The joropo is a dance and a folkloric rhythm native to the llanos of Venezuela and Colombia, probably originated in the flamenco and Andalusian dances that the conqueror brought from the Old Continent, acquiring here a new appearance although it retained some features such as, for example, the zapateado. As the national dance of Venezuela, it is danced in pairs, on the occasion of popular, cultural and religious festivals, to the beat of music sung by a group of singers accompanied by Venezuelan cuatro, llanera harp and maracas.
Reaching the academy After the natural decay of the romantic waltzes of the nineteenth century, which in all fairness gained access to a space in academic and salon music in their time, at the beginning of the twentieth-century Venezuelan composers took up an interest in creating works that would elevate indigenous rhythms at the academy level.
Moisés Moleiro Among many others, this is the case of the pianist and composer Moisés Moleiro, author of sonatinas and toccatas somewhat "scarlattian" but with both syncopation and Venezuelan accent, and whose most popular work ended up being, precisely, a joropo for piano.
Moisés Moleiro (1904 - 1979)
Born in the Guárico state in 1904, Moleiro graduated as a pianist in 1927 and gave his first recital in 1931. True to his customary style of simplicity and transparency, the composer was able to transport to the piano – in 1941– the flavor, the rhythm and the festive character that, in principle, only the cuatro, harp and maracas, could deliver.
Joropo, by Moleiro A piece of a high technical difficulty, in 6/8 time, Moleiro's Joropo should be an obligatory work in the repertoire of every Latin American pianist aware of his roots, although it is only intended to be performed as an encore, due to its brevity. From beginning to end, the piece rests (the pianist not so much) on an "Alberti bass" as accompaniment. Huge syncopated leaps deliver more rhythmic richness and add another bit of difficulty.
The rendition, magnificent, is by Basco pianist Josu Gallastegui.
It is generally accepted that the two romances for violin and orchestra were composed around 1802 or 1803. Years that are not exactly encouraging for Beethoven. In 1802 he wrote a document – the famous Heiligenstadt Testament – addressed to his two brothers, Karl and Johann, to whom he confessed with deep regret his deafness, lamenting that he, a musician, had to suffer from such ailment. Despite this intimate confession, the document has been written "to be read after my death."
Overcoming rejection To make matters worse, that same year he fell in love with his pupil Giulietta Guicciardi, to whom he dedicated the Moonlight sonata. The "damigella contessa" had given the maestro a tepid hope of being reciprocated, but by the end of the year the relationship was completely cooled down. However, Ludwig will show that he is capable of overcoming everything, for very soon afterwards he will begin work on his third symphony, as well as finishing the romanzas or refine the work for publication.
Beethoven, in 1803 by Ch. Horneman
An unfinished concerto As hinted, it is likely that the two violin romances were written much earlier. What is not in doubt is the date of their publication: No. 1 in G major (which is actually the second) was published in 1803, and No. 2 (the first), in F major, in 1805.
The conjecture comes from the fact that in his youth, around 1790 – Beethoven is twenty years old – he left a violin concerto unfinished, of which his first movement, written in C major, is known.
G and F chords Not only the harmonic proximity (G and F chords are, respectively, the dominant and subdominant of the C key) but also their stylistic affinity have led to think that, most likely, the romances were originally written for being incorporated, one or the other, as a slow movement to that concerto that did not come to an end. That would not be strange if we remember that Mozart entitled the slow movement of his Concerto No. 20, precisely, "Romance".
What cannot be doubted, in my modest opinion, is that at least in the gently lyrical Romance No. 2 in F major, Opus 50, we are dealing with a strictly classical Beethoven, the early Beethoven than once he was. It lasts for less than nine minutes.
The rendition is by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Kurt Masur, with Renaud Capuçon as the soloist.
Since the time of the German zither player Veit Bach (around 1555), the first known ancestor of Johann Sebastian Bach (and according to him, his great-great-grandfather), the Bach family gave the world so many musicians that the itinerant musicians who roamed the villages at that time were generically called "Bachs", regardless of whether or not they belonged to the illustrious family.
