Listening Log 2020

Dear Students,

Here we are starting a new Blog which is dedicated to our Listening Log. From now on, you are welcome to post your weekly ListeningListening LogLogs here in a form of your comment to this blog post.  Each completed Listening Log will earn you a Sticker.

In the wake of COVID-19, let’s do our part, by keeping our study and routine as usual!

You will need to make your posts fit the following format:

Listening Log No…by…(your name)

First piece:

  1. Composer
  2. Title of the piece
  3. Performer(s)
  4. Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car
  5. Your comments!

Second piece:

  1. Composer
  2. Title
  3. Performer(s)
  4. Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car
  5. Your comments!

344 thoughts on “Listening Log 2020”

  2. Composer: Liszt
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1
    Performer(s) name: Martha Argerich
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqQcWoTPaU
    Comments: I heard this on the radio before. It sounds very dramatic. The main theme sounds very good. The second movement is more peaceful, while the third movement is more energetic. It also sounds happy. I am surprised that the main theme is in both the 1st and 4th movements. The 4th movement is also energetic. It makes me think that I’m riding a horse.

    Reply

  3. 1. Composer: Chopin
    Title: Mazurka op. 67 no. 4
    Performer: The Royal Philharmonic
    link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ariLvr25N24
    Comments: This mazurka was unusual because the beats were not exaggerated, and the piece had less of a dance beat. It had a smoother legato sound.
    2. Composer: Tschaikowsky
    Title: Mazurka Swan Lake 3 part 8 of 8
    Performer: The Philadelphia Orchestra
    link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWlvY0BiLs4
    Comments: Tschaikovsky’s mazurka was much dancier, but every few lines it switched seemingly into another light motif. Listening to the later parts make me sleepy!

    Reply

  6. Composer: Mozart
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 5 (2nd and 3rd mvt)
    Performer(s) name: Mitsuko Uchida
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng2uubWSETU
    Comments: This is the current concerto that I am playing. I will actually play the whole concerto!! It sounds super good. The first movement is in D major, the second is in G major, and the 3rd is in D major again. I really like this concerto.

    Reply

  7. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Yuja Wang Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 29 ‘Hammerklavier’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ5qJrtxWzs
    I really like this melody, It is very strong and powerful. this piece follows this exact description, but there are some softer and more beautiful places. I like this piece a lot.
    Second piece:

    yuja wang – Prokofiev Toccata D minor
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVpnr8dI_50
    this piece is really impulsive and boisterous, kind of like me. I like how notes and accents can suddenly pop out of no where. I enjoyed this short piece a lot.

    Reply

  8. First piece:
    Rachmaninoff
    Prelude Op 3 No 2 in C Sharp minor
    Evgeny Kissin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCm9O2KNEX4
    The first notes are very powerful, but then it fades into soft, kind of “wondering” notes. There is a lot of emotion in this rendition. You can here the effort that is being put into both the composition and the playing. I can’t believe Rachmaninoff wrote this when he was 19. It’s a really beautiful piece and I really like it. Kissin makes it seem really easy to play, but I know Rachmaninoff is actually very difficult.

    Second piece:
    Chopin
    Etude in A minor Op 25 No. 11
    Yulianna Avdeeva
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr2RnaAzD9U
    The beginning is very soft, but then it suddenly jumps to quick and dramatic. I really like this piece, it requires a lot of musicality to play. It also requires a lot of coordination, with the left and right hand playing completely different patterns, yet it still somehow still works together.

    Reply

  9. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No. 9 4th mvt
    Performer(s) name: Leonard Bernstein
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLW6D5voiso
    Comments: I listened to this like a thousand times!! It is probably my favorite piece. I can’t believe Beethoven composed this while he was deaf!! THE MAIN THEME IS SO GOOD!!!!! This version has people singing in it.

    Reply

  11. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No. 5, 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub91tOj_j_c
    Comments: My sister is currently playing this symphony. She is playing First Violin. I also want to play First Violin in this symphony. It sounds very good. It is one of my favorite symphonies.

    Reply

  12. Listening Log by Lucia Tang
    Title: Nocturne in C-sharp-minor
    Composer: Frédéric Chopin
    Pianist: Agafia Korzun
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWaru9aoCc
    This Nocturne was and will always be one of my all time favorite Chopin pieces. To me, it has a beauty that is held throughout the music. The beginning sounds light and gentle as if a storm has just passed. The middle sounds slightly happier, but still sad in a way. The end is just like waking from a dream.

    Reply

  15. Second piece:

    Composer: Mozart
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 20, 2nd mvt
    Performer(s) name: Seong-Jin Cho
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-bxtDrhXpY
    Comments: It is so beautiful and lovely. My brother used to listen to this as a lullaby. It is also super relaxing. In the main theme, it sounds like F Major, but the whole piece is actually D Minor.

    Reply

  16. Composer: Mozart
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 5 in D Major, 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Sviatoslav Richter, piano, Japan Shinsei Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai, conductor
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Mq7pddQJA
    Comments: I am currently playing this concerto. I like it. It is pretty fast. I like the main theme.

    Reply

  17. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Mozart
    Piano Concerto no, 20 movement 1
    Mitsuko Uchida,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM8CFR01KwQ
    this movement can be calm at times, but other times it is very dramatic and loud. I really like how though those two parts are really different, they somehow are able to link together
    Second piece:

    same but 2nd movement
    the beginning is very calm, like a lullaby the melody is simple, but yet it sounds so good. I really like this movement

    Reply

  18. Composer: George Gershwin
    Title: Rhapsody in Blue
    Performer(s) name: Leonard Bernstein (conductor and pianist), New York Philharmonic
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2PH0auTUU
    Comments: I like it. At the beginning, it was a bit soft. Then it became SUPER LOUD!! It’s cool how Bernstein can play the piano and conduct the orchestra!! It is weird. It is very dramatic. This is also the same tune as the United Airlines theme song!!

    Reply

  20. Composer: Haydn
    Title: Symphony No. 94 in G major “Surprise” (1st and 2nd mvts)
    Performer(s) name: Georg Solti, London Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbf1LVE4UKM
    Comments: First movement: It sounds nice. At the start, it is soft and relaxing. Then it becomes louder and SUPER FAST!! Then it becomes a bit slower, but not softer, and then it speeds up again. 2nd movement: The sudden loud chord is just CRAZY!! It sounds very good. It is also very joyful. In the middle it turns into E flat major. At the end it is also very loud.

    Reply

  21. Composer: Haydn
    Title: Symphony Op. 94 Mvt 2 in G major, “Surprise”
    Conductor: Georg Solti, Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gbf1LVE4UKM
    Comments: This is one of my favorite symphonies. Today is also Haydn’s birthday!! The sudden loud chord is just CRAZY!! It sounds very good. It is also very joyful. In the middle it turns into E flat major. At the end it is also very loud.

    Reply

  22. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Mendelssohn
    violin concerto in e minor op. 64 1st movement
    Ray chen, Gothenburg symphony orchestra and maestro kent nagano
    youtube.com/watch?v=I03Hs6dwj7E
    I really like the melody. Its strong minor strike is really amazing.
    Second piece:

    same, movement 3
    I really like the melody in the movement too, but I don’t like it as much as first movement. This movement flows way better, probably because it is faster, but it kind of just feels right that way.

    Reply

  23. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Evgeny Kissin, Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ak5l3y0Bzc
    Comments: I LOVE THIS PIECE!!! IT IS MY FAVORITE CONCERTO!!! My favorite part is the beginning though I still like the middle and end. It is so dramatic!!!

    Reply

  24. Joel Chen

    Composer: Haydn
    Title: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Hob. XVIII : 11, D Major
    Performer(s) name: Pletnev
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKIeyAnCBc
    Comments:My brother plays the concerto. I like the melody alot.
    composer: Chopin
    Piano sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58
    performer: yuja wang
    I really like this melody. this could be one of my favorite piano sonatas. Yuja wang’s accuracy is so good, and every single not is so precise and accurate.

    Reply

  27. Composer: Sheet Music Boss
    Title: If Mozart was Russian (Turkish March – edited)
    Performer(s) name: Computer
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR1iWtYy_YI
    Comments: I like it. At the beginning it keeps getting faster and then suddenly slows down then it speeds up again. It sounds funny because they mess with the octaves too, but it also sounds good. The left hand keeps the beat while the right hand plays the melody.

    Reply

  28. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece: Mendelssohn Violin Concerto E Minor OP.64 – 1st mov

    Hillary Han
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzbC39utkTw
    very nice melody. I like this piece a lot. Hillary is super good at playing this piece.
    Second piece:

    brahms
    Violin Concerto in D major
    hilary hahn
    I like the melody alot. hilary again plays very well.

    Reply

  29. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: 1812 Overture
    Performer(s) name: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Eastern Army Band, 1st Band, 12th Band and 1st Artillery Unit with M101 105mm howitzers
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5k70xwGSk
    Comments: I like it. It is nice and relaxing in some parts. It sounds beautiful. I like the cannons because when you slow down the video it sounds like someone farting!!!

    Reply

  30. Composer: Pachelbel
    Title: Canon in D
    Performer(s) name: Academy of St. Martin’s in the Field Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkSp8wc8lKw
    Comments: At the beginning of the piece, it is really relaxing. It sounds like a lullaby. The middle and the end are my favorite parts of the piece. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL!!!

    Reply

  31. Listening Log by Lucia Tang
    First Piece:
    Title: Spring Waltz
    Composer: Chopin
    Pianist: Jacob
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoCG-WNsZio
    It sounded as if a light drizzle was falling and flowers were blooming. Then the rain stopped and there was a light breeze. Then a scene formed in my head where there was a bench behind a flower bed that had a different colored flowers and birds were circling the chair. This is my favorite piece.

    Second Piece:
    Title: Sonata in C-major
    Composer: Mozart
    Pianist: Lang Lang
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xeAsc6m35w
    In the beginning, it sounded very light and joyful like birds twittering. Then it was like a light storm came then the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared in the sky. Then just as I was starting to get a little sleepy, the song awoke me again.

    Reply

  32. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Vivaldi
    Violin Concerto in A minor,RV 356 Op 3 No 6 Movement 2
    Itzhak Perlman
    Super calm and beautiful. I like this movement a lot.
    Second piece:

    Same but third movement
    Moderate tempo and enjoyable. Kind of similar to the first movement. I like the melody, but it isn’t really dramatic, more kind of vanilla, like something Mozart would make. I like this piece alot.

    Reply

  36. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 in C minor 3rd mvt (Pathetique)
    Performer(s) name: Barenboim
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcOcKYQX3c
    Comments: This piece is really dramatic. There is a piece that I really like that is based off of this piece. The piece’s theme is about the same as this piece’s beginning.

    Reply

  37. Listening Log (I Forgot which number) by Lucia Tang
    Piece one
    Title: Polinaise in A flat
    Composer: Chopin
    Pianist: Lang Lang
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=org1Tt1NnBY
    It sounded like a very joyful and happy dance, like people were dancing somewhere on Christmas. Then it sounded like rain was pattering somewhere on the roof. Then it became back to sounding like a very fast and happy dance.

    Reply

  38. Composer: Scott Joplin
    Title: The entertainer
    Performer(s) name: Piano: Waldemar Malicki/Conductor: Bernard Chmielarz
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbA8CAacNZ4
    Comments: I listened to this when I was a kid. I like it. It is pretty dramatic. There is Beethoven’s 5th symphony’s start in it!! In the middle a little orchestra comes in!! It sounds so good!!

    Reply

  40. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer
    Toccata
    Lev obrin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No6uBGtUQEI
    Very eratic and messy, but yet it sounds kind of good. I like this piece because the dynamics are super good. I like the melody.
    Second piece:

    mozart
    piano concerto no 23
    ma
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXeBFhqViYg&t=1357s
    I like this movement alot. it is not too fast but not to slow. I like the melody alot too. The ending sounds super good

    Reply

  44. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 23 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Yuja Wang
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yue6Cb5OULM&t
    Comments: It is soooo dramatic!!! It’s one of my favorite concertos!!! I think this one is the #1 concerto!!! I love the first part!!! Tchaikovsky must be SUPER talented to make this!!!

    Reply

  45. First piece:
    Composer Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece Prelude Op.3 No. 2
    Performer(s) Rousseau
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCtixpIWBto
    The piece sounds dystopian, it’s a little creepy and angry. It kind of sounds like someone is getting more angry and sad. I like how it generally keeps the same theme throughout but it’s not too repetitive.

    Second piece:
    Composer Rachmaninov
    Title Prelude in G minor
    Performer(s) Evgeny Kissin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxnL7UrkmY4
    Your comments! The piece starts very uniform as in it’s very on beat and kind of sounds like marching. Then, it gets slower and sad. It’s actually quite pretty. It has a lot of dynamics. Soon, it goes back to uniform and on beat.

    Reply

  48. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer Rachmaninof
    fantasy no 3
    Performer(s) Konstantin Scherbakov
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhi9SzopnLE
    I like this peice alot. the melody is super slow but calm, and it is SO beutiful
    Second piece:

    same no 4
    it is so much more chaotic that no 3 that it makes me want to laugh. I love the ending

    Reply

  50. Second piece:

    Composer: Liszt
    Title: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
    Performer(s) name: Volker Hartung • Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNi-_0kqpdE
    Comments: IT IS SO GOOD!!! I also like the Cat Concerto version which is about the same thing just it’s Tom and Jerry. It also fits the action perfectly! It is pretty joyful!! I can’t help nodding with the beat!!! It is so good!!! Then it becomes pretty calm, then SUPER UNCALM!!!

    Reply

  51. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Rachmaninoff
    Morceaux de fantaisie, no 1
    Konstantin Scherbakov
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhi9SzopnLE
    Very calm and slow and sad. I love how deep it feels. I love this piece so much.
    Second piece:

    Same no 2
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhi9SzopnLE
    Faster and a little louder. It does not have the same calmness in the first one, but instead has anger and is way more dramatic. I like the first piece better.

    Reply

  57. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No. 9, 4th mvt (Choral)
    Performer(s) name: Leonard Bernstien/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N5-OALObk
    Comments: I LOVE THIS SYMPHONY!!! THIS IS MY FAVORITE SYMPHONY!!! IT IS SO GOOD!!! HOW DID BEETHOVEN COME UP WITH THIS GOOD MUSIC?!?!?! THEY EVEN HAVE A CHORUS!!! It looks like Bernstien is dancing at some part. There is a little “surprise” at the end

    Reply

  59. Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
    Title: Flight of the Bumblebee
    Performer(s) name: Lang Lang
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=ptRsnhiP1dc
    Comments: LIKE BEFORE, WHY CAN HE PLAY SO FAST?!?!?!?! HIS HANDS ARE LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!

    Reply

  60. Composer: Mozart
    Title: Turkish March
    Performer(s) name: Lang Lang
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=uWYmUZTYE78
    Comments: WHY CAN HE PLAY SO FAST?!?!?!? HIS FINGERS ARE LIKE LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!! I AM SO JEALOUS!!!!!

    Reply

  61. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer Mozart
    Title of the piece turkish march
    Performer(s) lang lang
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWYmUZTYE78
    Very energetic and fast. I like the dynamics and the melody. I think Mozart did a really good job composing this piece. I like the ending.
    Second piece:

    Composer Paganini
    Title Capriccio No. 24
    Performer(s) Filarmonica de la Scala Milano under the direction of Riccardo Chailly, David Garrett
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrkc6zRzEE
    I like the melody. Unlike turkish march, this piece has a slower melody, but I still like it. It is so cool that there are so many different sounds a violin can make, and Paganini somehow fits every single one into this piece. The ending is really fast I really like it.

    Reply

  62. Second piece:

    Composer: He Zhanhao, Chen Gang
    Title: Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto
    Performer(s) name: -Violin: Siqing Lu Piano: Yundi Li
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=nnuN-Zt60TM
    Comments: My sister choreographed to this piece. It is very beautiful. He can play so fast.

    Reply

  64. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer Rachmaninov
    Title of the piece symphony no 1 movement 1
    Performer(s) Vasily Petrenko, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDK8yoeByoA
    I like the beginning. It is very dramatic. very calm in the middle. I like this movement a lot !!!
    Second piece:

    Composer
    Title same 2nd mov
    Performer(s)
    same
    very calm and slow I like this movement.

    Reply

  65. Second piece:

    Composer: Chopin
    Title: Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
    Performer(s) name: Yundi Li
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=KLzYwT9YT-c
    Comments: This piece is nice and relaxing. My sister played it before. It would make a good lullaby. This piece makes me smile. In the middle of the piece he kinda speeds up, and then he slows down again.

