#Symphony No 4 in C minor

[paul-archibald]

1919

The year 1919 was transformative around the world and an exceptionally creative year for composers. On the global stage, troops returned home from World War I; the Treaty of Versailles was signed; and the idea of self-determination took hold. A new era of modernity was born with innovation and consumerism defining the interwar period. 1919 saw new or revised works by many of the finest early 20th…

[stone-cold-groove]

Symphony #4 in C Minor | Schubert | Vienna Tonkuenstler Symphony Orchestra - 1955.

[estcaligo]

Made this list while I was in the mood

Classical music pieces that I associate with twst characters

* these pieces are available to listen to on youtube. Perhaps I will make a video with them one day. But I doubt it. * I apologize for any mistakes, it was a lot of information to digest * updated because I forgot to add Presto for Malleus, sorry!

Malleus - Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - "Summer" - 1 Allegro Non Molto and 3 Presto (I mean of course these ones. Add evil overblot laugh here too.) ok also Schubert - Erlkönig (The Elf King), D. 328

Sebek - Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2, The Montagues and Capulets "Dance of the Knights" (it's just him. period.) or Rachmaninov - Musical Moment No.4 in E minor or Rachmaninov - Prelude in C Sharp Minor (Rachmaninov for Sebek in general lol)

Silver - Grieg - Peer Gynt, Suite no. 1 "Morning mood" or Debussy - Clair de lune (from "Suite bergamasque") (Yes, basic, but it fits so so much so)

Lilia - Chopin - Fantaisie impromptu in C-Sharp minor, Op. 66 (first notes - Lilia's evil grin, then whimsical nature and the whirl of memories of countries he has been to. When it goes hard, it's cooking, some violence, and then when it gets gentle, it's when he remembers Silver's childhood. Then he softens in general but also reminds us about his playful nature and strong character.)

Idia - Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - "Winter" - 1 Allegro Non Molto (resembles how Idia speaks when he's getting confident and how his character, in general, opens up. And kinda gives me his genius vibes)

Ortho - Graun - Gigue in B-Flat minor (sounds like super-fast calculation is going on. But also, some notes sound like random signals and/or signs of creativity/sudden thoughts in AI) also Chopin - Etude Op. 10 No. 5 (Black Keys)

*Erik Satie for Octa in general. Gives me mysterious underwater vibes*

Azul - Satie - Gnossienne No. 1 and Gymnopedie no.1 also kinda Chopin - Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 (pondering, deep in thought, underwater, calculating, but also melancholic…)

Jade - Satie - Gnossienne No.3 (such big Jade vibes)

Floyd - Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (hehe)

Leona - Haydn - Symphony No. 49 in F minor ' La Passione ' (it's long, but it's worth listening. I just imagine Leona's character and lore in general here)

Jack - Händel - Suite no. 11 in D minor. Sarabande (not really sure about this one. But it gives me 'strength and determination and values' vibes today)

Ruggie - Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G minor, IV. Allegro assai (reminds me how he can adapt and be different if needed. Also, it sounds quite boisterous, like Ruggie is going fast, fast, fast and earning a lot, lot, lot!)

Kalim - Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492: Overture (specifically wanting to throwa feast)

Jamil - Chopin - Waltz in E minor, Op. Posth. (he's so skillful and makes it look like he's not even trying, but he's super hardworking. Also, some parts sound like his occasional emotional outbursts) also - Chopin - Prelude in E Minor (I can't explain it, but it's just Jamil for me. I feel so sorry for him - he's such a cool and talented (and handsome) guy, and such destiny mgd. Or maybe I'm just in a melancholic mood today)

Vil - Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - “Spring” - 1 Allegro (won't be original meh. like there're so many classical pieces that fit Vil but I don't really wanna bother here so)

Rook - Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro: "Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso" (instrumental) (ookay it was hard with Rook because I think a lot fits him but I'll stop with this one or I'll never finish this list)

Epel - Litvinovsky - Pelléas and Mélisande: III. Galliard. Navire dans la tempête (Galliard. Ship in a storm) (unrelated but my life is divided into before seeing Epel in Book 7 dreams and after)

