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PianoCurio
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2021
A museum of pianistic curiosities. Original curations and recordings of rare and exceptional piano music, plus performances on historical pianos using Pianoteq. All recordings are my own.
Forgotten Christmas March that delighted French audiences in 1905
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
Marche de Noël des Pêcheurs de St. Jean pour piano (1905)
Arranged for piano by the composer
1926 Pleyel model F piano (Pianoteq)
Performance: PianoCurio
Widor spent the better part of a decade working on his third opera, "The Fishermen of St. Jean," a maritime "drame lyrique" in four acts based on a libretto by Henri Cain. It was an outright success at the Paris Opéra after its 1905 premiere, though Isidor Philipp relates that Widor's refusal to give the lead role to the Opéra director's wife apparently resulted in the swift end of its initial run.
This Christmas March comes from the beginning of the third act, which takes place on Christmas Eve while the neighbors are heading to church service. Meanwhile, the protagonist is anguishing in her room about the safety of her father and brother, who have been at sea for two days as a storm is brewing outside. We hear a colorful portrait of the rustic maritime village setting, complete with sailors' fifes and a central hymn after the neighbors dig through the mud and grime of the stormy streets to enter the church. One critical review in 1905 singled out this interlude as "a charming symphonic piece . . . the design of which is full of grace and freshness, with an orchestration as Mr. Widor knows how to write." Widor is not known today as a symphonist, but he in fact developed a masterful technique in orchestration that can be heard in both the piano arrangement and its original symphonic form (linked below).
Score video of the original orchestral version on Bartje Bartmans' channel: th-cam.com/video/lu5pEx1yomk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uGpmVyThrI436bRN
Score from Gallica: gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k857444w.r=widor%20marche%20de%20noel?rk=21459;2
Original promotional poster from the opera (not affiliated with me, just think it's cool): www.chisholm-poster.com/posters/CL20840.html?srsltid=AfmBOoouuqRNxdwetk6ojP1NFXvihrPKbR1k9urQPdEgYgZX0_8nHojp
Marche de Noël des Pêcheurs de St. Jean pour piano (1905)
Arranged for piano by the composer
1926 Pleyel model F piano (Pianoteq)
Performance: PianoCurio
Widor spent the better part of a decade working on his third opera, "The Fishermen of St. Jean," a maritime "drame lyrique" in four acts based on a libretto by Henri Cain. It was an outright success at the Paris Opéra after its 1905 premiere, though Isidor Philipp relates that Widor's refusal to give the lead role to the Opéra director's wife apparently resulted in the swift end of its initial run.
This Christmas March comes from the beginning of the third act, which takes place on Christmas Eve while the neighbors are heading to church service. Meanwhile, the protagonist is anguishing in her room about the safety of her father and brother, who have been at sea for two days as a storm is brewing outside. We hear a colorful portrait of the rustic maritime village setting, complete with sailors' fifes and a central hymn after the neighbors dig through the mud and grime of the stormy streets to enter the church. One critical review in 1905 singled out this interlude as "a charming symphonic piece . . . the design of which is full of grace and freshness, with an orchestration as Mr. Widor knows how to write." Widor is not known today as a symphonist, but he in fact developed a masterful technique in orchestration that can be heard in both the piano arrangement and its original symphonic form (linked below).
Score video of the original orchestral version on Bartje Bartmans' channel: th-cam.com/video/lu5pEx1yomk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uGpmVyThrI436bRN
Score from Gallica: gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k857444w.r=widor%20marche%20de%20noel?rk=21459;2
Original promotional poster from the opera (not affiliated with me, just think it's cool): www.chisholm-poster.com/posters/CL20840.html?srsltid=AfmBOoouuqRNxdwetk6ojP1NFXvihrPKbR1k9urQPdEgYgZX0_8nHojp
มุมมอง: 4 698
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Godowsky’s Magical “Concert Version” of Albéniz’s Tango
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Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) España, Op. 165, II. Tango (1890) Arranged for concert performance by Leopold Godowsky on July 12th, 1921 Performance: PianoCurio Instrument: Shigeru Kawai (Pianoteq) Godowsky tended to write the kind of music that makes you want to give up at first sight. His style might be described as "concert maximalism," wherein he composed intricate contrapuntal lines that weave ...
What Happened to the Turkish March After Mozart? Its Evolution from 1783-1941 (on historical pianos)
มุมมอง 11K14 วันที่ผ่านมา
When most people think of Turkish marches for piano, Mozart’s and Beethoven’s famous pieces first come to mind, perhaps followed by the concert arrangements of Beethoven’s Turkish theme by Rubinstein, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff. Yet this subgenre extended far beyond these composers as the aesthetic tastes of the European continent evolved throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In this video, I pe...