    Reply

  66. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: Slavonic March (Marche Slave)
    Performer(s) name: RNO, Pletnev
    URL:youtube.com/watch?v=GSf8uF5UE-U
    Comments: The beginning is pretty relaxing, and then it turns super dramatic. I can’t help nodding on to the beat. And then it turns into playful music, and then the whole orchestra comes in, and then it becomes dramatic again. Then it turns relaxing, And then it turns playful again. Then becomes SUPER DRAMATIC!!!

    Reply

  68. Composer – Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Piece – Symphony No.5, Op. 64, Movement I
    Performers – Moscow City Symphony “Russian Philharmonic” Conductor – Dmitri Jurowski
    The beginning is calm, with the winds leading and the cellos helping. The theme keeps repeating. This isn’t as exciting as Tchaikovsky’s other works. It’s more suspenseful, instead. It has a bouncy rhythm. Actually, I think I like this piece now, the beginning was just kind of boring. The theme keeps speeding up with every repetition. I take back what I said, it is dramatic. I like this piece!!

    Reply

  69. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Moonlight Sonata (1st mvt)
    Performer(s) name: Barenboim
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5OaSju0qNc
    Comments: It is SUPER beautiful and relaxing! Beethoven must be very relaxed when he made this because seeing how slow and relaxing the piece is, if he wasn’t, this would be a raging piece instead!! You would have to be able to play it super soft as well.

    Reply

  70. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece piano concerto no 4 movement 1
    Performer(s) Iceland Symphony Orchestra Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor Viktoria Postnikova, soloist From a concert in Harpa, Reykjavik
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=YxV7cqC2fko
    I like the melody. it is very dramatic I really like the ending too. I like the concerto a lot because of how it does not sound like other ones!
    Second piece:

    Composer
    Title same second movement
    Performer(s)
    Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car
    Very fast. I like the melody. It is very different from the first movement, but yet the still seem connected. I like the end ALOT.

    Reply

  71. Composer: Rossini
    Title: William Tell Overture
    Performer(s) name: Seong-Jin Cho | Pianist, Evgeny Kissin | Pianist, Mikhaïl Pletnev | Conductor, Pianist, Sir András Schiff | Conductor , Pianist, Sergei Babayan | Pianist, Daniil Trifonov | Pianist, Yuja Wang | Pianist, Denis Kozhukhin | Pianist

    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XkpXh_lks
    Comments: This is a exciting and fast piece. It’s like you’re riding a horse. And then there’s a dramatic part. And then a SUPER FAST ending!!!

    Reply

  72. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 (Pathetique)
    Performer(s) name: Daniel Barenboim
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=SrcOcKYQX3c
    Comments: The main tune is part of a piece that I really like called Beethoven Virus. It is beautiful.

    Reply

  73. Composer – Antonin Dvořák
    Title – Serenade for Strings, Op. 22
    Performers = Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Gordan Nikolić (violin / concertmaster)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRcbDMg56yg
    Movement 1
    It’s soft and gentle. A serenade is a perfect description. You can hear the joy in the piece, from the performers and the composer. It’s definitely a spring piece, with a very flowery tone. It’s really cool how it’s only written for strings. I like this piece, it’s really beautiful. It’s like Dvorak tried to compose dreams into music.

    Movement 2
    This movement is much more dancelike. It’s a waltz. It’s faster than the first movement, like the first movement is leading up to this movement. I really like this piece. The theme in this piece is more wistful, like you don’t really know what your wishing for. This piece is more heavy on the downbeats. It’s more dramatic. The theme repeats, but not annoyingly and endlessly. It brings the piece together.

    Reply

  74. Composer – Tchaikovsky
    Piece – Violin Concerto In D Major, Op.35, TH.59 – I. Allegro moderato
    Performers: Hilary Hahn and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAsZMcX5Zoc
    The orchestra is building up the anticipation, until the ultimate opening of the curtain for the violin. The violin is so sweet and beautiful. The notes are so clean, it’s literally perfect. Tchaikovsky’s melodies are always so pure and beautiful. The orchestra complements the violin perfectly. It’s kind of hard to believe that this piece is being performed with no mistakes. The theme is being repeated over and over again, but with slight variances in the notes and the pitch. The climax is so good. I really love this piece. It’s dramatic, but it’s also sweet.

    Reply

  75. Composer: Haydn
    Title: Symphony No. 94 in G Major, 1st mvt, aka Surprise Symphony
    Performer(s) name: Qatar Philharmonic, Elias Grandy, conductor
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHlm2AO8_ak
    Comments: It is SUPER soft at the beginning. It is SO SOFT THAT I CAN BARELY HEAR IT!!! Then it becomes very fast. Then it becomes very sweet. And then it becomes very dramatic!! And back to very fast.

    Reply

  76. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Camille saint saens
    La danse macabre
    Les Clefs de l’orchestre de Jean-Fran & ccedil; ois Zygel avec l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4
    Very nice melody! I like it a lot. It is very dramatic and can be used in multiple ways. I mean this by it can be used creepily or in some other way. I like this peice

    Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35
    Joshua Bell, violin National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America Valery Gergiev, conductor Live recording.
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=cbJZeNlrYKg
    dramatic melody. the violin is super dramatic and high pitched! The ending Is super good!!!

    Reply

  77. Second piece:

    Composer: Balanchivadze
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 3 Op. 3
    Performer(s) name: Joel Chen (my brother)
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=6w_JsMFuObo
    Comments: I like it. It is beautiful. This is my current concerto that I am learning. I am amazed that he can play very fast!!

    Reply

  78. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer F. Mendelssohn
    Title of the piece Piano Concerto no. 2 Movement 1
    Performer(s) Hee-Chun Choi, Conductor Julius Jeongwon Kim, Piano KBS Symphony Orchestra
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=m_E2lyd07u8
    I like the melody. It sounds super cool! It is super dramatic and exciting. I enjoy it a lot. towards the middle, It starts calming down but then continually looping back to the melody from the beginning. I like this movement, but it gets kind of boring in the middle. But, overall I like this piece a lot. especially towards the end and the melody, because the end is SUPER DRAMATIC!!!!
    Second piece:

    Composer Same
    Title Same except movement 3
    Performer(s) same
    Same
    The beginning kind of sounds like a person on horseback. I like the melody. I like the ending

    Reply

  79. Composer: Saint-Saëns
    Title: La danse macabre
    Performer(s) name: FRSO (France Radio Symphony Orchestra)
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4
    Comments: I like it. It is very dramatic. I heard this piece multiple times. We used this music in ballet once. At the end, it is SUPER DRAMATIC!!! Then right before it ends it is sad.

    Reply

  80. Composer – Rubinstein
    Title – Romance in E-flat Major, Op. 44, No. 1
    Performer – Dr. Natalya Lundtvedt
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx_-Q8wezcM
    It’s really flowy and beautiful. Her hands don’t lift the piano in the beginning. The dynamics are really beautiful.

    Composer – Clementi
    Title – Concerto in C Major, 1st Mov.
    Performer – Pietro Spada
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XRrWAZEDUY
    It’s energetic. The echoes are slowly gaining in volume. The piano echoes the orchestra. The trumpets really stand out. This concerto is very well “put together”. All the parts alone are beautiful, but put together, they are amazing. I’m so glad I can play this concerto!

    Reply

  81. Composer: Rachmaninoff
    Title:
    Performer(s) name: Symphonic Dances
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=uq3PK-v6dyE
    Comments: I like the start. The start is beautiful. It is SO AWKWARD!!

    Reply

  82. Listening Log No. by Joel
    First piece:

    Composer Mendelssohn
    Title of the piece violin concerto movement 1
    Performer(s) Hilary Hahn, FRSO
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=WPi7LrQ1rNg
    The melody at the beginning is SO GOOD! It makes my heartbeat and OMG IT IS JUST SO GOOOOD! toward the middle, the melody gets replayed here and there, but with a different key. In the end, it gets super fast and energetic, and it is making me type faster!!!
    Second piece:

    Composer Rachmaninoff
    Title Symphonic Dances
    Performer(s) Radio Philharmonisch Orkest Edward Gardner
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=otJmf3pyb1E
    I don’t like this/these piece(s), because it doesn’t have a good melody.

    Reply

  83. Composer: Liszt
    Title: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
    Performer(s) name: Volker Hartung • Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: youtube.com/watch?v=uNi-_0kqpdE
    Comments: I like it. It is nice. It sounds funny. I like its melody. I listened to this before. With the whole orchestra it sounds WAY BETTER!! It keeps repeating some parts. IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

    Reply

  84. Composer – Tchaikovsky
    Title – Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, Mvt. 1
    Performer – Anna Fedorova, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie led by Yves Abel
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNfpMRSCFPE
    It starts off very dramatic. The music is so beautiful. I love the theme so much. The big chords on the piano accentuate the melody the orchestra is playing. I really really want to play this some day. It’s such a beautiful concerto. The theme almost makes me want to cry, it’s so beautiful. This piece is equal parts light and bouncy and dramatic. I love the cadenza. It contrasts with the rest of the piece. The ending is so good, I love it!!

    Sergei Rachmaninov: Lilacs, Nr. 5 from “Twelve Songs”, Op. 21
    Piano: Vladimir Ovchinnikov
    Venue: Piano Festival 2008
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYOtxyWReM8
    The music is flowy, and it makes me think of the quiet of a spring evening, where the petals dance through the air. It’s really beautiful. The right hand and left hand kind of share the melody. The notes are full of grace, soft and lovely. This piece is absolutely enchanting.

    Reply

  85. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer
    Title of the piece piano concerto no 2 1st mov
    Performer(s) . Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAhVaWukXRY
    I like the melody, given it is dramatic. I like all the tiny melodies in the middle too. In the end, the super good melody plays again, and it sounds super good!
    Second piece:

    Composer Rachmaninoff
    Title piano concerto no 1 mov 1
    Pianist Anna Fedorova and the Sinfonieorchester Sankt Gallen led by conductor Modestas Pitrenas
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6EX3t2Mdnw
    very dramatic, just like the first piece. I always have loved rachmaninoff’s concertos, and this one is pretty good. the ending is super cool.

    Reply

  88. 1) Chopin: Ballade #2 in F Major op 38. Perf by Leif Ove Andsnes. It started slow, joyful and simple. It repeted the theme. Then it suddenly burst with lots of energy and speed like an explosion, with lots of rolls and trills. Then back to the theme but more dramatic. It switched between dramatic/serious and happy/simple. Then it went back to the theme and the last 2 notes were serious and sad.
    2) Handel: Sonata for 2 Oboes and Continuo. Glaetzmer and Goritzki (oboes), Pank (Viola da Gamba), Walter Benjamin (harpsichord), Beger (violine), from CD Handel: Die Oboesonaten.
    I listened to this to learn about continuo. The two oboes carried the melody, and the harpsichord played the bass line along with other continue instruments. The oboe was very reedy sounding. The piece was very steady and calm.

    Reply

  89. Kaiden’s comments about what he learned from the online piano Master class:
    1) Antoni K. playing Liszt hungarian dance — Going fast but knowing that you still have to pronounce each note clearly. put more small phrasing, and some small ritards that have musicality. When doing repetition, change it a little each time.
    2) Jennifer W playing Schubert Sontata in A minor — It’s not the notes or sound all the time, if you include air in as well, it will make it softer. In phrases, make difference between each note, like speaking. Each actions shows lots of feeling. … Don’t listen to the music too much, do what’s musical. Try to understand what’s musical and don’t take it too far. Try to find the special note in the chord to bring it out.

    Reply

  90. First piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title of the piece-Piano sonata 16
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf_6kwvlRgw
    Your comments-I thought this piece was very soft and comforting. I loved how Barenboim played so gently, yet firmly, and very beautifully.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title-Piano sonata 16, 1st movement
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf_6kwvlRgw
    Your comments-I thought this piece was very lively. I liked how Barenboim played so vividly and with so much energy. I thought it was light and breezy. I also thought that there was quite a lot of humor.

    Reply

  91. First piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 13
    Performer-Mitsuko Uchida
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTkqZDJ3COU
    Your comments-I liked how soft and pleasant Uchida’s fingers moved. This piece seemed to be like a gentle cloud floating around in the wind. I thought that I was imagining a tree gently swaying to the wind as well.

    Second piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title-Piano concerto 13, 1st movement
    Performer-Mitsuko Uchida
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTkqZDJ3COU
    Your comments-I thought this piece was quite casual. I imagined that I was happily skipping along a sidewalk of a small, bustling, busy city. Uchida conducts with her own hands!

    Reply

  92. First piece:

    Composer-Chopin
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 1, 2nd movement
    Performer-Evgeny Kissin
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR9HayZcZ2o
    Your comments-I thought that this part is very soft but a little grand as well. I imagined that this was a small trickle of water, not even a stream flowing through a delicate, elegant, countryside.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Chopin
    Title-Piano concerto 1
    Performer-Evgeny Kissin
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR9HayZcZ2o
    Your comments-I thought that this piece was quite smooth. I loved how delicate the first few piano parts sounded, and how the orchestra took up a good amount of time in the first movement. I love Kissin’s expression, phrasing, and how delicate he plays!

    Reply

  93. Second piece:

    Composer: Liszt
    Title: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
    Performer(s) name: Volker Hartung • Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNi-_0kqpdE
    Comments: IT IS SO GOOOOOOOOOD!!! I can’t stand dancing with the music!! It is even better than the Tom and Jerry version!! It is waaaaaaaaaaay more dramatic than funny in the Tom and Jerry version!!! THE MUSIC WAS SO LOUD IT SOUNDED LIKE I COULD BE DEAF!!!! It is soooooooooooooo playful!!!! I’m listening to this while imagining the Tom and Jerry version!!! It sounds like there are people singing for some weird reason… I can’t stand jumping to the music!!!

    Reply

  94. Composer: Mozart
    Title: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (D minor) K.466 (1st mvt)
    Performer(s) name: Mitsuko Uchida
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM8CFR01KwQ
    Comments: I like it. It is beautiful. It is pretty dramatic. Over here it is pretty soft then back to the main theme. It is very relaxing. Now it is back to dramatic. Now the theme repeats again just it is kinda different.

    Reply

  95. First piece:

    Composer-Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 3, 2nd movement
    Performer-Nikolai Lugansky
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUo-BGgsqUA
    Your comments-I liked how peaceful this piece sounded. I imagined I was in a green, hilly pasture and watching a lot of cows grazing.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Rachmaninoff
    Title-Piano concerto 3, 1st movement
    Performer-Nikolai Lugansky
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUo-BGgsqUA
    Your comments-I liked the flow of the piece very much. I loved to see Lugansky’s fingers flutter on top of the keyboard. I thought this piece was quite grand.

    Reply

  96. First piece:

    Composer-Prokofiev
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 3, 1st movement
    Performer-Martha Argerich
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS0SwRoYAW0&t=804s
    Your comments-I thought this piece was a very playful piece. It reminded me of a small child dancing and frolicking around on a grassy hill.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Prokofiev
    Title-Piano concerto 3, 2nd movement
    Performer-Martha Argerich
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS0SwRoYAW0&t=804s
    Your comments-I thought this piece was pretty strange. It was pretty jumpy at a lot of parts. I imagined as if this was a person running who was slightly out of breath.

    Reply

  97. First piece:

    Composer: Debussy
    Title of the piece: Mouvement
    Performer(s): Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mskURYO7DiA&list=WL&index=6&t=318s
    Your comments: It’s dramatic, but very vague– I know it’s telling a story, but I can’t tell what the story is. I like the way the pianist kept a flowy, rolling rhythm.

    Second piece:

    Composer: Debussy
    Title: Poissons d’or
    Performer(s): Michelangeli
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mskURYO7DiA&list=WL&index=6&t=318s
    Your comments: The whimsy of this piece is so fun to listen to. The way the music pops up in difference places really personifies the fish, and the colour the pianist put into each note had a lot of personality.

    Reply

  99. Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, Mvt. 1
    Performers – Hilary Hahn (violin), Leonard Slatkin (conductor), Detroit Symphony Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cg_0jepxow
    this is surprising because I didn’t know Beethoven composed any violin concertos. it’s soft and sweet, but the melody is still complicated, very Beethoven-esq. The violin playing goes very high in pitch. This piece, as I said before, is very complicated, not like Mozart’s concertos, which usually have a very simple melody. I really like this piece. The theme is really strong and uplifting.

