Muzio Clementi, Sonatina in D major

The Italian composer and pianist Muzio Clementi was born in Rome in 1752, four years before Mozart. As he showed great musical talent at an early age, his father, a well-to-do goldsmith, did not hesitate to put him in the hands of a music teacher at the age of seven. The decision proved to be a wise one, for at thirteen Muzio took the position of organist in the church. Shortly afterwards, he was invited by a wealthy Englishman to continue his instruction in England, in exchange for living up the evenings at the potentate's mansion, where he remained until 1774, first studying the harpsichord and then delighting an audience that could not cease expressing his amazement at the young Roman's display of virtuosity.

A brilliant concert pianist
But unlike the other prodigy – his contemporary Mozart – the young Clementi did not make his first public appearance as a pianist until 1770, that is, when he was eighteen years old. His first compositions – here again the stark contrast – were published around 1772, and he made his first European tour nine years later, in 1781. However, despite the gap with the genius of Salzburg,  by that time Muzio Clementi had made a name for himself as one of the most brilliant concert pianists in the Europe of his time.

Muzio Clementi (1752 - 1732)

Clementi versus Mozart
This was perhaps what encouraged Emperor Joseph II to hold a unique competition in the salons of his court, when he was given the opportunity to have the two artists in Vienna, precisely during the tour that Clementi was making for the first time.
At the beginning of 1781, Wolfgang and Muzio gave their best, performing their own works and improvising variations on themes proposed by the emperor or by some courageous courtier. When the "contest" was over, Joseph II saw fit to declare a draw.

A theme, "on loan"
However, the one who came out on top was Mozart, for one of the themes from the sonata Clementi presented at that evening so captivated Mozart that, ten years later, he allowed himself to use it in the overture to The Magic Flute. The unauthorized "collaboration" deeply embittered Clementi, who was forced to include a note every time he published the sonata, warning that the theme had been composed ten years before the celebrated opera.

Sonatinas Opus 36
The loaned sonata, of course, was only one of the approximately 110 sonatas that Muzio Clementi composed throughout his life, the first of them, shorter, published as "sonatinas". His opus 36, consisting of six sonatinas of no more than five minutes in length, has since its creation constituted a delightful oasis for the beginning pianist who, having forgotten for a while the tedious exercises of technique, counts on them to early dive in the marvelous world of classicism.

Sonatina No 6 in D major
Rarely performed in public by virtuosos, they make up a beautiful collection of little gems that, despite their apparent simplicity, may demand from the performer even more application than some of Mozart's early sonatas. For all these reasons, we are very grateful that the extraordinary Chinese pianist Yuja Wang had no qualms about uploading an early performance of Sonatina No. 6, when she was still a child, when she was not yet Yuja Wang, although she was very seriously on her way to becoming one.

The sonatina has only two movements:

00: Allegro con spirito. An elegant theme, marked dolce, begins the little gem. After its natural development, it resolves at 1:15 to approach a second theme at 1:17. A pair of interrogative phrases will announce (at 1:46) the return to the initial motive (1:53) that this time will lead to a resolute ending.

3:11 Allegretto spiritoso. Yuja takes her time before approaching it, like a pro. The first part incorporates the end of the movement and the end of the piece. Therefore, the second part (beginning at 3:48) carries in the last bar the indication "da capo al fine" thus signaling that now the first part must be repeated completely (4:51) until its "fine". This is known as "ternary form".

Beethoven, "Triple Concerto"

Written between 1804 and 1805, the Triple Concerto was not premiered until 1808 at the Augarten Summer Concerts in Vienna, with Beethoven at the piano. For a time it was thought that the work had been written for Archduke Rudolf, who had become an accomplished pianist under Ludwig's tutelage. But in 1805 Beethoven sent the manuscript to be published with a dedication to his closest noble friend, soon to be the most modest of his patrons before he went bankrupt, Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.

Beethoven's patrons - The yearning for a fixed income
In 1806 Beethoven had tried to resume his career as a playwright, given the success achieved by the opera Fidelio in 1805. He sent a letter to the commission that governed the imperial theaters of Vienna committing himself to compose an opera and an operetta every year, in exchange for 2,400 florins plus benefits (those corresponding to the third representation of each one). The request was denied.