Chopthoven - 'Appassionata Harp' Etude (pastiche by Heller, op. 133, var. 7)
มุมมอง 4.4Kหลายเดือนก่อน
Stephen Heller (1813-1888) Variations on a Theme by Beethoven, Op. 133, Variation 7 (c. 1872) Based on a theme from the second movment of the Appassionata Sonata, op. 57 (1806), combined with the texture of Chopin's 'Aeolian Harp' Etude PianoCurio, pf Instrument: Ant. Petrof (Pianoteq) It is quite bold to compose original variations on a theme composed and varied by Beethoven himself. Stephen H...
Grieg’s Modernist Twilight: revelatory piano miniatures from his final years (Slåtter, Op. 72)
มุมมอง 7Kหลายเดือนก่อน
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) 17 Norwegian Peasant Dances (Slåtter), Op. 72, selected movements PianoCurio, pf Instrument: Blüthner Model One (Pianoteq) 00:00 VI. Gangar (walking dance) 01:30 III. Bridal March from Telemark 05:49 IV. Halling from the Fairy Hill 06:54 "Civilizing the tune" 09:52 XVI. Springing dance (The Maidens from Kivledal) 11:39 XVII. Gangar (The Maidens from Kivledal) 13:35 V. T...
The most unserious piano piece
มุมมอง 68Kหลายเดือนก่อน
Rodion Shchedrin (b. 1932) Humoresque for piano (1957) PianoCurio, pf Instrument: Bösendorfer 280VC (Pianoteq) One of the few humoresques that is seriously humorous, rivaling even Mozart's most inappropriate musical pranks. I can't immediately think of a funny piano piece that is as goofy as this one, especially when used as a musical foil to lighten up the audience after a performance. Check o...
Why this obscure piano piece sounds vaguely familiar
มุมมอง 8Kหลายเดือนก่อน
I somehow felt that I had always known this forgotten melody by Widor, until I realized that we all do, in a way. I believe I figured out why. John Williams' music for the Harry Potter movies, especially the titular "Hedwig's theme," is an iconic part of film music and pop culture today. Many of his famous melodies draw inspiration from eclectic styles and composers including Dvořák, Wagner, Li...
The Wanderer Decade: piano sonatas from every year of the 1810s
มุมมอง 8Kหลายเดือนก่อน
This is the second part of my century-long journey through 100 sonatas of the 1800s. Watch the first part here: th-cam.com/video/8N-XtmTeTsM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=W_Z_qy-UwfhgdOz2 I performed each of these works on an 1812 Schöffstoss pianoforte by Pianoteq tuned to A=415 hz. See below for some additional comments on each sonata. The modulatory transitions are my own semi-improvisations created for thi...
2 pianos 8 hands: Toccata from Suite gothique by Boëllmann (scrolling score)
มุมมอง 3.3Kหลายเดือนก่อน
Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897) Suite gothique pour orgue, Op. 25 (1895) IV. Toccata (arr. Léon Roques for 2 pianos 8 hands in 1915) Performed by PianoCurio I had been searching for a good, spooky work to feature this Halloween when I came across this vintage arrangement of Boëllmann’s famous piece on IMSLP. When I didn’t immediately find an existing recording of it (what, nobody has 2 pianos, 8 han...
1894 Piano Exam: Men's & Women's Sight-reading Pieces, Composed by Widor
มุมมอง 21K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
Two original piano pieces composed for an 1894 student competition at the Paris Conservatoire. 00:00 Men's Piece 01:37 Women's Piece PianoCurio, pf Men and women pianists: It is incredibly strange to us today, but the reality in the 19th century was that women did not directly compete with men in piano competitions. Though women were certainly encouraged, even expected, to learn the piano, they...
Lyadov Starter Pack - 5 Essential Preludes by a Late-Romantic Perfectionist
มุมมอง 17K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914) Five selected preludes for piano PianoCurio, pf Piano: Blüthner Model One (Pianoteq) The Russian composer Anatoly Lyadov wrote some of the finest lesser-heard gems in the late-Romantic piano repertoire. They are not all obscure, as the first prelude of this set has rightly become one of his most famous melodies. To me, Lyadov represents a link between the pianism of C...
Who does this melody remind you of?
