F. Spera: Oui ou non? (Yes or No?) @PSearPianist

F. Spera: Oui ou non? (Yes or No?) @PSearPianist

Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

#2 from 3 Romances sans paroles (published 1862).
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Phillip Sear plays a piece from around 1862 by the mysterious (Florentine?) composer 'F. Spera'.
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I can find no biographical details about Spera, and the set of pieces from which this comes were self-published in Florence and reprinted in London. Whoever Spera was (and it could be a pseudonym), he was well connected, and this piece was dedicated to Contessa Mozzi, who I believe was a Florentine aristocratic hostess with a house or palace beyond Ponte alle Grazie, where she held musical evenings.

I have assumed that the scenario here is a young man asking his beloved to marry him, as depicted in the thumbnail. If so, the answer seems to have been 'Yes', judging from the triumphant ending. The constant chordal rhythm slightly suggests a heartbeat of an anxious swain.

Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).

#italianmusic
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Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: tiktok.com/@pianogems
****See all my latest videos here: tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****

F. Spera: Oui ou non? (Yes or No?)

$Harvey Löhr: The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel), Op.23 No.18 #18 from Grimm Fairy Tales (Silhouettes), Op.23 (1904) Phillip Sear plays a piece from a set of 25 by the English composer of German descent (Richard) Harvey Löhr (1856–1927). Born in Leicester, Löhr was the youngest son of the German-born organist and conductor George Augustus Löhr (1821–1897), who had settled in England and became a significant figure in the musical life of the East Midlands. The family background provided a distinctly German orientation to Harvey Löhrs early musical formation. He received his advanced training at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under William Henry Holmes, Ebenezer Prout, and Sir Arthur Sullivan. He twice won the prestigious Charles Lucas Medal, in 1877 and 1878, attesting to early distinction as a student composer. He subsequently held the post of organist at St Jamess Church, Marylebone, a position that sustained his connection to Londons musical life throughout his professional career. Löhr died in Hastings, and his manuscripts are preserved at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Löhrs piano music occupies a modest but characteristic corner of the late-Victorian keyboard repertoire, oriented towards the lyric miniature and the genre piece rather than the large-scale sonata. A Shakespeare Cycle, Op.19 (1898), a set of twelve pieces published by Schott & Co., represents his most ambitious contribution to the genre, drawing on literary imagery in a manner consistent with the characteristic piece tradition of the period. Other collections include Garden Idylls, Op.25 (1910), an album of twelve lyric pieces, and When We Were Children, Op.26 (1913), six character pieces also issued by Schott, suggesting a secondary market in pedagogical and domestic salon repertoire. Lighter pieces such as Ariel (1889) and Scenes from Fairyland, Op.21 (1901) reinforce an imaginative, illustrative approach to keyboard writing. The piano music forms only a fraction of Löhrs considerable catalogue, which includes five symphonies, two piano concertos, two string quartets, a piano quintet, a piano quartet (Op.15), and a piano trio (Op.22), alongside the operas A Border Raid (1883) and Kenilworth (1906). His choral output embraces the oratorio The Queen of Sheba, Op.20 (1900) and several anthems and part-songs, complemented by a large body of solo song. Though Löhr attracted little sustained critical attention in the twentieth century, his enduring legacy is institutional: a scholarship bearing his name was established at the Royal Academy of Music for British-born composers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four, a fund that has supported subsequent generations of student composers, among them Craig Armstrong.” (Perplexity AI, 21 June 2026). “The Hare and the Hedgehog” (Der Hase und der Igel, KHM 187) is a Low Saxon fable published by the Brothers Grimm in the fifth edition of their collection in 1843. A proud hare mocks a hedgehog for his short, crooked legs, so the offended hedgehog challenges him to a race across the heath near Buxtehude, wagering a gold coin and a bottle of brandy. The hedgehog secretly arranges for his wife, who closely resembles him, to stand at the far end of the furrow and shout, “I am already here!” whenever the hare reaches it. Convinced that he has been beaten, the hare insists on racing again and again, while the hedgehog and his wife repeat the trick until the exhausted hare collapses and dies after seventy-four runs. The tale’s stated moral warns that nobody, however superior he may consider himself, should mock someone he regards as beneath him, even if that person is only a hedgehog; its darker comedy lies in the hare’s refusal to accept defeat until his pride destroys him. (Perplexity AI, 15 August 2026). Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( https://tinyl.co/4WqE ). #britishmusic #brothersgrimm Played by Phillip Sear http://www.psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com WhatsApp: http://wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pianogems ****See all my latest videos here: https://tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****$