    Composer – Chopin
    Title – Polonaise in A flat, Op 53
    Performer – Lang Lang
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=org1Tt1NnBY
    Wow, so fast. The phrasing really enhances the dramaticness of it. It must take a lot of energy to play this piece. It really is all over the keyboard. There is a lot of chords. It’s so fast, yet there isn’t a single mistake. He is sweating from playing this piece. It’s so fast!!

    Reply

  100. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:

    Composer mozart
    Title of the piece piano concerto no 1
    Performer(s)Sviatoslav Richter – R. Barshai – Japan Shinsei Symphony Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oeKz91fRkU
    very mozart like. So if I heard this on a radio I would know it is mozart. the melody is pretty good too. the end is super fun
    Second piece:

    same but second mov
    Very slow and calming. I like the melody. I can’t believe this was mozart’s first piano concerto, because it sounds like he had much more expeirience. the end sound good.

    Reply

  103. Listening Log No.6 By Lucia Tang
    Title:Intermezzo No.1 in E minor
    Composer:Manuel Ponce
    Pianist:Lang Lang
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB_vLRJhT2g
    Comments: It sounded like I were in a dream in a small boat that was rocking back and forward then it became suddenly strong like the was a big wave. Then it became soft and more dreamlike again.

    Reply

  104. First piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title of the piece-Piano sonata 24
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZsDzGY1XA
    Your comments-This piece sounds very gentle. I imagine that I was in the middle of the clouds, with me floating up and gliding up and down.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title-Piano sonata 29
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZsDzGY1XA
    Your comments-Sounds very playful and lively. I imagine that I was on a bright, sunny hilltop skipping with a lot of good humor. Barenboim has excellent technique!

    Reply

  105. Composer: Unknown
    Title: Competing Horses
    Performer(s): Lang Lang and his father, Guo-ren
    This piece is about 2 horses, Lang Lang and Guo-ren, they are both racing each other to see who is the fastest horse. Lang Lang speeds up, but Guo-ren goes even faster! They both go faster and faster, but at the end at the finish line, the race ended in a tie. Now they both know that neither can beat each other, Lang Lang can’t beat Guo-ren, and Guo-ren can’t beat Lang Lang. And now, they are officially the 2 fastest horses on the planet.

    Reply

  106. First piece:

    Composer-Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 3
    Performer-Daniil Trifonov
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBca3z7bAtE&t=8s
    Your comments!-Sounds very pleasant but heavy. I love how Trifonov’s fingers flutter on the keyboard. He’s full of emotion!
    Second piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title-Piano concerto #4
    Performer(s)-Nikolai Lugansky
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD1wqTDPkb4
    Your comments-This piece sounds very dancy. I like how light Lugansky plays. He has great technique. I imagine that this was a ball or a waltz.

    Reply

  107. First piece:

    Composer: Debussy
    Title of the piece: Reflets dans l’eau
    Performer(s): Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
    Your comments: Since this piece’s title translates to “Reflections in the Water”, I was expecting the left and right hands to mirror/play off each other, like in Bach pieces, but at first listen the two sounded quite different. However, I read a comment that said the beginning represented a pebble causing ripples in water, and when I went back and listened a second time I realised the music did seem to convey the stillness/movement of water!

    Second piece:

    Composer: Debussy
    Title: Pagodes
    Performer(s): Sviatoslav Richter
    Your comments: The video said this was recorded in 1977! That’s pretty neat. Honestly, the motifs sounded pretty typically “Oriental”, with the black keys, etc. I don’t know why I couldn’t help thinking of the court poetry of the ancient Chinese dynasties, which grandly and elegantly described petty, trivial matters of the imperial court…

    Reply

  109. Second piece:

    Composer: Mozart
    Title: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night’s Music) 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPbxIT9W1AY
    Comments: It is beautiful. My brother and sister played this as a duet on piano before. Some parts repeat. It is exciting.

    Reply

  111. Composer – Haydn
    Title – Symphony No. 104 in D major, ‘London’ (1st mov)
    Performer – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OitPLIowJ70
    It starts off dramatically. Then slows down with an echo. I already love this piece. It has a slow and soft tension to it. It’s sweet. I really like this piece.

    Composer – Sarasate
    Title – Zigeunerweisen
    Performers – Itzhak Perlman, James Levine
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEmbFSiJzEQ
    It’s really dramatic and beautiful. I love how much emotion is put into the playing. It takes a lot of energy to play this piece, I can tell. It’s soft and almost sacred. Their pitches are really on point. It’s really fast. That’s an understatement. I wonder how long you would have to practice to get it to that level.

    Reply

  112. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Moonlight Sonata, 1st mvt
    Performer(s) name: Georgii Cherkin – piano, Maestro Michael Zukernik – conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEEStLHQfxc
    Comments: It is very beautiful and relaxing. It would make a good lullaby. It is very soft. It makes me feel like I want to go to sleep. There isn’t much phrasing/dynamics. I guess Beethoven had to be very relaxed to compose this piece.

    Reply

  113. Listening Log No…by…JOwel
    First piece:

    ComposerRachmaninov
    Title of the piece Piano Concerto No. 3 1st mov
    Performer(s) Yuja Wang, Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada
    youtube.com/watch?v=5bX_yRzCuM4
    The beginning is kind of weird, like looking into murky water. It somewhat is dramatic, but I think its supposed to keep you on your nerves. It really is like somewhat calming too. the middle is kind of messy. But for some reason no matter how awkward it gets, at about 8:45, my favorite part starts, there is a incline, then a full blown D minor melody strikes, leaving me in awe. It was one of the most awesome melodies I had ever heard! The cadenza is so slow and saddening. Rachmaninov piano concertos 2 and 3 absolutely so touching and cannot be compared to each other – There both the best of the best! In the end, the melody from the beginning replays again.
    Second piece:

    Composer same
    Title 2nd mov
    Performer(s) same
    same
    Then second movement is slow and touching, kind of like the music to be played at a funeral. I like the ending. it is kind of funny at the same time dramatic.

    Reply

  114. First piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title of the piece-Piano sonata 12, 1st movement
    Performer- Mitsuko Uchida
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqATQKoTyZw
    Your comments-This piece is very fast paced. I like how delicate each note sounds. I imagine that this is a runner running a race. He’s running pretty fast, but also easily keeping up with his pace, never getting tired. Uchida is amazing!

    Second piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title-Piano sonata 12, 2nd movement
    Performer-Mitsuko Uchida
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8bvfbrMlE
    Your comments-This piece is very quiet and sweet. Uchida has a lot of phrasing inside of it. I like Uchida’s soft and quiet trills there, as they’re very delicate. I imagine that this is a peaceful mountainside, with a lot of sheep and cows grazing. I imagine that there are a lot of trees as well.

    Reply

  115. Composer. Ravel
    Link. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n_yIgrkSNzE

    I personally love this piece because of its strength that the player uses to press the keys and make it sound so far the piece is it’s are so soft but it’s different from the other soft pieces that I’ve done music logon. So it sounds just different from the other piece is soft but strong at the same time. I enjoyed this piece for many reasons because there’s many different adjectives about this piece and many different things that I would say about this piece like individual way the player is playing the piece and how she’s telling the story in her fingers while she’s pressing down each key.

    Reply

  116. Composer. Debussy

    Link. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XkgyOZxIw0k

    This piece was very quiet and soft like someone was very sad and they were crying. I felt like I was in a room where something terrible happened and some someone started to sob and then in the middle of the piece something is very high pitch like someone is screaming and someone is running from the fast notes in a piece.

    Reply

  117. First piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto 27
    Performer(s)-Murray Perahia
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_ttU6v1Y0
    Your comments!-Sounds very slow and quiet. I feel as if I was watching a dancer, as this piece seems to be very elegant, soft, and full of feeling.
    Second piece:

    Composer-Mozart
    Title-Piano concerto 27, 1st movement
    Performer(s)-Murray Perahia
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_ttU6v1Y0
    Your comments-This piece is delicate, lively, and playful. Murray Perahia is amazing, being able to both conduct and play at the same time! I’ve never seen that before.

    Reply

  118. Title: Sonata No. 23
    Composer: Beethoven
    Performer: Daniel Barenboim

    This piece at first sounds very soft and dark, then it sounds faster and a bit more riveting and exciting. Then it goes back to being dark but this time more mysterious.

    Reply

  119. Title: Für Elise
    Composer: Beethoven
    Performer(s): Lang Lang
    Comments: This piece fits the picture in a night, very quiet, soft, very dreary. A man walks in the night, thinking about himself, about life, and is very calm. The night breeze puts him into a mood of peace. He stays up almost the whole night walking, then returns home and sleeps until the morning. He really just does this for the rest of his life. He is retired, enjoying himself, and relaxing.

    Reply

  120. First piece:

    Composer: Schumann
    Title of the piece: Aufschwung
    Performer(s): Arthur Rubinstein
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YXrn2vxndY
    In the video description it said “Soaring”, which I assume is the English translation of the title. This piece is very surprising. I feel like there was a lot going on all the time so it was a bit hard to untangle all my thoughts. There were bits where the music was so meandering that when the motif from the beginning was played again, it was almost as though even the pianist was shocked by his own hands!

    Second piece:

    Composer: Joe Hisaishi
    Title: Path of the Wind (from “My Neighbor Totoro” OST)
    Performer(s): ?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZgBjQFMPvk
    This song hits different after watching the movie T-T There’s just something about the refrain that so perfectly encapsulates the whimsy and awe of Totoro. All the Ghibli OSTs are so fun to listen to as well because they’re very flowey, and it’s as though the notes themselves are waltzing along.

    Reply

  121. Second piece:
    Composer: Liszt
    Title: Un Sospiro
    Performer(s): Rousseau
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L42sbnQxEmw
    Your comments: The piece starts off peaceful. I like how the left hand is kind of the background. I really like the melody. I like how the main melody is kind of asking a question and then it answers with the end of the phrase. I liked how it ended. This was a really cool piece. I really liked it a lot. 😀

    Reply

  122. First piece:
    Composer: Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece: Prelude in G Minor (Op. 23 No. 5)
    Performer(s): Rousseau
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcQWUn5DeI
    Your comments: This piece is very interesting. It’s like a marching army. It’s kind of angry. It’s very uniformed. At 1:23, it changes mood completely from angry to sad. The sad part is kind of happy in a weird way. It sounds like someone is moving away from home.

    Reply

  123. First piece:

    Composer-Rachmaninov
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto #2
    Performer(s)-Nikolai Lugansky
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90HIutq3Z8
    Your comments!-Sounds very serious. I like how Lugansky plays with so much feeling. I like his technique a lot. You can see that his face is completely red!
    Second piece:

    Composer-Rachmaninov
    Title-Piano concerto 2, 2nd movement
    Performer(s)-Nikolai Lugansky
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90HIutq3Z8
    Your comments!-The second movement is very gentle. I imagine that there’s a slight wind moving through a valley, with flowers swaying all over.

    Reply

  124. Title:Sonata No.32
    Composer:Beethoven
    Performer’s name: Claudio Arrua
    This is a suspenseful piece and sort of a dark piece. When it gets to the end of the beginning , it sounds faster, lively and playful. Not it has slowed down and sped up multiple times.

    Reply

  125. First piece:

    Composer: Beethoven
    Title of the piece: Moonlight Sonata
    Performer(s): Valentina Lisitsa
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsOUcikyGRk
    The first movement felt a little mechanical? Especially at first, the triplets and the refrain in the left hand sounded separate. They coalesced as the piece went on, though. The second movement was very affable, and a little less bland than the first hehehe. And the third movement was very exciting. Overall, it’s a really nice piece, but I’m not quite sure why it’s called “Moonlight”– I really feel as though Beethoven wrote this while suffering different modes of sleep deprivation…

    Second piece:

    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Sonata No. 21 in C Major
    Performer(s): Mikhail Pletnev
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbblMw6k1cU
    My fingers hurt a little just listening to this… Beethoven was definitely on a sugar high when he wrote this. I like that the pianist was able to switch very naturally between the aggressive passages and the mellower sections, keeping the mood while also making it exciting to listen to.

    Reply

  126. Title Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 2 in B flat Minor
    Composer: Brahms
    Performer(s): Edwin Fischer
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_FXw_A-fYo
    Its in a setting of a horror movie and someone is alone in the woods, until he hears, a quiet noise. Its the noise, of the siren head. He runs away and trips and falls, but no matter how tired, no matter how beat up, he just keeps on running. He stays in a shack he finds and sleeps in it. But, he hears the noise of an alarm clock, and wakes to another day. He think,”Whew! Good thing that was a dream!”

    Reply

  127. Composer: Bach
    Title: Suite from violin partita #3 transcr by Rachmaninoff
    Performer: Danill Trifonov
    WETA / cd: Destination Rachmaninoff
    It was happy and jumpy like children playing, and poking with sticks. It changed to legato but still was children playing. The 2nd movement was similar, but started with a little minor. Later on, it increased speed and had a little more minor. In the end, it slowed down and ended very nicely and soft. The 3rd movement burst out like and explosion and was fast, still happy but a few specks of minor. It ended the opposite way from the 2nd movement, with a bang.

    Reply

  128. Composer: Chopin
    Title: Ballade #3 A flat M
    Performer: Cedric Tiberghien, Harmonia Mundi 290.8250
    It was very grand and booming but changed to slower and nicer, and had some minor places. It was legato and sweet, then slowly got faster and faster like a chase. There was a waltz section, but changed back and was a minor, sad part. It ended in major (key).

    Reply

  129. Week #33 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Beethoven Symphony No.9 – 2nd Movement
    Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
    Performer’s/Performers’ Names: Philharmonia Baroque
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5favl2Qtx0
    Comments: This piece is very crisp-like and light, somewhat like Vivaldi’s style. There is a very common theme. The piece went gradually became gentler. At some point, the drum-beats sound like thunder, which spoils the music a little bit…The flutes don’t show their sound that much, like people covering their mouths when they sing. The ending is fantastic…

    2nd piece
    Title: Mozart Piano Sonata No.11 in A Major K 331 – 1st Movement
    Composer: W. A. Mozart
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Daniel Barenboim
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ1mj9IaczQ
    Comments: This piece is very expressive, with beautiful phrasing and melodies. Sometimes, there still are tiny gaps/jumps in phrases when they don’t make sense to do so (for me). The development starts at about 4:48. This section is mostly sad and simple sequences and imitations of the main theme. I feel like the recapitulation section has more feel to it then the first section (the exposition). Then, the section turns back to minor again or a special feeling behind it… Maybe Mozart was thinking about something (an emotion, etc.). When the section turns back into a major key, it feels more aggressive. The ending sounds similar to the ending of a thriller blockbuster film…

    Reply

  130. Listening Log No…by…(your name)
    First piece:
    Evgeny Kissin Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
    Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung
    Composer Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece Piano concerto no. 2 3rd mov
    Performer(s) Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4zkc7KEvYM&t=1573s
    The beginning is a little weird, but it still sounds good. The melody is minor, and the strings really sound blended in with the piano. Then it goes super quiet. then it suddenly gets super loud and it turns in to the minor melody again. Then it gets to a minor slow melody. It gets super quiet, then it starts getting louder. In that place it starts to get super beautiful. The ending is amazing.
    Second piece:

    Composer Prokofiev
    Title Violin Concerto No. 1 mov. 1
    Performer(s) Hilary Hahn
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHUxOsWb7wI
    The beginning is super peaceful. The violin is super cool. There is not even 1 dirty note on the violin. The ending is nice

    Reply

  131. Composer – Chopin
    Title – Mazurka No. 2, op. 17
    Performer – Yundi Li
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iIAD1Juaz4
    It’s slow but dancy, the rhythm sounds very hard to play. I really like how the phrasing shapes the piece. WIthout the phrasing, it really would not sound good.

    Composer – Bach
    Title – Prelude and Fugue in D Minor BMV 875 (Book II)
    Performer – Jacqueline Leung
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P41Ux-W8owk
    WOW! I really like the energy in this piece. It’s dramatic, and involves a lot of phrasing. The technique needed to play this piece is astounding. Her fingers really flew. I think Antara played this really well!
    The fugue really contrasts with the prelude. The fugue is slow and drifting, while the prelude is fast paced and rushing. In the fugue, each hand is independent of the other, but still make a pleasing whole.

    Reply

  132. Second piece

    Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: 1812 Overture
    Performer(s) name: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Eastern Army Band, 1st Band, 12th Band and 1st Artillery Unit with M101 105mm howitzers
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5k70xwGSk
    Comments: I like it. It sounds good. Did Tchaikovsky make this during the 1812 war? There are actual cannons in here!! I never knew that the army had a orchestra!! The cannons aren’t that loud but I guess pretty loud.