มุมมอง 6K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
Hermann Goetz (1840-1876) Piano Quintet, Op.16 (1874) II. Andante con moto (arr. for piano 4 hands by Friedrich Hermann) PianoCurio, pf This music may bring to mind that of Mendelssohn, Schumann, or even Brahms at his most generous. Its harmonies have the warmth and clarity of the German Romantic composers and its melody has a natural Dvořákian ease to it, as if it sprang up from the soil. Rega...
Playing a sonata from every year of the 1800s: The first decade
มุมมอง 7K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
Playing a sonata from every year of the 1800s: The first decade
If you like this piece, he wrote 375 more over 8 years
มุมมอง 29K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
If you like this piece, he wrote 375 more over 8 years
Koechlin's spectral pianism - A unique voice
มุมมอง 18K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
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This dark gothic prelude belongs in a museum
มุมมอง 16K3 หลายเดือนก่อน
This dark gothic prelude belongs in a museum
Why Beethoven used more pedal (sometimes) - historical vs. modern piano comparison
มุมมอง 24K3 หลายเดือนก่อน
Why Beethoven used more pedal (sometimes) - historical vs. modern piano comparison
Tell me Chopin was your teacher in one etude
มุมมอง 22K3 หลายเดือนก่อน
Tell me Chopin was your teacher in one etude
The radiant poetry of Mel Bonis' Mélisande for piano
มุมมอง 8573 หลายเดือนก่อน
The radiant poetry of Mel Bonis' Mélisande for piano
The French Sequel to Schumann's Carnaval: 12 pieces for piano by C.-M. Widor (1891)
มุมมอง 2.3K3 หลายเดือนก่อน
The French Sequel to Schumann's Carnaval: 12 pieces for piano by C.-M. Widor (1891)
Liszt's ‘Beside a spring’ in two versions on period pianos
มุมมอง 5814 หลายเดือนก่อน
Liszt's ‘Beside a spring’ in two versions on period pianos
Playing Beethoven on 7 pianos from his lifetime
มุมมอง 45K4 หลายเดือนก่อน
Playing Beethoven on 7 pianos from his lifetime
Eduard Schütt - Andante Cantabile and Scherzino for two pianos, Op. 79
มุมมอง 4104 หลายเดือนก่อน
Eduard Schütt - Andante Cantabile and Scherzino for two pianos, Op. 79
Rameau's Gavotte but each variation is played on a newer piano
มุมมอง 27K5 หลายเดือนก่อน
Rameau's Gavotte but each variation is played on a newer piano
Alex. Voormolen (“The Dutch Ravel”) - Suite de clavecin pour piano
มุมมอง 9025 หลายเดือนก่อน
Alex. Voormolen (“The Dutch Ravel”) - Suite de clavecin pour piano
Franz Neruda - Variations in B minor, dedicated to Edvard Grieg, Op. 49
มุมมอง 3K6 หลายเดือนก่อน
Franz Neruda - Variations in B minor, dedicated to Edvard Grieg, Op. 49
Friedrich Kiel - Duet for solo piano, Op. 18 No. 3
มุมมอง 5126 หลายเดือนก่อน
Friedrich Kiel - Duet for solo piano, Op. 18 No. 3
If you spice it with some extra dissonances the first minute can sound like some Poulenc (or Nino Rota). For the rest, Mr Widor, you owe me 2 minutes of my life.
The variation at 2:31 sounds vewy Fwench to me as well, like something Debussy would’ve written around 1890
What a great discovery! I think I’ll orchestrate it for a concert next Christmas!
By the way, check out Widor’s original orchestration (and a much quicker interpretation) here: th-cam.com/video/lu5pEx1yomk/w-d-xo.html
Ill orchestrate it too :D lets share each others arrangements when were finished!!!
İts so orginal
Interesting blend of the silly and the grand. Highly forgettable.
Wow… the first piece sounds like a beautiful cold winter morning. Thanks for introducing me to this composer! Never heard of him before but immediately fell in love.
The end is gold.
As an organist this is funny to watch. You pianists might have dynamics, proper articulation and a sustain pedal, but I only need one of me to play this mwahaha!
I often joke that I don’t need to have friends as a pianist because I can just play everything myself via arrangements and such, but organists? Tucked away in the corner of a church or in the loft, practicing late nights and early mornings, you guys are the true lone wolves of the music world!