Riddle - Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 I. Allegro con brio (duh. basic but c'mon. it suits him)

Ace - Litvinovsky - Suite for Strings "Le Grand Cahier": IV. Nos Etudes (yes that's how I feel Ace)

Deuce - Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: March of the Toy Soldiers (Deuce the honour student edition)

Cater - Beethoven : Sonatina in F Major plus "a glimpse of a depressed real Cater" one - Chopin - Mazurka in A minor, Op.17, No.4

Trey - Beethoven - Sonata No. 8 in C Minor Pathetique, Op. 13 (Adagio cantabile) (I tried to find someting "normal" meh so went with this today)

Special mentions

Rollo - Mozart - Requiem, 3 Dies Irae Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 Orff - Carmina Burana: Fortuna imperatrix mundi. O fortuna (super super obvious but c'mon it's basically canon)

Baul - Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries (ya Baul has big Wagner vibes for me)

Grim - Edvard Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King (the escalation lol)

[cuddlytogas]

it's possible I made an extended playlist to give context to the classical (non-technically speaking) music in OFMD, with the pieces listed in historical/chronological order, and in the context of their full pieces (mostly - I'm not literally going to put entire operas on there, but symphonies and concertos have mostly been finished)

and it's possible that that playlist is ten hours long

and it's possible you can find it on spotify right now, and that below the cut is the full chronology

(edit: corrections welcome btw!!!! i am by no means a music historian, nor have any higher level music education, just a lifelong association and interest <3 if you know better than me, PLEASE let me know so it can be more accurate!)

N: most of the Vivaldi pieces don't really have any dates I could find, so they're just sort of scattered through the first few decades of the 18th century. and yes, technically the opening Corelli isn't in there, but I think putting another La Folia in is important for the context of s2!

1700 - Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op 5 No 12 "La Follia"

1703-6 - George Frederic Handel, Keyboard Suite No 4 in D Minor, HWV 437

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416

1711 - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No 11 in D Minor for Two Violins and Cello RV 565

1715 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in G Major TWV 41:G1

1718-20 - Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor Op 8

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in F Major, K 107

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Oboe Concerto in C, RV 452

1720s? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, RV 531

1727 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156

1725-35 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba in A Minor TWV 52:a1

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in G Minor, RV 576

1730 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major, BWV 1068

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Piccolo Concerto in A Minor, RV 445

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 63, 'La Follia'

1738 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Harpsichord Concerto No 4 in A Major, BWV 1055

1738-9 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E Major, K 380

1741 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

1747 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Musical Offering, BWV 1079

1747-8 - George Frederic Handel, Concerto in F Major, No 16, HWV 305a

1773 - Mozart, Symphony No 25 in G Minor, K 183

1782 - Mozart, String Quartet No 14 in G Major, K 387

1795 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 2 in A Major, Op 2 No 2

1792 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 3 in C Major, Op 2 No 3

1780 - Mozart, Symphony No 34 in C Major, K 338

1786 - Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (excerpts)

1810? - Beethoven, Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59: Für Elise

1811-12 - Beethoven, Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92

1826 - Franz Schubert, Ständchen (Serenade) "Horch, horch, die Lerch!" D 889

1827 - Franz Schubert, 4 Impromptus, Op 90, D 899

1833-4 - Felix Mendelssohn, Lieder Ohne Worte, Book 2, Op 30

1835 - Frédéric Chopin, 12 Études, Op 25 (excerpts)

1838 - Robert Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op 15 (excerpts)

1838 - Franz Liszt, arr., 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S 558, No 9

1842 - Frédéric Chopin, Waltz No 12 in F Minor, Op 70, No 2

1871 - August Wilhelmj, arr., Air on a G String

1874 - Giuseppi Verdi, Messa da Requiem (excerpts)

1878 - Antonín Dvořák, String Sextet in A Major Op 48

1888-91 - Claude Debussy, Two Arabesques, L 66

1890 - Claude Debussy, Rêverie, L 68

1888, 89, 90 - Erik Satie, Trois Gymnopédies, Gnossienne No 5, Trois Gnossiennes

[symphonybracket]

