![Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet No. 23, K. 590 [With score] @DamonJHK](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NN0ZKZ274t4/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded August 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
-Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
-Performers: Alban Berg Quartet
String Quartet No. 23 in F-Major, K. 590, written in 1790 [Prussian Quartet III]
00:00 - I. Allegro moderato
08:46 - II. Andante
14:17 - III. Menuetto. Allegretto
18:05 - IV. Allegro
Mozart's final string quartet was to have been the third of six the composer intended to dedicate to King Frederick William II of Prussia, the cello-playing monarch whom Boccherini served as exclusive chamber musician from 1787 until the death of the king ten years later. Shortly after entering the F major Quartet in his thematic catalog in June, 1790, Mozart told Puchberg in a further letter that he had been "obliged" to give away the quartets "for a mere song in order to have cash in hand to meet my present difficulties." Along with its two companions, K. 590 has been generally regarded by commentators as being less successful than the great set of six "Haydn" quartets composed between 1782 and 1785. Artaria's advertisement for the "Prussian" quartets describes them as "concertante quartets," thus paying due recognition to the prominence of their cello parts, which were obviously designed to give Frederick William significance. Yet if the structure is frequently looser than in the more tightly organized "Haydn" quartets, there is much compensation in the skillful manner in which Mozart allows the royal cello discourse with its colleagues, a refinement the composer confessed to finding "troublesome" in execution. The customary four movements are an opening Allegro moderato, an affecting, valedictory Andante, Menuetto, and Allegro finale. From the first movement this piece is filled with aural miracles. Dialogues scurry about and return slightly altered, like double entendres uttered in one of Mozart's operas. At the movement's end, the coda restates the development, gracefully winds down, and ends on a witty high note. Mozart never specified whether the second movement is an Allegretto or an Andante. Alfred Einstein said of it: "It seems to mingle the bliss and sorrow of a farewell to life. How beautiful life has been! How sad! How brief!" The Menuetto is charged with ornamental appoggiaturas and contrary phrases. The finale is packed with wondrous devices, such as unexpected silences and intricate counterpoint. Listen closely in the last bars and you'll even hear a bagpipe-like drone.
[allmusic.com]
-Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
-Performers: Alban Berg Quartet
String Quartet No. 23 in F-Major, K. 590, written in 1790 [Prussian Quartet III]
00:00 - I. Allegro moderato
08:46 - II. Andante
14:17 - III. Menuetto. Allegretto
18:05 - IV. Allegro
Mozart's final string quartet was to have been the third of six the composer intended to dedicate to King Frederick William II of Prussia, the cello-playing monarch whom Boccherini served as exclusive chamber musician from 1787 until the death of the king ten years later. Shortly after entering the F major Quartet in his thematic catalog in June, 1790, Mozart told Puchberg in a further letter that he had been "obliged" to give away the quartets "for a mere song in order to have cash in hand to meet my present difficulties." Along with its two companions, K. 590 has been generally regarded by commentators as being less successful than the great set of six "Haydn" quartets composed between 1782 and 1785. Artaria's advertisement for the "Prussian" quartets describes them as "concertante quartets," thus paying due recognition to the prominence of their cello parts, which were obviously designed to give Frederick William significance. Yet if the structure is frequently looser than in the more tightly organized "Haydn" quartets, there is much compensation in the skillful manner in which Mozart allows the royal cello discourse with its colleagues, a refinement the composer confessed to finding "troublesome" in execution. The customary four movements are an opening Allegro moderato, an affecting, valedictory Andante, Menuetto, and Allegro finale. From the first movement this piece is filled with aural miracles. Dialogues scurry about and return slightly altered, like double entendres uttered in one of Mozart's operas. At the movement's end, the coda restates the development, gracefully winds down, and ends on a witty high note. Mozart never specified whether the second movement is an Allegretto or an Andante. Alfred Einstein said of it: "It seems to mingle the bliss and sorrow of a farewell to life. How beautiful life has been! How sad! How brief!" The Menuetto is charged with ornamental appoggiaturas and contrary phrases. The finale is packed with wondrous devices, such as unexpected silences and intricate counterpoint. Listen closely in the last bars and you'll even hear a bagpipe-like drone.
