Mozart
Child Mozart in
Schönbrunn Palace
Domenico Scarlatti Biography
Biography of composer Domenico Scarlatti, one of the greatest harpsichordists of all-time.
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757), born in Naples, was an Italian Baroque composer and a harpsichord virtuoso. He was the son of renowned composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Domenico spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. Although classified chronologically as a Baroque composer, his music was influential in the classical style development.
Domenico is featured as a secondary character in José Saramago’s Nobel Prize winning novel Baltasar and Blimunda.
Both father and son composed in various musical forms although today Domenico Scarlatti is best known for his harpsichord sonatas.One of the most celebrated harpsichordist of his time, his 550 single-movement sonatas or esercizi (exercises) is considered his best composition. Read the full article —> Domenico Scarlatti
Scarlatti: Stabat Mater
Youtube Video credit:
Domenico Scarlatti: Stabat mater. Uploaded by pitonisa62. Accessed 17 April 2012.
Thanks to Penelope Pappas for sharing this video at Facebook
Note: This post was originally posted Oct 26, 2008. It’s been updated, including the video, April 17, 2012.
Share this article
Schubert’s Die Forelle (The Trout)
Franz Schubert – Piano Quintet in A major, D 667 “The Trout”
Considered the greatest melodist of all time, Austrian classical composer Franz Schubert is renowned for German ‘lied’ folk melodies (solo voice with accompaniment, usually, piano), and his “Unfinished Symphony.”
Among the prominent composers associated with Vienna – Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven – only Schubert was born in Vienna, a true blue-blooded Viennese.
The “Trout Quintet” is the popular name for the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 677, by Austrian composer Franz Schubert. This work was composed in 1819, when Schubert was only 22 years old, however, it was only published in 1829, and by this time the composer has died.
Schubert’s piece is written for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass, a deviation from the usual piano quintet, that is, piano and string quartet. The Trout was actually written for a group of musicians coming together to play the music of Schubert’s fellow pianist and composer, J. Nepomuk Hummel.
The piece is known as The Trout because the fourth movement is a set of variations on Schubert’s earlier Lied “Die Forelle” (The Trout). The quintet was written for a wealthy music patron and amateur cellist, Sylvester Paumgartner, of Steyr in Upper Austria, who also suggested that Schubert include a set of variations on the Lied.
Structure of Piano Quintet in A major D. 667 “The Trout”
1. Allegro vivace in sonata form.
2. Andante in F major. The movement is composed of two symmetrical sections.
3. Scherzo: Presto.
4. Andantino – Allegretto in D major. A theme and variations on Schubert’s Lied Die Forelle.
5. Allegro giusto. The Finale is in two symmetrical sections, like the second movement but with slight variations.
Enjoy an all-time favourite Schubert music, “Die Forelle” (Trout Quintet, D667)
Du Pré, Barenboim, Perlman, Zukerman, Mehta – Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major D 667 “The Trout”
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Piano Quintet in A major D 667 “The Trout” (“Die Forelle”)
PERFORMERS:
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Pinchas Zuckerman, viola
Jacqueline du Pré, cello
Zubin Mehta, double bass
Schedule:
00:20 Rehearsal and backstage
15:07 I. Allegro vivace
24:43 II. Andante
33:03 III. Scherzo: Presto
37:53 IV Andantino – Allegretto (theme and variations on Schubert’s lied “Die Forelle”)
46:35 V. Allegro giusto
The performace was recorded live in London, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 30 August 1969
Franz Schubert’s Forellenquintett. This is most hilarious! Aside from loving Schubert’s music, it’s much fun watching these talented and brilliant musicians during rehearsals.
Video Credit:
Franz Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, D 667 “The Trout”. The Christopher Nupen films, Franz Schubert, The TroutYouTube, uploaded by capitantotti. Accessed March 19, 2012.
Sources:
- Chusid, Martin. “Schubert’s chamber music: before and after Beethoven”; Gibbs, Cristopher H. “German reception: Schubert’s ‘journey to immortality’”; and Notley, Margaret. “Schubert’s social music: the ‘forgotten genres’”. In Cristopher H. Gibbs. The Cambridge Companion to Schubert. Cambridge Companions to Music. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
- Latham, Alison (ed), The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford University Press, 2002.
- Perry, Jeffrey. “The Wanderer’s Many Returns: Schubert’s Variations Reconsidered,” Journal of Musicology, 19/2, 2002
- Rosen, Charles. The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, expanded edition, W. W. Norton and Co., 1997
Note: Post originally published January 31, 2011. Updated March 19, 2012.
Share this article
Georges Bizet Opera Carmen
Famous Opera “Carmen” by Bizet Premiere
Opera synopsis, characters, and other information of Bizet’s Carmen
The French opera Carmen by Georges Bizet is one of the most famous and loved operas of all-time. The libretto is written by Henry Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novel by the same name, written by author Prosper Mérimée. Bizet found great opposition to the work, as many critics and the general public found the opera plot “indecent” during the time.
Carmen is first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875. For French opera, Carmen broke new dramatic ground as it moved away from opera buffa (comic opera), to a deeper tragic story. Sadly, composer Bizet did not live to see that his work was to become one of the most often performed operas in the world.
The 4-act opera setting takes place in Seville, Spain. The original opera production of Carmen had spoken dialog rather than recitative. After Bizet’s death, his friend Ernest Guiraud replaced the dialog to a sung recitative.
