We all tend to imagine Beethoven as a tragic hero, struggle against fate, his face always clouded, writing pieces like the Fifth Symphony or the Appassionata. Well, this is certainly not the truth! He loved to laugh, joke around, kidding his friends. Moreover, his music is full of joy and joking, just listen to the final movement of the Eight …
The piano is a magnificent instrument, capable to channel the divine to our ears and hearts. It is a complicated instrument, as well. It takes two years to dry the wood used for the body, a full year and close to 12 thousand parts to build one. The piano, as we know it, was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori, around 1700. …
According to legend Beethoven not only met Mozart, but was lucky enough to receive a few lessons from him in composition. We like to mix fantasy and reality, a wishful thinking and facts. There are many layers of false traditions sticking to the heroes of humanity, Beethoven is not exception. Let us take a closer look and see if these …
Following the first and second article in the subject, this part will be the last in discovering the basics of the concerto works. In this article we focus on the structural plan of a typical concerto music in the classical and romantic era. We established in the previous articles that for musicians the concerto was a vehicle for improvisation. The …
Following my first article published recently, we continue our discovery in concertos. In this part we interpret the cultural background, the associated second meaning of the music. In the early eighteenth century concertos were commonly played in churches or chambers. As decades passed it was more and more ordinary to hear a concerto in a new institution, the public concert. …
In a series of articles we will discover what is the origin of the concerto as musical genre. What does it mean and how Beethoven worked in this art form? What is tutti, what is solo? Why concerto was the show of real Masters? Let’s find out! The first form of a concerto music has origins in the early 1500s. …