Relaxing Piano Playlist Series 5 Episode 9

Feeling tired? Need to unwind? Then how about some gentle, soothing piano music? Welcome to the Episode 9 of the Fourth Series in the Relaxing Piano Playlist! In this themed episode, I perform for you a number of piano arrangements from original works by composers including Bach, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, and Amy Woodforde-Finden.

Chapters

• 0:30 Introduction
• 4:28 Ich ruf'zu dir Herr Jesu Christ [I call on Thee, Lord Jesus Christ], J.S Bach - Busoni
• 8:17 Fruhlingsglaube D.686, Schubert - Liszt
• 12:37 Nocturne from A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, Mendelssohn - Mozskowski
• 17:46 Mvt 3 from Cello Sonata Op.19, Rachmaninoff
• 24:36 Til I Wake from Four Indian Love Lyrics, Amy Woodforde-Finden - Sir Stephen Hough

Transcript

EPISODE 9

0:00:30 - James Quinn

Hello and welcome to Episode 9 of Series 5 in the Relaxing Piano Playlist with your host James Quinn here at the piano, thank you very much for joining me. This episode is centred on a theme of piano arrangements. All of the pieces that you will hear, all vary in style and come from works originally written for organ, chamber, orchestral and art-songs.

The first piece that you’re going to hear, originally comes from the Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, where he composed a series of Organ Chorale Preludes which were later arranged for the piano by many composers. From these you will hear the piece Ich ruf’zu dir Herr Jesu Christ, translated as ‘I call on Thee Lord Jesus Christ’. This particular arrangement was made by the Romantic Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni.

The next piece you will hear originally comes courtesy of the Franz Schubert from one of his German Songs entitled Fruhlingsglaube, translated as Faith in Spring, which was originally published as D.686. This piano arrangement was made possible from the Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt.

The next piece comes in the form of the composer Felix Mendelssohn, where you will hear what is originally a work from one of his most well known orchestral compositions. In this case you will hear the Nocturne from ‘A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream’. This particular arrangement was made possible the composer Moritz Moszkowski

We also make another revisit to the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, where you’ll hear a unique arrangement of the third movement from his Cello Sonata Op19. Although there is currently a much more virtuosic transcription by the celebrated concert pianist Arcadi Volodos, this however is much more faithful to the original, which is currently unknown whether this was done by the composer himself or a contemporary of his.

Finally we come to another return to the composer Amy Woodforde-Finden with one of her Four Indian Love Lyrics. In this instance, you will hear ’Til I wake’. This has been arranged and transcribed for solo piano by one of Britain’s most celebrated and distinguished concert pianists today, Sir Stephen Hough, and again I would like to personally thank Stephen for his kind permission for me to share my own recording of this gorgeous piece from his collection of piano transcriptions. 

So to recap, here is the order just once more: I call on Thee Jesus Christ by Bach and arranged by Busoni, Fruhlingsglaube by Schubert and arranged by Liszt, Nocturne from A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn and arranged by Moszkowski, Mvt 3 from Cello Sonata Op.19 by Rachmaninoff, and finally ’Til I Wake’ by Amy Woodforde-Finden and arranged by Sir Stephen Hough.

So sit back, relax, and I hope that you all enjoy the music. Thank you.