    Reply

  134. Title:Furtandter
    Composer: Brahms
    Performer: Edwin Firscher

    This is a marching type of song at the beginning. Then it sounds a bit darker, and slower. After that, it gets brighter. Now it sounds lively, joyful, and expressive.

    Reply

  135. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement
    Performer(s): Rudolph Serkin
    This piece, the 3rd movement, is absolutely energetic. After the gloomy nights of 1st and 2nd movement, this is joy. A boy and his dog are running around and are playing tag. They are having a really good time. Their mom calls them home for lunch, but first clean up a little bit. Then after lunch, they have more fun. The 2 wish they could do this till the end of time.

    Reply

  137. First piece:

    Composer: Remo Giazotto
    Title of the piece: Adagio in G Minor
    Performer(s): Unknown
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMbvcp480Y4
    Your comments: I like the beginning. I like the dynamics. I like how it’s sad but not depressing. It’s really pretty. I like how it gets a little angry.

    Reply

  138. Canon in D
    Beethoven

    This piece is very peaceful like any other canon D heard. the players finger movements are very soft and active.Again the feeling fingers were really quiet and beautiful.In the middle is my favorite part of Cannon because it’s very loud and strong and probably the most playful part of the peace to me.

    Reply

  139. Canon in D

    This piece is very peaceful like any other canon D heard. the players finger movements are very soft and active.Again the feeling fingers were really quiet and beautiful.In the middle is my favorite part of Cannon because it’s very loud and strong and probably the most playful part of the peace to me.

    Reply

  140. Canon in D

    This piece is very peaceful like any other canon D heard. the players finger movements are very soft and active.Again the feeling fingers were really quiet and beautiful.In the middle is my favorite part of Cannon because it’s very loud and strong and probably the most playful part of the peace to me.

    Reply

  141. Listening Log No…by…Joel
    First piece:

    Composer Rachmaninov
    Title of the piece Piano Concerto No 2 1st movement
    Performer(s) Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
    Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung evegine kissin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4zkc7KEvYM&t=663s
    The melody is absolutely beautiful. I love it SOOOOO much.
    In some parts, it sounds fast, while in others, it is just plain sweet and nice. At around 8 minutes, the melody gets replayed. The ending is super quick, but good.
    Second piece:

    Composer same
    Title same 2nd movement
    Performer(s) same
    same
    The second movement is super slow, but beautiful. It sounds kind of minor sometimes, but it still sounds good, kind of contrasting with the first movement. The cadenza is AMAZING and so is the end!!

    Reply

  143. Listening Log No.5 BY Lucia Tang
    Title:Ruins d’un Chateau op.2
    Composer:Tchaikovsky
    Performer:Viktoria Postnikova
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhztLbMYFAg
    Comments:It sounds very quiet and peaceful. Then the music became a little stronger. It’s like someone is breathing deeply.The music is always changing. Then suddenly the music became playful and it’s like someone is jumping around. Then they fell asleep again on a slowly rocking boat.Then the music ended.

    Reply

  145. Title: Polonaise in A Flat Minor
    Composer: Chopin
    Performer: Vladimir Horowitz

    The piece is like very cheerful and riveting . It, at the beginning sounds as if there was waves crashing against rocks. The middle sounds, like if it was windy and trees were shaking. At the end it sounds as if it has stopped.

    Reply

  146. Composer: Chopin
    Title: Polonaise in A Flat Major Opus 53
    Performer(s): Vladimir Horowitz
    Link(Url): https://youtu.be/p1-uOCXQ_0I
    This piece sounds like 4 people are out on a hunt for wild animals to eat, they find a rabbit but notices them. They start running after it, with rifles at the ready. They gave up decided to give it a try to find a wild deer to hunt and eat. They also give up but then, they find the deer and the rabbit from earlier next to each other with their families. They then found out, the deer family and rabbit family were friends and they thought to find something else to eat and not bother them again.

    Reply

  147. Second piece: (my orchestra teachers fiance wrote this)
    Composer: Doug Wallace
    Title: Chimera for String Orchestra and Percussion
    Performer(s) The American Youth String Ensemble
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7WERPcfAbI
    Your comments: The piece is very grand. I really like it. I like how it has parts that sound completely different but come together really well. I like the calm part. I like the suspenseful part.

    Reply

  148. First piece:
    Composer: Rachmaninoff
    Title of the piece: Prelude in C Sharp Minor (Op. 3 No. 2)
    Performer(s): Rousseau
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCtixpIWBto
    Your comments: It starts off really creepy. Its really sad. It seems like the end of a sad movie during the credits. I like the part at 1:24. It gets really scary but more of an intense scary. I like it a lot. I also like how it doesn’t have a happy ending. It’s like a cliff hanger.

    Reply

  149. Week #31 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Sonata No.6 – Op.82 – 1st movement (0:00 – 8:47)
    Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Yuja Wang
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxfl9Z03-I0
    Comments: This piece is really aggressive. The beginning was so aggressive that it might make a bear run away. Slowly, it weaved into a more peaceful section… Suddenly, it becomes even more aggressive, giving the music a sudden sharp rock. It even sounded furious as thunder. Next, the whole piece sounded like steam coming out of the ears of a person. Then, like the storm that raged in Jupiter’s Red Spot. Finally, the piece steered back into a cheerful, delightful, and ecstatic ending.

    Reply

  150. Listening Log No…by…Joel
    First piece:

    ComposerCamille Saint-Saëns
    Title of the piece danse macabre
    Performer(s)Les Clefs de l’orchestre de Jean-François Zygel avec l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4
    I like this peice alot. the melody is pretty good, and the sound and all is super like exciting. the end is super cool. I like this peice alot, and it is really… just like my type.
    Second piece:

    Composer bach
    Title French Suite No.5 movement 1
    Performer(s) andras chiff
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_U0lm6HZMk
    very fast and cheerfull I like it.

    Reply

  151. Composer – Chopin
    Piece – Fantaisie-Impromptu In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66
    Performer – Daniil Trifonov
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy5UHK4EeM8
    It is quietly dramatic. It makes you wonder. It’s a piece of longing for something. Always racing towards something. It takes a lot of technique to play this piece, along with good phrasing. The piece is saying, amidst the thrill of life, there is something, your dream, that you have to reach. While you might be carried away in the riptide of decisions and work, there’s always an island of peace and dreams. I really love this piece. It really is a fantasy. It’s a reminder, an alarm, but also a guide.

    Composer – Bach
    Piece – French Suite No.2 in C minor BWV813 – Allemande
    Performer – András Schiff
    It is steady and very purposeful. The left hand is simple, while the right hand is tricky, with a lot of different rhythms.

    Reply

  153. Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No. 9
    Performer(s) name: Freude Schöner Götterfunken (10,000 Japenese Choral)
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6s6YKlTpfw
    Comments: I like it. It is a bit slower. There are 10,000 Japenese people singing!! At 3:50 it turns playful. The chorus is good! I can’t wait for the whole chorus to start singing!! At 6:50 that happens!! There are so many people singing!! I can’t stop typing with the beat!

    Reply

  154. Composer-Beethoven
    Title of the piece-Piano Sonata #32, 1st movement
    Performer(s)-Daniel Barenboim
    Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccyHT1sFmsg
    Your comments!
    It sounds very comforting and soft. I feel as if I was at a pond, and I saw a few different insects. I saw one fluttering in the air. I saw a few different fish jumping up and down in the pond. The pond is lined with different things, such as weeds. Barenboim’s fingers are very round his soft touch on the keyboard is amazing. Barenboim’s expression is just right for Beethoven. This is a great piece!

    Second piece:

    Composer-Beethoven
    Title-Piano sonata #32, 2nd movement
    Performer(s)-Daniel Barenboim
    Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccyHT1sFmsg
    Your comments!
    Sounds very smooth like a smooth canvas slowly being painted. I like how Barenboim shape his phrases. Barenboim is truly magnificent!

    Reply

  155. Listening Log No.2
    Composer: Mozart
    Title: Concerto no 23 in A major
    Performer(s): Daniil Trifonov
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s68kHOnpiE

    Water is flowing and sea shells are in the sand. Someone is singing a song and have a great time. Someone is dreaming of a fairy flying in his house. Snowing is falling from the sky. Someone has a pair of new shoes and they are sparkling.

    Reply

  156. Title: Polonaise in A flat minor
    Composer: Chopin
    Performer’s name: Lang Lang

    This has a beginning that sounds like people cheerfully dancing and laughing. The next part sounds like kids playing around. then it sounds like a race of horses.

    Reply

  157. Composer: Chopin
    Title: Polonaise in A flat Op. 53
    Performer(s): Lang Lang
    A mouse and a cat are trying to eat and survive, the cat is trying to eat the mouse but the little nimble mouse keeps on outrunning the cat. The cat keeps on getting frustrated but then, he finally catches the mouse and eats it. The mouse begs to not be eaten. But the ruthless cat eats him nonetheless.

    Reply

  158. 1. Mozart, Piano Sonata #3 K. 281 in Bflat M. Performed by Orli Shaham (pre-release on WETA) In the 1st movement, it was like a fairy tale, happy jumpy and lively but also very repetitive. Every once in a while, that loud storm passage storms through or a dragon comes by briefly, changing into minor, but always changed back into major. In the 2nd movement it was slower and stuck to major more and repeated the same theme, as the 1st mvoement. Both had a storm except the 2nd was aggressively nice. It repeated an ending. In the 3rd movement it was a little louder and faster than the 2nd, and had the same happy storm except different notes.
    2. F. Mendelsohn. Cello Sonata #2 in D M. Perf. Wu Han & David Finkel (cello). The piano and cello took turns leading. It had a singing sound in it like a very expressive singer doing cheerful tunes. The piano mostly led and was sadder like rain, but later those clouds rained on and off. It had a theme with piano in the lead with cello playing background pizicatto. It was jumpy like kids jumping up and down. The 2nd movement started out with chords strumming like harps, and changed from major to minor a lot. It was more exciting than the first, like explosion. The ending was very short like the last step for something.

    Reply

  159. Composer:Rachmaninov
    Title: Etude Tableaux Op 33 no 3 (C Minor)
    Performer:Ashkenazy
    Link:

    Comments: In the beginning, I felt angry and unsettled and in the middle it made me feel calm and relaxed then, it made me feel unsettled and it then gradually made its way back to calm, peaceful, and relaxed. It made me think of the Ocean in a way by the way it swayed at the end and changed feelings so fast, like high tide and low tide and it was so emotional and moving and it didn’t sound like the Ocean in a way.

    Composer: Liszt
    Title: Hungarian Rhapsody 10
    Performer:Nelson Freire
    Link: https://youtu.be/8fx9rpFo7Kg

    Comments: it looked like it was very hard to play and the performer had very good technique(good pinkie and loose wrist and high fingers) and it was very graceful and had really, REALLY, big phrasing. It was awesome and it was fun to listen to and it made me feel energetic.

    Reply

  160. Listening Log No.1
    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Tempest Sonata
    Performer(s): Grigory Sokolov
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfciSCzKvp4

    I feel like rain is falling really fast. Someone is mad, he goes somewhere very quietly and stumps on the way. Someone is excited and jumpy. Stars floating in the sky and play with the moon. Someone is banning on his piano.

    Reply

  161. Week #30 Listening Log
    Title: La Campanella
    Composer: Nicolo Paganini
    Performer’s/Performers’ Names(s)
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OY2-83CT1g
    Comments: This piece is very similar to Paganini’s Caprices. The phrasing is beautiful. There is a very common theme. Some parts could’ve sound like music from video games. Every part resolves into the main key (well, maybe not always… More like “mostly”)
    There is also some left hand pizzicato (written “pizz.”). The ending is fantastic… similar to a blockbuster film (but with a bit calmer ending maybe…)

    Reply

  162. Week #30 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Rome and Juliet – Op.75
    Composer: Surgei Prokoviev
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Evgeny Kissin
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPBA0yLsENI
    Comments: This piece is very quick. It is also very weird, with rather aggressive phrasing. For the first part, I could almost feel the (sometimes) very sad parts and the “happy” parts. The next part is angrier than the first, with forced down chords. It might have been some “evil devil” time. Then, the third part makes a very distinctive contrast, with a bit more gentleness in it. Just like how the title said, this part really does sound like a “Dance of the Knights”

    Reply

  163. Second piece:
    Composer Ludwig Van Beethoven
    Title Moonlight Sonata
    Performer(s) Eric Henderson
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz4zNtHQ9k
    Your comments! Even though this is one of the most common classical music pieces its still beautiful. It also sounds a lot cooler on the guitar 🙂 It reminds me of someone walking along a beach and being really sad but not crying. Its peaceful. It kinda sounds hopeful. Its really simple but pretty nonetheless. I like the dynamics. I like how it has a main melody.

    Reply

  164. First piece:
    Composer Ludwig Van Beethoven
    Title of the piece Rage over a lost penny Op. 129
    Performer(s) Grigory Sokolov
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XFMZs_7nOA
    Your comments: The piece is happy, (not really that angry) and really quick. It’s really cool. It sounds like someone running a race and trying to get ahead of someone else. At 1:26, it sounds like they finally won. It gets sad. It sounds like an emotional roller coaster of sadness, happiness, anger and in between.

    Reply

  165. Title: Concerto No.1
    Composer: Franz List
    Performer: Martha Agerich
    This is a beautifal sounding piece and it has lots of dramatic sounding parts. When played like this, it sounds like it has lots of color and lots of emotion.

    Reply

  166. Composer: Chopin
    Title: Nocturne in E Major Op. 62 No. 2
    Performer(s): Ivo Pogorelich

    This piece starts out like a homeless person is sitting under the moonlight. He is cold, hungry, thirsty, and dirty. He sleeps on a bench, and the next day, he wakes up to see a person, and that person, is someone that helped him, he took him into his home, feeds him, gives him water, buys him an apartment. Later in the next few years, the now rich and not homeless person thanks the guy in the next few years, and gives him, a few million dollars, and both are now living in the same house, in different rooms of a mansion.
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk5L2R3BExo

    Reply

    1. What an incredibly beautiful story, Bradley! I feel it is so much in the mood of the piece: struggle, help, and reward. Great!

      Reply

  167. Listening Log No…by joel
    First piece:

    Composer Liszt
    Title of the piece Tarantella
    Performer(s) evegeny Kissin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEHwN6unpIc
    Very nice melody, I like how it is kind of hard to hear because how unmelodyish it sounds like. In the middle, it just kind of sounds like a mindless dravel. but, sometimes, a good melody comes through in there. The ending is loud and I like it
    Second piece:

    Composer
    Title
    Performer(s)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSaR76RwF3g
    very fun melody. I like this piece alot. The ending is very fun I loud.

    Reply

    1. Great comments about Liszt Tarantella, Joel! I hope that when you are in HS you will learn and play this piece, I think you can!

      Your second piece is the last mvt of Mozart’s Concerto No. 21, performed and conducted by Murray Perahia, a fanatic performance! Next time, please list the composer, title of the piece, and the name of performer(s), it helps people to follow those great musicians if they happened to like your choice of piece for the Listening Log. It also helps me make my comments more informative for you.

      Reply

    1. Next time, please list the composer, title of the piece, and the name of performer(s), Mia! It helps people to follow those great musicians if they happened to like your choice of piece for the Listening Log.
      It also helps me make my comments more informative for you.
      This piece is by Biset, it is called Habanera from the opera Carmen.
      Great musical comments, Mia!

      Reply

    1. Same here, please list your selection, ok?
      This is Beethoven Rondo, played by Evgeny Kissin. Your story is greatly describing the energetic nature of the piece, good job!

      Reply

    1. I like your comparing the sound to a lullaby, the piece does have the gently rolling parts in the Rondo Theme of it. Good job, Harry!

      Reply

    1. It is very fast, and Lang Lang plays it so fats and clear, he is fantastic. I am glad you are watching live performances! Because the technology allows people to sometimes “speed up” their recording, then post a recording which is faster than they actually can play the piece. It’s unfortunate that people sometimes would “cheat” like that.
      But! If you watch a “live” performance that sort of “cheating” is impossible there. That way you hear the true playing of a great artist like Lang Lang:)

      Reply

  173. First piece
    Composer – Mozart
    Piece – Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, 1st mov
    Performers – Maurizio Pollini, Wiener Philharmoniker
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2uYb6bMKyI
    I really love this concerto. It’s so light and bouncy. It gives off a sense of hope. It’s so simple, yet so fulfilling. It’s not a dramatic or strong as other pieces, but it still holds its own place. The orchestra has a really long intro. The piano comes in with trills, echoing and transpositioning the earlier orchestra phrases. The chords aren’t played together, which is really cool. This concerto is ethereal, but still has substance. I really like this concertos theme. I see that chromatic scale!! I really like the flute in this movement. The cadenza is a repeat of theme, but with a lot more phrasing, and sweetness.