I quite liked this! I am new to your channel, but appreciate the orientation towards lesser-known works. Pianoteq sounds remarkable. May I ask what MIDI controller(s) you use and your thoughts on them? Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have always been fascinated by the wealth of the piano repertoire beyond the standard repertoire and I aim to highlight that on this channel. I use a Yamaha N1X Avantgrand as a controller. Since it’s a genuine grand piano action in a digital piano, it greatly helps to translate the performance naturally in MIDI format. That being said, it’s quite expensive and I don’t think it’s necessary to get a good performance from Pianoteq. Before I upgraded to the N1X, I used a couple different Casio Privia keyboards, which have decent actions for the price range and are much more portable. Kawai also makes a hybrid piano on the level of Yamaha’s Avantgrand, but I haven’t played it. The biggest limitation to me is that repeated notes don’t bounce as smoothly or quickly on a hybrid as they do on a real grand, but otherwise I feel like I can play anything on it.
Thank you so much for your response; it is really helpful! And I wish to give you much encouragement on your endeavor; you have one more interested listener/viewer.
They are both not so easy as they may seam.
Is subjective.
Bir Türk olarak teşekkür ediyorum.İlk ikisi dışındakileri hiç duymamıştım
It's a Scarlatti Sonata!
I wish I had Godowsky’s harmonic language so bad. Almost all of his choices are so agreeable to me, yet idk how he comes to the decisions he makes 😭 Feels like it was second-nature to him
This is a great piece to audition to Juilliard with, but if it was me, I’d opt to go with 4’33”
Good suggestion, that piece was a hit with my mom’s friends when she asked teenage me to play for everyone at a Christmas party, though most of them did leave before I was done.
@ well that was rude of them. It was probably too complex for their simple ears.
I don't think I've ever laughed at a piece of music before, this is so hilarious and complete genius 🤣
Can I have a copy of the sheet music?
ゴドフスキーがアレンジしたこのアルベニスのタンゴ、 あたかも同じくアルベニスの組曲イベリアの雰囲気さえ漂います😮😊✨
Dude just had one riff and made small variations on it. That's it, nothing more was needed.
Unironically this became one of my favourite compositions
assai con buffo e elegante
_"May they never know your next move"_ (the whole piece is in Db major and it is resolved with a surprising Eb chord)
The stupid and meaningless dinamic changes between pp and ff makes it even funnier
I like Schedrin! I bought an LP on a whim once, of him playing some of his own music. Among others his second piano concerto, which is extremely metal (and sometimes jazzy)
At bar 6 it would be b flat...
Dark gothic??????
Still more serious than John Cage 😅
Okay, but I actually wanna learn it
I unironically love it, it's like the theme song for some kind of silly little creature scuttling around and getting into mischief
He was a student of Gabriel Fauré :0
Wove. WOVE!
(*walks to blackboard*) wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove wove woved woved woved woved woved woved woved weaved
0:50 El chavo del ocho!!
de ahi se basa el tema y la cancion del chavo proviene de Perrey The Elephant Never Forgets
Interesting! This is the first piece in a book I have called "The Library of Piano Classics", and this arrangement sounds quite different, and more grand due to the use of octaves. The slower tempo does make it harder to follow the rhythm, but otherwise the embellishments are quite pretty; I especially love when goes to the lower octaved D chord.
Glad I subscribed. Adding these to my sight reading list. Lovely!
sounds cool
Why not just improvise your own silliness?
It’s easy to play the piano in a silly manner. It’s rarer to crystallize silliness in musical notation, which is what makes this piece special, to me.
Why not just improvise your own ‘silliness’?
It should be a lot faster I think
Fibich is another wonderful Czech composer undeservedly overshadowed by Dvorak.
this is what I've been looking for
Really interesting. I was aware of the orientalism as style in western classical music, but I never considered the Turkish March as a "genre".
C’est magnifique
I remember when I performed this once when I was 14 the audience broke out in laughter at one point. Was I trying to become the heir of Victor Borge? 😂
One of the few times when that is a good thing!
How on earth did the TH-cam algorithm know I sight read through this today!
Hmm did you google Dupont maybe? It knows all!
Magical❤
Interesting use of tempo, i like it. Says "slowly and languidly"...the suggested time length and megronome marking is faster, so conflicting messages in the score. Tango could be danced at either tempo...Amazing virtual piano.
It’s something I had to think about, but ultimately I concluded that Godowsky’s added details benefit from some breathing room. Thanks
Precioso
I heard Rachmaninoff's Moment Musicaux in E minor a lot 😅
I love that he uses two bass clefs; a fair few pianists will have been caught out by that one😅.
I'll definitely check the whole output of Mathias. Thx for presenting me. But I read his biography and it seems he studied piano performance with Chopin, not composition. Composition was with Kalkbrenner
Great idea to demo each music with an instrument of its own era. Loved it!