YouTube links: Mahler 2, Tchaikovsky 6

Comments:

Mahler 2

Have you ever wanted to feel like you're going to shake apart into a billion pieces if someone so much as looks at you. That's how I feel after listening to this beast. This symphony changed my life for real. It's famous for it's ending and for good reason!! It truly feels like your soul is getting blown up and steamrolled. Listening to it live was like getting peeled by god. It calls for 10 horns which is how you know it's going to fuck severely. It comes in 5 movements: good lord oh my god, hehe teehee, oh so that's why they call it the death shriek, crying on the floor for 5 minutes, and I Have Died. The part known as the "Death Shriek" is shown below! And if you're interested in learning more about the symphony, here's my favorite analysis website!

It's an everything in the universe piece and when I sang in the choir for it I think I actually ascended to a higher plane of existence for 15 minutes

I came across (imo) a good video giving a summarised background of Mahler 2, it’s called ‘Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2: Explained in 3 Minutes’ by orchestra of the music makers on YouTube

There is also a piano arrangement!

Tchaikovsky 6

Everyone bangs on about the 4th movement but it's the 3rd movement that really hits

tchaik 6 is what i would listen to if i had an hour to live

the 5/4 movement of the tchaik lives rent free in my mind and i think about it every day

It’s beyond gorgeous. The melodies soar, the orchestra swells, and you just need to lie down for a while after listening to it. It’s Romanticism at its zenith. You want to weep and sigh, and it’s impossible to listen to it without literally feeling something.

Symphony No. 6, titled “Pathétique”, was Tchaikovsky’s final symphony. It is an intensely emotional piece, and to many scholars demonstrates the emotional turmoil that characterized much of Tchaikovsky’s life. He died about a week after its premiere, a fact which leads many scholars to debate about whether the content of the piece itself reflects the possibility that he may have committed suicide. The title itself is often translated to mean “impassioned suffering”, although this was most likely a later addition by Modest and not actually part of Tchaikovsky’s vision. Given these facts, many scholars interpret this piece to be about death and suffering. However, this piece can also be seen to represent life and all its contrasting moments. This interpretation is more holistic and inclusive of all of the moments captured in this piece, and also serves to break down the common narrative of Tchaikovsky as a tragic figure.

More comments about Tchaikovsky 6 below the cut (length warning):

Scholarship surrounding Tchaikovsky’s music tends to focus heavily on the ways his confliction over his homoerotic desires appears in his writing. However, his personal letters reveal a much more balanced understanding of himself that goes beyond the common narrative. In one letter written to Modest describing a new relationship with another man, he writes: “I awoke today with a feeling of unknown happiness and with a complete absence of that emotional sobriety that used to make me repent in the morning for having gone too far the day before.” Many of the letters he wrote regarding his relationships demonstrate no shame and no anguish beyond what can be expected of a man living in a homophobic society. It is important to take this information into account when listening to a piece such as this one that has been discussed so frequently, and to understand it beyond the turmoil and strife that it is seen to represent. Like many of Tchaikovsky’s works, this symphony displays a range of human emotions. It is not only representative of tragedy and “impassioned suffering”; it is a depiction of what it is like to live. It is also interesting to note that this piece is used as a signifier of queer desire in the novel "Maurice" by E.M. Forster, a novel also notable for its radical portrayal of a queer man who gets a happy ending. Much to think about there.

The first movement begins with a lone bassoon soloist playing a plaintive minor melody, which later comes back in the strings. As the movement progresses, it grows in intensity and texture. More instruments are added, and the music becomes more frantic, building and building towards the dramatic trumpet fanfare. Throughout this piece, Tchaikovsky continues to make significant use of contrasting dynamics and melodies, reflecting the emotions he hopes to convey through the music. Dramatic, tumultuous sections are interspersed with pastoral woodwind melodies, and the angry brass fanfares give way to a quiet ending.

