Classical Corner: Chopin's Études, Op. 25

We continue where we left off last time, and now delve into Frédéric Chopin's second set of twelve études.

*****

The 'Aeolian Harp' Étude is one of the most popular ones of the set, getting its nickname from the harp-like arpeggios throughout pretty much the entire piece.

'Aeolian Harp' Étude, Op. 25, No. 1 (Pianist: Idil Biret)

From a technical perspective, the piece is great for working on proper wrist movement to reach across large intervals, and for playing melodies with just the pinky finger.  The constant broken chords give the piece a very flowing nature, and if it had not been given the 'harp' moniker, I'd probably be thinking of images of water.  On top of the flowing 'harp' notes is a really simple and pretty melody, and as a whole the piece has kind of an arc structure, building up to a climax before settling down again at the end.

*****

The 'Wrong Note' Étude is not one of Chopin's more popular pieces (if I was choosing these excerpts by popularity, I would have chosen the 'Butterfly Étude' (Op. 25, No. 9)), but I include the clip of it here just because it's interesting and a fun listen.

'Wrong Note' Étude, Op. 25, No. 5 (Pianist: Murray Perahia)

This étude is wonderfully written to make it sound like the pianist is playing the wrong notes - and yet all those wrong notes sound awesome.  In the middle section of a piece comes a nice melody (without the wrong note theme - keep in mind that this nickname and all the nicknames for these études were not officially given to these pieces by Chopin himself).  Then finally, the original theme comes back giving this piece a nice little A-B-A format.  While not as complex as some of Chopin's other études, this one is interesting in its own way and probably even one of my favorites.

*****

I would call the 'Winter Wind' Étude the masterpiece of this set, combining Liszt-ian technical elements with Chopin's masterful ability to make piano music exciting and passionate.  Don't be fooled by the very slow and quiet opening - this is just the calm before the huge storm of notes that barrage you for the rest of the piece.

'Winter Wind' Étude, Op. 25, No. 11 (Pianist: Grigory Sokolov)

The nickname 'Winter Wind' is immediately obvious once you listen to the piece, and I would assume that this kind of imagery was in Chopin's mind while creating this piece.  Just as is the case in Chopin's famous 'Fantaisie-Impromptu,' none of the notes really make sense when you play the piece slowly - and yet when everything is put together in full speed the end product works perfectly and is indescribably awesome.  Grigory Sokolov's performance in particular brings out all the fire (or should I say ice?) that Chopin intended the piece to have, all while maintaining musical clarity.

*****

Étude, Op. 25, No. 12 is sometimes nicknamed the 'Ocean' Étude, and I can see why - just like the 'Aeolian Harp' Étude, this piece is dominated by continuous runs of arpeggios.  In this case though, instead of calm arpeggios we have violent ones - so in my opinion the name 'Ocean' is not quite descriptive enough.  Maybe something more like 'Sea Storm,' or something that means basically the same thing but sounds a little sexier.

Étude, Op. 25, No. 12 (Pianist: Georges Cziffra)

A popular trend while playing this piece is to start a little on the quieter side and build up to a loud climax.  Usually this practice would make sense, as it would give the piece development.  However, in my opinion, this kind of interpretation kind of misses the point of the piece.  Chopin's directions say to start loud and end very very loud.  Georges Cziffra is well-known for his tendency to have completely different interpretations of pieces from everyone else - we can call this the Glenn Gould Club - and in this case he might even be in the minority by playing most of the piece loud.  Some of Cziffra's interpretations are a bit weird to me but this one is right on the money.  This is not to say that his interpretation is the only correct one.  The writing makes this piece great either way, and it's a great way for Chopin to conclude his étude collection (I like to consider Op. 10 and Op. 25 as "Chopin's Études" while thinking of the 'Trois nouvelles études' set as a separate entity).

*****

My next four favorite in the set:

• Étude, Op. 25, No. 2 - Sounds like mice scurrying, just like Étude, Op. 10, No. 2
• Étude, Op. 25, No. 6 - Very difficult étude with the right hand playing two notes simultaneously for much of the piece
• Étude, Op. 25, No. 7 - Sometimes nicknamed the 'Cello' Étude for its lyricism in the left hand
• 'Butterfly' Étude, Op. 25, No. 9 - Quick, light, and jolly melody

Just as was the case with the previous set of études, I can recommend every piece in the set, and would also suggest listening to the entire series from beginning to end, or even both sets of études back to back.