    Second Piece
    Composer – Paul de Senneville.
    Piece – Mariage D’amour (Chopin’s Spring Waltz)\
    Performer – Toms Mucenieks
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJ7kDva7JE
    I love this piece!!! So I was reading the description and it said “Chopin’s Spring Waltz” was a misnomer and that its real name was Mariage D’amour by Paul de Senneville. I really love this piece. It’s so beautiful, and it makes me think of moonlight and stars, a warm night lying in a meadow, at peace, with nothing to disturb me. It’s a piece for dancing and singing and staring out your window. It’s beautiful. I really really really really want to play this soooo badly. It makes me think of soft grass beneath my feet, and birds and squirrels, flying and running. It’s a song of happiness, but also longing, the piece that would be played after a war is over, to mourn the loss of loved ones, but also to honor them dying for a good cause. It’s a piece of footsteps towards your goal, the piece that makes you want to keep trying. I love it so much. <3

    Reply

  174. Listening Log No.2
    Composer: Chopin
    Title: Preludes op.28
    Performer(s): Vladimir Sofronitsky
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mI36Zxkie0

    Somebody is in the darkness. Somebody is telling people something very dangerous. People are sad for not being able to play outside because it is raining very hard. All of a sudden, people are dancing and jumping along with the music. They are enjoying the music.

    Reply

  175. Week #29 Listening Log
    2nd Piece
    Title: Piano Partita No.2 in C Major BWV. 826
    Composer: J. S. Bach
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Martha Argerich
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNG8Jmz5zqI
    Comments: This piece is rather aggressive in the beginning, but it slowly blends into a very cautious-like part. Slowly, it slowly becomes aggressive and quick section. The second movement (Allemando) is more expressive, with very sad phrasing. Every note is very well placed, like a beautiful mansion, with geometrical gardens. The theme is like the mansion, and the little contrasts, the garden.

    Reply

  176. Week #29 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Violin Concerto No.3 – 1st Movement (Allegro)
    Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Hilary Hahn
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-mA9OMP3DE
    Comments: This piece has the very common beginning that Mozart puts in his major pieces. Then, it slowly becomes sadder, ending in a rather quiet and peaceful ending. Next, a huge series of minor and major parts come together, making a disorderly, but still beautiful section. At 7:26, the orchestra stops playing, making a ending… After, Hilary Hahn starts playing a minor section, very sad for a more happy-like movement (which makes a pretty distinct contrast from all the other phrases). The movement ends with the main theme.

    Reply

  177. First piece

    Composer-Chopin
    Name of the piece-Fantasie in F Minor, op. 49
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-GjbRtlweg
    My comments:

    This piece is very loud and I can see Zimmerman literally leaning on his fingers. I can feel the excitement as the piano is played very loudly. Zimmerman’s feeling is great, and soon the piece turns a bit quiet. I like how his phrasing is a bit rounded at the ends of the phrases. This Chopin piece reminds me of a meadow, with a few little bees at the flowers and some wild animals prancing about. The piece is amazing!

    Second piece

    Composer-Chopin
    Name of the piece-Barcarolle in F# Major, op. 60
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU21X-wmD0Q
    My comments:

    I like Zimmerman’s soft touch on the keyboard. It feels as if the notes are gently flowing around, like I’m stirring a few ingredients inside of a pot. Zimmerman has enough expression but doesn’t overdo it, so I think that this is great. I like how Zimmerman’s playing is very relaxed, yet his notes are played with great care. Zimmerman is a great pianist indeed!

    Reply

  178. First piece:

    Composer-Chopin
    Title of the piece-Etude, opus 25, #1
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Comments
    This Chopin etude sounds very peaceful. I imagine that I’m sitting beside a stream. I imagine that the water is flowing beside me, with its gentle rustling sound making me feel calm and relaxed. This piece makes me feel very comfortable after a long day. Barenboim has excellent technique and doesn’t overdo the expression?his hand isn’t very big, but it seems to flutter up and down on the keyboard. Barenboim is an excellent pianist!

    Second piece:

    Composer-Chopin
    Title-Etude, opus 25, #2
    Performer-Daniel Barenboim
    Comments
    This piece sounds like a river flowing. It has a very fast feeling. I imagine a little kayak floating down it, with the rider on top controlling the boat. I like listening sound, as it’s also very flowing. Barenboim combines his notes together perfectly, so I can hear the notes very clearly as well.

    Reply

  179. Listening Log No.1
    Composer: Mozart
    Title: Piano Concerto No 21
    Performer(s): Rudolf Serkin
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5FGjbXS284

    I feel hearts are floating all around. Someone is whistling. Someone is closing his eyes and thinking of something. He is enjoying the music. Snow flakes are floating in the air. Looks somebody’s birthday is coming up and he feels so happy.

    Reply

  180. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: ‘Whether the Day Reigns’, Op.47 (arr. for cello and piano by Igor Zubkovsky
    Performer: Zubkovsky and Ouspenskaya
    Link:

    Comments: I thought that it was awesome and that it was very majestic and it had lots of feelings and emotions! It was a great performance and it was fun and beautiful to listen to and it was had very good phrasing and it also had great dynamic conflict.

    Composer: Chopin
    Title: polonaise in A major
    Performer: Horowitz
    Link: (no link)

    Comments: It was pretty amazing and it was very loud and fast and it had lots of big phrasing and dynamics and it was very exiting to listen to. It reminded me (or created a mental image in my head ) of people climbing a mountain and it was very cold and the winds were blowing against them and on each step the music got a little bit louder and there were some detours but, they finally made it a to the top!!!

    Reply

  181. Second piece:

    Composer-Dmitri Shostakovich
    Title-The Second Waltz, Op. 99a
    Performer(s)-André Rieu, Johann Strauss Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmCnQDUSO4I
    Your comments!-The piece is very catchy. I’ve definitely heard it before. It’s pretty but sneaky. It sounds like Halloween music. It sounds like it would be the music to a ball. It’s sometimes royal. It’s gets really cheerful at 1:16. At 2:04 it reminded me of Mary Poppins music. I like how at 2:22 it went back to how it originally started which is calmer. I really like this one too. I like the suspense. I feel like it would be cooler if it had a grand finale for the end.

    Reply

  182. First piece:

    Composer: Georges Bizet
    Title of the piece: Carmen Habanera
    Performer(s) London Festival Orchestra, Alfred Scholz
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCrKncOpE7Q&list=PLsIGrZkgKYmdUVAQNV-EHBlc_gviVjAe_
    Your comments! The piece starts of really cool and mysterious. It definitely sounds like someone is sneaking somewhere. Then, it turns into kind of Christmas music. It’s probably one of my favorite listening logs. It might as well be Home Alone music when the robbers are inside of the house. It has a nice feeling to it. At the end its kind of when the robbers get caught. It has really distinct dynamics.

    Reply

  183. First piece
    Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Sonata No. 16
    Performer – Daniel Barenboim
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYDC_Xg59Y
    It starts rather calm, just bouncing around, not in one mood or another. There are a lot of arpeggios and scales. I like the theme. It’s a bouncy piece, really fast. It’s a really quick piece. It sounds hard because the right and left hands aren’t together, they’re kind of echoing. There are a lot of dynamics and phrasing in this piece. This is a peaceful piece, not like the pieces Beethoven usually composes.

    Second piece
    Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Sonatina in F
    Performer – Catalina Huros
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHqGbXSLU2U
    Again this is piece is bouncy and lighthearted. It’s a very musical and simple piece, relying on dynamics and phrasing to give It taste.

    Reply

    1. Erin, interesting that you noted how these pieces are happy and peaceful, and not like what you thought was Beethoven’s usual. Beethoven, similarly to many other composers, changed his themes and the focus throughout his life. Beethoven, more than others, went through several very distinct “periods” of how he composed, and what his message was. These pieces are from Beethoven’s “early” and “middle” periods. But his more famous Symphony No. 9 is one of the last works that he composed. During his “late Beethoven” period he wrote larger, darker, more dissonant and more dramatic pieces.

      Reply

  184. Listening Log No…by…JOel
    First piece:

    Composer beethoven
    Title of the piece Rondo e capriccio
    Performer(s) Evgeny Kissin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQn4Qfy_Bek
    The beggening sounds happy, not really angry, even though it gets louder it still sounds pretty joyful. Then it starts turning minor. Then the left hand turns minor while the right hand is major! then it starts turning really minor and slow. the end is super fast, but still very happy.
    Second piece:

    Composer mozart
    Title piano concerto 23 3rd mov
    Performer(s)Horowitz
    Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car
    I really like the melody, but It is kind of boring.

    Reply

    1. Very keen observation, Joel, of Major/Minor happening in two parts at the same time!
      Composers love this composition technique, it’s called just that: “Major-Minor”.
      It is used by composers to express the nature and the feel of a disagreement. Something like when two people are talking about the same event, and one person is saying “that is good!”, while the other person argues: “no, not so good!”.

      Reply

    1. Wonderful job, Harry! I hope you continue to compose, there are so many fun things to learn and do with music!

      Reply

    1. Of course Mozart was very talented, Harry! Just like you are very talented, too!
      Mozart also never got tired, or bored of practicing and improving his technique.
      Mozart paid a lot of attention to his work. People said that it was difficult to distract Mozart from playing or composing. He usually closed the door if someone wanted to talk to him while he was practicing.

      See where you will go if you work with the same focus as what Mozart did? Maybe you will become next Mozart?

      Reply

    1. Beautiful choices of music, and wonderful stories, Lucia!
      I found a recording of the Mignon in which I think the pianist tells your story even better, check it out

      Reply

  189. Composer: Debussy
    Title: Debussy Suite bergamasque L. 75: III. Clair De Lune
    Performer(s): Lang Lang

    This piece starts nice and soft, like a couple, going on a date and sightseeing. They laugh along with the piano, they sing, they dance. They dinner, but, it is interrupted an ad on the TV, they ignore it, like the piano, the 2 are happy, until both the couple and piano are silent.

    Reply

    1. So cool that you mentioned going on a date and sightseeing, Bradley! The name of the piece translates as “the light of a moon”. Usually romantic people like to go on dates in the evenings, and love watching the moon rise and start giving it’s soft and gently light.

      Reply

  190. Title: Clair De La Lune L.75
    Composer: Debussy
    Performer: Lang Lang

    This is a piece that has a beginning feeling like 2 people singing a beautifal song. At the middle part of the peice it sounds a bit faster, now it is more like people playing a duet. At the end, its like the song has come to its end.

    Reply

    1. I feel that the main melody of the this piece is a song, too. I can almost feel myself singing it! I don’t imagine myself dancing it:)
      The middle part is a lot like duet because each hand has melodic lines, not so much like one is melody while the other is an accompaniment. It’s almost like two equal people are talking. Great comments, Wesley!

      Reply

  191. 1. Johannes Brahms
    Cello Sonata No. 1
    Jacqueline du Pre, Daniel Barenboim
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnjv7W1YNa4&t=45s
    At first the cello sounded, inexplicably, like a grumbling old man– although perhaps that was just the juxtaposition to the piano. It lightened up a little as the piece went on. I wasn’t expecting a Sonata to be so meandering; the first two sections especially felt quite calm and flowey, unlike the sonatas I’m used to hearing and playing. Although perhaps I just spaced out a bit…
    Chopin
    Nocturne Op. 55 No. 1
    Arthur Rubinstein
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3yrEEM5j_s
    The pianist plays very deliberately, putting a careful, though not delicate, touch on the music that I liked. All of Chopin’s nocturnes are very different, but they can all put me to sleep!

    Reply

    1. Haha, I like how you gave Chopin a credit for fulfilling the “Nocturne” title by making the music which is calming enough to put to sleep! (Nocturne is “night song”). Ultimately, it’s a good idea for the “night song” to be calming rather than energizing.
      Liked very much your comparing cello sound to an “old man”. Du Pre brings out the coarse and “dusty” qualities of cello, not just the usual “soothing” ones. I love her range of color!

      Reply

  192. Listening Log No.2
    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Piano Sonata No.32, Op.111
    Performer(s): Artur Schnabel
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p_-gwqkiGs

    I feel someone is peaceful and quiet. Someone thinks something is really amazing. Someone is enjoying a jumpy song. Stars are twinkling on the sky. Flowers are flowing into the sky. A person is so excited to see something.

    Reply

    1. Wonderful feeling, Olivia! I love your stories:) you are also listening to some very of the best pianists of all times. Schnabel is one of most expressive pianists, he has very warm phrasing

      Reply

  193. Listening Log No.1
    Composer: Schubert
    Title: Hungarian Melody in B minor, D 817
    Performer(s): Andras Schiff
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm390aUZcnE

    I feel somebody is shaking. A person is opening the door and see something surprising. This is a jumpy song. Someone comes out from his bedroom and feels so refreshing.

    Reply

  195. First piece:

    Composer: Bach
    Title of the piece French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813 Allemande
    Performer(s) Maria João Pires
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XufJs_YehLk
    Your comments! (It’s the first piece and it ends at 3:26) If the piece was faster and more intense, it would be perfect video game music. It has a catchy melody and its calm but happy. It sounds like after a day in the snow, someones finally curled up on a comfy couch with a warm blanket and their cat with a book and, they’re near a fire place.

    Reply

    1. Love your comment that Bach’s music can fit as perfect game music! Bach actually loved games, he played all kinds of games with his children and his young students. Of course there were no video games back then, but there were lost of other very fun games. Games can engage and connect people, they can be very funny. Bach wrote some pieces clearly communicating the fun feeling of a great time playing a game with friends.

      Reply

  196. Second piece:

    Title: French Suite No.5 in G Major BWV816 (Courante)
    Composer: Bach
    Performer(s): Andras Schiff
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_U0lm6HZMk
    Your comments! (It starts at 3:00 and ends at 4:32) This piece is very upbeat and happy but is not super intense. It flows together really nicely. It sounds like people are having a friendly snowball fight but at the same time it sounds like spring is starting with the birds chirping.

    Reply

    1. Love your comments, Emily! You really catch the great variety of things which Bach communicates through his music.

      Reply

  197. First piece:

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    French Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV 815: Allemande

    Murray Perahia

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrNwH6cfXqI

    This piece flows together really well. It has a distinct melody that stays pretty much throughout. It’s pretty and smooth. At 1:42, I liked how it did the main melody and then went into something new. I like the dynamics. It kind of sounds like someone is looking out the window of a car on a rainy day and the droplets are sliding down the window. I really enjoyed it. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Yes, you are very right: the piece has a “catchy tune” which plays throughout. Composing such melody is a great skill of Bach’s, not easy. Such a melody is called a “Theme” in polyphonic music style

      Reply

    1. Interesting you mentioned “jazzy”! Another student from our Studio seems to agree! I just learned that this other student is experimenting with making some “jazzy” versions of the piece. I am curios to hear:)

      Reply

  199. Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title:The Seasons – September
    Performer: Igor Levit
    Link: https://www.pscp.tv/w/cVpwc3R3LTY1NTA0NjY5fDFtbkdlUW16ek5OR1iR3yO3wyrcDLBBJ14YvaOolpR09YPH1a3sPor8Ch9WVg==?t=8m57s

    Comments: I thought that the piece was majestic and fun and very exciting and really fun to listen to!!!!!!
    He had good technique. He leaned forward when it got louder. His hand position was good, I saw good high fingers and wrists, he had elbows out, and he lifted really high for Stockton. And it was just a fun piece to listen to.

    Composer: Strauss
    Title: An der Schonen, blauen donau
    Performer: Vienna Philharmonic / Barenboim
    Link:

    Comments: it reminded me of a big beautiful field full of pretty little indigo flowers that were all swaying in the wind all together one way then the next. It also made me lean side to side (with Dad ) . It had great (big) phrasing and its dynamics were very clear, I could hear piano and FORTE !! It was calm and it was an awesome and interesting performance to listen to.

    Reply

    1. Love your comments, Abby! You are so observant about how the pianist moves his body, hands, and fingers, to help him achieve great sound and expression! You are very right in your observations.
      And yes, I feel like swinging, too, when listening to Strauss’s pieces, they are soooo dancy!

      Reply

  200. Listening Log No.2 By:Lucia Tang
    Title:The Sick Doll
    Composer:Peter Tchaikovsky
    Pianist: Saya Glowacki
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv9GTZGp6fw
    Comments:It sounded like a doll was going to die.Then the doll became a spirit.Then it became joyful, and the doll started to dance. Then lots of insects started to flutter around the doll.Then the song ended.

