Category Archives: 19th century

Gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos and pianist Frantisek Janoska play ‘Két Gitár’ and Brahms Hungarian Dance no.5

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Here is a recording of ‘Két Gitár’ (a traditional gypsy tune called Two Guitars) and Brahms Hungarian Dance no.5 performed in a gypsy style by gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos and pianist Frantisek Janoska for ABC Radio.

Roby Lakatos is a gypsy violinist who has a family that goes back seven generations of gypsy musicians all the way back to the “King of Gypsy violinists” Janos Bihari. He can play in just about any style (gypsy music, classical, and jazz) and has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras as well as his own ensemble. He makes playing the violin look effortless and doesn’t even break out in a sweat when he plays.

Frantisek Janoska is an up and coming pianist who is comfortable playing gypsy music as well as jazz. He often performs with Roby Lakatos’ ensemble and his brother Roman (a jazz violinist). Frantisek Janoska has his own group which performs gypsy music as well as jazz and classical music in a gypsy style.

Franz Schubert – Kupelweiser Waltz

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Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer. He composed piano sonatas, waltzes,various other dances, symphonies, string trios, piano trios, quartets, quintets, and more than 600 German Art Songs (or lieder). Today Schubert is known for his ‘Trout’ Quintet, his chamber music, and his more than 600 songs.

In 1826 Schubert was at Mr. Kupelweiser’s wedding. He played a waltz but never wrote it down. The waltz was passed down by ear for several generations. In the 20th century Richard Strauss (a friend of a distant relative of Kupelweiser) was asked to transcribe the waltz. He wrote down the melody and harmonized it adding a few of his own harmonic touches to the music.

Here is the ‘Kupelweiser’ waltz played by a pianist from a youtube recording. I don’t know the name of the pianist who is playing the waltz.

Chopin Nocturne in F# Major op.15 no.2 – Jorge Bolet, piano

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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer and piano virtuoso.  Chopin wrote almost all of his compositions for solo piano.  He wrote concertos for piano, etudes, preludes, nocturnes, waltzes, impromptus and mazurkas, polonaises, and much more.  Most of his music is simple in texture with an accompanied melody.  His music is often very expressive and full of ornamental flourishes.  There is always a slight melancholic emotion in Chopin’s music.

Jorge Bolet (1914-1990)

Jorge Bolet was a Cuban pianist that was born in America.  Bolet has been described by many pianists as a great pianist.  It took him a long time to get recognition as a pianist.  It wasn’t until a recital at Carnegie Hall in 1974 that Bolet got major recognition.  Bolet is especially known for his expressive interpretations of Franz Liszt’s piano music, but he recorded music by many other composers.  Here is a recording of Chopin’s Nocturne op.15, no.2 played by Jorge Bolet.  The playing is very expressive and full of emotion.  He gets colors out of the piano that many pianists (including great pianists) don’t always get in their interpretations (for example Vladimir Horowitz).  Jorge Bolet often performed on Baldwin pianos instead of Steinways.

Frederic Chopin – Piano Concerto no.1 (2nd movement) -Artur Rubinstein

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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist.  He is unique as a composer because most of his compositions are for solo piano.  Besides his works for solo piano Chopin also composed 2 piano concertos, 4 works for piano and orchestra, a piano trio, duos, 20 songs for voice and piano, 1 piano duet, and some arrangements and transcriptions.

Chopin composed his two piano concertos when he was 19 years old.  They were composed shortly before he moved to Paris.  He would spend most of his life composing and performing in Paris and die there in 1849.

Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982) is a famous 2oth century Polish-Jewish pianist.  He is known for his fine interpretations of Chopin’s piano music .  His playing has an impeccable sense of style, warm lyricism, and passionate eloquence.  Here is a recording of Artur Rubinstein playing the 2nd movement of Chopin’s piano concerto no.1.  I hope that you enjoy it.

 

Edvard Grieg – Lyric Pieces

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Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Edvard Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist.  He is best known among classical music lovers for his Piano Concerto and Peer Gynt suite for orchestra.

Edvard Grieg also composed several sets of pieces for piano called the lyric pieces.  Here is the first set of lyric pieces by Edvard Grieg.  They are played by pianist Eva Knardahl.  Eva has recorded all of Grieg’s piano music.