Classical Corner: Chopin's Études, Op. 10

Frédéric Chopin's études are so consistently masterful that I will need to devote this edition of Classical Corner to his first set of twelve études (Opus 10), and make another post for his second set of twelve (Opus 25).  In the most literal sense, an étude (which is French for 'study') is a piece intended as an exercise, to help the musician develop some kind of technique.  It is then no surprise that many of Chopin's études are very difficult to play.  However, while some other composers may have sacrificed musicality in order to emphasize technique (resulting in a somewhat boring end product), Chopin actually uses the difficult techniques to increase the musicality of his pieces.  Many of these pieces have become very popular in the piano repertoire, and have even taken on well-known nicknames despite the fact that Chopin did not himself nickname his music.  This is just a testament to how well the music speaks to the listener - that the composer did not need to tell people what it should sound like, yet listeners were able to understand.

The wavier the hair, the better the music

For purposes of shortening this entry, I will focus on four representative examples of great pieces from this set of 'Douze grandes études.'  Every single piece in the opus is great, though, and all of them are really different.  In other words, the entire set of études is worth a listen after you hear these four.

*****

First, let's dispel the notion that all the études are really fast, technical, blurs of notes.  Many of them are indeed very fast, but Op. 10, No. 3 shows that there are other technical skills to be learned other than playing fast.

Étude, Op. 10, No. 3 (Pianist: Sviatoslav Richter)

In this case, the emphasis is on musicality - on phrasing a melody that is played primarily with the pinky of the right hand.  The middle portion has an increased passion and has some moderately technical passages, but once again, the focus is on shaping the melody.  In a way, this skill is required in even the most basic of pieces, but Chopin's piece emphasizes the skill enough to warrant the title of 'étude.'  Additionally, this piece comes after two études that emphasize speed and dexterity in the right hand, so for the pianist playing all the études in order, this piece welcomes a nice contrast (and of course a bit of rest).

*****

Op. 10, No. 4 is probably my favorite of the set, and one reason for this is the diverse set of interpretations.  Some pianists prefer a steadier pace, while others - like Vladimir Horowitz - instead opt for a more chaotic interpretation.

Étude, Op. 10, No. 4 (Pianist: Vladimir Horowitz)

This étude exercises dexterity in both hands, with fast runs being traded between both hands.  Thus, the piece is difficult to execute well because both hands need to play with an equal speed, dynamic, and articulation.  Speaking of dynamics, the way this piece builds up and down is amazing - and it is because of both the writing and the performance.  Immediately, images of a thunderstorm come to mind when listening to this piece.

Every time someone plays this piece, a thunderstorm starts somewhere else

*****

The 'Black Key' Étude (Op. 10, No. 5) is one of the most popular of Chopin's études from both a listener's and a piano player's perspective.  For the listener, it's a great piece that is quick but not violent - in fact, it can be quite delicate, depending on the performer.  For the pianist, it's typically among the first Chopin études one learns, perhaps because it sounds a lot more difficult than it really is.  Sadly, this makes the piece all the more popular to play poorly, and more often than not, a non-professional will blaze through the piece very loud and without much musicality.

'Black Key' Étude, Op. 10, No. 5 (Pianist: Maurizio Pollini)

Fortunately for Maurizio Pollini, he has a reputation for very delicate playing and it works perfectly in this piece.  Now you ask - why is this piece nicknamed the 'Black Key' Étude?  As you might guess, it has to do with most of the notes being played on the black keys of the piano.  In fact, every single note on the right hand except for one is on a black key (and I sometimes wonder why Chopin decided to add that single white key).  I think this is the reason the étude is rather easy despite its high speed.  The black keys are raised up and have nice gaps between them.  This means you never accidentally hit the wrong note.  Additionally, you don't need to move your hand into the awkward configurations that's sometimes found in the other études (for example, Op. 10, No. 2).  Actually, I don't think you need to ever cross your fingers under each other on the right hand.  Anyway, this means the focus can be on velocity, which is exactly what the piece exercises.

The white keys are made of lava!

