Piano Street's Classical Piano Blog

The impromptus opus 90 and Moments Musicaux opus 94 by Franz Schubert are now available in PS Urtext editions.

Schubert: Impromptu, Opus 90 No 1
A march-like melody written in C minor although the tonal ambiguity at the start of the piece highlights the romantic composer’s need for abstract imagery through music. This is the longest impromptu in this set.

Schubert: Impromptu, Opus 90 No 2
This is one of Schubert’s most well-known piano pieces. It starts off as a gently flowing melody but is transformed into a piece of great passion. The beautiful hymn-like air in the middle section perfectly captures feelings of fear, anger and uncertainty and the minor-major contrasts when it is repeated is attempting to resolve the conflict.

Schubert: Impromptu, Opus 90 No 3
Though written in G-flat major, this Impromptu was first published in G major.
Why? Did they expect their customers to be scared off by all accidentals and consequently to sell more copies of this piece if it was in a key with less accidentals? Publisher might have had more influence on the output of our great composers of the past than what we believe…
The original version of this simplistic and complex, static and dynamic, beautiful and brutish “song-without-words” is now generally preferred.

Schubert: Impromptu, Opus 90 No 4
Schubert’s use of cascading arpeggios throughout this piece has led it to be nicknamed the “waterfall” Impromptu.

Moments Musicaux

The 2008 proms series has been announced, with several piano-centric events.
The complete Rachmaninoff piano concerti will be performed as part of the series, plus the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, by pianists Yevgeny Sudbin, Nicolai Lugansky, Boris Beresovsky, Steven Hough and Olga Kern. Murray Perahia will also return to the Proms for the first time in 20 years. For the full program schedule point your browser to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2008

Four of the variation works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are now available in PS Urtext editions.

8 Variations on “Laat ons Juichen” K 24
7 Variations on “Willem van Nassau” K 25
6 Variations on “Mio caro Adone” K 180
10 Variations on “Unser dummer Poebel meint” K 455

Masterclasses, lectures and concerts on a daily basis to students from every continent by some of the world’s most distinguished teachers and performers in Oxford’s historic buildings. All classes and concerts are open to the public.

Some of the artists who have appeared at the Festival include Rosalyn Tureck, John Lill, Menahem Pressler, Maria Curcio, Charles Rosen, Cristina Ortiz, Dmitri Alexeev, Oxana Yablonskaya, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Peter Katin, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Boris Berman.
Every year the Festival welcomes a large number of students from all over the world both as participants and observers, as well as a large number of daily visitors.
The Festival is quite unique in that it combines tuition covering both the academic and practical
aspect of piano playing as well as concerts by distinguished artists on a daily basis. The standard of participation is very high, though, the Festival also welcomes younger pianists with two days devoted to talented pupils between Grades V – VIII.

Faculty members 2008; Andrei Diev, Christopher Elton, Niel Immelman, John Lill, Tessa Nicholson, Joanna MacGregor, Murray McLachlan, Ruth Nye, Marios Papadopoulos, Andras Schiff, Vladimir Viardo, Malcolm Troup

The festival takes place in Oxford, UK, July 30 – August 6 2008.