The progeny of Johann Sebastian This never-ending brood of musicians who emerged generation after generation, reached its maximum expression with the appearance on the scene of Johann Sebastian Bach, in 1685. Curiously enough, after his death, the output of geniuses or talents will extend only a little further. Of the twenty children born from his two marriages, only survived four of the seven he had with his first wife Maria Barbara and five of the thirteen he later had with Anna Magdalena, Of the nine survivors, five will be prominent musicians, but with them, the production of artists will be concluded.
Carl Philipp Emanuel The second son born from his relationship with Maria Barbara, and who will later be greatly admired by Mozart, is Carl Philipp Emanuel, who at the age of seven was able to sight-read his father's keyboard pieces, no matter how demanding.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788)
Born in Weimar in 1714, despite his peculiar genius, Carl Philipp Emanuel will enter the university to study law obeying the strict indications of his father, because in the case that he later decided to devote to music professionally, as a university-trained man he could aspire in the courts to a more dignified treatment than the one dispensed to the servant proper.
Reluctantly with Frederick And so, in 1740 we find him, though not at ease, at the court of Frederick II the Great of Prussia, serving as a court harpsichordist. Although being a law graduate, the relationship with Frederick was not the best and Carl Philipp spent a good few years trying to get another position somewhere else.
"The Bach of Hamburg" The Seven Years' War, oddly enough, relieved him a little because it kept Frederick away from court. But it was not until 1768 that he was able to leave Frederick for good to go and replace the late Georg Philipp Telemann in the post of chapel master of Hamburg, a position he would hold until his death in 1788. There he was known as "the Bach of Hamburg", to differentiate him, perhaps, from his brother Johann Christian, another talented musician, who in turn was recognized as "the Bach of London".
Sighting the Romanticism
Far removed from the rigorous polyphony of his father, Carl Philipp Emanuel is something of a "proto-romantic". Although his work lays between the baroque and classicism, he was the main representative of the Empfindsamer Stil musical movement, similar to the renowned Sturm und Drang, which foreshadows the first elements of romanticism.
An anecdote about a musical evening at the Bach's house shows Carl Philipp as a pale young man with narrowed eyes and almost "possessed", an adjective that would come in handy with any romantic musician of later years.
Concerto for flute, strings, and basso continuo in D minor, Wq 22
While in the service of Frederick the Great, Carl Philipp composed five flute concertos to be incorporated into the king's repertoire, who in addition to being a composer was a somewhat talented flautist, although he could hardly perform them as this requires the skill of a virtuoso. The Concerto in D minor is regularly performed by soloists around the world, especially due to its incomparably agile first movement (allegro di molto: very lively). It is presented here in the rendition of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, conducted by Stephan Mai. The soloist is Christoph Huntgeburth.
In early July 1837, Frédéric Chopin remained expectant in Paris at the prospect of joining the Wodzinsky family and spending the vacations with them. It was the occasion to meet again with his fiancée, Maria Wodzinska, and to formalize then a relationship that for the moment presented a lukewarm aspect. Maria's mother, although she supported the union, still had to find out what her husband thought of the whole affair. As we know, the invitation to go on vacation together never came. But Frédéric, at the beginning of that summer, still hasn't found out.
To London for a walk So, when he was invited by his friend the pianist and piano maker Camille Pleyel to accompany him to London on a short business trip, Frédéric gladly accepted. A couple of days later he was crossing the Channel, as happy as a clam. There they were joined by a childhood friend of Chopin, a Pole named Kozmian, and whom Julian Fontana, Chopin's factotum, had entrusted with the composer's care during his stay on the island.
The Pole Kozmian, an exemplary host and cicerone, fulfilled the assignment to the letter. The three friends spent splendid days in London, visiting important sites and hot spots during the day and attending performances in Covent Garden in the evenings.