The second movement is reminiscent of a waltz, and uses the strings and woodwinds more than the brass to achieve its floating melodies. The dynamics ebb and flow to build tension, but this movement never reaches the same levels of anguish that the previous movement does. Tchaikovsky makes use of pizzicato in the strings to convey a lighter, more cheerful mood, and features the upper woodwinds prominently. He also repeats themes frequently, giving the audience something familiar to listen out for as the movement progresses.

The third movement begins with frantic energy in the strings and woodwinds. As more instruments join the rush of music, the underlying eight note accompaniment does not let up, continuing the vivacious beginning through the whole movement. Instruments pass the melodies between each other and engage in conversations across the orchestra. Like the first movement, the brass play a prominent role in creating dramatic climaxes in the music, as well as supporting the march-like conclusion. Conductor Myung-Whun Chung describes the deceptively dramatic ending as, “one of the greatest, most thrilling, but most empty of victories in musical history,” observing that this movement has the energetic finality of a final movement. The reversal of having the true finale be a slower movement represents a shift away from the “Beethovian model of light over darkness” common in most other symphonies of this time period.

As mentioned before, ending on a movement with a slow tempo was a significant shift away from the standard of the time. This innovation inspired many other future composers to use the same technique, most notably Mahler in his Ninth Symphony. The quiet beginning builds up towards a chaotic rush of fast runs throughout the orchestra, only to stop abruptly and continue in halting, cautious bursts of melody. The movement continues with this cycle of rushing up to a climax and backing away as the movement progresses. Tchaikovsky highlights the horns in this movement, giving them both angry, blaring notes which cut through the string melodies and the flowing, lyrical lines that are passed throughout the orchestra. As the piece ends, the instruments fall away until all that is left are steady repeated notes in the basses, bringing this lament of a movement to an understated close.

[rosetinted-escape]

Unnatural Selection-Muse; Harmonic Analysis

This is essentially just going to be a music theory word vomit BUT hopefully it makes sense. I'm gonna put it under the cut bc it's probably gonna be quite long.

I'm so sorry guys, this is pretty terminology heavy. I hope it all makes sense, but if anything doesn't, please let me know and I'll do my best to explain!

A few notes: -I use roman numerals to indicate chord positions in relation to the key. Capitals are used for major chords, lower case for minor chords and (not relevant here) lower case italics for diminished chords. -A perfect cadence is literally just V-I or V-i in any key. It's a pretty key component in classical music and Matt Bellamy uses them frequently in his writing. There are other types of cadence as well, but they're not relevant here (feel free to ask if you're curious though! I'm more than happy to explain). -A crotchet is a quarter note and a quaver is an eighth note. I'm British and that's what we call them here idk what to say. -I've made comparisons to what is generally done in Western Classical Tradition because I know that Matt Bellamy takes a fair amount of inspiration from classical music, and the harmony he uses is often what would be considered 'functional' in the WCT.

Intro:

-Begins with strongly implied E minor key. -Approximately 125-130bpm -Em |Am |D7 |G |C A/C# |D B/D# |Em C D |G | This is a really nice little chord sequence. It starts with a diatonic circle of fifths until we get to the C major chord in bar 5, and then we start moving up a chromatic bassline. The chromaticism is highlighted by putting the non-diatonic notes in the bass (in this case, the A# of the A major chord and the D# of the B major chord). This builds to an E minor chord, which is immediately followed by a IV-V-I perfect cadence in G major, which solidifies the key. G major is the relative major of E minor, where we started. This is a typically classical place to modulate to.

Verse:

-Begins in Gm. No prepared modulation, just moves straight from G major to G minor. Perhaps surprisingly, this is a reasonably common occurrence in classical music; for the intro to be in the tonic major/minor of the main key. An example of this can be seen in Haydn's symphony 104, where the intro is in Dm and the main symphony/first movement is in D major. -Gm |D7 :| x4 The verse chords are the tonic (first) and dominant (fifth) chords repeated 4 times. This creates a cycle of perfect cadences, as well as a perfect cadence going into the pre-chorus. However, the movement in the bassline guides the listener to only really hear the finality of the cadence every 4 bars rather than every 2 bars. -Tempo change! We've moved from 125-130bpm in the intro to around 160bpm. This is the tempo for the rest of the song aside from the bridge.

