Bach - Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043, II. Largo, ma non tanto

The first time I remember listening to this piece, I was in sixth grade and my brother had just bought (for fun) a bunch of classical music tapes (I remember one of Vivaldi concerti with Jaime Laredo as the soloist) that I really enjoyed while doing homework and reading.

Laredo plays Vivaldi

At around that time, I searched YouTube for other Baroque violin concerti and fell in love with the second movement of Bach's D minor Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043. The original recording I listened to is no longer on YouTube, but I've instead linked two other recordings below: one for those who just want to listen and one for those who would like to see the music animated (you can appreciate it even if you don't play or read music!).

(1) Audio only; this orchestra takes a slower tempo which feels more meditative, and the recording in general is much mellower in tone, which I personally prefer for this movement.

(2) With scrolling animation; this orchestra takes a faster tempo and the recording is crystal clear, and the tone quality is much brighter than the previous recording - a fantastic listen.

Mozart - Piano Quartet No.1, KV 478, III. Rondeau

I thought about this piece today as a celebration of the end of my junior year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; this piece brings me back to a particular memory from sixth grade.

When not using computers in elementary and junior high school for homework and projects, the computer that I used to do assignments at home (mostly PowerPoint presentations, essays or stories in Word, and frequently things to print, cut, and paste for posters) was a silver and white laptop that we kept charging in the living room. I remember, among other things, playing the World's Hardest Game and watching YouTube videos on that thing. Good times.

Towards the end of the sixth grade, I got my first personal email account (I wanted to keep in touch with teachers from my elementary school). At around that time, I remember hopping on YouTube on that laptop and saw, by coincidence, a suggested video of some music by Mozart. I had never sought out classical music before this, but I recognized the name 'Mozart' and clicked. For my very first active exposure to classical music, this was a blast. It was the Rondeau of Mozart's first piano quartet in G major.

As I had just gotten a new email address, I emailed my junior high's orchestra director (also plays piano) about the music I had just listened to, and she said she had played the same piece before and could photocopy the music for me. I was overjoyed! On the last day of school, with my first ever yearbook in hand, I went down to the band and orchestra rehearsal room, and the director signed my yearbook and gave me a thick stack of sheet music. After going through some of the highlights of the music with the orchestra director, I skipped up the stairs to the library.

For the end of the last day (half-day) of school, the teachers decided to have a movie playing for all the sixth and seventh graders (the eighth graders graduated earlier and were no longer around); I remember ignoring the movie playing on the projector screen and just looking at the sheet music (I couldn't tell you what movie it was ... I have no idea). I didn't know if I'd get to play it, since I had only started playing piano two years before, but I was so excited to have the music right in front of me. (Over the next couple years, I discovered the IMSLP website and went absolutely nuts there, after exhausting tons of photocopies from books of solo piano works from my local library.)

I share all of this because I think of this story every time I get to a last day of school. Through nearly every year of primary and secondary school, the last day of school was really bittersweet for me. But, the excitement I had in sixth grade about this new type of music I was just learning about -- classical music -- overpowered whatever bittersweetness I must have been feeling at the time. It's a really positive memory that I enjoy thinking back on. So, today, I'm sharing the video I watched then here.

Mozart - Piano Quartet No.1, KV 478, III. Rondeau (video by Stephen Malinowski)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy it now or enjoyed it then!

Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps

I had added Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time") to my Watch Later list on YouTube a couple years ago, but I didn't think of actually listening to it until today. While sitting at the riverbank this evening to get some fresh air, the surface of the river churning at the force of the blasting wind, it suddenly felt like time had stopped. This piece came to mind, and I pulled it up back at my apartment. I was immediately struck by the variety of textures, movement tempi, shifting harmonies, and compositional devices. Messiaen doesn't use any fringe techniques or anything of the sort like in Pithoprakta; the conviction of his musical style is far more than enough to stretch the listener's ear. I especially was shocked by the sixth movement, VI. Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes ("Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets") (25:25-31:29). The lopsided time signatures, unpredictable groupings, fiery unisons, and daring harmony all make for a wild ride.

Respighi - Trittico Botticelliano, II. L'adorazione dei Magi

I woke up to Classical MPR (99.5 KSJN) playing Respighi's Trittico Botticelliano ("Botticelli Triptych" or "Three Botticelli Pictures") — what an incredible piece of music! I haven't really listened to much 20th-century or contemporary music, but this is fantastic. I've liked some of Respighi's solo piano works (including Tre preludi sopra melodie gregoriane), and everyone has heard Pini di Roma (GO! look it up if you haven't already heard it) ... but this is so colorful! I'm interested in looking at some of the orchestration and other details up-close later. But, for now, I hope you enjoy just listening (two recordings linked below). I'm specifically highlighting the second movement, II. L'adorazione dei Magi, in this post. I keep falling for the gorgeous woodwind solos, the celesta/harp/piano/triangle sparkliness, and touching string harmonies.