Signing contracts But it wasn't all fun. Within days of his arrival, Chopin signed a contract for the publication of the twelve Études of Opus 25 with the publisher Rudolf Wessel. He also had charmed with his music the London piano maker James Broadwood, once a supplier of instruments for Beethoven. The trip was a success, no doubt.
Chopin is happy. And so he lets Julian Fontana know, describing his impressions of London and Londoners, in the casual tone of a schoolboy:
"... I will only say now that I am having a respectable time [...] One can have a good time here, if one stays only a short time and takes care. There are such tremendous things ! Huge urinals, but all the same nowhere to have a proper p ! As for the English women, the horses, the palaces, the carriages, the wealth, the splendour, the space, the trees everything from soap to razors it's all extraordinary, all uniform, all very proper, all well-washed BUT as black as a gentleman's bottom ! Let me give you a kiss on the face."
Upon return, a letter He returns to Paris on July 22. A letter awaits him, from Maria's mother. The letter is very affectioned, although it does not contain a single word about the confusing engagement. Moreover, the Wodzinskys will not move from their habitual residence. They will not go on a vacation that year.
Chopin spends the rest of the summer in a deserted Paris, thinking about his grief.
But next year everything will be very different. Why does he have to suffer for a seventeen-year-old girl? George Sand, a wise woman, writer and mother of two children, asks herself the same question. In October 1838 she takes the musician for a walk to Mallorca.
Scherzo N ° 2, in B flat minor, Opus 31
Dedicated to his young student, Countess Adéle von Fürstenstein, Scherzo No. 2 was begun in June 1837 and completed the following year, probably in Majorca.
Like all Chopin scherzos, it is written in three-four time and has a ternary structure: two themes and a return to the first theme.
Marked presto, it begins with questioning motifs in the bass (to which Chopin granted the greatest importance in the world), responded explosively by triumphant chords in the treble to link at 0:50 with a lyrical motif. At minute 2:57 the second quieter theme appears, which after its introduction and a somehow daring development will lead to the repetition of the first theme at 7:10, with no variations. At 8:30 a spirited coda will begin, leading to a spectacular finale.
Chopin bunched his first three nocturnes in Opus 9. They were probably composed around 1831, and published two years later, in Paris. However, these are not his first compositions in the style of the form created by Dubliner John Field – that "precious but empty frame" according to the pianist and musicologist Alfred Cortot – to which Chopin will add soul, heart and life. Before 1831, he had already composed a few but they were not published until after his death, when his friend and factotum Julian Fontana ignored the solemn request for throwing them into the fire, thus entering the catalog in the "opus posthumous" category.
Pleyel, a real friend So, the nocturnes of opus 9 were only the first to be published. They are dedicated "to Mrs Pleyel". It is understood that she is the renowned pianist and wife of Camille Pleyel, the great pianist and piano maker, a Chopin's friend. Pleyel was the one who would send Chopin a "pianino" to neither more nor less than Mallorca, so that Frédérik could overcome the inclement weather and mood during the unfortunate stay in Valldemosa, in the company of George Sand and her children, the winter of 1838-39.
Camille Pleyel (1788 - 1855)
It was not the first time that Camille Pleyel had given Chopin a piano. Arrived in Paris just a year ago and little more, Frédérik had moved into his second residence in Paris and was installed in a two-story little house at 4 rue Cité Bergère. For the great hall (it's a saying because it was not very spacious), friend Pleyel provided a grand concert piano. And for the bedroom, a black pianino. The two rooms were connected so that if the talent of one of his students unleashed Frédérik's enthusiasm, he could accompany him from the other piano.
The dedication of the complete opus to "Mrs Pleyel", three nocturnes, the first to be published, will have been enough a token of gratitude on the part of the noble Frédérik, we imagine.
The rendition is by Jan Lisiecki, from Canada (the video contains the three preludes, in spite of the title).