Pre-Chorus:

-Aforementioned perfect cadence from the end of the verse into the start of the pre-chorus. -Gm |Bb |Cm |F |Bb |Gm |Dsus4 |D7 |Gm |D7 | Here, the chord sequence kind of flirts with the relative major key of Gm, which is Bb major. This can be seen from bars 3-5, where we have what could be read as a ii-V-I perfect cadence in Bb major. However, we are immediately dragged back into Gm, with a build up to the chorus, and some nice tension created with the Dsus4 chord. We finish on a D7, which can then act as a perfect cadence into the chorus.

Chorus:

-Perfect cadence from end of pre-chorus into the chorus places us in G minor. -Gm |Cm |F7 |Bb |Eb C/E |F D/F# |Gm Eb F |Bb | Lots going on here! If it looks similar that's because it is! It has the exact same harmonic function as the intro, just in a different key. At the start of the chorus we are solidly in Gm, with the same diatonic circle of fifths, followed by the same chromatic rising bass and then the same IV-V-I perfect cadence in the relative major, Bb. This means by the end of the chorus we are in Bb, which is a pretty classical standard classical place to modulate. However we do move pretty much immediately to Gm as we move into the next verse/bridge. -A thing I think is interesting to note is that the diatonic circle of fifths takes the 'dark' direction a circle of fifths can take (essentially towards flat keys/chords). I think this really fits the vibe of the song and also provides a nice contrast against the rising chromatic bass in the following bars.

Bridge:

-Metric modulation! We have changed from 4/4 to 6/8 or 12/8 (depending on how you want to divide it). We have also changed tempo, to approximately 37 DOTTED crotchet beats per minute. We use a dotted crotchet here because we're in compound time rather than simple time (4/4 is simple time, which is why we used undotted crotchet bpm there). Creates a very different vibe to both the intro and the rest of the song. This is not something that is particularly common in Muse songs (or most songs tbh). -Gm Dm |Eb Cm |Bb Bbm |D D7 :| x6 Here we are pretty solidly in Gm throughout. There are D/D7 chords at the end of the sequence which repeats back to create perfect cadences with the Gm at the start of the sequence. The Bb to Bbm creates some nice contrast to what is otherwise a very diatonically Gm (harmonic scale) chord sequence, as the Db in a Bbm chord is not diatonic to the key of Gm. I do think having the III become minor is a very interesting decision and not one I've seen before.

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

Best of Adagios (compilation) - Classical Music Gems

Performers

(1) Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra (2) Chamber Orchestra Saint Petersburg (3) Saint Petersburg Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra (4) Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra (5) Saint Petersburg Orchestra of the State Hermitage Museum Camerata (6) Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (7) Chamber Orchestra Renaissance (8) Saint Petersburg Orchestra Classic Music Studio (9) Elisso Bolkvadze

𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

00:00:00 Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings (arr. from Quartet for Strings, Op. 11) (1) 00:03:07 Tomaso Albinoni - Adagio in G Minor (2) 00:12:16 Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2, Op. 27 Part: III. Adagio (1) 00:15:18 Max Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 Part: II. Adagio (3) 00:17:55 Edvard Grieg - Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 Part: II. Adagio (1) 00:20:57 Franz Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 92 in G Major "Oxford“ Part: II. Adagio cantabile (4) 00:23:26 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - A Musical Joke, K. 522 Part: III. Adagio cantabile (5) 00:26:02 Felix Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3, Op. 56 Part: III. Adagio cantabile (1) 00:30:00 Sergei Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 Part: II. Intermezzo, Adagio (1) 00:32:32 Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 Part: III. Adagio espressivo (3) 00:36:08 Franz Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 44 in E Minor "Funeral" Part: III. Adagio (6) 00:38:34 Alessandro Marcello - Oboe Concerto in D Minor, S. Z799 Part: II. Adagio (7) 00:42:40 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 Part: II. Adagio (8) 00:48:35 Georg Friedrich Händel - Water Music, Suite in F Major, HWV 348 Part: II. Adagio E Staccato (3) 00:51:19 Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315, “Summer” Part: II. Adagio - Presto (3) 00:53:39 Franz Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 101 in D Major, Hob. I:101 Part: I. Adagio - Presto (3) 01:01:12 Mikhail Glinka - Ruslan and Lyudmila, Act III, No. 15 Dances Part: II. Adagio (3) 01:05:01 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique" Part: I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo (1) 01:23:56 Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 Part: IV. Adagio - Allegro non troppo - ma con brio (1) 01:41:51 Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 No. 2 ''Moonlight'' Part: I. Adagio Sostenuto (8)

