Area 88 - for piano fans

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Comment by Peter Cox on September 8, 2009 at 12:35pm

I saw lang lang last year and excited about the opening

Comment by Andrea Saliba on September 1, 2009 at 11:04pm

Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune reaches in and touches my soul like no other piece of music. It captures my heart and I must simply sit still and enjoy the sensation of hearing this contemplative, slightly melancholy and absolutely romantic composition for the piano! It not only captivates me, but it slows me down to its adagio pace and allows me to really live in the moment of purely enjoying this music (and doing and thinking of nothing else!)

Much in the same way, the full moon captivates me, making me take notice of its aura and its brilliance. When my eyes feast on it, I must simply stop what I'm doing and contemplate its beauty and its light.

I never used to notice the full moon so much until one night when I fell in love under its spell. From that point on, I entered a more spiritual existence -- perhaps one closer to enlightenment. Even though I fell in love with a man under the full moon, I think in some way I fell in love with myself and felt closer to God and all that is abundant in one's heart. Sometimes people enter your life and manifest God's light -- this was the way of this relationship with this man.

Although the relationship did not last, the residual magic would emerge from time to time. One time at a children's piano recital, I heard a young but competent child playing Clair de Lune on the grand piano. The music moved me, tears flooded my eyes, the man reappeared and it was not until later that I made the connection...and the translation that Clair de Lune means "moonlight". Life is full of everyday miracles. Enjoy this piece of music and see if it moves you!

Comment by Ken Iisaka on August 20, 2009 at 2:13pm

Now, that's a difficult question to answer. Given the exhaustive repertoire written for piano, it is nearly impossible to pick one.

As an amateur pianist since young, I have had the privilege of exploring many different aspects of the piano repertoire, from solo work, through ensembles, to the most profound concerti. The richness of the repertoire and the experience of establishing intimate relationships with each one of them enriched my life experience, and sharing them with an audience, however small, brought me extraordinary joy.

As I stated earlier, picking just one is nearly impossible. I adore the tableaus in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, rarely heard as its original piano solo version. I am forever awed by the magnificent structure and the innovations in the last sonatas by Beethoven, while my heart is touched by the intimacy and passion of Schubert's Fantasy in f-minor for four hands. I am also profoundly moved by the delicate austerity of Schönberg's Op.19, and the desperate torment in Berg's Sonata Op.1. The list can go on just about forever on how these fabulous works changed my life.

Yet, if I absolutely must pick one, despite all the greatness of the mainstream repertoire, I would pick the Concerto for Solo Piano by a somewhat obscure French composer, Charles-Valentin Alkan.

Alkan was a contemporary of Chopin and Liszt, and was known as an extraordinary virtuoso of the day in Paris. Yet, his fame as a young prodigy was followed by a series of disappointments that led him to seclude himself in his apartment where he composed devilishly complex and innovative music, separated from the world, heard so rarely even today.

The Concerto for Solo Piano consists of three movements in minor keys: g#, c# and f#, and is a part of the series, 12 Etudes for Minor Keys, Op.39. Combined with 12 Etudes in Major Keys, Op.33, the 24 etudes require over three hours to perform, peppered with other titanic compositions like "Symphony for Solo Piano". The scale and the magnitude of the compositions dwarf the etudes with which we are more familiar.

The first movement is classical in form, yet the scale is titanic. The orchestral opening, marked "Quasi Trombe" recalls a brass quartet, but the torrent of a full orchestra joins in
immediately after the introduction of the first theme. The demand on the pianist is not to play all the notes in the dense score, but is to project the range of dynamics and colours to evoke the sound of a full orchestra.

Soon after the piano solo entry, with a variation of the first theme, comes a section where the piano solo is as if accompanied by an orchestra. Here, the right hand plays a pianistic line, while the left hand plays brass chords similar to those heard in the opening.

After an extensive transition section, development section, and a rich recapitulation with a hymn-like horn quartet section off-stage, there is even a cadenza written like no other piano music, with rapid repeated notes with alternating hands. After the horns join the piano in the coda, the entire brass section stands up to bring the work to the end. The score for this movement alone is 72 pages, and takes nearly 30 minutes to perform.

The Adagio movement in c# minor is reminiscent of a Nocturne, with rich colours and humour. The delicate longing is however swept away in a torrent and a brutal end.

The Allegretto movement is where Alkan’s Jewishness triumphs. With themes reminiscent of raucous East-European folk songs, it dances away the night around the campfire. Here, all stops are pulled, and all tricks of the trade are used to create an extraordinary mélange, full of exotic spices.

There are only a handful of pianists who have performed this piece, and even fewer to record it. Of all the living pianists, we just have Marc-André Hamelin, Jack Gibbons, Stephanie McCallum, and probably a handful of others. It is such a pity, as the richness of the music and the innovations shown by Alkan in the 1850’s were not emulated until at least a generation later. To me, it is unthinkable that so may great pianists have developed their career without stumbling on his remarkable compositions, of which the Concerto for Solo Piano is at the pinnacle.

