Random Acts of Culture

Happy Fall Friday!

I hope everyone had great lessons this week and that home practice is going well :)

Today I wan't to share some of my favorite classical flash mobs with you! 
If you don't know what a flash mob is, it is a large public gathering of people who disperse within a crowd and then perform an act that is seemingly random. 

I absolutely love classical music flash mobs, because they connect people going about their everyday lives with an art and music style that often seems to "high brow" or "stuffy." I often wonder, how much better our world would be, if we performed more random acts of culture instead or terror or violence....

Here are three of my favorite classical flash mobs, the performances are so beautiful each one gives me chills:

Zadok The Priest by Handel in a London grocery store:

 Carmina Burana in the Wien Westbahnof train station performed by People’s Opera of Vienna 

Carmen's Toreador in a Macy's:

Random Act of Culture at Miami's Dadeland Mall from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

Enjoy! 

Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony

Happy Friday! 

Looks like playing Vivaldi's Autumn did summon some cooler fall weather!

I have another composer on my mind today, Mr. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (say that 3 times fast!). 

Mr. Tchaikovsky was born 100 years after Vivaldi died. Vivaldi was an Italian composer in the Baroque era, which lasted from about 1590 to 1725, and Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer in the Romantic era which lasted between 1815-1910. Even though they were both classical music composers, their music sounds very different.

You probably know Tchaikovsky's music of you have ever been to the Nutcracker! Here is the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy:

If you ever saw this subway commercial then you have heard part of his 1812 Overture! (Did you know that there is a cannon used in this piece?)

However, Tchaikovsky didn't just compose ballets and Overture's with cannons. Tchaikovsky, among many many other works, composed six symphonies. I will be playing his first symphony this weekend but I want to share his fourth symphony with you. 

Mr. Tchaikovsky wrote this between 1877 and 1878 and it was first played in Moscow. He was very enthusiastic about this symphony which was unusual for him, because most of the time he was very hard on himself and his works. He dedicated this symphony to his friend and sponsor, the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck. Although they never met in person, his dedication read, "To my best friend."

Symphonies typically have four movements. Here is a great description of each movement:

1. Andante sostenuto — Moderato con anima — Moderato assai, quasi Andante — Allegro vivo (F minor)

   The symphony opens with horns and bassoons sounding a loud A-flat in unison. After a descending line by the bassoon and low brass, the woodwinds and trumpets join with a higher A-flat. As the music solidifies into large, slow syncopated chords, Tchaikovsky unleashes the musical equivalent of lightning bolts: two short fortissimo chords, each followed by a long measure of silence. As the music ebbs away, the woodwinds hint at the main melody, which is properly introduced by the strings at the Moderato con anima. (The score at this point is marked "In movimento di Valse", as it is written in 9/8.) The melody develops quite rapidly. Much later in the movement, the same A-flat is played by the trumpets. This movement is marked by continual introductions of the fate motif, the A-flat phrase. The motive serves as a separation between each section of the sonata—allegro form. At around twenty minutes in length in some performances, this is one of the longest symphonic movements by Tchaikovsky. It is also just short of the length of the remaining movements combined.

2. Andantino in modo di canzona (B flat minor)

   This movement is introduced by the melancholy melody of the oboe. The music's impassioned climax is a reminder of the grieving phrases that dominated the opening movement.^[2]

3. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato — Allegro (F major)

   Strings play pizzicato throughout this movement. They are joined by the woodwinds later when an oboe's long, high A signals the start of the A-major Trio section. Later, the brass instruments come in, playing very quietly and staccato. The three groups (strings, woodwinds, and brass) are the only groups that play; there is no percussion in this movement except for the timpani, as in the previous movement. It ends quietly with pizzicato strings.

4. Finale: Allegro con fuoco (F major)

   Here Tchaikovsky incorporates a famous Russian folk song, "In the Field Stood a Birch Tree", as one of its themes. In this movement, a hint of the A-flat of the first movement is present about halfway through, with the 'lightning bolts', with cymbals added, being much louder.

   
   

   (source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._4_(Tchaikovsky)

Here it is conducted by one of my favorite Maestros, Valerie Gergiev with the Mariinsky Orchestra. I hope you enjoy some or all of it if you have the time!

The Piano Guys

Last week a student told me that she went to see The Piano Guys in concert, so I thought I would share a few of their music videos with you. They are a great group of musicians who blend classical and pop songs seamlessly to beautifully crafted music videos. 

Here is their cover of Disney's Frozen and Vivaldi's "Winter"

Another favorite of mine is their cover of David Guetta's Titanium and Pavane by Faure

I hope you enjoy these videos! Here is a link to their YouTube channel to enjoy more!

ThePianoGuys YouTube Channel