Listening to Music
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61
In today’s video we’re going to be having a look at Mendelssohn’s incidental music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, op. 61. It contains fourteen movements (including an overture and ending), and was created to be the background music to the famous Shakespeare play. Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Backstory Mendelssohn composed the incidental music for…
Read MoreBach’s Air on the G String (Suite no. 3 in D, BWV 1068)
In today’s video I want to explore Bach’s famous and beautiful Air on the G String, which was one piece played during my wedding ceremony. As such, it’s near and dear to my heart. This video was requested by Malav on Patreon. If you’d like to see some of the perks we offer on Patreon,…
Read More5 Modern Songs Directly Inspired by Classical Music
Hi and welcome to today’s episode of PianoTV, where we’re going to look at 5 modern songs that were directly inspired by Classical music. Some of these songs are a bit of a stretch, while others are overt inspirations. In this video we’re going to have fun, listen through some examples and try to spot…
Read MoreThe Best Music of Grieg [4 favorites]
In today’s video we’re going to take a look at the best music of Grieg. We’ll talk about some favorites and listen through some examples to get you started with this composer. Over the next couple of months we’ll be discussing the composer Edvard Grieg. He was a Romantic-era composer, often overlooked when compared to…
Read MoreChopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, op. posth. [analysis]
In today’s episode of PianoTV, we’re going to talk about Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor, op. posth. B49. We’ll listen through examples and discuss the finer details – without getting too music jargon-y. Chopin wrote 21 nocturnes in his lifetime, between 1827-1846. To this day his nocturnes are considered to be some of the…
Read MoreBeethoven’s Fur Elise: The “Stairway to Heaven” of Piano
In today’s episode of PianoTV, we’re going to be talking about Bagatelle no. 25 in A minor (WoO 59) by Beethoven – but it goes by the much more common name of “Fur Elise”. This is one of Beethoven’s most famous pieces, and arguably the most famous piano piece of all time. It’s been a…
Read MoreHandel’s Water Music: A Baroque Concert Masterpiece
In today’s video, we’re going to take a closer look at Handel’s Water Music suite. We’ve looked at another composition by Handel before – the Hallelujah chorus from his oratorio Messiah, so definitely check that out if you want some more Handel.
Read MoreThe Music of Handel: 5 Baroque Favorites
Handel was one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) Baroque composers and was right up there in popularity with Bach. They were even born in the same year – 1685. Today we’re going to look at the music of Handel and explore 5 of favorites. Most of these are considered Handel’s most famous works, so…
Read MoreThe Four Seasons by Vivaldi: Summer [PROGRAM MUSIC]
Since it’s currently summertime, I wanted to take this opportunity to delve into The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, specifically the “summer” movement. This is a Baroque-era concerto in a set of four concerto, each with its own season/theme: spring, summer, autumn and winter. This will be a long-running series – each season I am going…
Read MoreDebussy’s Deux arabesques [simple piano guide]
In today’s episode of PianoTV, we’re going to be taking a quick look at Debussy’s Deux Arabesques. These two arabesques are short and simple in format, but enduringly popular and gorgeous (particularly the first one).
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