Famous Opera Arias from Carmen:
- L’amour est un oiseau rebelle – Carmen
- La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (The flower song) – Don José
- Votre toast, je peux le rendre (Toreador song) – Escamillo
Characters from Bizet’s opera Carmen:
- Carmen, a gypsy (mezzo soprano)
- Don José, Corporal of the Dragoons (tenor)
- Escamillo, Toreador/ bullfighter (bass-baritone)
- Micaëla, a village maiden (soprano)
- Zuniga, Captain of the Dragoons (bass)
- Morales, Officer (baritone)
- Frasquita, gypsy companion of Carmen (soprano)
- Mercedes, gypsy companion of Carmen (mezzo soprano)
- El Dancaïro, a smuggler (baritone)
- El Remendado, a smuggler (tenor)
The Plot / Synopsis of the Opera Carmen:
Act I. In Seville, Spain, in a square outside of a cigarette factory
An officer of the Dragoons, Morales, is with his guards on watch. Micaëla comes looking for Don José her fiancé. Bothered by soldiers flirting, she leaves the square. Captain Zuniga arrives with Don José to relieve the guard. Noontime, Carmen arrives in the square with the cigarette-girls, coming out of the factory. All of the men flock to her asking for her love. At first Don José did not notice her. She throws a flower at his feet and chooses him as the man she loves. She flees. Don José is flattered by Carmen’s gesture, but he thinks of Micaëla. There is commotion from the factory. Carmen has attacked another woman and Captain Zuniga orders Don José to arrest her. He does, but Carmen seduces him to let her escape. He does, and he is arrested.
Act II. A month later, Carmen and her friends are having a good time drinking and dancing at an inn, a hangout for a group of smugglers
Captain Zuniga and his men enters the inn. Zuniga tries to woo Carmen. She is not taken and refuses his advances. She has promised to meet Don José there. Escamillo, the great bullfighter, enters the bar and falls in-love with Carmen. Meanwhile, two smugglers, Remendado and Dancaïro, also enter the bar to tell Carmen and her gypsy friends, Frasquita and Mercedes, that their help is needed for a smuggling operation. Waiting for Don José, Carmen refuses to leave. Having been released from jail, Don José arrives. The bar becomes empty, leaving him and Carmen. She entertains him with a private dance, which is only interrupted by the call of the bugles. Don José’s troops have been called to retreat. As he is about to leave, Carmen gets angry. He vows his love to her. Zuniga returns to the inn ordering Don José to leave at once. He refuses to follow the order. They draw swords, and both disarmed. Zuniga is taken away at gunpoint. Having openly defied a superior officer, Don José is forced to join the smugglers.
Act III. Don José and the band of smugglers are on the outskirts of town
Carmen has lost affections for José. She, along with Frasquita and Mercedes, are reading tarot cards. Carmen pulls the death card. The smugglers depart, leaving Don José to guard over the camp. Micaëla approaches. As she comes near, Don José, who does not see her, fires a shot in her direction, intending it for Escamillo who he has seen. Escamillo introduces himself as Carmen’s lover. They duel with knives. Carmen steps in and saves Escamillo’s life. Micaëla also has come to find Don José telling him to return home to his dying mother. Before leaving, Don José warns Carmen that he will return.
Act IV. In a square at Seville, a parade is entering the bull-fighting arena
Escamillo who is with the parade is joined by Carmen. The other smugglers tell her that she needs to go away because Don José has come to kill her but she does not listen. Don José pleads with her of his love and offers to rejoin the smugglers. She laughs at him, and throws the ring that he gave her. She tells him that it’s Escamillo she loves until death. In the bull ring arena, the crowd roars for Escamillo. As Carmen goes to join Escamillo, the outraged and jealous José grabs her from behind and stabs her in the heart. At the moment’s height of Escamillo’s victory inside the arena, Carmen dies.
Related Link —> Georges Bizet Biography
Opera Carmen by Georges Bizet
Video Credit: Bizet Opera Carmen, uploaded by pulsphoto. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
Julia Migenes: the definitive Carmen.
Source:
Batta, András (2000). Opera: Composers, Works, Performers. Cologne: Könemann.
Share this article
Composer Bedřich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884)
Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style identified with his country’s aspirations to independent statehood. He is famous for his symphonic poem “Ma Vlast” (My Country.)
Bedřich Smetana (2 March 1824, Leitomischl – 12 May 1884, Prague), Czech composer of operas and symphonic poems, and founder of the Bohemian (now Czech) Nationalist School. He is famous for his patriotic symphonic poem “Ma Vlast” (My Country).
Along with symphonic poem “Ma Vlast”, his other best known compositions include the opera “The Bartered Bride” and the orchestral theme “The Moldau” (contained in “Ma Vlast”). His compositions include orchestra, chamber music, keyboard and choral songs.
Smetana is also known for his Czech dances, in two books: the first book, written in 1877, contains four polkas, full of spirit and expression of the composers exuberant virtuosity. The second book was written in 1779, two years later. It is inspired by Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances. These dances are considered Bedřich Smetana’s best piano works with their vivacious rhythms and catchy melodies. One of these dances, Cibulicka (Little Onion), is based on the popular Czech folksong “Hop Hey Onioners.” Wonderful and impressive. I’ve captured it from YouTube and sharing it here, interpreted by pianist Richard Pohl. Enjoy!
Smetana: The Little Onion (Cibulicka)
Smetana: The Little Onion (Cibulicka). YouTube, uploaded by pohlpiano on Oct 22, 2007. Accessed March 2, 2012.
Related Links:
Resources:
- Bedřich Smetana by Agnes Selby, author of Constanze, Mozart’s Beloved.
- Sadie, Stanley. The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music. London: Macmillan, 1994.
Image Source:
Bedřich Smetana. Wiki Commons.
Recent Comments