    Reply

    1. Lucia, great comments! I remember when I was a young piano student, my teacher assigned for me to learn all pieces from Tchaikovsky’s Children Album. The “Sick Doll” sounded just waaaaay too sad for me, I refused to learn the piece…

      Reply

  201. Listing Log No.2, Arda
    Title: Waltz of the Flowers
    Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUF9g9V-Ang
    Comments: The music genuinely feels like you are prancing around in a field of flowers with nothing distracting or interrupting nature. The music played is very lightly, but with great emphasis. Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky is very happy, very jumpy, and a great piece to get you into a good mood. Listening to it makes me feel like I am soaring in the air, and no one can get me down. The music switches from very light to strong and emphatic and to very sincere.

    Title: Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth.
    Composer: Frederic Chopin
    Orchestra: Jan Lisiecki
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cykgz9nIRtI
    Comments: The music begins off with a prolonged and sad tone, imaging a tragic event. Midway through the piece, it begins to feel more joyous, but with something still making it feel bitter. But then, the music goes right back to the beginning, with a somber tune. As if a person is trying to forget about a tragic event, but it keeps on re-entering the person’s mind.

    Reply

    1. Arda, your comments are so imaginative and so thought-provoking, great job! I especially think you posted a profound observation about sadness “re-entering a person’s thoughts”. I think you captured the very essence of this piece! I think Chopin meant it to feel this way, by adding a more joyful and agile interlude in the middle, followed by a return of the primary (and very sad) main theme.
      This video is a soloist’s encore performance at a live concert. It is very common for a soloist to offer an additional short piece to the audience, after playing a concerto with an orchestra. Beautiful playing, too!

      Reply

  202. Listening Log No.3 By:Lucia Tang
    Title: Arlegro Con Spirito
    Composer: Peter Tchaikovsky
    Pianist:Lang Lang
    Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv9GTZGp6fw
    It sounded like there was a big party going.Then a evil thunder storm came.Then the next day they had a glorious sunrise. Suddenly it started to all quiet down and it sounded as if the people were very sad all of a sudden.Then It sounded like they were surrounded with bumble bees.The bees started buzzing around their heads.Then it all became stormy around them.And they had a quiet little night.Then Lang Lang had a solo and it sounded very sad like someone was very ill.

    Reply

    1. Lucia, great description of the Concerto! It is written on the grand scale, with big scenes, big contrasts, big swings of emotion, you captured the spirit of it so well!
      The solo piece which Lang Lang performed at the end was an encore. Please take a look at my comments to Arda’s post about encore. Lang Lang played a piece by Tchaikovsky “Nocturne”. Lang Lang plays it very beautifully!

      Reply

  203. Week #28 Listening Log
    2nd Piece
    Title: Mass in B-Minor
    Composer: J. S. Bach
    Performer: Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Karl Richter
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc7aFDppCgY

    Comments:
    This piece sounds very imperial, like an emperor ordering his troops. This piece also sounds very religious, almost like the cries of a lost battle, or the opposite. There is a very repeating theme. It is probably in German. Everybody sounds so confident. There is also a major part between two of the minor sections. Bach made this piece go over normal music, which makes it beautiful!

    Reply

    1. Great comments, Julian! Your guess is very right: this is a piece Bach wrote for a church celebration of a Mass. It is one of Bach’s largest and most fundamental pieces, he dedicated it to his life-long service of his religious beliefs. This video is a part (a movement) of the Mass in B Minor. It is written using Latin canonical Mass texts.
      If you are interested, here a full video of a great performance of it (beware! It is VERY LONG:)

      Reply

  204. Week #28 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Brandenburg Concerto No.3
    Composer: J. S. Bach
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name(s): Karl Rickter (conductor)
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB1M2HaEbI4
    Comments: The beginning is very vivid and happy. Every part are all very important. This piece also has a very repeated theme. All the movements are very fluent and connected together. String instrument’s sound is very nice when they’re together. With all it’s variation. All movements end in a Baroque style ending. The harpischord has a very different sound when it is played alone. It is perfect for Easter. This piece is also very playful.

    Reply

    1. Bach’s music is so rewarding to listen, I am so glad you are enjoying it.
      And you are so right about his music being “perfect” for Easter! Of course it is. Because Bach wrote his music as his tribute to and a celebration of his faith. It wasn’t an accident, it was Bach’s purpose and his intention, to make his music perfect for Easter, he worked very hard towards achieving the goal:)

      Reply

  206. First piece:
    Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 (Pathetique) 1st movement
    Performer – Barenboim
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcOcKYQX3c
    It’s a very dramatic but soft piece, so it’s not dramatic in a loud way. I like the way it has soft sections that are interrupted by loud ones. Barenboim has a very clear tone, you can hear every single note that he is playing, even in the fast parts. I like the way his hands cross. This is a very mellow piece, very calming, but also exciting at the same time. I like the theme.

    Second piece:
    Composer – Schubert
    Title – ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760, II. Adagio
    Performer – Seong-Jin Cho
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqRv__QKJ68\
    It’s soft and peaceful but also gives up a sad vibe. It’s the sort of thing you would play at a funeral. It’s sad but also gives you closure. It makes everything seem not so bad, but also gives you the time to mourn. “Fantasy” is the right word for it, it is not of this world. Then it gets louder and more staccato. Something is happening, it’s no longer a sad piece, but one of action. Then it gets more peaceful and happier like the wanderer has found his place of peace. The left-hand keeps doing the same rolling action. The music is now very energetic like the wanderer has found something to believe in, a goal to work towards, but again the sad theme comes back. His or her sadness will always be a part of him. It’s what makes him who he is because he will always wander the forest alone.

    Reply

    1. Erin, I am so glad you noticed that this post disappeared! I dug it out of the back archives of our website. There must’ve been a glitch in software. Your wrote a wonderful description of the pieces, I would hate for it to not be seen by others. You notice a lot of details, I love how you pay attention to the changing texture of the piece, and how the pianist changes his technique, so it matches the character of the piece in each part.

      Reply

    1. Harry, this is a fantastic piece, and I love that you picked Evgeny Kissin. He plays it so effortlessly, even though it’s a very difficult piece. Keep practicing hard, and you will play this piece, too! Kissin practices very hard

      Reply

    1. Really cool compilation of all-favorite music! It’s not only the Entertainer, at 4:20 the orchestra joins the pianist in with a “Polka” by Johannes Strauss. What a joyful video!

      Reply

  209. Listening Log No…by…Joel
    First piece:

    Composer Beethoven
    Title of the piece Sonata no.8 op.13 mov.1
    Performer(s) Daniel Barenboim
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcOcKYQX3c
    The beginning is quiet with bursts of loud. Sometimes you think that the piece is finally quiet and then it suddenly is very loud. At about 2 minuets, it gets pretty loud and with no more soft spots. Then, at 5 minuets, the melody plays again. At about 7 minuets, there is a more minorish key. then at about 8 minuets, the melody comes back again. The ending is super loud.
    Second piece:

    Composer mozart
    Title Piano Concerto No 23 A major K 488 mov. 3
    Performer(s)Maurizio Pollini, Karl Bohm
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXeBFhqViYg
    The beginning is very nice because I really like the melody. The orchestra is very good. I like this piece alot.

    Reply

  210. Composer: Liszt
    Title: AveMaria
    Performer(s): Lang Lang

    In the beginning, it gives me a calm vibe. There is a garden. A man is dancing with his wife. They are slow dancing, then, they are getting a bit faster. They move quicker, like they are running around while dancing. They get slower as if the piano and couple are tired and want to slow down. They keep dancing, until, they are tired out, just like the piano. They both want to stop, take a break, and stop. They keep dancing, the piano keeps on playing, until everything is quiet, just like, the piano.

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptGjTkVFv-A

    Reply

    1. Bradley, beautiful story for this music. I loved your playing with words “quiet” and “piano”, very neat:)
      A sweet and polished performance by Lang Lang, too! This piece was originally written by Schubert. It became very popular, so Liszt made his own rendition of it which is called a “transcription”. Very common thing to do, for composers of all times. Nowadays this composition technique is called a “cover” when people make their own arrangements of music, or songs, or soundtracks for movies.

      Reply

  211. Title: Ave Maria
    Composer: Franz List
    Performer: Lang Lang

    This is a piece that feels like a man and his wife dancing slowly in a ballroom. And then its like a child Dreaming about a dramatic event. Finally, it feels like everyone has got home and has settled down.

    Reply

    1. Beautiful picture of a couple dancing in a ballroom, Wesley! The piece really does have that gentle rocking floating feel. Take a look at some really cool facts about the origins of this piece which I posted in response to Bradley’s LL

      Reply

  212. Listening Log No. 1
    Composer: Grieg
    Performer: Arthur Rubinstein
    Title of the piece: Piano concerto in A minor, Op16
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Yoyz6_Los

    Snow flakes are falling from the sky. Some wonderful stuff is happening. Somebody is dancing and jumping. The sun is rising. The wind is blowing flower petals away. Somebody is going to a scary jungle.

    Reply

    1. It’s so great to see you picture things the way the composer meant, Olivia! Grieg is Norwegian composer, from a northern country of Norway. The snowflakes you imagined are floating in the air of that country for many months out of the year.

      Reply

    1. I like how you expressed the conflicting feelings of this piece: “when will it stop repeating” and “it’s sooo good”. This piece makes me want it to keep repeating, yet I, too, wonder: when will it spot?:)
      The Bolero is written as an almost endless loop of variations based on a repeating rhythm and the same melody traveling from one group of instruments to another. It keeps “growing” and “expanding”because the composer kept adding more and more instruments to the ensemble.

      Reply

  215. First piece:

    Composer
    Title of the piece
    Performer(s)
    Insert a YouTube link or a link from another site if you listened/watched on computer. Skip this step if you listened to radio in a car
    Your comments!
    Second piece:

    Composer-Haydn
    Title-piano concerto 11
    Performer(s)-Pletnev
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKIeyAnCBc
    Your comments!
    Light and springy like a little kid happily jumping around in the grass. It feels like you are free to go wherever you please. Then comes a little bit of a mysterious phase with only Pletnev playing. It is soft and strange. The orchestra and Pletnev’s minds seem to come together, with each being able to tell what the other is going to do. At the end, the sound is a bit harsh and dramatic.

    Second piece:

    Composer-Haydn
    Title-Piano concerto 11, 2nd movement
    Performer(s)-Pletnev
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKIeyAnCBc
    Sounds very pleasing to the ear and sweet. The sound is like a dancer slowly waltzing on the floor. I like how Pletnev sometimes hesitates a little before actually playing. He slows down at important spots and is great at telling the tempo. The notes seem so high and seem to fuse together into one. I like how Pletnev’s fingers seem to dance across the keyboard. In the middle, it seems like there are a few tense moments where Pletnev trills a bit.

    Reply

    1. Jason, I love reading your comments, you have very keen observations like the tense feel in the part with the trills! Yes, the shiver of the trills makes me also feel tense, expecting smth to come (a resolution maybe?). And of course the ensemble work of Pletnev and the orchestra is always very nuanced, very much together. Doesn’t it make you want your own hands to play THAT together?:)

      Reply

  216. Julian Chen
    Week #27 Listening Log
    #2
    Title: Rachmaninoff Concerto No.2
    Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name (s): Daniil Trifnov (piano), Gianandrea Noseda (conducter) – Vienna Philharmonic (orchestra)
    Comments: The beginning starts in a slow tempo. I could almost picture a slow – motion version of Swan Lake. This piece also sounds very sad, almost depressing. Rachmaninoff made huge contrasts in between the very dark beginning and the sorrowful middle. The orchestra and the piano coordinate wonderfully. Some parts of the concerto are happier and others more reserved. The happy parts always, somehow, merge into sadder parts. The ending is very happy.

    Reply

    2. Wonderful comments, Julian! The Concerto’s opening was nick-named “Bells”, for the slow floating sound which imitates Russian church tower bells sound. Almost like it starts far away, then keeps coming closer and closer (or you are coming closer to the tower?); until it finally bursts into the turmoil of the main theme played by the orchestra. The Concerto is written to sound depressing at some part. Rachmaninoff wrote it while coming out of his own depression, the Concerto celebrates Rachmaninoff’s recovery.

      Reply

  217. Julian Chen
    Week 27 Listening Log
    #1
    Title: Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56 – No.2
    Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
    Performer’s/Performers’ Name (s): Anne – Sophie Mutter,
    Daniel Baremboim, Yo-Yo Ma
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=452nsCCzIJs
    Comments: This piece is very brilliant. It is also a little bit similar to a waltz although the time signature is more like 4/4 (or Common Time). The beginning is sad. The orchestra plays a secondary role in this piece. Yo-Yo first plays a introduction, then, the other two major/primary roles come in. The ending is very happy (like a happy ending in a story, with a short surprise twist, which in music, mostly happy pieces are very short minor parts, sometimes the parts are very dark too).

    Reply

    1. Great job with these comments! You are right: in this piece the three soloists often take over the leading roles, leaving the accompaniment to the orchestra. A very energetic piece, too. Did you listen to all movements? If not yet, please do, you will find that the 2nd and 3rd movements are very different, and the “story” of the piece becomes complete after you hear it all.

      Reply

  218. Title: Chopin Ballade No.1
    Composer: Chopin
    Performer’s name: Shura Chebroksy

    At the beginning of this piece it feels like a old man taking a walk in the neighborhood, a few minutes later it feels more like kids running and socializing together. Finally, it feels like athletes running a marathon at the Olympics.

    Reply

    1. Wesley, I assume you meant Shura Cherkassky? If yes, then you found one of my all-time favorite pianists! He was also an amazing man, I met him in Russia in Saint Petersburg, in 1992. He was old, but very very energetic. He performed a beautiful concert, then came to visit me at my home. I played the Goldberg Variations by J.S.Bach for him, we talked about life and music, he ate dinner with me and drank some wine. He liked my playing and invited me to visit him in London.

      Reply

  219. Listening log
    Composer:Mozart –
    Name of the piece: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183
    It was like a very long war. There was no winner or loser. It was a continue battle for years. But one day a hero appeared and helped them win the battle. At the end they went to celebrate and have a party

    Second piece
    Composer:Chopin-
    Piece:Waltz no. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 no. 2
    It was a very sad song. Like someone just died then the person was revived and he ran a lot around the cemetery. It started getting happy and people started smiling again.

    Reply

    1. Great story to describe the Mozart Symphony, I love the deep meaning of it! And your story for Chopin Waltz is, too, very emotional and imaginative. Would you please next time add a link to the recordings if you watched them of YouTube? I would like to watch it and imagine your stories at the same time:)

      Reply

  220. Title My Heart will go on
    This piece is very sad like someone has just died. This piece is from the titanic so I haven’t watched it before so I think it’s maybe when someone is falling off the boat. This piece is very warming it could be something sad or happy. It’s soft and then and then loud but it’s very beautiful. Many different emotions at the same time occur that’s why I think it’s very beautiful and peaceful.

    Reply

    1. It is indeed a very emotional and beautiful song, Mia! It is written for a very tragic but also sweet and beautiful story of the love between two young people on the Titanic. Next time, please add a link to the video which you watched.

      Reply

  221. Title Chopin Ballade No. 1
    Composer: Chopin
    Performer(s): Shura Chirkassy
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nrHq72rCE
    In the beginning, it gives me an eerie feeling. There is a thunderstorm and witches cackling. I’m running for my life! Then the storm ends. The piece becomes softer, and everything is calm. Then, I saw a young boy running fast with his dog. Then the piece gets very fast! Its like its zooming through the air! The and dog are racing each other! Until everything gets quiet, the dog, the boy, and the piano.

    Reply

    1. Great choice of a piece and the performer, too, Bradley! And yes, it’s quite amazing how Chopin spins such a storm from such a slow and eerie beginning. Please also take a look at my comments to Wesley’s post about Shura Cherkassky! He is one of the most amazing people I ever met in my life. His name is sooo difficult to spell, isn’t it?

      Reply

  222. Listening log No.2 By:Lucia Tang
    Title: Titanium
    Composer:David Guetta
    Players:The Piano Guys
    Link:https://youtu.be/fz4MzJTeL0c
    Comments:It sounded like it was falling leafs near a very calm ocean.Then the waves started rippling and the wind picked up. Then all around them was moving. Then it was like looking of Grand Canyon.

