Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, movement 4

Tchaikovsky could have ended his symphony right there after the third movement and left everyone feeling happy and satisfied. However, I don't think that Tchaikovsky was that kind of person, and thus, he leaves us with his last movement of Pathetique.

Did you think that such sadness as we heard in the first movement would be forgotten? That a naive, triumphant theme could steal the show after such mourning and loss? Here, the answer is no- and besides, the naive theme was just that: naive. Tchaikovsky sends us the first chord of this movement, and it hits us like a crashing wave- with impact. The orchestra grieves again, but now they are worn out (no, I don't mean the players, although they might be..) and even through hopeful efforts, real happiness is still absent. Near the end of the movement, things get significantly quieter. The energy of the orchestra slowly wears down to just a heartbeat and fades. Not a happy ending, but perhaps a more suitable one than the end of the third movement.

Again, Yuri Temirkanov with the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala of Milan
IV: Adagio Lamentoso

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, movement 3

So according to my album sleeve, the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony is a "spirited march (with it's underlying tarantella theme in 12/8 time) represents the triumph of previous success" It's easy to hear the triumph and excitement in this movement, however, the beginning of this movement shows a trace of uncertainty and sadness mixed in with the celebrations. By the middle of the movement, all unhappiness is completely forgotten and the triumph of this movement is in full swing. Tchaikovsky builds the excitement and happiness until we reach a big bang finish, and we could almost stop right there- but no we don't. There's one more movement to come yet.

III. Allegro Molto Vivace

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, movement 2

So after a little uncertainty about what to write for the 2nd through 4th movements of this symphony, I think I have a better idea today. This afternoon I bought a recording of the symphony by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra :) According to the album sleeve, this second movement is supposed to "illustrate the transient pleasures of everyday life" It is written as a trio in 5/4 time- weird! (but really cool) The unusual time signature gives the music a sort of strange lilt.

The beginning of the movement sounds very country-like and pleasant to me, but I think between the parts where the main melody of this movement is heard- the unusual time signature helps to show hints of stress and disruption beneath the pleasant everyday life. This is can be heard especially during the middle section of this movement at: 2:40
The timpani, again, provides that sort of somber heartbeat. After this middle developmental section, life continues- and so does the cheery melody from the beginning of the movement. The end of the movement is a little strange; we hear the stress of the middle section illustrated by the cellos and brass, while it is answered reassuringly by the horns and winds. Again, we have the theme of hope as the movement comes to a quiet close.

Same recording as last post
Movement II: Allegro Con Grazia

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique" First Movement

This music is moving-
There aren't really many other ways to put it. As one might venture to guess, since this is Tchaikovsky, a composer of the romantic era- that this symphony is full of romance. But to say that it only speaks with romance is selling it short. Tchaikovsky was quite happy with this symphony after he had completed it- he thought it expressed what he wanted it to.

The first movement starts with a quiet, somber tone. When the first melody is introduced, the music holds the same mournful feeling and quickly turns to passionate grieving. Then hope is introduced. The orchestra takes that idea and runs with it- but nothing is ever really achieved here- only hopes and dreams are illustrated. These dreams are awakened with a bang(beginning of the second link), and we hear the first grieving melody again in the strings as they frantically scurry at the instance of a catastrophe further illustrated by the brass. Things quiet down, but are still filled with tension and disharmony; the orchestra is truly grieving and these emotions boil over again. Then the same "hopeful romantic" melody as heard earlier in the movement comes back again- but this idea is only a painful reminder of what could have been and no longer can be. Pizzicato in the strings serves as a heartbeat for the woodwinds to lament over, and the timpani ends the movement with a gentle roll.

There will be more to come over the next few days- I'm still working on analyzing this symphony in moods! ^__^ This is by no means any sort of real storyline that Tchaikovsky had in mind for this piece- just my interpretation.

First Movement Part A
Part Two
conducted by Yuri Temirkanov with the Orchestra del Teatro all Scala

Mozart Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"

So yeah, I've skimped off on the blogs over the past couple days... >.<
But anyway, there's nothing I can do about that now- so let's get right into it!

