Mozart Piano Sonata No. 11, Movement 1

The introspective, yet mainly optimistic feel to this piano sonata is a real treat to listen to. This first movement is played as a theme with six variations that follow it. The main theme which everything is based off of is simple, quiet and reflective.

The first variation is a more bubbly and bright version of the theme and leaves the listener satisfied. The second variation is still more bubbly that the original theme with perpetual sixteenth notes, but keeps the same introspective quality of the beginning. The third variation takes a turn into A minor and is a little darker, but is kept moving by perpetual sixteenth notes again. The fourth variation is similar to the first variation in the fact that is also bubbly, but the fourth variation also sounds very springy. The fifth movement is also optimistic, but also is usually played a bit slower and has the same reflective element from the original theme and sounds more lyrical than the other variations. Now, if we were to combine the reflective quality of the original theme, the bubbly feeling of the first variation and the springiness of the fourth variation- plus a little extra pizazz, I think we end up with the sixth variation which finishes this movement with a simple cadence.

A friend of mine once said that Mozart's music is: simple plus elegant with a touch of fun. I think that this piece of music embodies that description exactly.

Here is Mitsuko Uchida's interpretation of this sonata:
I. Allegretto Grazioso Part 1
I. Allegretto Grazioso Part 2
Please stay tuned for the second and third movements (:

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