[corleonewrites]

La Vérité masterlist

AU: Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Vincent Renzi x Original Female Character fanfic

Summary: Two people connected by the same past. Two lawyers. And one tangled case which brought them back together again, giving them the opportunity to sort out their feelings towards each other, no matter how painful memories are to both of them can be.

Chapters

Chapter 1. Consolations, S. 172: No. 3 Lento placido

Chapter 2. Nocturne No. 8 In D Flat Major

Chapter 3. Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47: V. Asturias - Leyenda Arr. for String Orchestra

Chapter 4. Gnossiennes: No. 1

Chapter 5. Fantasie in F Minor, Op. 103: D. 940

Chapter 6. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 - III. Poco allegretto

Chapter 7. Concerto No. 4 in F minor (L’inverno/Winter) RV297 (Op. 8 No. 4): I. Allegro non molto

Chapter 8. Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor: IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam

Chapter 9 (Final). Suite Bergamasque, L. 75: Clair de Lune

[rainintheevening]

Utterly astonished to discover the Ninth is in a minor key. Did not know that. You learn something new every day.

If you have only ever heard the Hymn to Joy, it can't really count as your favourite because you have nothing to compare it too, so go listen to some of the others and come back.

My favourite used to be the Ninth, but now it falls second to the Sixth. The Sixth is a much more complete story. Though the Ninth is grander.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Monday, 11-18-24, 8am Pacific

'Mornin', folks...a severely under-caffeinated Mr. Baggins here with your Morning Coffee Music, selections to get us in gear and in good cheer. While my carafe of java finishes its drippin', we're gonna hear the music of Boccherini, one of his String Quintets. This is his “String Quintet in F minor, G 274”, played for us here by The Smithsonian Chamber Players, in a recording made in 1991.

I first encountered this music by chance hearing over the Classical radio station in Austin, KMFA. That chance hearing led to the CD purchase, with zero regrets. I've never really cared for "classical guitar" as such, but hearing Lutenist Paul O'Dette ply his craft on the music of a composer I'd never heard of before, I had to have it. Here is Paul O'Dette playing the Kapsberger "Il Tedesco Della Tiorba". Pour yourself a fresh cup and enjoy!

We move from Kapsberger to Khatchaturian now. Here is his Piano Concerto in D-flat, Op. 38. This is a live recording from Moscow, with pianist Nikolai Petrov and the composer himself conducting the Moscow Radio Symphony, in 1972.

Let's listen next to another of Dvorak's early Symphonies. We've heard the first three so far, and here is Symphony No. 4, with Istvan Kertesz and the LSO.

And now let's have our daily Gould/Bach shot. Here is Bach's A major Concerto, BWV 1055. Vladimir Golschmann is the conductor, leading The Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in February, 1969.

Now, everyone has their favorite Beethoven Symphony recordings, and I'm no exception. To me there is no better recording of the Symphony No. 7, than that conducted by Pablo Casals and the Marlboro Festival (mostly student) Orchestra, recorded in '68. Pour a fresh cup and enjoy!

Let's hear from Neville Marriner and The Academy in more Vaughan Williams. Here is his Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus", recorded in 1972.

Next we move to the music of Mozart, this time his mighty "Jupiter" Symphony, the Symphony No. 41 in C major KV 551. We hear Fritz Reiner and The Chicago in their definitive performance from April 1954, on RCA.

