Presto
Largo e mesto
Menuetto: Allegro
Rondo: Allegro

Recorded live in the same recital as the Liszt Sonata (see the details for the previous clip).

Some interesting links I found for this sonata:

• Here is a lecture on Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3 by András Schiff (MP3 audio file; link opens in a new window)
• The main Wikipedia page for this sonata: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._7_(Beethoven)

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This live recording was made on Oct. 17, 1999 — the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death. Timings for the individual movements are listed as follows:

I thought it would be cool to read along with the original manuscript while the music is playing, so I downloaded the scanned images of his manuscript and combined them into a video.  The video is available on YouTube in HD (high definition), so I recommend watching it fullscreen at 720p or 1080p resolution if you want to see the nicest detail of the score.

You can see the scanned manuscript pages on the Polish home page of the National Digital Library here:
http://www.polona.pl/dlibra/doccontent2?id=25589&dirids=24
Or you can go to the description page (the link at the end of the video clip) and click on the left where it says “Menu–>Content”.

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This was recorded live in the same recital as the Sonata No. 2 on Oct. 17, 1999 — the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death.

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This was recorded live in the same recital as the Sonata No. 2 on Oct. 17, 1999 — the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death.

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Florestan — Coquette — Replique.

From my Schumann CD (Copyright (c) 1992 by Bayer Records, BR 100 188). Used with permission of Bayer Records.
FAZIOLI concert grand (F-308).

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From my Schumann CD (Copyright (c) 1992 by Bayer Records, BR 100 188). Used with permission of Bayer Records.
FAZIOLI concert grand (F-308).

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From my Schumann CD (Copyright (c) 1992 by Bayer Records, BR 100 188). Used with permission of Bayer Records.
FAZIOLI concert grand (F-308).

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This is a live recording made in November 1988 during a recital in Zürich played on a FAZIOLI concert grand (F-308).

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The first three are videos:
Op. 32 No. 1 in C Major
Op. 32 No. 5 in G Major
Op. 32 No. 3 in E Major
The following audio-only clips have no video (yet):
Op. 32 No. 12 in G-sharp minor
Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor
Op. 23 No. 4 in D Major
Op. 23 No. 2 in B-Flat Major

I’ve lived with some of these preludes for a long time.  The first ones I learned (after the one in C# minor, that is  ) were those in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 and in B-Flat Major, Op. 23 No. 2.  I remember playing both of these for Albert Hirsh during some of my lessons back when I was in high school.

I decided to create videos to go along with each prelude to correspond to my specific musical ideas about each piece.  I chanced upon one fascinating clip in particular (found on YouTube) which shows Rach­ma­ni­noff in a relaxed mood, playing around with his family at a summer residence they had rented in Clairfontaine near Paris in 1929.  Since the first prelude in C Major, Op. 32 No. 1, is also very playful and teasing in its mood, I thought it would fit perfectly to that video material.

The second clip has more to do with water and Rachmaninoff’s love of boating and fishing.  I used only still images here but made some pan & zoom effects using the open source software I found here:
http://deniscarl.com/stills2dv/
There is a link close to the bottom of the page where the source code can be downloaded … I believe that it will only work on Linux platforms, though, and it must be compiled from the source code before you can use it.

The prelude in the third clip seems to evoke Russian church bells.  I hunted down as much material as I could and created a collage of videos and stills having bells as the subject.  Bells, of course, were a prime source of inspiration for Rachmaninoff.  Russian bells are somewhat special because it is not the massive body of the bell which is swung to and fro in order to produce the tone, but the little clapper has a rope (or string for smaller bells) attached to it.  The clapper is moved while the body of the bell remains stationary, albeit hanging freely.  The bell-ringer collects these strings at one place, and sometimes they are attached to wooden pedals which are manipulated using the feet.  One bell-ringer can therefore ring a half-dozen or more bells at one time.  This is a skill which must be learned, of course, and there are festivals and competitions for Russian bell-ringers (you can search for the Russian word “колокола”, or “bells”, on YouTube to find some authentic Russian bell-ringing material).

When I perform these preludes as a group, I play them in the order I have them listed here instead of in the order of their opus numbers.  It makes for a more cohesive listening experience, almost as if they belonged together that way in a suite — not just the general mood of each prelude, but also the sequence of key signatures, leads from one to the next in most cases here … mostly by way of the mediant or submediant harmony. 

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Recorded live in the same recital as the Liszt Sonata (see the details for the previous clip).

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Baigneuses au soleil
Le retour des muletiers (from Cerdaña)

These are studio recordings made by the Southwest German Radio (SWF Baden-Baden) for publication as a CD by Koch-Schwann which was unfortunately never issued, because this record label ceased to exist. We had planned to do a 3 CD set of the complete piano works. These recordings are still “up for grabs,” so to speak. The program of the first CD entails the five pieces from “Cerdaña”, “En vacances”, “Stances à Madame Pompadour”, and “Baigneuses au soleil”.  (If anyone is interested in continuing this production, please send me a message through my contact form.)

Déodat de Séverac, little known outside of France, was from the region of Languedoc. He was a good friend of the Spanish composer, Isaac Albéniz, and his music was admired by Debussy, among others.  Séverac completed the last 26 measures of the piano work “Navarra” by Albéniz which was left unfinished when Albéniz died.

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Performed live in the Stadtcasino of Basel, Switzerland on No­vem­ber 7, 1995 with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra of Tomsk.

Conductor: Bogusław Dawidów
Violoncello solo: Vitaly Maksimov
1st Horn (solo): Mikhail Kossitsyn

Recording engineer: Jakob Händel

Allegro non troppo
Allegro appassionato
Andante
Allegretto grazioso

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Performed live in the Gemeindesaal of Buchs (AG), Switzerland on November 14, 1995 with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra of Tomsk.

Conductor: Bogusław Dawidów

An amateur sound recording, but clean and with fine detail.

Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso
Andantino semplice – Prestissimo
Allegro con fuoco

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Violinist: Sandra Goldberg
Recording engineer: Lasse Nipkow (Silent Work Studio)

Performed live in the ZKO House (concert hall of the Zürich Chamber Orchestra) in Zürich on Apr. 10, 2011 (Bösendorfer piano).

Allegro
Tempo di Menuetto

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Violinist: Sandra Goldberg

Performed live in the ZKO House (concert hall of the Zürich Chamber Orchestra) in Zürich on May 16, 2004 (Bösendorfer piano — amateur recording).

Adagio sostenuto – Presto – Adagio
Andante con variazioni
Presto

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Violinist: Sandra Goldberg
Recording engineer: Lasse Nipkow ( Silent Work Studio)

Performed live in the ZKO House (concert hall of the Zürich Chamber Orchestra) in Zürich on Apr. 10, 2011 (Bösendorfer piano).

Gut-Bucket Gus
Jane Shakes Her Hair
Betty and Harold Close Their Eyes
Jim Jives
Till Dawn Sunday

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Tenor: Carl Hieger
Violinist: Sandra Goldberg

Recording engineer: Lasse Nipkow (Silent Work Studio)

Performed live in the ZKO House (concert hall of the Zürich Chamber Orchestra) in Zürich on January 13, 2008. Sung in Russian. (Bösendorfer piano)

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