One of the pieces I got to see the DSO perform Saturday evening was Mozart's Symphony No. 35 "Haffner." I've always liked Mozart for his Salzburg Symphonies, but before Saturday night I'd never heard this one before. I liked hearing this symphony a lot because I found it easy to listen to all the parts at once. It made me smile when I heard ascending melodic lines and a descending bass line at the same time- it's just a small idea, but it adds a lot more interest than the melodic and bass lines moving together. And of course, as a violinist, I loved to hear the focus on the strings :)

One of my friends described this piece as "Simple, with a bit of elegance"

So enjoy!
The Vienna Philharmonic, led by Karl Bohm

I. Allegro Con Spirito
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Presto

Some favorite musical parodies!

So lucky me! I get to see the Detroit Symphony Orchestra tonight with a couple friends- it should be a blast :)

So today, instead of posting some classical music with a little description about it and what I think of the music- I'm going to post some comedy skits made up by classical musicians!

Here are some hilarious skits from Igudesman and Joo's "A Little Nightmare Music" show. I'm not sure how to explain their comedy, so I won't! I'll let them explain for you :P

I&J Piano Lesson
I&J Rachmaninoff had big hands
I&J Riverdance

Artist's Life

So, last night's blog was really bad x___X and I was in a foul mood- I hope it didn't show through too much in my writing, but I feel like I didn't do the Firebird Suite justice. Unfortunately I don't really have time to make amends tonight, since I'm kipping at a friends.

One piece of music that I'd like to leave you with, if anyone is out there reading, is a personal favorite of mine- Artist's Life by Johann Strauss. About a year and a bit ago, I went through a phase of listening to a lot of Strauss. This piece I really like, I like the gentle harmonious beginning, and the waltz quality to it that Strauss is famous for. What intrigues me about this piece is the title- what did Strauss mean to convey? Was he talking about a musical artist in the title, a painter- or some other kind of artist. I also love how this piece sort of gains momentum as it goes along. Maybe that sounds weird, but I don't know how else to describe it :)

Here is Seji Ozawa (One of my favorite conductors!)conducting the Vienna Philharmonic

Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky

Okay, I'm lazy and tired tonight- so not much of an analytical report of the music tonight, sorry folks!
If I can get a ride to the DSO this weekend, I might be able to see this music and 3 really other cool pieces for $5 a ticket! ^___^ Courtesy of a youth orchestra I was in. There is a little information on this piece in the link.
This is the video from Fantasia 2000

Intimate Voices

At the request of a friend, I am posting some of Sibelius' music tonight! ^__^

The Sibelius String Quartet in D minor, "Intimate Voices" is not quite like the peppy, bright music I have been posting recently. Like the name "Intimate Voices" suggests, this composition for string quartet sounds like a conversation. I won't attempt to make up a storyline for the music- at least not right now, but you can hear when each musical line (or character) talks, agrees, disagrees and discusses amongst themselves. It is interesting to follow the mood of this piece and how it changes. There is discord and harmony, sadness and happiness, wisdom and folly and it is all illustrated in the conversations between the instruments. However, the overall tone of the music is somber and mournful. Perhaps the moments of happiness and harmony further intensify the main underlying theme of unhappiness in the quartet. For all my attempts to explain the themes of this music, I found it a little hard to follow. Lots of small unexpected mood changes pop up and sometimes it is hard to define how all the little changes in this piece contribute to the whole.

Here is the Emerson String Quartet's version:
Movement 1/2
Movement 3
Movement 4/5

The Emperor's Concerto- Beethoven

I had the privilege of seeing a live concert of this wonderful piano concerto when I was at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp last summer. Our teachers and mentors played in the orchestra behind the pianist. This was the first piano concerto I really came to love, I like the way Beethoven establishes a connection between the orchestra and the solo piano part. Of course, the piano takes center stage, but the orchestra is there for more than just a little backup harmony. When I listen to this concerto, it becomes obvious to me that the musical line the orchestra plays at any said time has (an important) impact on the pianist's line, and vice-versa. I guess it's always a composer's goal to make this happen but to me, this concerto seems to do more than just skim the surface.

I love the way this concerto ends and the way different themes and ideas are brought back several times throughout. Some things to listen for: double bass acting as a sort of "heartbeat" for the piano, especially in the second movement; and the orchestra getting louder over the piano so that the piano has to react- this happens throughout, but especially in the second half of the first movement.
This recording is of Glenn Gould on piano, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karel Ancerl. There is also a short narrated introduction to the piece at the beginning.

Movement 1 Part A
Movement 1 Part B
Movement 2
Movement 2/3