Edvard Grieg was a fine pianist and he composed his piano concerto for himself when he was a young man.  Grieg made several piano roll recordings.  You can hear two of them on youtube if you search for Grieg piano rolls. Enjoy!

 

Borodin String Quartet no.2 – Borodin Quartet

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Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Alexander Borodin was a Russian composer, doctor, and chemist.  Borodin was part of a group of composers called “The Five” who were interested in creating a nationalist school.

Borodin didn’t compose many works, but among his few works he is known for his Opera Prince Igor, the orchestra piece “On The Steppes of Central Asia,” and his two String Quartets.  Borodin’s string quartets are full of beautiful lyrical melodies.  His second quartet is famous because of its beautiful Nocturne.

Here is a recording of Borodin’s String Quartet no.2 performed by the Borodin Quartet.  Enjoy.

 

Ion Voicu – Balada de Ciprian Porumbescu (Ballad for violin and orchestra)

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Ciprian Porumbescu (1853-1883)

A Romanian composer.  He was one of the most popular composers of his time.  Some of his popular compositions are Song for the 1st of May, Trei culori (three colors?), and the Ballad for violin and piano.  One of his compositions ended up being used as the music for Albania’s national anthem.

Ion Voicu (1923-1997) was a Romanian violinist and conductor.  He is one of the world’s great violinists.  In 1969 he founded the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra which is an internationally acclaimed ensemble.  The list of conductors and musicians that Ion Voicu has performed with is incredible.  Voicu was a very high level music pedagogue. He taught at many of the world’s leading music institutions.  Ion Voicu made hundreds of recordings.

Here is a recording of Ion Voicu performing the Ballad in a version for violin and orchestra.  It is a beautiful piece of music.  I hope that you enjoy it.

 

Gabriel Faure – Cantique de Jean Racine op.11

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Gabriel Faure (1845=1924)

Gabriel Faure was a French organist, composer, and teacher. He is known for his Requiem in d minor, op 48, his Pavane, and is widely regarded as the greatest master of French art song.

The Cantique de Jean Racine op.11 was written by Gabriel Faure when he was 19 years old. Faure won first prize from the École Niedermeyer de Paris (a school for studying church music). The piece was originally written for choir with piano or organ accompaniment. In 1906 a version of the piece was done for choir and orchestra (possibly by the composer himself). John Rutter wrote an arrangement of the piece for choir, strings, and harp.

Here is a recording of the Cantique de Jean Racine op.11 for choir, strings, and harp. The choir singing in this recording is the Cambridge Singers. Unfortunately I was not able to find a suitable recording of the piece done by a choir with organ accompaniment. I hope you enjoy this recording.

Johannes Brahms wax cylinder recording (1889)

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Johannes Brahms wax cylinder recording (1889)

On December 2nd 1889, Theo Wangemann (who worked for Thomas Edison) recorded Johannes Brahms performing two segments at the piano in the home of Dr. Fellinger.  The works recorded were a paraphrase of Strauss’ Libelle and part of Brahms’ Hungarian Dance no.1 in g minor.

For a time it was thought that the wax cylinder had been lost.  It was re-discovered in the 1980s.  Unfortunately the recording was almost entirely masked by noise.  Wax cylinders get more and more worn each time they are played.

In the 1990s, Jonathan Berger and Charles Nichols (two PHD students at Stanford University) were able to remove some of the noise masking the music in the recording.  Here is the wax cylinder recording that Brahms made in 1889.  You will need to turn up the volume on your speakers to hear what little  remains of the recorded music on the cylinder and use your imagination to fill in what is missing.  Enjoy!

 

 

Bruch – 6 Klavierstücke op.12

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Max Bruch (1838-1920)

Max Bruch was a 19th century German composer, pianist, and violinist.  He is most well known for his violin compositions.  Bruch also composed a few pieces for the piano.  His six pieces for piano (op.12) are fairly early works, but are full of beautiful melody.  They are charming pieces that are short and lyrical.  

Bruch played both the violin and the piano.  He performed in public a few times as a pianist but claimed that he liked the violin more than the piano.  According to Bruch the violin could “sing a melody better than the piano can, and melody  is the soul of music.”