[allmusic.com]
![Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet No. 23, K. 590 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NN0ZKZ274t4/mqdefault.jpg "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet No. 23, K. 590 [With score]
-Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
-Performers: Alban Berg Quartet
String Quartet No. 23 in F-Major, K. 590, written in 1790 [Prussian Quartet III]
00:00 - I. Allegro moderato
08:46 - II. Andante
14:17 - III. Menuetto. Allegretto
18:05 - IV. Allegro
Mozarts final string quartet was to have been the third of six the composer intended to dedicate to King Frederick William II of Prussia, the cello-playing monarch whom Boccherini served as exclusive chamber musician from 1787 until the death of the king ten years later. Shortly after entering the F major Quartet in his thematic catalog in June, 1790, Mozart told Puchberg in a further letter that he had been obliged to give away the quartets for a mere song in order to have cash in hand to meet my present difficulties. Along with its two companions, K. 590 has been generally regarded by commentators as being less successful than the great set of six Haydn quartets composed between 1782 and 1785. Artarias advertisement for the Prussian quartets describes them as concertante quartets, thus paying due recognition to the prominence of their cello parts, which were obviously designed to give Frederick William significance. Yet if the structure is frequently looser than in the more tightly organized Haydn quartets, there is much compensation in the skillful manner in which Mozart allows the royal cello discourse with its colleagues, a refinement the composer confessed to finding troublesome in execution. The customary four movements are an opening Allegro moderato, an affecting, valedictory Andante, Menuetto, and Allegro finale. From the first movement this piece is filled with aural miracles. Dialogues scurry about and return slightly altered, like double entendres uttered in one of Mozarts operas. At the movements end, the coda restates the development, gracefully winds down, and ends on a witty high note. Mozart never specified whether the second movement is an Allegretto or an Andante. Alfred Einstein said of it: It seems to mingle the bliss and sorrow of a farewell to life. How beautiful life has been! How sad! How brief! The Menuetto is charged with ornamental appoggiaturas and contrary phrases. The finale is packed with wondrous devices, such as unexpected silences and intricate counterpoint. Listen closely in the last bars and youll even hear a bagpipe-like drone.
[allmusic.com]")
![Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Zauberflöte K. 620 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NfLk5VKs5sQ/mqdefault.jpg "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Zauberflöte K. 620 [With score]
Original audio: https://youtu.be/xssOb9JCdA0
Timestamp soon")
![Fartein Valen - Intermezzo, op. 36 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NnOuuyTu0Ss/mqdefault.jpg "Fartein Valen - Intermezzo, op. 36 [With score]
Composer: Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952)
Performer: Øyvind Aase
Intermezzo op.36 for Piano solo, written in 1939-40")
![Edvard Grieg - 2 Improvisations on Norwegian Folk songs, op. 29 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O3KL9gnBf5o/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - 2 Improvisations on Norwegian Folk songs, op. 29 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performer: Gerhard Oppitz
2 Improvisations on Norwegian Folk songs for piano, op. 29, written in 1878
00:00 - I. Allegretto con moto {on Guten a gjenta}
03:08 - II. Andante {There was once a King}")
![Dmitri Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O9w-zZGI2ao/mqdefault.jpg "Dmitri Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1 [With score]
Composer: Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 - 9 August 1975)
Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Dimitri Mitropoulos
Violin: David Oistrakh
Violin Concerto No. 1 in a minor, op. 77, written in 1947-1948
00:00 - I. Nocturne. Moderato
12:07 - II. Scherzo. Allegro
18:22 - III. Passacaglia. Andante
[27:14 - Cadenza]
31:42 - IV. Burlesque. Allegro con brio
As many know, Shostakovich wrote two violin concertos. But his work list suggests two separate versions of the First, the Op. 77 and the Op. 99. The Violin Concerto No. 1 was originally completed in 1948, but withheld for seven years by the composer, owing to the oppressive climate for artists in the Soviet Union at the time. Any new work might have drawn the wrath of Stalin and his cronies in the arts. Shostakovich returned to the score in 1955 and then assigned the higher opus number to it. Actually, the only documented change he made came not as a result of second thoughts, but as a matter of consideration for the soloist. During rehearsals in 1955, the virtuoso violinist David Oistrakh requested of Shostakovich that the opening statement of the fourth movements main theme be given to the orchestra, so that the soloist could take a rest following the long cadenza which leads right into the finale, and Shostakovich agreed to make the change.
