Carmen Overture by G. Bizet

Predicting the all-time fame of Carmen, Pyotr Tchaikovsky was at least ten years ahead of his time – initially this opera of Bizet didn’t have much success. It was first staged in 1874 in Paris, and reviews were devastating – history that will repeat itself in 1913 with premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which will indignant Parisians even more. As for Bizet, he died in his mid-thirties, unaware that his four-movement piece will soon return to stage and won’t ever leave neither French nor world repertoire… You may find a full score of overture here: Carmen. Overture – a perfect complement to the collection of any opera lover!

Trio in B Flat Major by Reinecke

A German composer and conductor, Carl Reinecke was a shy type of person: he played piano really well, but despite his Europe tours he wasn’t a household name and didn’t appear in gossip columns. However, Reinecke was more than companionable when it came to the music: he was familiar with Schumann, Brahms, and Mendelssohn, and was a prominent pedagogue who had Edvard Grieg, Leoš Janáček, Isaac Albéniz, and other well-known composers among his pupils. His legacy counts almost three hundred pieces, and some of them are easy to find while others are not so – take Trio in B Flat Major for Clarinet, French Horn and Piano: it was impossible to find the score on the Net until recently. Luckily, it became available not so long ago, and what is especially great – with alternative transcription for violin and viola. Download it here: Trio in B Flat Major for Clarinet (or Violin), French Horn (or Viola) and Piano, Op.274.

Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch

Max Bruch may have been not the most progressive composer of his time (namely, the 19th century, he was born in 1838), not lastly due to everybody talking about works of his compatriots Wagner and Liszt. As you may know, in his latter works Liszt abandoned the conventional compositional techniques, and overall he was a hard nut to crack – that’s why Bruch just did what he could without trying to overshadow anybody. In his case it worked very well: no matter what, Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 is now one of the most popular works of Romantic era. Without pretending to cause the end of the world (exactly what Scriabin tried to accomplish in his Mysterium) or overthrow academic norms, Max Bruch leisurely composed one of the finest orchestral works, and now you can find it here, for your playing pleasure: Violin Concerto No.1 in G Minor, Op.26.

Kaleidoscope. Orientale by César Cui

Author of such books as Essay on the Efficient Determination of Data on Garrison Fortresses, Textbook of Fortification for Infantry Cadet Schools, and, of course, The Size of Fortresses and the Modification of Their Form Depending on the Expansion of the Strength of Armies, César Cui had interest not only in composing – he also served army officer. If you think that he was duty-bound to hammer out such long names, you’re wrong: the titles of his fortification-unrelated books and articles are also ridiculously long and, well, ridiculous - Cui was giving Concise Directions on How to Become a Modern Composer of Genius without Being a Musician, let us say. A member of The Five, Cui composed music specifically Russian by nature, impeccable, important, and impossible to ignore. Download his opus number 50 here: Kaleidoscope. Orientale, Op.50 No.9.

Ottorino Respighi - Fontane di Roma

Fontane di Roma (or Fountains of Rome in English) is a symphonic poem by Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer, conductor, and musicologist. Heartfelt works of Respighi suggest that he was a supporter of impressionist tradition, and indeed he was: this sentimental and sensitive man had never remained indifferent to the beauty of environment, and his visits to Brazil and Italy led to composing of two compositions – Brazilian Impressions and the one we're talking about accordingly. Inspired by Rome's fountains, his most famous piece can be downloaded here: Fontane di Roma. Symphonic Poem (full score).

Telemann's Viola Concerto in G Major

George Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a German composer of Baroque epoch. Not having musical education he taught himself to play chalumeau, thoroughbass, viola da gamba, zither, and other instruments with euphonious and not so names. His music (numerous operas, cantatas, oratorios, concertos, passions etc.) was front-rank and complex, with extensive use of counterpoint. During his life Telemann was more famous than Johann Sebastian Bach and his music makes a transition between Baroque and Classical styles in the same manner as Beethoven’s links the Classical and Romantic.

Full score of Telemann’s Viola Concerto (parts for harpsichord, violin, cello, and viola) is available here: Viola Concerto in G Major, TWV 51:G9.

Sigismond Thalberg's Fantasias

Anyone who had ever held a music magazine in their hands knows how much do critics like comparing anything they review to music it allegedly resembles (“…a bit of early Chopin with distinct influence of the Second Viennese School,” let us say), but in case with Sigismond Thalberg they were nonplussed: there was no one else like Swiss composer, neither before nor – I venture to suggest, – after.

Also virtuoso pianist, Thalberg was maybe the most praised musician ever, spellbinding attendees in Europe's finest concert halls with his playing. The only virtuoso of the same scale was Franz Liszt, who, being Thalberg’s contemporary, had heebie-jeebies because of the latter’s popularity…

Sheet music of several Thalberg’s pieces can be found here: Three Fantasias for Piano, Op.72, 20, 42. Enjoy!

Chopin and Czechs: Is There a Connection?

In these latter days I pay much attention to Czech composers: exclusive of Janáček (about whom I wrote yesterday), I also turn to heritage of Antonín Dvořák and Jan Dismas Zelenka. Today I decided to write about Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu, saying to myself that it will be something that doesn't have anything to do with the second most peaceful country in Europe. But no, as it turned out, the first Chopin’s piano tutor was no other than Wojciech Żywny (Czech? check) and the first impromptu ever was composed by Jan Václav Voříšek, in turn. (Who, among other things, lived for twelve years in Vienna - thus, even undercover capital of classical music bears Czech imprint.)

What’s most important concerning the subject of this post is that version of Fantaisie-Impromptu by Czech pianist Antonín Kubálek is one of the best I have heard. (It is present on his CD titled My Gift to You: Piano Encores, but sadly not on YouTube, otherwise I would embed it.) Sheet music of Chopin’s prominent piece is available here: Fantaisie-Impromptu for Piano, Op.66.

String Quartet No.2 "Intimate Letters" by Janáček

“Intimate Letters” is the second string quartet of Czech composer Leoš Janáček, written in 1928. It was inspired by Janáček’s relationships with Kamila Stösslová, who by some criterions was no match to him: she was forty years younger, married, and last but not least – she didn’t reciprocate his ardent feelings. However, he wrote more than 700 letters to her and even wanted to publish his multipage declaration of love. Ironically, the same man who brought Kafka worldwide fame (Max Brod) reasoned him out of doing that. In some sense it's understandable: with cliché lines like “Her eyes were like two deep wells” (taken from his Diary of One Who Disappeared) Janáček wouldn’t measure swords with likes of Nabokov or de Sade. It wasn't required from him, anyway - it's enough that he went down in history as one of the greatest composers.

Sheet music of “Intimate Letters” can be found here: String Quartet No.2, JW 7/13. I hope that you will like this very personal and unique piece as much as I do. Enjoy!