*****

Also among Chopin's most famous études is the 'Revolutionary' Étude (Op. 10, No. 12).  What a perfect nickname (again, one not ascribed by Chopin himself).  This piece is incredibly difficult to play nicely, and I myself am guilty of using too much pedal to make the piece easier but much worse-sounding.

'Revolutionary' Étude, Op. 10, No. 12 (Pianist: Vladimir Ashkenazy)

The fast, sweeping runs are now in the left hand, with the right hand playing a very powerful melody.  This is another piece that has so many different interpretations.  I personally prefer the cleaner, more traditional ones, which barely use the pedal and don't overdo the rubato (which is changing the tempo to convey emotion).  Well, I do like rubato towards the end, but not throughout the whole piece.  Since the runs are in the left hand, the melody (on the right hand) is easier to follow, and so one can basically sing along.  This makes the piece more memorable - hence its popularity.

I bet this tune was on their iPods at the time

I should note, though, that singable melodies are not required of music - I believe music is a multilayered medium, and that in the case of Chopin's Études, the music is largely used to paint images and convey emotions.  There is much value to those tunes that you can hum while you're walking, but I'd easily prefer a piece of music you can lose yourself in.  Of course, this is just a personal opinion - and it's reflected in my preference of romantic-era music over classical-era music.

*****

Of the remaining eight études in the set, some other ones I really like are:

• Op. 10, No. 1 - a grand introduction with huge, sweeping arpeggios
• Op. 10, No. 2 - a melody that sounds like scurrying mice, played using only the last three fingers of the right hand
• Op. 10, No. 8 - a light, fast tune that evokes images of birds fluttering
• Op. 10, No. 9 - an articulated, longing melody over a flowing bass

While some of the études are better than others, I can wholeheartedly recommend every single one of Chopin's études (in this set, in Op. 25, and from the "Trois nouvelles études").  In addition, note that each étude is its own piece, but this set as well as the Op. 25 set sound especially great when all played in order, like a music album.  A particularly great transition is in between the delicate ending of Op. 10, No. 3 to the sudden power of Op. 10, No. 4.  The whole product is not as unified as a multi-movement piece like a symphony or a sonata, but it somehow sounds cohesive.

*****

Stay tuned for the Chopin Études, Op. 25 edition of Classical Corner, which will likely but not necessarily be the next entry in this series.

Classical Corner: Holst's "The Planets"

Gustav Holst's symphonic suite "The Planets" was written between 1914 and 1916 and is today one of the most popular pieces of 20th-century "classical" music as well as British music.  Its blend of unique styles are undoubtedly strong influences to modern composers like John Williams.  Out of the suite's seven movements, the most famous ones are the opening march "Mars, the Bringer of War" and the energetic "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity."  Give the "Jupiter" movement a listen and you might recognize some of the melodies.

Click to play: "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from "The Planets" - Gustav Holst

The movement opens with tons of "open" (i.e. tonally ambiguous) chords in the strings with the brass playing the main part.  Already we can note the huge similarity to much of John Williams's music.  From here, the piece basically has three melodic themes: the bouncy melody in duple-meter, the heavy and more deliberate melody in triple-meter, and the slow and emotional melody at the middle of the piece.  After the slow middle portion (which is my favorite part of the movement) comes a developed version of the intro, first melodic theme, second melodic theme, and a coda.  So this movement does conform to the A-B-A format of a classical sonata and has a good overall balance despite its more contemporary harmonies.  The "Jupiter" movement is the fourth out of seven movements in the suite.  Each movement is named for the Roman god corresponding to each non-Earth planet and are ordered in terms of distance from Earth.  Thus, the suite is performed as follows:

1. "Mars, the Bringer of War" - a majestic march in 5/4 time
2. "Venus, the Bringer of Peace" - a slow, dreamlike atmosphere
3. "Mercury, the Winged Messenger" - light melodies that run and fly
4. "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" - grand melodies
5. "Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age" - slow but tense
6. "Uranus, the Magician" - devilish and mischievous
7. "Neptune, the Mystic" - another dreamlike atmosphere in 5/4 time

With a throne in the clouds and a half-naked lady slave,

it's not hard to see why Jupiter is the "Bringer of Jollity"

Some have noted a kind of antisymmetry in the movements that's pretty neat.  From Wikipedia: "Critic David Hurwitz offers an alternative explanation for the piece's structure: that "Jupiter" is the centrepoint of the suite and that the movements on either side are in mirror images. Thus "Mars" involves motion and "Neptune" is static; "Venus" is sublime while "Uranus" is vulgar, and "Mercury" is light and scherzando while "Saturn" is heavy and plodding. This hypothesis is lent credence by the fact that the two outer movements, "Mars" and "Neptune", are both written in rather unusual quintuple meter."