The First Violin Concerto begins as a dark work, full of that gloom and dread that pervade so many of Shostakovichs serious works. The first movement Nocturne starts off with an ominous theme that is both inwardly reflective and filled with foreboding. Midway through, a thinly veiled Dies Irae appears as the music becomes more tense. Yet, a climactic release never quite arrives and the suggested conflicts remain unresolved. The second movement is a rather diabolical Scherzo that contains some interesting allusions, first to the third movement of the Tenth Symphony (1953) and later to the first movement of the Second Piano Concerto (1957). The violin and woodwinds scurry about to deliver the playful yet menacing material, but gradually the character of the movement becomes more sarcastic, eventually breaking into a hallucinatory folk dance. The latter part of the Scherzo sounds less acidic, the diabolic and sarcastic elements surrender to the driving, insistent energy. The third movement is a Passacaglia that has a chorale-like quality at the outset, as the woodwinds deliver a mournful theme. The violin enters playing the main theme, one of the composers loveliest and warmest creations. Shostakovichs 1943 Eighth Symphonys fourth movement also featured a passacaglia, though of a decidedly grimmer character. Here, there is tension, but also much beauty. The latter third of the movement is taken up by a brilliant cadenza, which leads directly into the brief finale, a Burlesque of a mostly festive nature. The mood is similar to that of the faster music in the Tenth Symphonys finale, though there are no clear thematic references. While the work ends triumphantly, its manic qualities suggest a discomfort by the composer, as though the happy resolution might have been disingenuous.
Shostakovich eliminated trumpets and trombones from the orchestration of this Concerto, and his writing is otherwise sensitive to the limited tone of a solo violin playing amid a large ensemble. A typical performance of this work lasts about 35 minutes.
[allmusic.com]")
![Francis Poulenc - Chansons françaises [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OGuaDWf1Ad0/mqdefault.jpg "Francis Poulenc - Chansons françaises [With score]
Composer: Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (7 January 1899 - 30 January 1963)
Performers: The Cambridge Singers
Conductor: John Rutter
Huit Chansons françaises for chorus, FP 130, written in 1945-1946
00:00 - I. Margoton va ta liau [Margoton goes to fetch water]
02:18 - II. La belle se sied au pied de la tour The fair maid sits at the foot of the tower]
03:49 - III. Pilons lorge [Thrash the barley]
04:37 - IV. Clic, clac, dansez sabots [Click, clack, dance clogs]
06:43 - V. Cest la petit fill du prince [It was the prince’s little daughter]
10:58 - VI. La belle si nous étions [Pretty maid, if we were(...)]
12:13 - VII. Ah! mon beau laboureur [Ah! kind sir(...)]
15:11 - VIII. Les tisserands [The weavers]
For Poulenc, as for all his compatriots, the experience of living in occupied France during World War II was traumatic. His patriotism found choral expression in his substantial and complex work of 1943,
Figure humaine for a cappella double choir, the text of which ends with the word ‘liberté’. Then, two years later, he asserted national identity in an altogether different way with the tuneful and charming
Chansons françaises. These are settings of traditional folk-rhymes; according to Poulenc’s biographer Henri Hell, the melodies are the composer’s own, although one or two (such as Margoton) have become so absorbed into French folklore that they have virtually turned into folk songs.")