I did however have the privilege of performing the first movement in public, at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. The first ten minutes of the performance can be seen on YouTube. Also, I have been working on an orchestration of the entire concerto for the past several years, hoping to perform it with an orchestra in 2013, the bicentennial of the composer’s birth. It would be an extreme pleasure to share it with you all then.

Comment by Jason Wellington Black on August 20, 2009 at 1:30pm

Piano Prelude Number 2 by George Gershwin because it describes New York like an impressionist painting. You can see TIn Pan Alley, the stock ticker, and the Yankee box score; you can watch the traffic which is alternatively stifled or surging, hurried or herding; you can hear an impassioned argument. No impressionism there. But look! You can even see the extant expressions on the faces of the men negotiating sales in the Diamond District, with their compelling and compelled performances, upon which small fortunes depend, or maybe a Yeshiva's tuition, haggling, knowing to take all the time they need to get it right; they know there is still a little time to get it right, just before sunset on a Friday afternoon. And for those who do not have the time for a Rhapsody in Blue, Piano Prelude Number 2 can be had in a New York minute. It even fits on my guitar economically, economics being defined as the management of scarce resources which have alternative uses, fingers, frets, frenzy and harmonic and temporal fluidity. Quite a bargain.
©2009 Jason Wellington Black

Comment by Juraj Martanovic on August 20, 2009 at 12:46pm

I like very much Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat major, Op. 73, Emporor because when I close my eyes I feel like I am flying high and watching the earth from above. This peace somehow sets your soul free.

Comment by Austin Han on August 20, 2009 at 11:12am

I haven't got a very fancy story for my favorite piano piece. Ever since i heard Jon Nakamatsu perform the Liszt transcription of Widmung, I felt as if I have fallen in love with a middle school sweetheart I met more than six years ago. I'm almost 19 years old right now, caught up in voting registration, college workloads, and money, but every time I listen to Widmung, I take myself back to a time when I was just starting to learn about love, when all I wanted was to grow up. I have Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt to thank when it comes to making my hectic days so much more wonderful.

Comment by Christa Conrad on August 15, 2009 at 11:21am

My favorite all time piano piece is Mozart's Piano Sonata Number 16 in C, which was my first classical music experience. It opened up a whole new world for me, of which I had been previously unaware. Being raised by rock and rollers, the only time I had heard classical music growing up was poor renditions in elevators on the way to go shopping in a department store. But finally at age 16, I got my first job baking in a cozy bed and breakfast inn in San Francisco - which ONLY played classical music. When I heard Mozart's Number 16, it left an impression as strong as smelling Chanel Number 5 for the first time; there is absolutely nothing like it! As the piano played, I felt swept away on a cloud of delight where I had no worries or cares and must be surrounded by angels. And to think I could get this feeling anytime, anywhere? Amazing! After this first meeting, I have never looked back: Classical music and I are still an item, and as happy as can be together.

Comment by Laura Cordova on August 15, 2009 at 7:45am

My favorite piano piece is the second movement of the Sonate Pathetique, Piano Sonata No. 8, by Beethoven. I first learned this movement as a child. As an adult I never had a piano, and was only able to play piano whenever I visited my parents out of town. Only those who love music and the piano could imagine the joy I would get from playing, and getting filling every moment with music before I had to leave. Then, my father surprised me one day with a beautiful concert size Steinway. But shortly after that I entered a bitter divorce and the piano ended up in storage, and again I was unable to play the piano. Days would go by and I would cry and yearn to play, and wish I'd have my piano back. Then one day, my attorney called to say everything was clear and I could send for my piano. When it arrived, what was the first piece I played? I sat down and and played the Sonate Pathetique. I couldn't help by cry as I played, and listened to the warmth, the joy and the music that filled the whole room, the house, and my body. I was the happiest girl in the world that day. I'm a single mom with three kids, and I may not have much. But I have my piano and love for music, that I am passing on to my kids.

Comment by Carlin Black on August 14, 2009 at 3:16pm

Just an intro. I have been a fan of piano music since I was a small child playing near the piano just to hear my sister practice. A disability prevented me from playing myself, so the forbidden fruit syndrome made me interested in anything piano. I am fortunate to be married to an accomplished pianist and teacher of outstanding students so I live in a house filled with wonderful piano music.

Comment by JenniferV on August 13, 2009 at 10:15am

My favorite piece of piano music is Beethovan's Moonlight Sonata.

Why? It was one of the first pieces of classical music that engaged me as a child, brought to me by Schroeder on Charlie Brown, sparking a lifelong interest in music.

The piano feels like a live dancing partner, as I instantly sway to its movement. Moonlight Sonata gives the piano a voice, one that even a child can see in her mind and feel in her heart. I became Schroeder, focused intently on the music despite the incessant interruption of Lucy's love ballad.

A visit to the old clip on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyLQzd8HrY will take you back, make you feel young again, and let you appreciate the beautiful simplicity of the piano and the emotion of Beethoven.

Time to get back to work. But not before I see the clip one more time.

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