The suite was composed before the discovery of Pluto in 1930, and Holst fans across the world rejoiced when it was demoted to a dwarf planet, as this meant that "The Planets" was once again complete.  Listening to the whole suite, it's almost as if I'm watching a movie, and the music is evoking images.  It's easy to see then, why many film score composers have music that is heavily influenced by Holst's work. For example, right off the bat we drew comparisons between "Jupiter" and John Williams's music.  "Mars" in particular also seems like a huge influence for him.  "Saturn" immediately brings Bernard Herrman of classic film fame into mind.  "Venus" and "Neptune" are reminiscent of some aspects of works by Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, and Danny Elfman.  Meanwhile, "Mercury" and "Uranus" seem to fit perfectly in a Warner Bros. cartoon.

You never really were part of the family, Pluto

"The Planets" is one of my favorite classical works because it creates so many great atmospheres and images while always keeping the music moving and flowing.  The instrumentation is great - just like, say, John Williams's music, many of the grand melodies are brass-heavy, which is more atmospheric and powerful than the more classical choice of using dozens of violins instead.  In addition to the typical symphonic instruments, there is great use of the harp, mallet instruments like the celesta, glockenspiel, and xylophone, and perhaps most famously a woman's choir in the final movement.  The choir is located in a separate room from the orchestra and the entire suite actually ends in a makeshift fadeout as the door separating the choir from the orchestra is slowly shut.  I can't think of any other pieces of classical music that fade out, and it's entirely appropriate for the end of "The Planets" as we reach the edge of the solar system.  Since then, a lot of modern musicians have I guess "followed suit," though in modern music I feel that fadeouts are often used as a cop out when the writer doesn't know how to properly end a song.  This is why I'll consider the ending of "The Planets" the fadeout of all fadeouts.

If you liked "Jupiter," go ahead and give the rest of the suite a listen.  Each movement can be listened to individually as its own piece, but the suite also works great in its entirety (about 50 minutes), and perhaps it's because of the elegant anti-symmetric structure mentioned above.

Classical Corner: Schubert's "Trout" Quintet

Now that the Tour de France is over I don't have much to write about until December when many of the year's best movies will come out (I would have written a review of Inception but by now it's well overdue).  I'm working on resuming my write-ups for my Top 100 movies of all time list but am feeling a little uninspired as far as that goes.  So here's a new idea for a blog series: Classical Corner.  It won't be anything too snobby or pretentious, just a little bit of classical music from trusty old YouTube, along with some of my thoughts about the piece at hand.

*****

Today's piece is the 4th movement of Franz Schubert's "Trout" Quintet (formally called Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667).  This movement is a theme and variations on a song called "The Trout" previously written by Schubert - hence the piece's nickname.

Click to play: "Trout" Quintet, 4th mvt. - Franz Schubert

The movement begins with a very simple tune (i.e. the theme) played by the violin before developing into five (arguably six) variations.  The first three are fairly straightforward, seeing the melody flow from the piano (Var. I) to the viola (Var. II) to the cello and bass (Var. III), with an accompaniment that flows like water and progressively increases in presence.  Var. IV is where things start to switch up a bit, with percussive and stormy chords in the minor key that settle into a calm kind of aftermath.  Var. V has some beautiful cello melody and interesting modulations, and we finally get to see Schubert really developing the melody.  The final segment is labeled "Allegretto" as opposed to "Var. VI," and features the melody passed back and forth between the violin and cello in playful fashion.

Artist's rendition of the exact trout that inspired this piece

This movement is probably the most famous of the quintet and the easiest to follow, but the rest of the quintet is also excellent and features some great development that contrasts with the theme and variation format used in this movement.  In my opinion, the "Trout" Quintet is one of the greatest pieces of music out there, and this comes from someone who is not overly crazy about either chamber music or Schubert.  I particularly like the unorthodox instrumentation of the quintet.  Whereas a typical piano quintet uses basically a string quartet plus a piano (i.e. two violins, a viola, a cello, and a piano), this work replaces the second violin with a bass.  This unique instrumentation has a great sonority and allows for a little more compositional freedom in my opinion, and I find it surprising that this instrumentation never really became more popular.