![Edvard Grieg - String Quartet No. 1, op. 27 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OM9hdCpdcqc/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - String Quartet No. 1, op. 27 [With score]
Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 4 September 1907)
Performers: Copenhagen String Quartet [Tutter Givskov (violin), Mogens Lydolph (violin), Mogens Bruun (viola), Asger Lund Christiansen (violoncello)]
String Quartet No. 1 in g minor, Op. 27, written in 1877-1878
00:00 - I. Un poco Andante - Allegro molto ed agitato
11:54 - II. Romanze
18:05 - III. Intermezzo
24:29 - IV. Finale. Lento - Presto al Saltarello
Grieg was, at root, a miniaturist. He did not often work in the large scale of the sonata form; his entire completed literature in this form consists of a symphony that he suppressed, one concerto, one cello sonata, three violin sonatas, and this quartet. (Later, he wrote two movements toward another one.) It was composed in 1877-1878. It is an exceedingly attractive and untroubled work, with a melodic spirit that recalls his best songs or piano works. One song-like figure in particular is used throughout. Grieg does treat his material in sonata fashion, but not rigorously. There is a feeling of Norwegian peasant dances in the scherzo, while the finale trots merrily with a saltarello rhythm. It is, in short, a lovable work, heartwarming in the way that Griegs music so often is.
The first performance of the quartet took place in Cologne in October 1878, by a quartet led by the works dedicatee, violinist Robert Heckmann.
[allmusic.com]
Original Audio: https://youtu.be/pZZkxLY9uqc")
![Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 {Overture, Act I} [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ORpaNV9zbr0/mqdefault.jpg "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 {Overture, Act I} [With score]
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
Conductor: René Jacobs
Performers: Simon Keenlyside (Il Conte), Véronique Gens (La Contessa) Patrizia Ciofi (Susanna), Lorenzo Regazzo (Figaro), Angelika Kirchschlager (Cherubino), Marie McLaughlin (Marcellina), Kobie van Rensburg (Basilio & Don Curzio), Antonio Abete (Bartolo & Antonio), Nuria Rial (Barbarina), Elisabeth Rapp & Yeree Suh (Due Ragazze)
Choir: Collegium Vocale Gent
Orchestra: Concerto Köln
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492, opera buffa in 4 acts, written in 1786 {Act 1}
00:00 – xxx. Ouverture
Act I
04:14 – I. Duettino: Cinque... dieci... venti...
07:43 – II. Duettino: Se a caso madama
13:00 – III. Cavatina: Se vuol ballare
16:39 – IV. Aria: La vendetta, oh, la vendetta
20:29 – V. Duettino: Via, resti servita
24:43 – VI. Aria: Non so più cosa son
31:19 – VII. Terzetto: Cosa sento! tosto andate
36:28 – VIII. Coro: Giovani liete
41:21 – IX. Aria: Non più andrai
Lorenzo da Ponte wrote the libretto for Mozarts Figaro after falling out with Antonio Salieri, who, as imperial court composer, had obtained the position of court poet for da Ponte. At the time of the operas composition and first performances, there was a climate of antagonism among factions of Italian musicians and poets living in Vienna, among whom was counted Salieri. Although the efforts of the anti-Mozart Italian clique did not succeed in having Mozarts Figaro banned from the stage, the opera did receive fewer than ten performances in Vienna immediately after its première at the Burgtheater on May 1, 1786. Figaro would have tremendous success in Prague, however, before spreading to other parts of Europe and becoming a classic of the opera buffa repertory. So began the fortuitous Mozart/da Ponte relationship, from which would come two further masterworks, Don Giovanni (1787) and Così fan tutte (1789-1790).
Mozart admired Pierre Auguste Caron de Beaumarchais politically radical play Le mariage de Figaro (1781), the second play in what would become a trilogy based on the autobiographical character Figaro. Beaumarchais Le barbier de Séville had been performed in 1775 and the third play of the trilogy, La mère coupable, would be premièred in 1793. In his Figaro plays, Beaumarchais, who himself was a participant in the Revolution, working towards anti-aristocratic revolutionary ideas, sharply spoofs pre-Revolution French society.