Two years later, Jérôme Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon I), newly crowned king of Westphalia, extended an invitation to Beethoven offering him the position of Kapellmeister at his provincial court in Cassel. The possibility of reaching a fixed income – a maestro's old dream – appeared to become a reality: the salary was advantageous, although the relocation meant leaving the splendor of Vienna and the circle of his friends. Beethoven was enthusiastic.

Prince Lobkowitz (1772 - 1816)
dedicatée of Violin Concerto

But when it became known that the maestro was planning to leave the imperial capital, several close friends launched a campaign to keep him in Vienna. Thus was born the famous contract signed in 1808 by three of his most faithful noble friends, who undertook to pay Beethoven a sum of not less than four thousand florins a year as long as the maestro remained in the capital of the empire. Beethoven signed the contract, rejecting Jérôme's offer.

Prince Kinski had pledged 1800 florins but in 1812 he fell off a horse and died. (And the family did not want to know anything about patronage contracts.) Prince Lobkowitz, as if he had foreseen it, modestly offered only 700 florins, because before long he went bankrupt. Only Archduke Rudolph of Austria fulfilled the agreement and religiously paid his share, 1,500 florins, year after year.

Concerto for piano, violin, cello and orchestra, in C major, Opus 56, "Triple Concerto".
Despite the undeniable quality of the work, in its time the critics opinion was not favorable about it. However, it has remained in the repertoire until today and has not ceased to delight the audience.

The rendition is by the Ludwig Trio, accompanied by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, conducted by Víctor Pablo. The Ludwig Trio is formed by the brothers Abel Tomás (violin), Arnau Tomás (cello) and the South Korean pianist Hyo-Sun Lim.

Allegro  The thematic material is delivered first by the orchestra and then taken up by the solo instruments, first the cello, then the violin and finally the piano. The main theme is built on a drawing sketched by cellos and double basses.

Largo 18:20 Very short but rich in expression. After a somewhat tragic introduction by the orchestra, the cellos introduce the main motive in a particularly high register (18:44). The piano joins in later with a delicate unison arpeggio figuration at 20:27. The movement links with the last, with no pause.

Rondo alla polacca  23:42  A vividly repeated note by the solo cello introduces the movement which, according to alla polacca indication, must be played with the rhythm and character of a polonaise. The theme is lively, and plays with specific sounds of Polish folklore. In the end, the rondo theme is picked up in brilliant virtuous passages by the three soloists.

Puccini, Gianni Schicchi, "O mio babbino caro"

 
When Giacomo Puccini began writing the triptych whose last and final part is the comic opera Gianni Schicchi, he was almost sixty years old and had already composed at least four masterpieces: Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca and Madame Butterfly. But at the same time, he was going through a critical moment. He had fallen out with his publisher Ricordi, among other reasons, because the latter was reluctant to publish what for Puccini was a long-standing desire: the composition of three one-act operas to be performed together on the same evening.

Scene from "Gianni Schicchi", directed by Woody Allen in June 2009
at the Teatro Nuovo, Spoleto, Italy (*)

A drama, a comedy, and a farce
The idea followed the scheme of the grand puppet theater, that is, the successive representation of three plays with totally different atmospheres: a drama, a sentimental comedy and a farce. He had already completed one in 1916, the one-act tragedy Il Tabarro. So, disregarding his publisher, he set about searching themes for the composition of the remaining two. First, he completed the solemn and religious Suor Angelica, with only female characters (since it takes place in a convent) and then, in 1917, he began writing the amusing and enlightened Gianni Schicchi, based on an episode from canto XXX of the "Inferno" of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

The Triptych
The three works, unified under the name Il Trittico, were staged on December 14, 1918, at New York's Metropolitan Opera with mixed results, although Gianni Schicchi won the applause.

Gianni Schicchi
The play begins with a family gathered around a dying wealthy relative, whom they mourn in grief although they appear to be
more interested in the inheritance. After reading the will, the family panics when they learn that the entire fortune has been left to a monastery. A solution is offered by a character, which involves the participation of the peasant Gianni Schicchi, father of his lover.
Gianni would take the place of the dead man and draw up a new will before the notary. This is done, but the cure turns out to be worse than the disease. Schicchi will bequeath everything to himself. Finally, fatherly love will solve everything.