    Reply

    1. Oh, the Piano Guys are some of my favorite musicians, their playing is so energetic, humorous sometimes, and always fun! The piece is by a French composer from the XIXth century, Gabrielle Faure. The Piano Guys made their own transcription of the piece, nowadays the transcription is called a “cover”.

      Reply

  223. Composer:Beethoven
    Song Title:Beethovens 5 secrets
    Performers:The Piano Guys
    Link:#thepianoguys #pianocello #beethovens5secrets
    Comments: They sounded like they were in a march celebration. The orchestra was playing and there was a dance.Then the wind came through and rustled the treetops and all became quiet.Then a beautifull voice came.

    Reply

    1. Great comments, Lucia!
      I couldn’t get your link to work. Try pasting the full link next time, I would like to see the video which you pick for your LL post. You painted a great story of this piece!

      Reply

  224. —First Piece
    Composer: Alma Deutsch
    title: The Chase
    performer: Alma Deutsch (piano)
    source: WETA broadcast
    The beginning is like footsteps. It then changed to a person calmly walking. The person then started going faster and faster, until it was undoubtedly a chase. It was very simple, and repeated a theme like chasing someone in circles. It wasn’t a very scary or excited chase, more like children running around playing.
    — Second Pierce
    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Piano Concerto #3
    Performer: Arturo Michelangeli and Vienna Symphony Orch
    source: WETA
    In the first movement, it kind of had a repetitive theme. In the beginning it started out like a sad, soft song. Then it changed to a happy, grand booming sound. In some parts, it was calming in a way, and the trills were held very long. When it was nearing the end, it flew all over the piano. In the second movement, it was the opposite of the first. Instead of grand booming music, it was calm and soft like a lullaby. It did not have much dynamic range because it was on the quiet side. Unlike the first movement, it did not have much of a theme. In the third movement, it had a theme like the first, but it was minor key. Every once in a while, it would transpose the theme to major. It switched from major to minor a lot. In the minor parts, it sounded a bit like the funeral march, and in the major parts it sounded like the first movement. The ending was very short and unexpected like a quick hammer strike.

    Reply

    1. Title: cat Concerto
      Composer: n/a

      I heard that Harry did this and I needed to hear it it’s so much fun. They show part of the story in the show were Tom is playing the piano and Jerry is messing with the key even with a mouse messing it up it still sounded amazing. The performer was first slow and then when Jerry started to go through the keys the performer got faster.

      Reply

      1. The cat concerto is just soooo much fun, both to watch and to listen! I am so glad you found the video. The music in it is Liszt Rhapsody No.2. It was originally written for piano only (we call it piano solo). It became one of all-time favorites. There are now many arrangements of this piece exist. For orchestra, for violin, for trumpet, for ensembles… These arrangements are called “transcriptions” in professional music. But in the new age of music terms people often call them “covers”.

        Reply

    2. Title: snowbody loves me

      It’s another Tom and Jerry piece it’s so jumpy, fun and exciting l. It’s the same lady playing it and it’s so lively when she plays it. It tells the story of Tom and Jerry because it’s peaceful at first and then when Tom goes to torture of Jerry it gets hyped up and exciting. My favorite part of this piece is when everything comes to fight like when Tom and Jerry are constantly fighting with each other.

      Reply

    3. Kaiden, I am so pleased to see that you listened to the ENTIRE Concerto! It takes some time getting used to listening to a piece that long, right? But then you get to hear all the contrasting characters, melodies (themes) and how they developed, tempos, key changes…There is so much a composer puts into piano concerto, the piece tells a story! Listening to the entire three movements is like reading all three parts of a great book: you finally get what the story is!

      Reply

  225. Blue Danube Waltz
    Johann Strauss II
    Andre Rieu (and an orchestra)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOcl7DglbaQ&list=WL&index=6&t=0s
    When I googled “Danube”, it said that’s the name of the second longest river in Europe. I can hear that in the piece!– in the recording there was a pause, which I’m not sure was intentional or not, but other than that, no matter how much the music ebbed and swelled, it never stopped flowing, just like a river! The waltz component was clear as well, and made me want to get up and dance 🙂

    Emperor Waltz
    Johann Strauss
    Berlin Philharmonic
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAVvBF7m260
    Another waltz by a Strauss, pretty different this time. I enjoyed the whimsical quality of it. Orchestras and symphonies are so interesting to listen to because there are so many different parts, and they all blend together really nicely– it’s so hard to tell all the instruments apart. These composers must have been geniuses to have come up with this sort of music!

    Reply

    1. Iliana, this is such a great idea to google the origins of the title! Of course the composer meant to express the beauty of the Danube river, its endless flowing and ebbing!
      You are so right about the whimsical character of parts of the Emperor Waltz. Strauss wrote a lot of humorous, sometimes even sarcastic music.
      I wouldn’t agree too easily with the “Genius” though. I know from the history that Strauss (and all composers who left a mark) worked with a lot of dedication, and without measuring their commitment by hours or hourly salary rates. That’s something I noticed in common about successful people across all fields. Be it in science, in sports, in music, or in anything else:)

      Reply

  226. Wk 31, Date 4/2/2020

    Listening Log No.1 (Marcela)
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1
    Composer: Liszt
    Performer: Martha Argerich
    Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArZl0WeMt_k

    This piece reminds me of a herd of elephants loudly running away from a sand/dust storm. Soon this unpredictable dust storm slows down but then it speeds up again and again. This piece goes from loud, frantic and hurried to calm slow and softer. When the clarinet and the violin play with the piano it sounds very cool. Martha Angerich plays super fast and has amazing dynamics! the peace starts forte/loud and around 2:30 the piece gets softer. That’s why this piece reminded me of a dust storm. This was really fun and interesting to listen to.

    Listening Log No.2 (Marcela)
    Title: Impromptu in G-Flat Major
    Composer: Schubert
    Performer: Dinu Lipatti
    Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjstsWoQiw

    This piece reminds me of a snowy day because when he plays right hand it sounds like each snowflake touching the ground, and left hand reminds me of the wind in the air. In this peace LH seems to be playing part of an arppegio or a trill that is a pattern and RH is playing a tune that is really peaceful and nice. LH is much quieter then RH so this shows that RH is probably the melody of the start of this piece. After a little while longer LH and RH becomes a little louder and stronger so it was like the snow started coming down a little harder. Around the middle of this piece some lower more loud notes start to be played and that reminds me of hale coming down from the sky and when the hale hits the ground it makes a loud thumping noise like the notes. At the end of this piece the piece there are darker sounds like the hale keeps coming down. At the end o the piece it sounds like the hale finally stopped and everything became peaceful and calm again.

    Reply

  227. Listening Log No.2 By: Marcela Gonyea
    Title: Impromptu in G-Flat Major
    Composer: Schubert
    Performer: Dinu Lipatti
    This piece reminds me of a snowy day because when he plays right hand it sounds like each snowflake touching the ground, and left hand reminds me of the wind in the air. In this peace LH seems to be playing part of an arppegio or a trill that is a pattern and RH is playing a tune that is really peaceful and nice. LH is much quieter then RH so this shows that RH is probably the melody of the start of this piece. After a little while longer LH and RH becomes a little louder and stronger so it was like the snow started coming down a little harder. Around the middle of this piece some lower more loud notes start to be played and that reminds me of hale coming down from the sky and when the hale hits the ground it makes a loud thumping noise like the notes. At the end of this piece the piece there are darker sounds like the hale keeps coming down. At the end o the piece it sounds like the hale finally stopped and everything became peaceful and calm again.

    Reply

    1. What a great description of the piece, Marcela! Also, want to praise you for picking a wonderful pianist for this post. Dinu Lipatti is a master of balancing different roles: melody, accompaniment, background, supportive motives. Would you please next time add a link to the video? I would like to watch.

      Reply

  228. Listening Log No.1 By: Marcela Gonyea
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1
    Composer: Liszt
    Performer: Martha Argerich
    This piece reminds me of a herd of elephants loudly running away from a sand/dust storm. Soon this unpredictable dust storm slows down but then it speeds up again and again. This piece goes from loud, frantic and hurried to calm slow and softer. When the clarinet and the violin play with the piano it sounds very cool. Martha Angerich plays super fast and has amazing dynamics! the peace starts forte/loud and around 2:30 the piece gets softer. That’s why this piece reminded me of a dust storm. This was really fun and interesting to listen to.

    Reply

  229. Listening Log No.1 By: Marcela Gonyea
    Title: Piano Concerto No. 1
    Composer: Liszt
    Performer: Martha Argerich
    This piece reminds me of a herd of elephants loudly running away from a sand/dust storm. Soon this unpredictable dust storm slows down but then it speeds up again and again. This piece goes from loud, frantic and hurried to calm slow and softer. When the clarinet and the violin play with the piano it sounds very cool. Martha Angerich plays super fast and has amazing dynamics! the peace starts forte/loud and around 2:30 the piece gets softer. That’s why this piece reminded me of a dust storm. This was really fun and interesting to listen to.

    Reply

    1. Marcela, what a great comparison of this Concerto to a storm! Liszt composition style is on a grand scale, you are describing it and its contrasts so vividly. Great please to read your comments and imagine the things you said!

      Reply

  230. Listing Log No.2
    1. Composer: Chopin
    2. Title: Etudes op10 & op25
    3. Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
    4. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gONhZu5ad4s

    It’s a happy sun. The sun is rising up beautifully. Stars are twinkling in the sky. A ball is rolling around. Somebody is calming down. Somebody is sad. Somebody is sleeping with a quite music.

    Reply

    2. Olivia, the “ball” is really rolling in the Chopin Etude Op 10 No. 1! And the hands are “rolling” or sweeping accross the entire keyboard!

      Reply

    1. It is very cool, I think so too! That’s the idea of the fugue: to carry out the same melody through the piece, and play it in different register, in different color, surround it with different music from other voices… Pretty much like the same person going through life and interacting with different people and different events. The melody in fugue is called a Theme.

      Reply

    1. Beautiful choice of the piece, and I can find a bit of jazziness in it… It’s the rhythmic rubato and improvisational feel.
      Your YouTube link took me to a performance by Valentina Lisitsa, not Rubinstein. She plays it beautifully! But would you pls update your post with either changing the name of performer, or maybe you used a different link to hear Rubinstein’s cerording?

      Reply

      1. Hi, whoops I didn’t notice that. I added another post with the correct information. 🙂

        Reply

  233. Listing Log No.1
    Composer – Rachmaninov
    Title of the piece – 3rd Concerto
    Performer – Horowwitz
    Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5mxU_7BTRA

    Someone is having fun with music. Someone is surprise but exciting. A horse is galloping. An unicorn is flying in the sky and making magic all around the world. Someone is dancing along with the music.

    Reply

    1. Wonderful images, Olivia, I can almost see your horses and unicorns dancing to this Concerto. And the pianist’s hands and fingers performing the dance:)

      Reply

  234. First piece
    Composer: Chopin
    Title of the piece: Fantaisie Impromptu No. 66
    Performer: Nagai
    https://youtu.be/amHSzhIMUJU
    This piece started off with a loud low note, and the quickly gets into the melody of very fast notes. The main melody keeps repeating throughout the beginning of the piece, and then the tone changes and it becomes minor and slower in the second movement, which usually happens in second movements. Then in the last movement, it continues with the same melody as the first movement. This piece seems like it would require a lot of drilling to get the fast parts.

    Second piece
    Composer: Chopin
    Title of the piece: Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
    Performer: Seong-Jin Cho
    https://youtu.be/d3IKMiv8AHw
    The piece starts out with quiet fast notes and loud chords which sound very mysterious. It changes mood and sounds like a dance, but with more variation and emotion. The pianist plays this piece very well with expressive dynamics and a lot of contrast. After about 2 minutes there is a melody that is loud and made up of chords that sounds very powerful. This piece has a lot of different parts that all portray different emotions that varies a lot.

    Reply

    1. Sofia, very thoughtful comments and observations! I especially want to note this: “then the tone changes and it becomes minor and slower in the second movement, which usually happens in second movements”. Very keen of you to notice because Chopin meant this piece to be what is called a “programmed composition”. Which simply put means that the music structure follows a “program”, or a plot, and involves mixing together different styles, tempos, themes, etc, which would otherwise be more coomon in separate genres or movements.

      Reply

  236. First Piece

    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No.9 (Ode to Joy) Part 4 Choral
    Performer(s) name: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N5-OALObk
    Comments: I LIKE IT LIKE CRAZY!! It is beautiful. It sounds happy. Sometimes it is very quiet, sometimes it is normal, some times it is very loud!! It is very joyful but loud. It has a beat. This part is very playful: 11:50. IT IS SO GOOD!!!

    Reply

  237. First Piece

    Composer: Beethoven
    Title: Symphony No.9 (Ode to Joy) Part 4 Choral
    Performer(s) name: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein
    URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N5-OALObk
    Comments: I LIKE IT LIKE CRAZY!! It is beautiful. It sounds happy. Sometimes it is very quiet, sometimes it is normal, some times it is very loud!! It is very joyful but loud. It has a beat. This part is very playful: 11:50. IT IS SO GOOD!!!

    Reply

  238. Listening Log No…by…(Joel)
    First piece:

    Composer rodion shchedrin
    Title of the piece humoresque
    Performer(s) Denis Matsuev
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yw3r4NnoAE

    the beginning is super weird. It kind of sounds like wii theme song for some reason. I like how the right hand is like different world from the left hand. the ending is super weird.
    Second piece:

    Composer beethoven
    Title symphony no 5 mov. 1
    Performer(s) Maestro Riccardo Muti
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T3D5Q6Eq2w
    I like the beginning’s melody. It is strong like something bad happened. some times in the middle, it slows down, but then turns in to the melody. at around 5 minuets, the music grows slow, but then turns fast again. the ending is super powerful and I like it.

    Reply

    1. Good comments, Joel! Yes, some of Humoresque is meant to sound weir and funny, it is….humorous!
      You found a great performance of the Beethoven 5th, I recommend this recording to anyone who is interested to hear this masterpiece

      Reply

  239. Julian Chen
    Week 26 Listening Log
    1st Piece
    Title: Four Seasons – Summer – Violin Concerto No.2 in G Minor
    Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
    Performer(s): Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOZIGGV55Pg
    Comments: This section of Four Seasons is one of the saddest sections. Anne-Sophie makes every single part sound very fluent, and the orchestra as well. All the dynamics sound beautiful. Karajan plays a keyboard instrument more or less like the organ.
    This part shows Vivaldi’s distinctive style, with very quick passages, sometimes some irrational phrasing as well (playing a cresc. at the end of a phrase, etc.) The orchestra plays about 1-3 themes, most of them are very loud, sometimes a sequence of the theme or a variation of the theme happens. Most of the ending part is major. This piece is a really beautiful masterwork.

    2nd Piece
    Title: Brahms – Piano Concerto No.2 – 1st movement
    Composer: Johannes Brahms
    Performer(s): Maurizio Pollini, Claudio Abbado, Wiener Philharmoniker
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=n94vcKmDJwo
    Comments: This movement is hard to tell if it’s major or minor, but it is sometimes very aggressive. The orchestra plays a really important role. This piece could fit for a lot of movies. This could also be a story about some kids playing in their village or depict a storm. The orchestra coordinates very well with the piano. The phrasing and dynamics are all phenomenal. Many times, there are very beautiful “endings”. The piece also has a theme that repeats.

    Reply

    1. You are so right, Julian, about Brahms Concerto being a great music for a lot of epic and dramatic movies! It really tells a story on a very grand scale, great observation!

      Reply

  240. Listing Log No.1 by Arda Alpan
    Composer: Chopin
    Title of the piece: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
    Performer(s): Krystian Zimerman
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8p0VcTbuA
    Comments:
    The music immediately starts off with a strong low note, with long pauses in between them, and slowly begins to get faster, as if you were waking up in the morning. The music goes from loud to soft very quickly, and varying between loud and soft very often. The song stops instantaneously very often, and goes from being very slow, to rushing in speed, like in the beginning of a race. The song changes from sad, to angry, to happy very quickly and often throughout the piece. As the piece comes to an end, everything suddenly slows down, and finishes with a loud boom, just as it began.
    Second piece:

    Composer: Tchaikovsky
    Title: Tchaikovsky – Valse Sentimentale
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUuusqy50yk
    Comments: The piece began very mischievous, quick notes with short pauses between each note, similar to how someone sneaks around. From mischiveous, the music quickly runs from being sad to happy, with long notes being played in a sad manner, to very jumpy springy notes played by the whole orchestra. To end off the piece, the notes are played very long and slowly. The switches from mischievous, to sad, to happy, then back to sad can paint many different pictures of different stories, such as a precious item got stolen from somebody, then realizing it was stolen they become very sad. This person then thinks that they have found their precious item such as a piece of jewelry, but realizes it is not real.

