Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
G.Gershwin: piano concerto & Rhapsody in blue
Photos: NEW YORK ; BROOKLYN
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin
PIANO CONCERTO
F major
3 movements:
I. Allegro
II. Adagio - Andante con moto
III. Allegro agitato
1925
First performance: 1925-12-03 in New York
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue
G.Gershwin: piano concerto & Rhapsody in blue
Photos: NEW YORK ; BROOKLYN
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin
PIANO CONCERTO
F major
3 movements:
I. Allegro
II. Adagio - Andante con moto
III. Allegro agitato
1925
First performance: 1925-12-03 in New York
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue





![Claude DEBUSSY: La cathédrale engloutie - A.BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI
Claude DEBUSSY: La cathédrale engloutie - A.BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral) is a prelude written by the French composer Claude Debussy for solo piano. It was published in 1910 as the tenth prelude in Debussys first of two volumes of twelve piano preludes each. It is characteristic of Debussy in its form, harmony, and content.
Musical impressionism
This prelude is an example of Debussys musical impressionism in that it is a musical depiction of, or allusion to, an image or idea. Debussy quite often named his pieces in accordance with the image that he intended to evoke, such as in the case of La Mer, Des pas sur la neige, or Jardins sous la pluie. In the case of the two volumes of preludes, he places the title of the piece at the end of the piece, either to allow the pianist to respond intuitively and individually to the music before finding out what Debussy intended the music to sound like, or to apply more ambiguity to the musics allusion.[1] Because this piece is based on a legend, it can be considered program music.
Legend of Ys
This piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Sounds can be heard of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea.[2] Accordingly, Debussy uses certain harmonies to allude to the plot of the legend, in the style of musical symbolism.
To begin the piece, Debussy uses parallel fifths. The first chord of the piece is made up of sonorous Gs and Ds (open fifths). The use of stark, open fifths here allude to the idea of church bells that sound from the distance, across the ocean.[3] The opening measures, marked pianissimo, introduce us to the first series of rising parallel fifth chords, outlining a G major pentatonic scale. These chords bring to mind two things: 1) the Eastern pentatonic scale, which Debussy heard during a performance of Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris,[4] and 2) medieval chant music, similar to the organa in parallel fifths from the Musica enchiriadis, a 9th-century treatise on music.[5] The shape of the ascending phrase is perhaps a representation of the cathedrals slow emergence from the water.
After the beginning section, Debussy gently brings the cathedral out of the water by modulating to B major, shaping the melody in a wave-like fashion, and including important narrative instructions in measure 16: Peu à peu sortant de la brume (Emerging from the fog little by little). This shows Debussy at his closest manifestation of musical impressionism.[6] Then, after a section marked Augmentez progressivement (Slowly growing), the cathedral has emerged and the grand organ is heard at a dynamic level of fortissimo (measures 28–41). This is the loudest and most profound part of the piece, and is described in the score as Sonore sans dureté (Sonorous but without harshness). Following the grand entrance and exit of the organ, the cathedral sinks back down into the ocean (measures 62–66) and the organ is heard once more, but from underwater. To attain these effects that reflect images of the castle, most performers use specific techniques with regards to pedaling and articulation to affect tone color. For example, some performers use their full body weight to depress keys to create a rich sound. Also performers create a ringing bell sound by instantly releasing pedaled notes. Finally, the cathedral is gone from sight, and only the bells are heard, at a distant pianissimo. Claude DEBUSSY: La cathédrale engloutie - A.BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lrihb9kXfos/mqdefault.jpg)
![J.BRAHMS: PIANO CONCERTO NO.2 OP.83 - K.ZIMERMAN; L.BERNSTEIN;WIENER
Photos:Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B♭ major, Op. 83, by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It took him three years to work on this concerto which indicates that he was always self-critical. He wrote to Clara Schumann: I want to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo. Ironically, he was describing a huge piece.[1] This concerto is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. The public premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on 9 November 1881, with Brahms as soloist and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and was an immediate success.[2] He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe.[3]
Composition
The piece is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (B♭), 2 bassoons, 4 horns (initially 2 in B♭ bass, 2 in F), 2 trumpets (B♭), timpani (B♭ and F, A and D in second movement) and strings. (The trumpets and timpani are used only in the first two movements, which is unusual.)[1]
The piece is in four movements, rather than the three typical of concertos in the Classical and Romantic periods:
Allegro non troppo (B♭ major)
Allegro appassionato (D minor)
Andante (B♭ major—F♯ major—B♭ major)
Allegretto grazioso—Un poco più presto (B♭ major)
The additional movement results in a concerto considerably longer than most other concertos written up to that time, with typical performances lasting around 50 minutes. Upon its completion, Brahms sent its score to his friend, the surgeon and violinist Theodor Billroth to whom Brahms had dedicated his first two string quartets, describing the work as some little piano pieces.[3] Brahms even described the stormy scherzo as a little wisp of a scherzo.[2] J.BRAHMS: PIANO CONCERTO NO.2 OP.83 - K.ZIMERMAN; L.BERNSTEIN;WIENER](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M46s2tLjVks/mqdefault.jpg)