Mozarts music for Figaro consists of conventional dry and accompanied recitative, aria, and ensemble pieces. The overture, despite having no development section, is essentially in sonata form. Mozart musically conveys the range of Figaros perturbation in his Act One cavatina, Se vuol ballare, by whimsically changing the character of his music to correspond with Figaros machinations. Mozart also imbues Figaros rondo-form aria, Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso, with colorful musical depictions of Cherubinos forthcoming military service through dotted rhythms and trumpet arpeggio fanfares. The Countess cavatina, Porgi amor, conveys the characters elevated social status through its graceful melodic language. The duet (Aprite, presto, aprite) between Susanna and Cherubino in Act Two bristles expectantly with its moto perpetuo string writing and nervous, patter vocal declamation. In the Counts and Susannas Act Three duet (Crudel! Perchè finora), the minor mode conveys the Counts initial grief and a shift to major mode, after Susanna agrees to come to the garden, confirms a sense of momentary resolution. Later, in the Counts accompanied recitative (Hai già vinta la causa!), the orchestra adds an extra emphasis to his verbal expression of anger and agitation through impetuous dotted rhythms and string tremolos. Through furiously rapid-scale passages and trills, the orchestra maintains this angry intensity in the Counts vengeance aria (Vedrò mentrio sospiro). Barbainas Act Four cavatina, Lho perduta...me meschina! introduces a minor mode melody of classic Mozartean pathos. The finale of Act Four brings the principal characters to beg the Counts forgiveness and the music swells from a pious hymn-like ensemble to a triumphant fanfare-laden exultation.
[allmusic.com]")
![Edvard Grieg - Fire Romancer {Four Romances}, op. 10 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OzzUI_z3xAc/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - Fire Romancer {Four Romances}, op. 10 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performers: Monica Groop (voice), Roger Vignoles (Piano)
Fire Romancer {Four Romances} for Voice and Piano, op. 10, written in 1864-66
00:03 - I. Taksigelse {Gratitude}
03:49 - II. Skovsang {Woodland song} (06:26 for 4th strophe)
07:39 - III. Blomsterne tale {The flowers message}
09:07 - IV. Sang på fjeldet {Song on the mountain}")
![P. I. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker, Acte I. Tableau I. N° 2 Marche [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PCkn1E4c68c/mqdefault.jpg "P. I. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker, Acte I. Tableau I. N° 2 Marche [With score]
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 - 6 November 1893)
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
+This is a test video. In 20xx, My friend and I will work together on the famous ballet by Tchaikovsky: The nutcracker. And the result will be uploaded on my friends channel:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCEH6BN8A5xxnMgg0uPQlU1A")
![Claude Debussy - Piano Trio in G Major [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PN47nn799pE/mqdefault.jpg "Claude Debussy - Piano Trio in G Major [With score]
-Composer: Claude-Achille Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918)
-Performers: Trio Stradivari [Jolanda Violante (piano), Federico Guglielmo (violin), Luigi Puxeddu (cello)]
Piano Trio in G Major, L. 3, written in 1880
00:00 - I. Andantino con moto allegro
09:12 - II. Scherzo - Intermezzo. Moderato con allegro
12:45 - III. Andante espressivo
16:44 - IV. Finale. Appassionato
The reconstruction of Claude Debussys Piano Trio in G major, once thought to be among those early works either destroyed by the composer or lost during the ensuing hundred years, surely must count among the musicological triumphs of the 1980s. Though a certain amount of recomposition was necessary, most of the work was pieced together from a variety of authentic sources, including several partial manuscripts and a copy of the original cello part. (The reconstruction involved a number of parties, most notably the musicologist Ellwood Derr.)
Debussy composed the work during the summer of 1880 while employed by Madame von Meck (the legendary sponsor of Tchaikovsky). The eighteen-year-old composers unique musical voice was far from developed at this stage of his career, and throughout the work the influence of Franck and Schumann two of young Debussys favorite composers overshadows the few hints of Debussys future stature.