Franz Schubert and his immense hair - an indication of his immense genius

Most obviously, the bass can reach those notes lower than the cello's range.  While a piano can also hit these notes, the bass has a nicer timbre and definitely a better blend with the group at that low range, as in my opinion the piano sometime sounds alien when playing those low notes along with a string quartet.  Accordingly, because the piano does not need to be hitting those low notes, Schubert uses it in the upper register for most of the quintet, where it has a very clear tone that blends extremely well with the group.  Sadly for the bassist, they are largely reserved to the accompaniment role that is typically played by the cello (but it's a bass - what can you expect).  But this results in a much greater melodic freedom in the cello part, which is awesome because the cello sounds really beautiful in its upper register.

Overall the quintet is characterized by a "full" sound (which I am very much a sucker for) and an immense melodic clarity among all five instruments.  If you liked the above clip, definitely check out the rest of the piece (it's five movements total), and stay tuned for the next installment of Classical Corner!

Great Piano Pieces

Here's something for you if you're in the mood for some good classical music. I could go on and on about great classical music, but I thought it would be best to limit this list to piano pieces that are short in length (~5 minutes or less), as I figured it would be a bit of a stretch to expect someone to listen to a one hour long symphony that I'd recommend (of which there are many!).

Anyway, I should point out that my classical music tastes, especially when it comes to piano music, lie almost entirely in 19th and 20th century music. Also note that some of the most well-known classical music pieces (e.g. Für Elise, Bach's Minuet in G, etc.) are not included, in favor of pieces that are famous among classical music fans but not necessarily the layman (and this is largely because they are more technically challenging, and so you don't have every piano-playing kid on the block playing these all the time - also because the melodies are a little less singable).

Thus, this list is definitely not representative of the classical music genre as a whole. The following list is in roughly chronological order, is limited to one work per composer, and represents some of my favorite music!

*****

Frédéric Chopin

Étude Op. 10, No. 4 in C# minor

Chopin is arguably the most prolific composer of truly great piano music, and his two sets of études, Opus 10 and 25, are not only 24 great short pieces, but also two "albums" that can each be played from beginning to end as a single unit. While études were traditionally meant to primarily be exercises to work on improving technique, Chopin took them to another level, composing études that not only worked on developing specific technical skills, but also were musically brilliant. These pieces were not all just strings of sixteenth notes played as fast as you can, but ranged anywhere from playing quick melodies using only the last three fingers of your right hand (Op. 10, No. 2) to obtaining perfect phrasing of a slow, sorrowful melody on the left hand (Op. 25, No. 7).

This short piece, from a technical standpoint, helps a pianist develop skills primarily in playing quick notes melodically over broad ranges of dynamics and articulation, and on both hands. But it is also a musical masterpiece, bringing up imagery of rain that picks up into a torrent, building up into a passionate, thunderous climax.

If you liked this, try Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20

*****

Franz Liszt

Rigoletto Paraphrase

Franz Liszt was one of the most virtuosic pianists of his day, and loved to compose pieces for himself, to show off a little bit at his concerts. His technically difficult touches are far from gratuitous, however, and in many cases enhance his composition by adding musical layers to his music. His show pieces, like the famous Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, along with many of his études, are one case - where we can see that perhaps he might just be wanting to show off as much as possible (which is not to say the music is bad!). But many of his other pieces are more subdued, including this gem.

In this piece, Liszt takes some famous melodies from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto and puts them together into a medley that is both virtuosic and emotional. By listening to it, you can almost picture what is going on in the opera. It is in pieces like this where I come to appreciate Liszt's true genius - pieces that are difficult not for difficulty's sake, but for music's.

If you liked this, try Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor

*****

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Prelude Op. 23, No. 5 in G minor

Rachmaninoff was yet another composer who, as a pianist, "specialized' mostly in composing music that involved the piano in some way. His 2nd and 3rd piano concertos ("concerto" meaning a pianist is featured with an orchestra playing in the background) are two of my favorite works of all time, and his shorter piano works are great, too. Rachmaninoff's pieces - most of which are challenging - are almost uniformly filled with passion while having hints of influence from his Russian heritage.

