La Follia.  It is for orchestra and is a culmination of everything Salieri had learned about orchestration over the years.  Why he wrote it is not known, as it was written in 1815 long after he retired. Perhaps he just liked the Follia tune,  maybe he was just inspired to do so. In any case, the music remains in the minor mode practically throughout and is rather somber.  The Follia tune is always very recognizable in each of the 24 variations. It is the instrumental coloration of the orchestra and soloists that provides the variety.  This piece remained the most monumental set of variations for orchestra until Brahms wrote his Variations On A Theme By Haydn in 1873.

As for the often repeated rumors that Salieri murdered Mozart (dramatized in the play and movie Amadeus) allow me to quote Chad Hille from his blog entry Antonio Salieri : Truth or Fiction on his blog Classy Classical:

"There is indeed no evidence to support the idea that Salieri killed Mozart. In Salieri’s last years, he suffered a physical and mental breakdown. He was admitted to the Vienna general hospital and the rumor spread that Salieri accused himself of killing Mozart. However, there was no concrete evidence of this. It would have been very unreasonable to think that Salieri killed Mozart. For during the times that the two great composers were both alive they were, for the most part, friends. Of course, there were times when the two did not see eye to eye. This was only natural as Salieri and Mozart came from different musical traditions and wrote in very different styles. On the whole, they got along with one another fine. It was even reported that Salieri came to visit Mozart on his deathbed. It is also reported that Salieri was one of the few who attended Mozart’s funeral. It is now widely accepted that Mozart’s cause of death was rheumatic inflammatory fever."

And that settles that, as far as I'm concerned.

Salieri's Variations on La Follia :