O mio babbino caro
As Schicchi is initially falsely reluctant to participate in the trick, his daughter, in love, begs him by singing the most famous aria of the work: O mio babbino caro (Oh, my dear daddy), performed here by the beautiful Greek soprano Irini Kyriakidou, in a rendering of the opera brought to our times.

(*) In June 2007, Woody Allen announced that he was planning to add two creative debuts to his career: directing a play he did not create, and directing an opera. His production of Gianni Schicchi opened the 2 Worlds Festival in Spoleto in 2009. When asked about his own work in this new line, he commented: "I have no idea what I'm doing".

Mahler, Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

Mahler, conductor of the Vienna Court Opera

At the end of the 19th century, the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, "Bohemian in Austria, Austrian among Germans, Jewish all over the world," by his own stateless definition, enjoyed astonishing international celebrity for a musician barely over 35 years. In 1892 he had directed Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung in London, and then Falstaff (Verdi), Manon Lescaut (Puccini) and Eugenio Onegin (Tchaikovski) in Hamburg. Shortly afterwards he was invited to conduct in Moscow, while in Berlin the performance of his own works was witnessed. He was, therefore, more than willing and able for the position he had always longed for: the direction of the Vienna Court Opera.

The Jewish question
The first steps were taken in 1896 and by the end of that year he had attracted enormous support among Viennese artistic circles: he was definitely the most qualified musician to govern the destiny of the first theater of the Empire. But one obstacle stood firmly in the way: his Jewish origin. And the one who held the baton – there is no better expression – in that sense was none other than Cosima Wagner, Liszt's daughter and Richard Wagner's widow, and at the time director of the Bayreuth Festival, created by the author of Tannhäuser for the performance of his works.

Cosima
A fervent anti-Semite, Cosima could not even imagine that a member of a minority that until a few years ago had been barred from certain activities, such as the production and sale of alcoholic products, could become the director of the illustrious and prestigious Hofoper, despite his qualifications. Even though, in the case of Mahler, Cosima would keep appreciating the performances he had given of her late husband's music.

Cosima Wagner (1837-1930).
in London, 1877

The new faith
Gustav Mahler resolved the situation in a simple way. Always concerned with religious matters, he devoted some time to the study of the figure of Christ and in February 1897 he had himself baptized in the Catholic faith. After some negotiations, he was appointed, in April of that year, as the new director of the Imperial Opera.

The new style
He made his debut the following month with a performance of Wagner's Lohengrin. And he imposed his law: he forbade the entrance to the hall once the performance had begun, prevented enthusiastic demonstrations in the middle of the performances and disbanded the claque (professional applauders), at the same time subjecting orchestra and singers to exhausting rehearsals. Under his direction, which lasted ten years, the Vienna Opera experienced its best times.

Life and death

The problem of life and death and the afterlife had been a constant concern and anguish for Gustav since he was a child. Eight of his thirteen siblings died at an early age, his brother Otto, also a musician, committed suicide at the age of 22, another sister died at 26, and only four went on to live a full existence. Gustav searched hard for answers and inspiration in many fields, including the Bible, where he finally found that the resurrection solved the problem.

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)

Symphony No 2 - The beginnings
He had started work on the second symphony very early, in 1888, when he was 28 years old, but had made no progress beyond what was at the moment a symphonic poem on verses by the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz (Chopin's friend). He showed the work to the prestigious director Hans von Büllow, whose wife, the very Cósima, had been taken from him by Richard Wagner. Little was the enthusiasm shown by von Büllow.

The Inspiration - Büllow's Funeral 
Five years later, he added another three movements and the work awaited inspiration for the last one, which paradoxically came in 1894 for the funeral of von Büllow. On the occasion, he had the opportunity to listen to a choral page on verses by the German poet Klopstock. The impression he received was enormous and he decided to make his own musicalization of the poem, adding some verses of his personal inspiration, to build the fifth movement and finale of the Second Symphony. Its premiere, under his baton, was well received in Berlin on December 15, 1895.

Symphony No. 2, in C minor, "Resurrection" - 5th movement
The complete work lasts almost an hour and a half. The last movement is presented here, starting with the entrance of the choir. Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony on the occasion of the 2011 BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, featuring Swedish soprano Miah Persson and compatriot mezzo Anna Larsson. The choir is the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.