Opening bassoon line of II. L'adorazione dei Magi [click to enlarge]

(1) This first recording's second movement is a bit fast for my taste, but I think this performance has more musical "bite" than the second one below. However, the dynamics in this recording tend on the louder side, even where marked at p or pp by Respighi in the score, reducing the emotional contrast.

(2) This second recording has images of the Botticelli paintings the work is based on. I love the tempo taken here; the softer dynamics are closer to Respighi's markings, but I feel the louder f and ff are not aggressive enough. [According to a posted comment, the first two paintings are flip-flopped.]

Xenakis - Pithoprakta

I'm not a fan of most 20th-century or experimental music, but this piece by Greek-French composer Iannis Xenakis, entitled Pithoprakta, meaning 'actions through probability' [1], is oddly intriguing to me. Xenakis was fascinated with blending mathematics and architecture into music, and frequently drew from mathematics, physics, and acoustic science in his work.

Pithoprakta uses ideas from statistical mechanics, a branch of physics which combines probability, statistics, and classical mechanics (Newtonian physics). For example, a gas at a given temperature has molecules moving at many different speeds, spread over a distribution called the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Information on these individual molecules can be used to calculate properties (temperature, pressure, etc.) of larger systems [2]. In Pithoprakta, Xenakis evokes large-scale musical gestures from individual instrumental parts which -- like single molecules of a gas -- are meaningless. There is no "melody;" instead, the piece advances in a musical direction with solo parts (forty-six separately scored string parts, two trombones, xylophone, and woodblock) that sound random and as if lacking any musical quality on their own.* Read more about this piece here from pages 13-17 [3].

The piece makes use of unconventional and extended techniques for string instruments including combined glissando and pizzicato, col legno (tratto) ([bowing with] the wooden side of the bow), col legno battuto (bouncing the wooden side of the bow on the strings), and frappe (tapping the soundbox/belly of the instrument for percussive effect). Although there is virtually no traditional harmony, there is still a strong sense of musical direction, developing at rapidly different paces in different sections, throughout the piece. The graphical score in the video linked above is an interesting "read."

*Depending on your taste, you might argue the whole piece lacks any musical quality ... explore the piece anyway! Like me, maybe you'll find some interesting features you enjoy. :)

Some of my observations/opinions:
- I find the pizzicato flurry from 2:38-2:57 fun to listen to.
- From 2:58-4:50, the color of the drone subtly changes as string parts drop out - under the sharpness of the xylophone and pizzicato, the changes are so slight as to be nearly imperceptible.
- The col legno segment from 5:28-7:22 has so many textures embedded in it. Sometimes you can just barely hear the col legno tratto (it's really hard to pick out with all of the battuto sounds). It sounds to me like a dangerous forest with poisonous vines snaking ... and the trombones at 7:22 only add to the tension.
- Wide sweeps from 8:27-9:21 with four different bowing techniques sounds so wacky as they fade in and out from register to register.

1. Harley, J. (2004). Xenakis: His Life in Music. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97145-4.

2. McQuarrie, D. A.; Simon, J. D. (1997). Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach. University Science Books, Sausalito (USA).

3. Xenakis, I. (1992). Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition. ISBN 9781576470794.

Schumann - Gesänge der Frühe, Op.133

Another gem of the Romantic Era: Schumann's Gesänge der Frühe (Songs of the Dawn), Op.133. The first such 'song' (0:00-3:08), a subdued piece that is at once heartwarming and wistful, really touches me.

Taken directly from the description of the above video (Ashish Xiangyi Kumar) of a fantastic recording by Mitsuko Uchida:

Ashish Xiangyi Kumar, 2017. youtu.be/DW_tR5rK8l4

click image to enlarge

Happy Birthday, Brahms!

No better day to inaugurate this blog than the birthday of Brahms, my favorite composer and a true musical craftsman of the late Romantic era. To start, here are my two favorites of his symphonies (amazing recording by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Jaap van Zweden). Once finals season is over, I'll plan to revisit this post. Enjoy!

Symphony No.3, Op.90

        I. Allegro con brio (F major)

        II. Andante (C major)

        III. Poco allegretto (C minor)

        IV. Allegro (F minor)

Symphony No.4, Op.98

        I. Allegro non troppo (E minor)

        II. Andante moderato (E major)

        III. Allegro giocoso (C major)

        IV. Allegro energico e passionato (E minor)