Category Archives: 19th century

Lekeu Violin Sonata

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Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) Was a Belgian composer.  He was born in Heusy, Belgium (a small village in Belgium).  It was there that Guillaume took his first music lessons in piano from the conductor of the local conservatory brass band, Alphonse Voss.

Lekeu’s family moved to Poitiers, France in 1879 and he continued to study music with his physics teacher.  Under this teacher he learnt about the music of J.S. Bach  and Beethoven.

He wrote his first composition when he was 15 years old.

Lekeu studied music composition with Cesar Franck and Vincent d’Indy (two very important composers).

Lekeu composed about 50 compositions.  Unfortunately most of his works are incomplete.  Among his most important compositions are a violin sonata (commissioned by the great violinist Eugene Ysaye), and an orchestral Fantasy.  He also composed several works for piano.

Here is a beautiful recording of Lekeu’s Violin Sonata played by Jonathan Morton on violin, and Carole Presland on the piano.  Enjoy!

Reinecke Harp Concerto (Fabrice Pierre, harp)

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The harp is a beautiful instrument that for some strange reason does not have much of a repertoire.  Most pieces I have heard played on the harp were arrangements of piano music (Debussy’s Claire de Lune played on the harp is an example).

Here is a concerto written for the harp by the German composer, conductor, and pianist Carl Reinecke (1824-1910).  It is quite a robust and joyful piece and the orchestral part supports the harp very well without overpowering it.

This is a recording done by Fabrice Pierre and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Patrick Gallois. You can buy the recording on eMusic. Enjoy!

Scriabin Piano concerto

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Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was a Russian composer and piano virtuoso.  His early compositional style was influenced by Chopin and Tchaikovsky.  The early compositions are very lyrical and even though they are more modern than Chopin and Tchaikovsky, they sometimes sound a bit like Chopin or Tchaikovsky.

Later on in his career, Scriabin’s compositions became gradually more dissonant and abstract.  Rhythmically the music became more complex.  Scriabin also had very big hands (like Rachmaninoff) and could stretch his hands a great distance across the keyboard.  His compositions continue to be very challenging for pianists.

Here is a recording of his Piano Concerto op.20.  This is an early work of Scriabin.  It was written in 1896 when the composer was 24 years old.  It is the first and only piece he wrote for orchestra, and his only concerto. Vladimir Ashkenazy is the piano soloist.

first movement

second movement

first half of third movement

second and final half of third movement