Fifth movement: Im tempo des Scherzos
The whole movement lasts about half an hour. Very episodic and strongly symbolic in character, the movement is the first of his entire symphonic cycle in which Mahler has introduced a chorus, in the manner of Beethoven in the Ninth and Mendelssohn in his 2nd symphony.

We take the movement the moment after piccolo and flute have attested that everything has ceased to exist. The earth remains cold and silent. But at 0:15 something magical happens. A choir of angels enters to sing the chorale "Resurrection". Barely audible at first (hearing with headphones is recommended), in one of the most breathtaking sottovoce passages in the history of music, the choir murmurs, "You shall rise, yes you shall rise again, my dust, after a brief sleep!". From the mass of choral sound, the soprano voice plucks with serene joy at 1:57. It will return at 5:16 with restrained glee. After a long serene passage, the mezzo voice enters at 7:45 with Mahler's added verses. After a second intervention by the soprano (8:45) followed by the choir, a new episode at 10:34 initiated by the mezzo voice will lead to a finale in which everything is fanfare and ringing of bells.

Thus, we have all been resurrected. Although I, just returned to life, as well, would have liked the hostess to stay where she was, silent, in her grave.

Chopin, "Raindrop" Prelude

 
It is customary to affirm that Chopin would have composed some of the 24 preludes op15 in a former Carthusian monastery in Valldemossa, in Mallorca, the last destination of a harrowing vacation in the company of George Sand and her children, escaping the Parisian winter, in 1838-39.

A later account by the writer seems to support this opinion. Furthermore, we would all like to believe that one evening Chopin greeted Sand and her children – on their way back to the monastery after their nocturnal explorations in the rain – with the first sketches of Prelude No. 15 in D-flat, the favorite candidate to claim the popular nickname, "Raindrop".

Sand writes: 

"... Then he would make an effort to smile and play for us melodies he had just composed [...] In those instants he would compose the most beautiful of those brief pages that he modestly called preludes...".

"His composition that night was full of the raindrops that resounded on the sounding tiles of the Charterhouse, but they had become in his imagination and in his singing tears falling from the sky, on his heart." 

Where does all this happen? In Valldemossa, naturally, since Sand refers to the Charterhouse and since the previous lodgings did not encourage touring the surroundings in the rain. Before arriving at the abandoned monastery, the travelers had tried their luck in two other lodgings.

Looking for accommodation

The unique family had arrived in Palma de Mallorca in the first days of November 1838 and rented some miserably furnished rooms in the house of a barrel maker, since at that time of year there was no hotel. Tired of the noise of the chores, they accepted the offer of a rich bourgeois to move into his property, in a small village on the outskirts of Palma. There Chopin rents an old and somewhat rickety upright piano, a pianino, where he works as best he can, until the rich bourgeois invites them to leave because so much cough is suspicious. Finally, they will end up renting some "cells" in the now famous Cartuja, about fifteen kilometers from Palma, in the mountains. The travelers moved there, pianino included, on December 15.

The Preludes, finished

A month before, that is, as soon as they arrived in Palma – and probably still at the house of the barrel maker – Chopin writes to his friend Fontana: "very soon you will receive the preludes". So, it follows that if they were not finished they were certainly very advanced.

It is January 22, 1839, when he sends them to his publisher and friend Camille Pleyel, asking for them 1,500 francs for their edition in France and England. He has finished their revision on the piano sent precisely by Pleyel, which has been removed from customs at great expense and then wearily transported to the charterhouse.

So the music full of raindrops turned into tears that Sand heard that night was probably the revised, corrected and final version of Prelude No. 15, and not a composition of recent inspiration, from only a few hours before. In any case, she was not attending a minor event.

The raindrop

Of all "those short pages that he modestly called preludes", No. 15 is one of the few that long exceed a minute or two.

It begins with a nostalgic and evocative melody in a major key, D flat, accompanied by a delicate left-hand ostinato on a single note (the raindrop?).

1:50  A somewhat terrifying progression opens up in the minor key, with the ostinato much more pronounced and now entrusted to the right hand. After a few repetitions, a variation is led by the right hand in 3:48.

4:47  Three passing notes indicate the return to light, taking up the initial motif that, after a pause (5:20), is heading to its end, the ostinato, dying away.

The pianist Suncica Randjelovic – of unknown origin – gives us here a quite right rendition in an original and novel "video clip".