Albert Ketèlbey: Valse excentrique

Gaston Salvayre: Petit soldat français! (Little French soldier)

Merton Clark: The Vinegatherers Song

Ernst Pauer: The Butterfly, Op.66 No.6

Alexandre Goria: Rêverie

Franz Behr: Morgenthau (Morning Dew)

Henry Weyts: À toute volée (At full tilt), Op.651

Franz Krenn: Rondino (über ein Motiv aus Flotows Oper „Die Matrosen“)

$Harvey Löhr: Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Op.23 No.14 #14 from Grimm Fairy Tales (Silhouettes), Op.23 (1904) Phillip Sear plays a piece from a set of 25 by the English composer of German descent (Richard) Harvey Löhr (1856–1927). Born in Leicester, Löhr was the youngest son of the German-born organist and conductor George Augustus Löhr (1821–1897), who had settled in England and became a significant figure in the musical life of the East Midlands. The family background provided a distinctly German orientation to Harvey Löhrs early musical formation. He received his advanced training at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under William Henry Holmes, Ebenezer Prout, and Sir Arthur Sullivan. He twice won the prestigious Charles Lucas Medal, in 1877 and 1878, attesting to early distinction as a student composer. He subsequently held the post of organist at St Jamess Church, Marylebone, a position that sustained his connection to Londons musical life throughout his professional career. Löhr died in Hastings, and his manuscripts are preserved at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Löhrs piano music occupies a modest but characteristic corner of the late-Victorian keyboard repertoire, oriented towards the lyric miniature and the genre piece rather than the large-scale sonata. A Shakespeare Cycle, Op.19 (1898), a set of twelve pieces published by Schott & Co., represents his most ambitious contribution to the genre, drawing on literary imagery in a manner consistent with the characteristic piece tradition of the period. Other collections include Garden Idylls, Op.25 (1910), an album of twelve lyric pieces, and When We Were Children, Op.26 (1913), six character pieces also issued by Schott, suggesting a secondary market in pedagogical and domestic salon repertoire. Lighter pieces such as Ariel (1889) and Scenes from Fairyland, Op.21 (1901) reinforce an imaginative, illustrative approach to keyboard writing. The piano music forms only a fraction of Löhrs considerable catalogue, which includes five symphonies, two piano concertos, two string quartets, a piano quintet, a piano quartet (Op.15), and a piano trio (Op.22), alongside the operas A Border Raid (1883) and Kenilworth (1906). His choral output embraces the oratorio The Queen of Sheba, Op.20 (1900) and several anthems and part-songs, complemented by a large body of solo song. Though Löhr attracted little sustained critical attention in the twentieth century, his enduring legacy is institutional: a scholarship bearing his name was established at the Royal Academy of Music for British-born composers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four, a fund that has supported subsequent generations of student composers, among them Craig Armstrong.” (Perplexity AI, 21 June 2026). Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel, KHM 15) is one of the best-known tales collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812. During a time of famine, a poor woodcutter and his wife abandon their children in the forest, but clever Hansel attempts to mark their path home with white pebbles and later with breadcrumbs, which birds eat. Lost and starving, the children discover a tempting house made of bread, cake, and sugar, only to find that it belongs to a cannibalistic witch who imprisons Hansel and intends to fatten him before eating him. Gretel outwits the witch by pretending not to understand how to climb into the oven, then pushes her inside and shuts the door, killing her; the children discover the witch’s treasure and escape. After crossing a stretch of water with the help of a white duck, they eventually find their way home, where the treasure ends their poverty. The tale combines the grim realities of hunger, abandonment, and predatory danger with a triumphant celebration of the children’s courage, resourcefulness, and mutual loyalty. (Perplexity AI, 15 August 2026). This piece provides a pleasant alternative to the much better-known music of Humperdincks opera of the same name. Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( https://tinyl.co/4WqE ). #britishmusic #brothersgrimm #hanselandgretel #hänselundgretel Played by Phillip Sear http://www.psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com WhatsApp: http://wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pianogems ****See all my latest videos here: https://tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****$

Alexandre Goria (arr. Henri Cramer): Volkswehr—Marsch (Peoples militia march)

F. Spera: Oui ou non? (Yes or No?)