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Composers
Whether it be classical or contemporary, composers are the men and women behind the music. Beethoven and Mozart are among those who have left their marks on history.
6,063 Questions
What is the most accomplished piano solo piece?
Islamey by Balakirev
Chopin's etudes
Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.1 and No.2 (No. 2 being the harder of the two)
Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit (Scarbo movement was written with the purpose of being harder than Islamey
Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto
Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum (although it sounds absolutely horrendous in my opinion)
Feux Follets or Grand Galop Chromatique by Franz Liszt
Hammerklavier Sonata by Beethoven (no need to explain, Beethoven's hardest sonata and very difficult to get all the nuance in the unnatural hand positions)
Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven (easy to play, very difficult to play well)
Bach's French/English swite (hardest pieces in the Baroque era.)
Godowsky's arrangements of Chopin etudes, for example 'Aeolian Harp' or 'Badinage'
Chopin's Sonatas
Hamelin's Circus Gallop (while impossible, it was written for Player Piano.)
Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (theme and variations)
Below is the discussion.
Chopin's etudes are very hard to perform well, but you have to look in the modern era to find the hardest musics, and I'm thinkin of Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum and Scarbo from Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit. Liszt composed hard pieces but not the hardest. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is pretty hard, but is much easier than Liszt etudes (I'm thinking of no.4, Mazeppa). However as I said, Ravel composed pieces that are much harder to play than Liszt.
As one advances piece by piece in difficulty as one is learning, the most difficult piece is always "the new one".
Most people find the following very hard indeed:
Chopin's etudes
Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.1 and No.2 (No. 2 being the hardest concerto)
Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit
Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto
Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum
Also, Feux Follets by Franz Liszt, and Grand Galop Chromatique by Franz Liszt are unbelievable
Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata is by far his hardest piece. (Apart from the last eroica variation). Mozart is fairly easy. All of Bach's French/English suites have some claim to the hardest Baroque piece although the Well-tempered clavier is mentally very difficult. Rachmaninov and Lizst wrote incredibly difficult Romantic pieces. There are tons of contemporary composers, but Sorabji, Scriabin and Szymanoski (sp?) are all fairly difficult.
I'm going to say Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (theme and variations). If you've listen to this, It is hard and very beautiful.
A very, very hard composer to play is Olivier Messiaen. I am surprised nobody mentioned him yet. His pieces range from learnable (at least to an advanced-level keyboardist) to mind-blowingly hard. I think Alkan's pieces are the most difficult! Some are Comme Le Vent, Le Preux, Le Chemin de Fer, Allegro Barbero, Le Festin D'Esope, ect. Liszt- Transcendental etudes (no. 4 Mazzepa, no. 5 Fuex Follets, no. 12 Chasse-Neige) La Campanella, Un Sopiro, and many more. Chopin- etudes op. 10 and 25. Out of the op. 10 set, I would say no. 2. Out of the op. 25 set, I would say no. 11 winter wind. Rachmaninoff- his 3rd concerto is said to be extremely difficult. The ossia cadenza is very difficult.
What instruments are used in Mussorgsky and Ravels Pictures at an Exhibition?
Ravel's orchestration is as follows:
2 Piccolos
3 Flutes
3 Oboes
English Horn
2 Clarinets A and Bb
Bass Clarinet in A and Bb
Alto Saxophone
2 Bassoons
Double Bassoon
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
3 Trombones (1 & 2 in Tenor clef)
Tuba
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Bell in Eb
Xylophone
Triangle
Rattle
Whip
Snare Drum
Bass Drum
Cymbals (Crash and Suspended)
Tam-Tam
2 Harps
Celesta
Strings
How long is the Swan Lake ballet?
P.I. Tchaikovsky's score for "The Nutcracker" runs about 88 minutes. Conductors can affect this by speeding up or slowing down passages. Groups performing this ballet sometimes repeat or eliminate musical phrases to fit their choreography.
When did beethoven begin music lessons?
That's a loaded question. The piano wasn't fully developed until later in the 18th century, but he started learning the clavier (a keyboard instrument) at the age of 3 in 1759. Once he developed prowess with such keyboard instruments as the aforementioned, the piano was an easy transition for him, and he brought quite a bit toward its development.
