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Feeling tired? Need to unwind? Then how about some gentle, soothing piano music? Welcome to the Episode 7 of the third Series of Relaxing Piano Playlist! In this episode, I perform for you music by Scarlatti, Padwereski, Grieg, MacDowell, Tchaicovsky, and the Second Movement from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58
EPISODE 8
0:31 James Quinn (Introduction)
Hello and a warm welcome to Episode 8 of Series 3 in the Relaxing Piano Playlist, with your host James Quinn here at the piano, thank you very much for joining me. In this episode, you’re going to hear a short number of pieces ranging from a wide variety of composers, covering the Classical and the Romantic periods. We’ll also have another movement from a Piano Concerto, later to follow.
The first piece that you will hear, comes from a new composer added to the podcast, in the form of the Italian Baroque composer, Dominico Scarlatti. He was in fact born in the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel in the year of 1685. He was born in Naples, and he was the sixth of ten children to the composer and teacher Alessandro Scarlatti. After first studying with his father, many other composers would come to teach him including the likes of Francesco Gasparini and Bernardo Pasquini, all of whom had a big influence in his musical style.
The composer, Muzio Clementi, also brought Scarlatti’s sonatas in to the classical style, by editing what is known to be their first publication. Hw was appointed and worked as a composer, an organist, as well as an accomplished Harpsichordist as well. He spent much of his life in the service of royal families from Portugal and Spain. Amongst all of his music, he composed well over 500 keyboard sonatas.
He died at the age of 71 in Madrid, and his residence of Calle Leganitos is designated with an historical plaque, and his descendants still live in Madrid. In fact, a minor planet designated as 6480 Scarlatti is actually named in his honour. To give you an example of his composition style, the piece that I’m going to play for you is one of his short piano sonatas, and in this case you’re going to hear the Piano Sonata in F minor, which was published K.466.
The next piece that you’re going to hear comes from another returning composer in the form of Ignace van Paderewski. Not only did he work as a composer but he would also later become the first Prime Minister of Poland. He also worked to create the first editions and publications of Chopin’s piano music. You’re going to hear a short work of his which comes from the same set of Opus 16, of which his Nocturne in B Flat also comes from, and in this case you’re going to hear the second movement from this cycle which is known as the Melodie in G Flat Major.
We then return to the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg for our next piece. In this particular instance, you’re going to hear his own arrangement of the Sarabande from his Holberg Suite, which he published as Opus number 40.
We then revisit the American composer Edward MacDowell for our next piece, and in this instance you’re going to hear the movement called “An Old Garden” which comes from the cycle known as the ‘New England Idyls’, which he published as Opus number 62.
To finish off this section, we’re going to hear a short piece from the Russian composer, Tchaikovsky. In this case, you’re going to hear one of his own songs, which has been arranged for solo piano. The song in question is entitled “None but the lonely heart”, a very beautiful song indeed, and this arrangement has been made possible by the celebrated British Classical Pianist, Sir Stephen Hough.
To finish off this episode, I’m going to play for you another movement from a piano concerto. In this case you’re going to hear another one of Beethoven’s concertos, and you’re going to hear Movement 2 set to the speed of Andante con moto which comes from his fourth piano concerto, which he published as Opus number 58. He dedicated the fourth piano concerto to his close friend, student and patron the Archduke Rudolph.
So to recap, here is the order just once more: Piano Sonata in F minor K.466 by Scarlatti, Melodie in G Flat from Opus 16 by Paderewski, the Sarabande from the Holberg Suite Op.40 by Edvard Grieg, “An Old Garden” from the New England Idyls Op.62 by MacDowell, None but the lonely heart by Tchaicovsky and arranged for the piano by Sir Stephen Hough, and finally Movement 2 from Piano Concerto No.4 Op.58 by Beethoven.
So sit back, relax, and I hope that you all enjoy the music. Thank you.