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Feeling stressed? Need to unwind? Then how about some gentle relaxing music for you to ease into. Come and join me as your host, James Quinn as I take you through some wonderful music as I play for you on my own piano ranging from Bach, Mozart, Chopin and more. In this episode I play music by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Debussy.
EPISODE 7
0:30
Hello and a warm welcome to our next episode of the current series of 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 number of pieces ranging from a wide variety of composers covering the Classical, Romantic and the 20th century periods.
The first piece you will hear comes from the classical composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and the piece in question comes from one of his most famous Piano Sonatas, entitled the Pathetique which he published as Opus 14, and you’re going to hear the second movement, which is set to the speed of Adagio cantabile, which basically means slow but song-like.
The next piece comes from the Austrian composer Franz Schubert and the piece in question is his third Impromptu in G Flat Major, which comes from his very first set of 4 Impromptu’s, which he originally published as Deutsch 899, or as we would later know today as Opus 90. This is probably one of his most beloved Impromptus that he ever composed.
The next piece brings us back to the composer Johannes Brahms and the piece you will hear is his second Intermezzo in A Major, from his volume of Six Piano Pieces which he published as Opus 118. These were some of the last piano pieces he would ever compose towards the end of his life, and often forms the backbone of his late character pieces for the instrument.
We revisit the Russian composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff and you’re going to hear a movement from one of his larger works for the piano, which he entitled as Morceaux de Fantasie, which he published as Opus 3 which contains his famous Prelude in C Sharp minor, and you’re going to hear the third movement from this work, which he simply entitled as the Melodie in E.
We now come to two 20th Century pieces, the first of these comes from the French Impressionistic composer, Claude Debussy, and the piece that you’re going to hear is a standalone work, which he simply entitled Reverie, which when translated simply means Dreams.
And finally, we come to another new piece from another new composer added to the series, the Chinese composer by the name of Wencheng Lu, and the piece is called Autumn Moon On A Calm Lake. This is considered his most representative piece. He began composing the music after visiting West Lake in Hangzhou as an expression of the beauty and grace of the scenery. The very first piano transcription of this was written by another Chinese composer by the name of Chen Peixun and remains a popular piece among many Chinese pianists.
So to recap, here is the order just once more: the second movement from the Sonata Pathetique by Beethoven, the Impromptu in G flat Major by Franz Schubert, Intermezzo Number 2 in A Major from Opus 118 by Johannes Brahms, the Melodie in E Major by Rachmaninoff from his Morceaux de fantasie, Reverie by Debussy, and finally Autumn Moon On A Calm Lake by Wencheng Lu.
So sit back, relax, and I hope you all enjoy the music. Thank you.