Another of my favorite pianistas is the great Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, whom I had the privilege of seeing in concert, in 1983. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Here she is now playing three Chopin selections, including the orchestrated version of the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise, filmed live in 1970. I hope you enjoy.

As a little encore, here she is playing the "Ritual Fire Dance", from composer Manuel de Falla. There is no interpretation finer than this!

That wraps up Morning Coffee Music for this Monday. I do hope you have enjoyed the selections this morning. This is Mr. Baggins, signing off for now. I will return at 2pm Pacific for our daily Afternoon Stack of Classic Wax!

Until then, be kind, babies, be kind.

Baggins out.

[lesser-known-composers]

J. M. Kraus (1759–1792) VB 140 - Symphony in C sharp minor

1. Andante di molto - Allegro (0:00) 2. Andantino (7:52) 3. Menuetto (11:27) 4. Allegro (13:13)

Performers: Concerto Köln.

[mozartbachtoven]

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, November 19, 1824 (very approximately)

Beethoven presumably goes to Archduke Rudolph today as promised, and gives a composition lesson. To Beethoven's consternation, the Archduke, who has been without Beethoven's lessons for many months, wants to take advantage of his presence and have lessons every single day. Moreover, he wants these lessons to be two hours long each. Beethoven has little choice but to agree; he cannot afford to disappoint his most faithful patron. But as we shall see, Beethoven also will find excuses not to give these long lessons, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Sometime about now, Beethoven begins using desk sketchbook Autograph 11/2. This sketchbook of 30 leaves is held by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek. This, together with Autograph 11/1 from 1816, with which it is today bound, was dubiously claimed by former unpaid assistant Anton Schindler as having been promised to him before Beethoven's death. It thus does not appear in the sale of Beethoven's effects for his estate.

This sketchbook was handmade by Beethoven from leftover paper, comprised of seven different paper types. It was held together by seven stitches. As Douglas Johnson notes, with such sketchbooks, there is always a possibility that some of the material already had sketches from Beethoven on them when it was stitched together, so chronology is far from certain. An example of this situation here is that there are 1823 sketches for the first movement of the Ninth Symphony on page 1r. Also, since the gatherings of paper are irregular, it is difficult to tell when pages have been removed.

The sketchbook is mostly devoted to the last three movements of the String Quartet op.127, on folios 2-17, 21-22 and 27-28. Since there is no sketch work here for the first movement, Beethoven probably begins using this desk sketchbook sometime after he started using the pocket sketchbook Grasnick 4, which begins with sketches for the first movement, and later covers much the same ground as this desk sketchbook. Leaving time for Beethoven's lengthy and fairly debilitating illness in late October and early November, it seems likely that this sketchbook starts being used in the second half of November.

Op.127 is not the only work found in this desk sketchbook. On folios 18-21 are sketches for Opferlied, op.121b; the proposed B-A-C-H Overture, Unv 4; and Bundeslied, op.122. The last 8 folios also include sketches for the Quartet op.132 in A minor and the Grosse Fuge, which will initially be part of op.130 but then separated off as op.133. The B-A-C-H Overture had been percolating for quite a while, with sketches for it also found in Artaria 201, Grasnick 4, and Autograph 9/1, covering a period from 1822 through 1825. Although the Opferlied and Bundeslied had been finished and even offered for sale for some time, there seem to have been changes for these vocal works considered while preparing the engraver's copies for publication, which were delivered in February, 1825. The existence of related sketches for Opferlied and the B-A-C-H Overture in the pocket sketchbook Grasnick 4, used contemporaneously with this desk sketchbook, confirm that there was in fact work continuing to be done on these songs in very late 1824.

There are a few other tidbits of interest in this sketchbook. On 9v there is (as seen here) a very brief sketch of a couple measures in 2/4 time, for a work labeled by Beethoven as being piano four hands. This may well be an initial idea for the sonata in F major for four hands that Anton Diabelli had requested from Beethoven, and which Beethoven agreed to compose for a price of 80 ducats, though it never amounted to anything. Unfortunately, most of the sketches in this book identified later by Schindler as belonging to this sonata are actually for the second movement of op.127. This fragment is the only one that can even tentatively be tied to the promised sonata for Diabelli.