The form of the opening movement is a far cry from the venerable sonata-allegro form as found in many concert works of the nineteenth century. The initial gesture (which is ingeniously presented with the wrong metric alignment during the pianos introductory phrase, only to be shifted back by one beat to its proper location upon the violinists entrance four bars later) is followed by more active music marked Allegro appassionato. As the movement nears its midpoint, Debussy allows the cellist to introduce a gentle, triplet-dominated melody which is soon taken up by the violinist as well. The pianissimo reprise of the opening material (one hesitates to call it a recapitulation) is dislodged by the Allegro appassionato (now in the home key of G major) after only twenty-two bars. Shortly before the close of the movement, which is executed with the same kind of pianissimo dissolution typical of Debussys mature style, the opening material is allowed to once again take its rightful place in G major.
Perhaps the most immediately charming music in the Trio is to be found in the relatively brief Scherzo. A great deal of Schumanns witticism has found its way into the mix, although the ornamented, concealed parallelisms of the Un poco piu lento are all Debussy. If the gentle melody of the ensuing Andante espressivo, and the manner in which it is taken up directly by the violin after the cellists initial presentation, seems somewhat contrived, the rolling arpeggiations of the movements middle section cannot but remind one of the composers earlier style of piano writing (Clair de lune and the like).
The Finale provides a strong end to the work, despite an occasionally distracting lack of harmonic coherence (it should be pointed out that the weakest sections of the movement are Debussys own, while the reconstruction is performed with consummate skill). The chromatic relations of the tonal areas contained within the movement (from the opening G minor through A-flat major, E major and its parallel minor) and the harmonically agitated way in which Debussy moves from one tonal (and thematic) area to the next, developing his well-drawn motifs along the way, are among the characteristics that would have drawn the most criticism during the early stages of the composers career. Debussys decision to weaken the final (already very brief) cadence by landing on an altered tonic chord (V of IV) and then presenting a series of non-cadential chords over the tonic pedal, shows that the young composer was already beginning to explore ways of circumventing traditional harmonic formulae.
description: [allmusic.com]")
![Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PXWlkshdCBs/mqdefault.jpg "Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra [With score]
Composer: Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (17 June 1882 6 April 1971)
Piano: Carlos Roque Alsina
Orchestra: Philharmonique de France
Conductor: Ernest Bour
Capriccio for piano and orchestra, written in 1929
00:00 - I. Presto
06:19 - II. Andante rapsodico
11:39 - III. Allegro capriccioso ma tempo giusto
After he had premiered his Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments in 1924, Stravinsky had played that work about 40 times in Europe and America. By late 1928, he decided that he needed a new solo vehicle for his piano playing and Stravinsky began composing his Capriccio for piano and orchestra after Christmas of that year. The work was completed in September, 1929, and premiered in Paris with Ernest Ansermet conducting the Paris Symphony Orchestra and the composer at the piano.
The Capriccio was composed after Stravinsky had completed his Tchaikovsky ballet Le Baiser de la fée, a work whose music is based on the songs and piano piece of Tchaikovsky, and the same spirit of melodic refinement and rhythmic gracefulness permeates the three movements of the capriccio. Having written the Allegro capriccioso ma tempo giusto, the whole work took its title from that movement. Despite being scored for three each of flutes, oboes, and clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, and timpani plus ripieno and concertino strings without second violins, the capriccio is a much lighter and more self-consciously charming work than the weighty Piano Concerto. It is also a more stylish work; in his writings about the capriccio, Stravinsky mentions Weber and Mendelssohn, the two Beau Brummels of music and his writing for the piano has some of their effervescent spirit as well.
The opening movement of the Capriccio starts with a slow-sounding introduction which is integrated the Presto body of the movement. This introduction returns at the close of the movement to give the impression of a rounded ABA form. The central movement is marked Andante rapsodico, but the expressive indication has more to do with the apparent emotionality of the themes than the structure of the music which is in a clear ABA form. The Andante capriccioso finale is the lightest and fastest of the three movements and, again, the expressive marking has more to do with the cheerful and witty quality of the themes than with the form of the music which is in rondo form.
The Capriccio is a huge step forward in Stravinskys writing for the piano. In place of the heavy rhythms and thick textures of the Piano Concerto, he wrote for the piano in a manner much more in line with his manner of composing for winds and brass that is, more gracefully and elegantly.
[allmusic.com]
Original Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7XqkCIL6yE")