    Reply

    1. Great and very imaginative comments, Arda! You are very right about the Ballade changing the mood and varying a lot. It is based on a poetic genre called the same way: “Ballade”, and the genre is dedicated to telling a story with many characters and intricate plots. Chopin really did it with using music as a storytelling language, didn’t he? I like your observation of mischievous character of the Valse Sentimentale, it really does have that feel of light hearted sadness and mischief

      Reply

  241. Title Dance of the sugarplum fairy
    Tchaikovsky

    A mouse is trying to get up the table but he can’t reach. A little girl Sees the mouse and picks him up the mouse squirms around in the little girls hand. Little girl lets the mouse go quietly.She dances on the table and accidentally knocked down a glass she runs and runs out of the house as fast as she can before she gets caught. The girl dances and dances out of the house down the street to the park the mouse follows her on tiptoes up onto the bench. That is a story that I think of the sugarplum fairy when I hear it. I feel quiet and timid like I’m hiding behind the door scared to talk but I understand that being nervous isn’t going to help you overcome your fears and that’s what I feel. I don’t know why I feel like that because I am really not timid and scared of talking. Do you left hand was soft as a butterfly flying away in the right hand was quiet but not as quiet as a left-hand just enough to make me feel happy and calm about the the Nice here this piece even though I am really not timid and scared of talking. Do you left hand was soft as a butterfly flying away and the right hand was quiet but not as quiet as a left-hand.

    Reply

    1. What a beautiful story, Mia! You really made the piece open up and speak to me, by unfolding this great story.

      Reply

  242. Title: Fur Elise
    Composer: Beethoven

    This piece makes me feel good. it’s like a ballet in a beautiful palace dancing all night in a big puffy dress. I love the fact that it has repeated section that repeats every time. I love this piece because I can smile and be happy. I can enjoy the rest of my day.

    Reply

    1. This is wonderful, Mia, that you can take some good feel energy from Beethoven’s music! Beethoven is one of the most energetic composers, I draw my energy from his pieces a lot, too

      Reply

  243. Title: Fantaisie – Impromptu
    Composer Chopin

    I feel so regal about this piece it gets me excited because it’s so much fun and fast. The way I look at this piece is different from others cause I see fast than soft , slow and slightly energetic. The left hand is not overwhelming the right hand and the right hand has just enough power.

    Reply

    1. Mia, very keen observation of the balanced roles of the hands here! Yes, the RH has the power while the LH is not overwhelming. It is very very difficult to achieve in this piece. You must have found a very excellent pianist performing it. Can you please share a link to the recording?

      Reply

  244. Title : Piano Sonata No. 16 in c Major first movement
    Composer: Mozart

    This piece is so peaceful, it feels like someone is painting the ocean and all of the waves. I can feel the painter is poking the canvas with the brush while butterflies are softly flying around .

    Reply

    1. Wonderful image! And so truly connected to this music, I think Mozart would have loved to hear you say this about his Sonata

      Reply

  245. 1. Composer: Bach
    2. Title: Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in B minor.
    3. Performer: Angela Hewitt
    4. Link: Angela Hewitt: Bach – Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B minor BWV 893 | WTC Book II

    5. Comments: It was very exiting and it had lots of emotions and it had a nice ending and it was fun to listen to. She had big movements and it made the song way more dramatic. She had good high and curved fingers. She also had good leaning.

    Second piece:
    1. Composer: Beethoven
    2. Title: Piano Sonata 7 in D Major – IV – Rondo
    3. Performer(s): Awadagin Pratt
    4. Link: Beethoven: IV. Rondo (Allegro)

    Comments: it was very surprising and fast (around allegro – allegretto). It was also exiting and had lots of phrasing and it was energetic and fun and it was hard to tell if it was called major or minor because it sounded like both(to me) .(no video, just sounds and not-moving pictures)

    Reply

    1. Very keen observations, Abby! Especially your noticing how the pianist used her fingers and body to help her express the piece! You are also very right about major-minor combining together, very keen! this composing technique is even called just that: “major-minor”:)

      Reply

  246. Listening Log No. 23 by Kaiden Griggs (for lesson 3/26)
    First Piece:
    Friedrich Fesca
    Flute Quartet Op 28
    Linos Ensemble
    comments: The flute was back and forth w the cello. The first movement was very happy and jumpy. The 2nd movement was more slow and serious, and also switched from major to minor a lot and sounded more like a slow dance. The 3rd movement was back to more of a happy jumpy feeling. The last movement had a questioning sound to it.

    Second Piece:
    Louis Spohr
    Andante w Variations
    Dieter Kloecker (clar.) with Consortium Classicum
    comments: The clarinet was very showy and the piece sounded like some background music of a banquet hall. It did not have a lot of dynamic range and was very lively. The clarinet was usually off on its own solo.

    Reply

    1. Kaiden, such a true observation of the Spohr piece sometimes sounding like banquet music! Spohr actually did write a lot of kind of music which is called “occasional”: written for special occasions like a banquet:)
      You also found a very interesting piece to listen to by Fesca. Would you mind sharing the link to that recording (if you have it)?

      Reply

  247. First Piece

    Composer-Mozart
    Title of the piece-Piano concerto #24, 1st movement
    Performer-Murray Perahia
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8j-1u2ndZo

    This piece starts with sounding very mysterious in the orchestra part. I feel as if I was in a haunted house. There are many things coming all over. I am very spooked out. For example, there are bats and ghosts. Then, suddenly, morning comes and I feel better. I can see the deep blue sky high above me. When I get out of the haunted house, there is a beautiful pond right in front of me. Suddenly, a heron swoops down making a big splash. The fish inside the pond are startled and suddenly leap out. Inside the pond, there is a whole kingdom. I can see a lot of little dragonflies fluttering in the water and a lot of reeds that are peacefully resting. It is a very calm place.
    Then, I walk on. I see a playground. This playground is just like a normal one. I see some kids sliding down a slide. The piano sounds the exact same. I like Perahia’s expression. It seems like he is going down the slide itself! The piece sounds very playful near the middle of the movement. I can even imagine some kids playing on monkey bars, since the notes seem to flow out, and when you’re on the monkey bars, you are moving smoothly.
    Towards the end, I feel that the movement gets livelier. I like how Perahia’s notes simply flow out with a lot of movement. His eight-note passages sound very even, making it sounding like a game of tag. It seems like people are hiding in and out of bushes, since the piece gets faster for a few minutes and then becomes peaceful once more.
    Second piece:
    Composer-Mozart
    Title-Piano concerto #24, 2nd movement
    Performer-Murray Perahia
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8j-1u2ndZo

    This movement sounds very sweet and sad. I feel that I am walking on a cloudy grass field. I sometimes speed my pace a little. I can see a beautiful scenery of mountains and hills in front of me. I enjoy this very much. Then I see a few bales of hay rolling around. I like the feeling very much, watching the bales of hay is very satisfying.

    I then come to a forest. I go inside and see many peculiar looking animals. For example, I see monkeys snatching at fruit, toucans with their big beaks pecking tree bark and flying parrots with their beautiful plumage. I like the look of all of these animals. The scene looks like a painting. I like Perahia and the orchestra’s cooperation. They seem to read each other’s minds. I like Perahia’s tempo and how clear his notes sound.

    Reply

    1. Great story, Jason! I love your descriptions, imaginative, really tells the stories behind this music. And thank you for taking time to write a lot.
      Very keen observation about the ensemble work between the soloist and orchestra! You are right: it appears like a “mysterious mind-reading”. That’s the goal of practicing and rehearsing: to learn to give the cues and read each other’s cues well enough, so to have very seamless cooperation.

      A lot of it is a skill of listening to each other’s phasing and breathing. And of course, working on your own phrasing in details, so that it makes sense and sounds convincing. Then your partners can accurately predict when and how much breath you are likely to take, for example. Even without looking at you, just by listening to your flow of phrasing.

      Murray Perahia is a master at polishing his phrasing and making it very meaningful. He is one of the easiest partners for the conductor and the orchestra to follow because his playing makes so much sense:)

      Reply

  248. Iliana Rong
    Piece 1: Fugue in g minor (WTC No. 16)
    Composer: Bach
    Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKif28jMUg
    Comments: …I think I’ve been listening to too many Bach pieces, they’re all starting to sound the same… I couldn’t hear the voices very clearly in this one. However, I loved the trills in the prelude, they were so clear and light!

    Piece 2: Fantasia in d minor
    Composer: Mozart
    Performer: Mitsuko Uchida
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNOhBE20zsI
    Comments: I listened to two renditions of this piece, and this one was much better. The beginning was thoughtful to the point of being introspective, and for once my attention didn’t want to wander! It was a ballet, a conversation, and an anime opening all at the same time. It felt like the pianist wasn’t performing the piece, but rather playing it purely for her own enjoyment.

    Reply

    1. Iliana, thank you for sharing how listening to the music by the same composer eventually “blurs” it all in one same style! That is so true, I feel the same way.

      It’s also true about learning your pieces. It takes awareness of this, to be able to keep “fresh ear” while working on a piece for weeks or even months. We all eventually hit a wall of having hard time with being able to engage with it, don’t we? The masters approach it this way: keep searching for smth new in your interpretations: phrasing, tempos, breathing, colors. Everyday set aside a bit of time for experimenting. Otherwise eventually the piece “settles” in some routine and starts sounding very stale, no matter how polished.

      Reply

  249. First piece
    Composer-Mozart
    Title of the piece-Piano Concerto #24, First Movement
    Performer-Murray Perahia
    Link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8j-1u2ndZo

    This piece starts with sounding very mysterious in the orchestra part. I feel as if I was in a haunted house. There are many things coming all over. I am very spooked out. For example, there are bats and ghosts. Then, suddenly, morning comes and I feel better. I can see the deep blue sky high above me. When I get out of the haunted house, there is a beautiful pond right in front of me. Suddenly, a heron swoops down making a big splash. The fish inside the pond are startled and suddenly leap out. Inside the pond, there is a whole kingdom. I can see a lot of little dragonflies fluttering in the water and a lot of reeds that are peacefully resting. It is a very calm place.
    Then, I walk on. I see a playground. This playground is just like a normal one. I see some kids sliding down a slide. The piano sounds the exact same. I like Perahia’s expression. It seems like he is going down the slide itself! The piece sounds very playful near the middle of the movement. I can even imagine some kids playing on monkey bars, since the notes seem to flow out, and when you’re on the monkey bars, you are moving smoothly.
    Towards the end, I feel that the movement gets livelier. I like how Perahia’s notes simply flow out with a lot of movement. His eight-note passages sound very even, making it sounding like a game of tag. It seems like people are hiding in and out of bushes, since the piece gets faster for a few minutes and then becomes peaceful once more.

    Second piece
    Composer-Mozart
    Title-Piano Concerto #24, Second Movement
    Performer-Murray Perahia
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8j-1u2ndZo

    This movement sounds very sweet and sad. I feel that I am walking on a cloudy grass field. I sometimes speed my pace a little. I can see a beautiful scenery of mountains and hills in front of me. I enjoy this very much. Then I see a few bales of hay rolling around. I like the feeling very much, watching the bales of hay is very satisfying.

    I then come to a forest. I go inside and see many peculiar looking animals. For example, I see monkeys snatching at fruit, toucans with their big beaks pecking tree bark and flying parrots with their beautiful plumage. I like the look of all of these animals. The scene looks like a painting. I like Perahia and the orchestra’s cooperation. They seem to read each other’s minds. I like Perahia’s tempo and how clear his notes sound.

    I like Perahia’s expression. It clearly expresses what the piece should be like. Towards the end, it sounds like a dance in a palace. I feel as if I was seeing kings and queens waltz on the palace floor.

    Reply

    1. That’s right! Liszt did compose the fast part of the piece with an ongoing “accelerando”, very much like a depiction of a chase. Very playful and humorous, funny!

      Reply

  252. First piece
    Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” Mvt. 3
    Performer – Alfred Brendel
    Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j-qf5790T8
    I immediately liked it from the beginning. I have heard this somewhere before. It’s strange that the piano starts, and the orchestra echoes. Brendel’s pinky isn’t flat. The conductor doesn’t have a baton. This is a very regal and dramatic concerto, with a lot of chords. There is also a lot of scales or something involving scales. His playing is really clear. I wonder if Beethoven was dear when he was composing this. It’s such a shame for him not to listen to this? His trills are really good, and his fingers are curved. His right hand is noticeably louder than his left, so the left doesn’t drown out the right. The piano and the orchestra work very well together in this piece and performance. Brendel looks a lot like how I imagined Beethoven, with wild, white hair. I love the ending.

    Second Piece
    Composer – Beethoven
    Title – Symphony No. 7 3rd Movement
    Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lplcevU_kyo
    Performers – Leonard Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic
    It is a really exciting piece, with a lot of phrasing and dramatic moments. I like this piece, even though it is very disturbing in its loudness. The ending is very anticlimactic.

    Reply

    1. Fantastic work, Erin!
      I suppose you meant you’re wondering if Beethoven was “deaf” when he composed the Concerto? No, he wasn’t. Beethoven never actually completely lost his hearing. But yes, his hearing became somewhat impaired, enough so to cause him frustration and tensions with performers of his late music. But a lot of buzz about his deafness was also caused by stigma around his personality, and by Beethoven’s foresight in his composing techniques and ideas. Some of his later works sound very modern even to today’s listeners. Beethoven’s contemporaries had hard time understanding Beethoven’s musical ideas. They labeled his dissonant harmonies as a “product of a composer who can’t hear what he wrote”. It wasn’t so much “sad deaf composer” as “sad retrogrades contemporaries” which caused Beethoven’s hearing to become such a monumental issue.
      Take a look:
      https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/01/beethoven-not-completely-deaf-says-musicologist

      Reply

  253. Listening Log by Joel
    First piece:

    Composer
    Title of the piece: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 • •
    Performer(s) Volker Hartung Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNi-_0kqpdE
    Comment: Sounds very different from the piano version. Really brings out the sound. Very calm in some parts while in others, very loud and fast while partly jeering. I like this piece. I like the ending.

    Reply

    1. Great idea to hear this piece in the orchestral version! It really does bring the power of this music, and the colors. We as pianists always look to expressing the fullness of the orchestra when we play!
      Please complete the second piece this week so you get the full credit for your great work!

      Reply

  254. Listening Log No. 1 by Mia Burgoyne
    Composer: Kuhlau
    Title of the piece: Sonatina op.55-6 1st mvt.
    URL:
    Your comments: This piece is like a spring bouncing up and down through out the piece. Every once in a while there is a beautiful legato session that is very peaceful.

    Listening Log No. 2 by Mia Burgoyne
    Composer: Chopin
    Title of the piece: Nocturne
    URL:
    Your comments: This is my favorite piece Its soft, peaceful, and quiet. Its light like a feather floating away in the air.

    Reply

    1. Mia, I love your imagery about Chopin: it does sound like a feather! Now to learn to sound like that on a piano you need to make your hand feel that air and feather-like gentleness. Great work!

      Reply

    1. Harry, I agree: it sounds happy, and maybe even a bit funny, right? That’s because Beethoven is making fun of raging about something so small as one penny…:)
      Please complete the second piece this week!

      Reply

  256. Listening Log No.1 by:Lucia Tang
    Composer:Johann Pachelbel
    Title:Canon In D
    Comments:I thought I was watching a girl was singing to me.Her voice was very beautiful and distant as if I had heard her a long time ago.Then she sang to me until I fell asleep then tip-toed away.

    Reply

    1. Lucia, great story, very imaginative, I especially like you making connection between distant and long time ago! Who was the performer? Can you please add a link to the video?
      Please post one more piece this week so you can get a full credit for your work.

      Reply

    2. Listing Log No.2 By:Lucia Tang
      Title:Symphony No.9
      Composer:Bethoven
      Orchestra:Chicago Orchestra
      Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOjHhS5MtvA
      I thought they were in an army and we were fighting. Then we won and we had a silent peaceful night.Then we had a humongous celebration.Then we ran away to a castle and the people provided us with food for defeating the others.Then a storm came and the people invited us for a joyful party celebration.Then it became quiet and still again.

      Reply

      1. Great story! You are right: a lot of large scale compositions have an underlying story, and Beethoven could very well had smth similar to your story in mind! Professional musicians call this way of composing “programmed music”, meaning that there is a story plan, or a plot, or “program” behind the musical development of the piece. Great observation!

        Reply

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