Johann Sebastian Bach is considered one of the greatest composers in history. However his fame during his lifetime was as an organist more than his reputation as a composer. But since the 19th century he has been hailed as a genius whose work represents the peak of the Baroque era.

Frederic Chopin is the most significant composer in the history of the piano. He exploited the instrument's capacities for charm, excitement, variety and timbral beauty. His innovations in fingering, the use of the pedals, and general treatment of the keyboard were hightly influential. No serious student of the piano can claim to be one without having studied and performed Chopin's works.



Claude Debussy is considered the founder and leading exponent of musical Impressionism. His adoption of non-traditional scales and tonal structures was the model for many composers who followed. Imagery inspired much of his work: footsteps in the snow, dead leaves, fireworks, clouds, moonlight, the sea, and much more.

Erik Satie was an important French composer. He is best remembered for several groups of piano pieces, including
Trois Gymnopédies,
Trois Sarabandes and
Trois Gnossiennes - a part of which is featured on this page.

Franz Liszt's fame was a mix of extraordinary digital ability (the greatest in the history of keyboard playing), an unmatched instinct for showmanship, and one of the most progressive musical imaginations of his time. Hailed by some as a visionary, reviled by others as a symbol of empty Romantic excess, he wrote his name across music history like a superstar!

Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky created some of the most popular themes in classical music. Even though he founded no school, struck out no new paths - the power and communicative sweep of his music elevated it to classic eminence.
His unique melodic talent made his music sound familiar on first hearing. The kind of stuff today's musicians yearn to achieve.

Ludwig van Beethoven is the most famous composer in the western world. He is remembered for his powerful and stormy compositions, and for continuing to compose and conduct even after he began to go deaf at age 28. He wrote nine numbered symphonies in all. (His Fifth Symphony's opening notes entered 20th Century disco music in 'Saturday Night Fever') Featured here is his "Moonlight" sonata.



Sergei Rachmaninov (also spelled Rachmaninoff) was highly regarded as a composer and virtuoso-pianist with unmatched power and expressiveness. Unusually wide chords and deeply romantic melody lines were characteristic of his compositions.



Robert Schumann's musical achievements were immense. He was a leader of the Romantic movement both as a composer and as a highly articulate music critic. His works are noted for links with literature. Many of his compositions allude to characters or scenes from poems, novels and plays. He is also noted for using childhood (from an adult point of view) as themes for composition.

German composer, pianist, and conductor Johannes Brahms was one of the most significant musical figures of the 19th century. His works greatly enriched the romantic repertory.
Contemporaries saw him as Beethoven's successor and his first symphony was nicknamed 'Beethoven's Tenth'!



Dmitri Shostakovich's compositions have made him one of the most controversial figures in modern music. Was he a good Soviet who believed in the Communist cause, or was he deeply anguished by the oppressive restrictions placed on himself and his art? Research into the hidden 'meanings' behind his compositions suggests the latter, but it looks like he is going to keep historians guessing for a long time to come.

CLASSICAL PIANO

Most of the selections below are pieces I perform and like.
Some of them are what my pupils have performed while appearing for grade examinations conducted by the Trinity College of Music, London.
Also among them are selections which have been requested by those who have stopped by and visited.

 

 

Aufschwung (Soaring) Fantasiestucke Op12 No 2 Robert Schumann

Prelude and Fugue in G, Opus 87 No 3 D. Shostakovich

Rhapsody in G Minor ,Opus 79 No 2 Johannes Brahms

Prelude and Fugue in G Major , BMW 860 J. S. Bach

Chopin From Carnaval, Opus 9 Robert Schumann

Larghetto From Quatre Pieces Fugitive, Opus 15 Clara Schumann

About Strange Lands and People Opus 15 No 1 Robert Schumann

Curious Story Robert Schumann

Rendezvous W. Aletter

The Maiden's Prayer Thekla Badarzewska

Glow Worm Paul Lincke

Melody Of Love Opus 600 H.Engelmann

In A Persian Market Albert W. Ketèlbey

Theme from Concerto in B flat Minor Peter I.Tchaikovsky

Three Waltzes Opus 39 - Nos 2, 8, 15 Johannes Brahms

Allegro Opus 8 Robert Schumann

Serenata Andaluza Manuel de Falla

Nocturne Ottorino Respighi

Habanera Emmanuel Chabrier

Fantaisie-Impromptu Opus 66 Frederic Chopin

Hungarian Dance No.5 Johannes Brahms

Trois Gnossiennes No.1 Erik Satie

Prelude Opus 28 No.24 Frederic Chopin

Rondo a Cappriccio (Rage Over A Lost Penny) Opus 129 Ludwig van Beethoven

Seguidillas No 7 from Suite Espanola Opus 47 Isaac Albeniz

La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin Claude Debussy

Czardas V. Monti

June Peter I. Tchaikovsky

Etude in Ab Major Opus 25 No.1 (Aeolian Harp Song) Frederic Chopin

Clair de Lune From the 'Suite Bergamasque' Claude Debussy

Prelude in C# Minor Opus 3 No.2 Sergei Rachmaninov

No.6 of Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm Bela Bartok

Prelude in G Minor Opus 23 No.5 Sergei Rachmaninov

Prelude No.1 From: The Well Tempered Clavichord J.S.Bach

Polonaise in A Major Op 40 No.1 Frederic Chopin

Theme from Swan Lake (Arranged for Four Hands) Peter I. Tchaikovsky

Valse in Db Major Op 64 No.1 (Minute Waltz) Frederic Chopin

Grande Valse Brillante Op 18 Frederic Chopin

Moonlight Sonata Adagio Sostenuto Beethoven

Liebestraum Nocturne Franz Liszt

Fugue in Cm Book I, No.2 J.S.Bach

Allegro Sonatina Op 2/1 Jan Vanhal Krtitel

Valse in Em Oeuvre Posthume F. Chopin

Impromptu Op 90 No.2 Schubert

Rustle of Spring Op 32 No.3 Christian Sinding

La Serenade Franz Schubert Transcribed by Franz Liszt

Scherzo Op 16 No.2 F. Mendelssohn

Tico Tico Don Marcotte and Zequinha Abreu

The Swan (Le Cygne) Camille Saint-Saens

What about This, Mr Clementi? Boris Blacher

Premiere Valse Augustus Durand

Elegie Op.3 No,1 Sergei Rachmaninov

Cumana Barclay Allen

Bats at Play (Leikkivat Lepakot) Pekka Kostiainen

The First Noel (A Bach Carol) Traditional

Theme from The Warsaw Concerto Richard Addinsell

 

 

PIANO & VIOLIN

Schon Rosmarin Fritz Kreisler
Rondo Mozart-Kreisler
Liebesfreud Fritz Kreisler
Hora Staccato (Rumanian) Dinicu-Heifetz
Praeludium und Allegro Gaetano Pugnani - Fritz Kreisler
Danse Espagnole Manuel de Falla
Czardas Vitorio Monti
Chanson Arabe From 'Scherazade' Rimski Korsakow

 

 

Copyright 2008 © Jeanne Coello, Goa, India