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The Last Romantic
''The Last Romantic'' is a documentary filmed within the home of concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz. The film contains mainly performances of classical works, but also provides an intimate look into Horowitz's private life. Description ''The Last Romantic'' is a documentary filmed at Vladimir Horowitz's townhouse on the Upper East Side of New York. It features many performances of some of the pieces of Horowitz's favorite repertoire and sheds light on his thoughts and opinions on music. During the film Horowitz often jokes and talks about his favorite composers: his friend Sergei Rachmaninoff, Frédéric Chopin, and Alexander Scriabin. Horowitz's wife, Wanda, also contributes her share to the discussions; she shows photo albums and reminisces about their past. Performances These are the pieces performed in the film (In order of performance): # Chorale Prelude BWV659 ''Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland'' (Bach arr. Busoni) # Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K330 (Mozart) # Impromptu i ...
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Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, tone color, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life and early career Horowitz was born on October 1, 1903, in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). There are unsubstantiated claims that he was born in Berdichev (a city near Zhitomir in Volhynian Governorate), but his birth certificate unequivocally states that Kiev was his birthplace. He was the youngest of four children of Samuil Horowitz and Sophia Bodik, who were assimilated Jews. His father was a well-to-do electrical engineer and a distributor of electric motors for German manufacturers. His grandfather Joachim was a merchant (and an arts-supporter), belonging to the 1st Guild, which exempted him from h ...
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court ...
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Au Bord D'une Source
''Au bord d'une source'' ("Beside a Spring") is a piano piece by Franz Liszt; it is the 4th piece of the first suite of ''Années de Pèlerinage'' ("Years of Pilgrimage"). There are three separate versions of ''Au bord d'une source''. The first version appears in Liszt's set ''Album d'un voyageur'' (1834–1838), and the second in the first suite of Liszt's ''Années de pèlerinage'' (1836–1855). The last version is almost identical to the second, except for the final nine bars, which were added by Liszt as a coda for his Italian piano student Giovanni Sgambati, who was also a composer; this lengthened the piece by about 30 seconds. The coda was written in 1863. The second version of ''Au bord d'une source'' is often regarded as the most popular. In the first version the technical difficulties are considerably higher to the pianist, whilst the last version adds a flashy coda. Au Bord d'une Source at allmusic/ref> Analysis The main theme of ''Au bord d’une source'' compris ...
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Moritz Moszkowski
Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish-Jewish descent.Encyclopædia Britannica
states that he was "German" born while other sources call him Jewish, for instance, Lewis Stevens in ''Composers of classical music of Jewish descent.''
His brother Alexander Moszkowski was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin. Ignacy Paderewski said: "After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano, and his writing embraces the whole gamut o ...
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Polonaise In A Flat, Op
The polonaise (, ; pl, polonez ) is a dance of Polish origin, one of the five Polish national dances in time. Its name is French for "Polish" adjective feminine/"Polish woman"/"girl". The original Polish name of the dance is Chodzony, meaning "the walking dance". It is one of the most ancient Polish dances representing Polish cultural dance tradition. Polonaise dance influenced European ballrooms, folk music and European classical music. The polonaise has a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin. Polska dance was introduced to Sweden during the period of the Vasa dynasty when king Vasa introduced it from Poland to Sweden that's why its name simply mean Poland; "polska" is a Polish word for Poland. The polonaise is a very popular dance uninterruptedly danced in Poland till today. It is the dance danced as an opening dance in all major official balls, events, at the final year of the high sc ...
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Étude Op
An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano. Of the vast number of études from that era some are still used as teaching material (particularly pieces by Carl Czerny and Muzio Clementi), and a few, by major composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Claude Debussy, achieved a place in today's concert repertory. Études written in the 20th century include those related to traditional ones (György Ligeti) and those that require wholly unorthodox technique (John Cage). 19th century Studies, lessons, and other didactic instrumental pieces composed before the 19th century are extremely varied, without any established genres. Domenico Scarlatti's ''30 Essercizi per gravicembalo'' ("30 Exercises for harpsichord", 1738) do not differ in scope fro ...
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Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, a German pianist, had assured him that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara Wieck, after a long and acrimonious legal battle with Friedrich, who opposed the marriage. A lifelong partnership in music began, as Clara herself was an established pianist and music prodigy. Clara and Robert also maintained a close relationship with German composer Johannes Brahms. Until 1840, Schumann wrote exclusively for the piano. Later, he composed piano and orchestral works, and many Lieder (songs for voice and piano). He composed four symp ...
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Novelletten Op
The ''Novelletten'', Op. 21, is a set of eight pieces for solo piano, written by Robert Schumann in 1838. This composition is dedicated to Adolf von Henselt. Background The ''Novelletten'' were composed during February 1838, a period of great struggle for the composer. Schumann originally intended the eight pieces to be performed together as a group, though they are often performed separately. This set of pieces is an excellent example of Schumann's keyboard style. Analysis No. 1 in F major *''Markiert und kräftig'' (Marked and strong) This piece contains seven sections, alternating between a staccato march and flowing legato passages. The piece is a modified Rondo form. No. 2 in D major *''Äußerst rasch und mit Bravour'' (Extremely fast and with bravura) This virtuosic piece is graceful and effective. An Intermezzo section in the middle contrasts and varies the piece. No. 3 in D major *''Leicht und mit Humor'' (Light and with humor) This piece displays the composer' ...
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Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simply "c" in all words except surnames; this has led to Liszt's given name being rendered in modern Hungarian usage as "Ferenc". From 1859 to 1867 he was officially Franz Ritter von Liszt; he was created a ''Ritter'' (knight) by Emperor Francis Joseph I in 1859, but never used this title of nobility in public. The title was necessary to marry the Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein without her losing her privileges, but after the marriage fell through, Liszt transferred the title to his uncle Eduard in 1867. Eduard's son was Franz von Liszt., group=n (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be o ...
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Consolations (Liszt)
The ''Consolations'' (German: ''Tröstungen'') are a set of six solo piano works by Franz Liszt. The compositions take the musical style of Nocturnes with each having its own distinctive style. Each Consolation is composed in either the key of E major or D major. E major is a key regularly used by Liszt for religious themes. There exist two versions of the ''Consolations''. The first ( S.171a) was composed by Liszt between 1844 and 1849 and published in 1992 by G. Henle Verlag. The second ( S.172) was composed between 1849 and 1850 and published in 1850 by Breitkopf & Härtel, containing the familiar Consolation No. 3, ''Lento placido'', in D major. Title The source of the title ''Consolations'' may have been Lamartine's poem "Une larme, ou Consolation" from the poetry collection ''Harmonies poétiques et religieuses'' (Poetic and Religious Harmonies). Liszt's piano cycle ''Harmonies poétiques et religieuses'' is based on Lamartine's collection of poems. Another possible ins ...
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Scherzo No
A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often refers to a movement that replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or string quartet. The term can also refer to a fast-moving humorous composition that may or may not be part of a larger work. Origins The Italian word ''scherzo'' means 'joke' or 'jest'. More rarely the similar-meaning word ''badinerie'' (also spelled ''battinerie''; from French, 'jesting') has been used. Sometimes the word ''scherzando'' ('joking') is used in musical notation to indicate that a passage should be executed in a playful manner. An early use of the word ''scherzo'' in music is in light-hearted madrigals of the early baroque period, which were often called ''scherzi musicali'', for example: * Claudio ...
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