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One of the most famous pieces of music for solo piano. Despite having the instruction, 'Lent et douloureux', (slow and painfully), this track is referred to for calm, relaxing and meditative purposes. Atmospheric and ambient.
Slow and grave, ('Lent et grave'), the third Gymnopedie is perhaps the most heartbreaking. The whole ambience is punctuated by mournful melodies that have become so popular in modern productions.
The third in a series of highly expressive and free-flowing compositions by Satie is again at a slow pace like the first one. This gives the track a sombre and hypnotic quality. Creates an almost haunting atmosphere.
Gymnopedie No.2 has an aura of sombreness about it. 'Lent et triste', (slow and sad), is the instruction to the player. Very atmospheric with a feeling of calm resignation. Huge amounts of space in the composition for thoughtful reflection.
Beautiful melodies glide with effortless grace at the start of this famous Chopin piano solo. It becomes more intense before a soft ending. Used in many productions such as the James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.
The first of Liszt's Liebestraums, (Dreams of love), is a delicate and tender piece. Always light and very spacious it sets the tone for the three works as a whole. Wonderful for romantic segments, weddings and nostalgic memories.
The minor key of this waltz gives the piece a melancholic, almost sad feel. The soloist plays at a medium tempo without straying too far from the initial melody, then a more optimistic section lifts the gloom before it returns to melancholy to finish.
A very popular composition which has been used on countless productions and adverts. A lilting melody above a waltz like accompaniment gets more complex and intense as we're taken on an emotional journey.
The well-known classical music by Ludwig van Beethoven (9th Symphony) in a great strings arrangement.
A mood of intense yet subdued emotion marks the overall feeling of the second Liebestraum composed by Liszt. More dynamic than the first and third parts it shows a less confident side whilst still retaining its passion and sentimentality.
this is strident and morose with its block chords in a minor key.
The piece is based on a theme from the last movement of the 2nd Violin Concerto in B minor by violinist Niccolò Paganini, a rondo in which the harmonies are supported by the ringing of a hand bell. Liszt had already used the theme for piano in his Variations Grande Fantaisie de Bravoure sur 'La Clochette' de Paganini in B minor. He then reworked the piece in the third etude of the 12 Études d'exécution transcendante in A flat minor. The final version of the Grandes Etudes de Paganin is written in G sharp minor. It is now the most popular and frequently played version. The etude is played at Allegretto and is basically a sequence of different finger exercises for the right hand. At the beginning there are huge staccato jumps of the right hand for which the piece is notorious. This is followed by exercises for the tension of the right hand , octave finger change exercises, trills, runs with almost exclusive participation of the weaker fingers, ascending sequences of fourth sex chords and finally chromatic octave runs. Since the difficulties are limited to the right hand, the piece is not as difficult for large, trained hands as it is commonly portrayed.