Need help with Senior Recital

[franken]

Ok just quickly and simply, I'm going to be putting on a senior recital here in a matter of days and my teacher wants me to talk a little bit about each of the pieces I'm playing.  Only one problem, I don't know where to find information on each of the pieces.  I just need some history, basic motives, what the composer had in mind and possibly even how the piece came about.  If anyone could let me know where to look or even has some information that would be much appreciated.  The songs I need the info for are as follows in order (Here is also how the recital is laid out)

Menuet (5th piece in Le tombeau de couperin)                  Ravel

(I introduce the recital, talk a little bit about the piece I just played, thank people and then procede to tell them about the next piece about to be played)

Sonate Allegro Op. 14                                                        Beethoven
Andante

Prelude in G minor                                                              Rachmaninoff

(I then get up and talk a bit about the Rach piece procede to finish up the concert by thanking everyone for coming and telling a bit about the final piece)

Ballade in A flat major                                                        Chopin

Again if anyone has some advice please tell me quickly!  I only have till this Saturday.

[desordre]

 Mr. Franken:
 I know that it won't help at present, but don't you think that's a bit late to think about it? Anyway, let's see:
 - historical background: Grove Dictionary (large edition);
 - basic motives (I did understand that you mean a sort of analysis here): do it yourself;
 - information about particular pieces: there are many books about the composers you will play, especially Beethoven (I just can't recall how many books and thesis about the sonatas I read) and Chopin; anyway, I guess you're out of time, then one single advice: Google. If you're a lucky one, you might find what you want.
 So, best wishes and very good luck!

[RealPianist]

what number of op. 14 do you play? no. 1 or 2?

[pianochild]

Well here is some info on each piece, you could change the words and use some if you like:


Ravel:

V. Menuet
"To the memory of Jean Dreyfus" - Who it was composed in the memory of.

In 1919 Ravel orchestrated four movements of the work (Prélude, Forlane, Menuet and Rigaudon); this version was first performed in 1920, and has remained one of his more popular works.


While the word-for-word meaning of the title invites the assumption that the suite is a programmatic work, describing what is seen and felt in a visit to the tomb of Couperin, tombeau is actually a musical term popular in an earlier century and meaning a piece written as a memorial. The specific Couperin (among a family noted as musicians for about two centuries) that Ravel intended to be evoked, along with the friends, would presumably be François Couperin "the Great" (1668-1733). However, Ravel stated that his intention was never to imitate or tribute Couperin himself, but rather was to pay homage to the sensibilities of the Baroque French keyboard suite. This is reflected in the structure which imitates a Baroque dance suite.


Le Tombeau de Couperin is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917.

It is in six movements. Each movement is dedicated to the memory of a friend of the composer who had died fighting in World War I. Ravel himself served in the war as an ambulance driver, and was wounded in the process. The movements are:

I. Prélude
"To the memory of Lieutenant Jacques Charlot" (who transcribed Ravel's four hand piece Ma Mère l'Oye for solo piano)
II. Fugue
"To the memory of Jean Cruppi"
III. Forlane
"To the memory of Lieutenant Gabriel Deluc"
IV. Rigaudon
"To the memory of Pierre and Pascal Gaudin"
V. Menuet
"To the memory of Jean Dreyfus"
VI. Toccata
"To the memory of Captain Joseph de Marliave"


Beethoven sonata:

The sonata is in three movements:

Allegro in E major
Allegretto in E minor with a trio in C major (which returns in the Coda)
Rondo - Allegro comodo in E major.
The first movement opens with a series of ascending fourths in the right hand, followed by a quartet-like echoing of a phrase in different octaves.

The Sonata No.9 in E major Op. 14 No. 1 exists not only as a piano work, but also as a string quartet, transposed into F major. At the time, it was the fashion to arrange works for other mediums, and a rather reluctant Beethoven agreed to do so in this case. As mentioned earlier, the sonata is one of two meant for use in private homes. It is especially appealing in that the range of the themes is more limited than in previous sonatas, making it easily sung or hummed. The opening movement, Allegro, is a typical sonata allegro form with some alterations to theme 1 in the recapitulation

The Rachmaninoff:

The Prelude op. 23 no. 5, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, was included into the Op. 23 set named "Ten Preludes", even though it was written in 1901, while the rest of the set was written in 1903. It evokes a great Russian nationalistic feeling, with the sounds of war and winter.

[edit]
General Structure
Alla Marcia
Poco Meno Mosso
Tempo I (Alla Marcia)
The piece begins with a march like tempo, indicated by Alla Marcia. It evolves into a heroic chain of chords of same rhythm, and falls back to the main theme. At the Poco Meno Mosso (a little less movemented), it develops a beautiful singing line produced by large right hand chords and octaves, and arpeggio like movements of the left hand. There is a transition, of gradually augmenting tempo and back to the original tempo. There is a recaputilation of the heroic chain of chords. The piece displays a coda section of marked FF chords, a figuration of the beginning. It finishes in a unique toccata like ending, at pianissimo dynamics.

[edit]
Technical Difficulties
It is overall a difficult piece, especially for performers or students with small hands, because of its content of large chords, large spans of arpeggios, and very fast octaves. Achieving the desired dynamics can be a problem also.

[edit]
Recordings
The composer has recorded this piece, but because of the piece's musical "flexibility", it can be found performed in a variety of different styles, much contrary to the composer's recordings.

There is a famous video in which Emil Gilels plays this Prelude at a front in World War II, in support for the Soviet military forces fighting the war. The narrator says (in Russian): "Gilels is playing at the front, to remind us what the war is worth fighting for: Immortal music!"

This Prelude is one of the most performed and recorded pieces of the set, displaying the virtuosity and musical genius of Rachmaninoff.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_in_G_minor_%28Rachmaninoff%29"

One of the set of 4 ballades, interesting fiery piece, which i will use for my finale, thankyou for listening to my recital.

[dnephi]

The A-flat Major is "the least difficult technically and its interpretation is fairly obvious.  The theme isd too often played jauntily instead of lyrically.  Chopin's pedaling is faulty and don;t hurry the eight-notes.  Ending with all possible brilliance. " - Ernest Hutcheson

It was inspired by the poem Undine by MIckiewicz.  Go look it up.  Maybe even quote part of it or summarize it?