At the age of three Mozart, watching his sister's keyboard lessons, began picking out thirds on the keyboard by himself. His father, Leopold Mozart, was a minor composer himself, and began teaching Mozart. By age 5 Mozart was playing his own tunes, which his father wrote down for him. His father was the only teacher Mozart ever had, apart from his own learning from other musicians and composers.
Which was a nationalistic polish composer who composed mostly for solo piano?
Frédéric Chopin was a leading Romantic pianist.
Who wrote the song Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo by Bloodhound Gang?
The song Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo was written by Jimmy Pop and Evil Jared Hasselhoff. It is a single from their album Hefty Fine, and was released in 2005.
Who wrote the lyrics to Carmina Burana o fortuna music?
The score for O Fortuna was composed by Carl Orff in either 1935 or 1936. The lyrics of the song is from a Latin poem written in the early 13th century.
What happened to beethoven to make him become blind?
Johann Sebastion Bach became increasingly blind towards the end of his life. Apparently, whilst suffering from seriously impaired vision, he dictated the scores of his final works and revisions to one of his colleagues to write for him. Maria Theresa von Paradis, 1759-1824, had an accident causing total blindness when she was just four years old. Born in Vienna, she was a friend of Mozart. She sang opera at an early age, and composed a number of operas, and classical works, working entirely from memory and faultlessly dictating the scores, without the need for revisions.
There are other, more recent, 'classsical composers' who were also blind, but Bach and von Paradis are probably the most well known.
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Who finished modest Mussorgsky's unfinished work?
Mussorgsky's unfinished work were completed by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Where did Antonio Salieri live?
I'm not sure, but in the movie 'Amadeus' Antonio lived in a mental/disabled house. At the start of the movie he tried to kill himself (rumors say he poisoned Mozart) and felt guilty. Then found himself in a mental/disabled house.
I recommend you should watch the movie Amadeus.
Its something like that though...
Who composed La nocce de Figaro marriage of Figaro?
Le nozze di Figaro, or The Marriage of Figaro, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte, and was based on the play La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais.
In 1707, at the age of 22, JS Bach married his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach with whom he had many children, only four of whom survived. Maria died suddenly in May 1720. The following year, Bach married again to Anna Magdalena Wilcken who was the daughter of a musician. She was a singer, harpsichordist and music copyist. She took on the four surviving children from his earlier marriage and produced a further 13.
Everyone has a mother, including musical prodigies.
Mozart's mother was Anna Maria Walburga Mozart. She had seven children, but only the composer Mozart and his sister, affectionately known as Nannerl, survived past infant-hood. It appears Mozart had a good relationship with his mother, whom he referred to as loving and friendly to all.
Mozart's career was very much driven by his father, and his mother was not a strong woman. When his father was too ill to travel and arrange his career and finances, Mozart's mother travelled with him, and this is when Mozart frittered away much of his money, making poor financial and personal choices. There is evidence to suggest that Mozart's obsession with his own interests caused him to overlook his mother's own illness, and his neglect led to her death.
The earliest would be the late 1800's, around 1880. The final version, the one you know today was written around 1908, but there are still different versions including bilingual versions which mix French and English.
What Enlightenment composer began writing music at the age of 5?
The famous composer that began composing at 5 was Mozart. He started learning to play instruments at the age of 3 because of his dad, who was also a musician. Then at 5, he composed his own music.
What church did bach compose music for?
Although Johann Sebastian Bach's church employment was strictly with those of the Lutheran faith, he composed music for the both the Lutheran church and Catholic Church.
Here is a brief outline of which churches he worked for. These are only the churches, he also had other appointments.
1703- August 9 appointed organist at Neuekirche in Arnstadt
1707- June moved to Mühlhausen, appointed organist at Blasiuskirche
1723- April 22 appointed to post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig; provided music for
the city's four principal churches;
What instruments were used in Beethoven's symphony No 4?
This is Mozart's most popular symphony among his 41 works of the genre. It is written for classical orchestra. The instruments: Flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 french horns and strings.
Did tyrone power play piano in the eddy duchin story?
From what I've read, Carman Cavellero dubbed in the music for the piano -- Tyrone just faked the fingering on it, but he did a masterful job of it.
