Étincelles, Op. 36 No. 6 ''(Sparks)'' is a piece for

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Moritz Moszkowski Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German Confederation, German composer, pianist, and teacher of History of Jews in Poland, Polish-Jewish descent.

. It is the sixth piece from Moszkowski's ''8 Characteristic Pieces'' set.

Analysis

This flashy showpiece, as the name suggests, conveys images of flashing sparks through the use of a

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

theme and extremely fast scale passages, which require a great deal of technical ability. The piece is written in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: : Many transposing instr ...

and in 3/8

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

. A happy and lively mood is consistent throughout the piece although the dynamics are nearly always quiet.Score at the IMSLP
/ref> ''Étincelles'' has a duration of about three minutes.

Performances

''Étincelles'' is a popular piece and many famous pianists have recorded it. In particular the pianist

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 ...

played the piece frequently as an

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

at many of his later concerts. He also composed his own

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to the piece.Horowitz's Transcriptions at The Vladimir Horowitz Website
/ref>

References

External links

Score at the IMSLPScore of Vladimir Horowitz Edition''Étincelles, Op. 36, No. 6''
performed by

(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Etincelles Op. 36 No. 6 (Moszkowski) Compositions by Moritz Moszkowski Compositions for solo piano Piano compositions in the Romantic era

Analysis

Performances

See also

References

External links