Writing a Mass for the Emperor was also still very much on Beethoven's mind, for there are sketches for a Dona nobis pacem on pages 17v and 29r. There are also some brief sketches for an unidentified work in the rather unusual time signature of 5/4. On folios 4v and 5r there are sketches for a movement "La gaiete" that was intended for op.127, but then abandoned.

Folios 12 and 13 are bound in upside down; folio 13 (front and back) had previously been partially used by Ludwig and Nephew Karl for the boy's lessons in figured bass and harmony. These are exercises copied from Daniel Gottlob Türk's Kurze Anweisung zum Generalbaßspielen [Short Instructions for Playing Figured Bass.]

Schindler made gifts of some pages from this sketchbook, usually with a dedication that shows their provenance. Some other leaves held elsewhere have been identified as belonging to this desk sketchbook at one time. All of these pages contain sketches for the finale of op.127. Among these are Mh 99 (SBH 677) held by the Beethovenhaus, seen here:

https://www.beethoven.de/en/media/view/5332963675865088/scan/0

This sketchbook will continue to be used until about January of 1825.

Thank you The Unheard Beethoven FB @Ludwig van Beethoven Group

[the-scarlet-witch-22]

Do you have any recommendations to listen to that helped inspire conductor Agatha that you may not have mentioned in the story itself?

Hi anon! Oh I have a multiple hours long playlist that make me think of her, haha. A good chunk are pieces I’ve played or have been to listen to live. I’ll list a few below 🫶🏻

-Légende Op. 17 by Wieniawksi

-Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 by Sibelius

-Romeo & Juliet Op. 64/Act 1: Dance of the Knights

-String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor by Shostakovich (I’ve probably mentioned this in chaconne but this is so Agatha core)

-Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, D.147 “Tragic” by Schubert (honestly so underrated, this is most likely going to be referenced later in the story, mainly the 4th movement bc I feel like Agatha would have so much fun conducting that, but all 4 are amazing 10/10)

I genuinely have so many more that have inspired conductor Agatha and make me think of her, feel free to ask for more 💜

[tchaikovskym]

Rating random composers as I'm listening to their music just because I don't feel like sleeping.

Shostakovich: 10/10 he got the Slavic sadness, weather and politics in music. Love that.

Beethoven: 7/10. Pretty dramatic, and that's cool, but like there is room to stop being angry about gradually losing hearing as a composer.

Howard Shore: 9/10 pretty cool

Vivaldi: 9/10. Chill but with a fair flare for Big Dramatic Emotions. Love that

Wagner: 8/10. I think this German guy did his best and it was pretty great.

Tchaikovsky: 10/10. What a surprise! That's my pathetic Russian gay boy!! He got the feelings in his music and I feel them very much.

Dvorak: 7/10. There is nothing wrong with his music, I just keep forgetting it exists? It's actually great.

[moominofthevalley]

Ballroom Playlist & Moodboard

I’m so happy to finally be able to post this! My secret pal was @noesapphic for the @choicesfandomappreciation event! Below I made a fancy schmancy mood board and a wee ballroom playlist I’d like to imagine Marianna and Ernest dance to :’) I hope you like it!  (Weird little music history fact: Mozart was a…humorous guy. He wrote poems and letters about farts…to his FAMILY who also loved the occasional fart joke). *Another fun fact! Sonata No. 16 in C Major is used a lot in Choices stories as background music. I am ninety-nine percent sure haha.

Sonata No. 16 in C Major, Mozart

Sauteuse in Dm/F

The Sussex Waltz, Mozart

Badinerie, Bach

The Skaters’ Waltz, Andre Rieu

The Blue Danube Waltz, Strauss

Ave Maria, Bach

Étude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major, Chopin

Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Beethoven

Poco Sostenuto - Vivace, Beethoven

Symphony No. 4 in C Major (‘Jupiter’), Mozart

Eine Kleine Nachtmuski, Mozart