This prelude is probably his second most famous, after his Prelude in C# minor (Op. 3, No. 2), which you have probably heard, even if you don't recognize it by name. The aforementioned prelude is filled with a gloom that builds into rage, and it's easy to see why it's so respected. But I include this prelude in my list instead particularly because of the way Vladimir Horowitz plays it, which I believe is the way it was meant to be played. It starts off like a light march before building up in force. Then after a passionate, melodic interlude, the original tune reappears with a newly-found fire. Nowadays it's almost painful to hear "ordinary people" playing this piece (the only other piece I can think of for which this is the case is the famous first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata)!

If you liked this, try Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor, Op. 36

*****

Alexander Scriabin

Étude Op. 42, No. 5 in A minor

Scriabin, who claimed to be able to see sounds (he famously ascribed a color to each note on the chromatic scale - well after all, the word "chromatic" has the root "chrom-" meaning "color"), had the interesting ability to pile a seemingly random jumble of notes together and create beautiful music with it. This piece comes before his later compositional period of complete atonality, but you can still see a transformation in progress between a romantic and atonal style.

This étude is for the most part an emotional melody played over an atmosphere of notes on the left hand (which are very difficult to play). Slow the piece down and it sounds like the composer had no idea what he was doing. But when all the parts are put together, we have a work filled with all kinds of longing (sorrowful longing, passionate longing, etc.). The first segment is more atmospheric than melodic, but the second segment features one of the most beautiful melodies I have ever heard. And then Scriabin builds on these two themes to create a fiery climax - one of angry desperation.

If you liked this, try Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53

*****

Maurice Ravel

Gaspard de la Nuit, 1st mvt. "Ondine"

Ravel, one of the famous French musical impressionists, is most well known for his orchestral piece "Bolero," but his piano music is really where you find him at his best. His work, like Debussy's, is made more to create images rather than to represent emotions (like Beethoven) or tell stories (like Schumann). "Gaspard de la Nuit" - often called the most difficult piece in the standard piano repertoire - is a perfect example of this kind of imagery. I'm not sure how valid it is to call it the single most difficult piece in the standard repertoire, but regardless, it is an excellent piece of music. The piece is divided into three movements, or perhaps we can call them "images:" "Ondine" - a seductive water fairy, "Le Gibet" - the tolling of bells during a lynching, and "Scarbo" - a little goblin up to some antics.

My favorite movement is the first, which is kept driving by a constant string of notes and chords that flow like a river. The river flows high and low on the keyboard, and through it all plays a serene melody that builds up and settles down at the perfect times. About halfway through the piece comes a build up that leads into two of the most awesome measures of music ever written.

If you liked this, try Ravel: "Jeux d'eau"

*****

Vladimir Horowitz

"The Stars and Stripes Forever" Transcription

Vladimir Horowitz is my favorite pianist, period. His playing has an unrivaled romanticism to it, and while it is sometimes criticized as excessive, I have basically loved everything I have heard from him. Horowitz was famous not only for his playing, but also for his writing, which was almost entirely derived from melodies of famous pieces, but were also still original. His transcription of the famous "The Stars and Stripes Forever," an American favorite from John Philip Sousa, was for a long time Horowitz's signature piece. This piece, along with his rewriting of Liszt's famous Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 are incredibly difficult, so if you can play either of them, I have tons of respect for you!

After Horowitz's technical brilliance, the second most impressive thing about this piece is the way in which Horowitz gets a piece that was originally written for a band to sound like it was actually meant to be written for a piano. Some of the playing evokes band instruments - most notably the "piccolo part" - but for the most part, the transcription uses a ton of octaves and large chords using the entire keyboard to turn Sousa's cheerful march (which is in itself a great piece) into something fiery and downright crazy. At several points, it sounds like Horowitz has three hands! At others, he plays chords that are so far apart on the keyboard that we'd need a video of him to fully appreciate how fast and accurate his hands really are. Either way, this piece is brilliant both technically and musically - and it is tons of fun to listen to!

If you liked this, try Horowitz: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Liszt)

*****

This post has run much, much, much longer than I anticipated, but it has been fun. Hopefully you enjoy these short but great pieces!