maurice ravel
mother goose suite
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Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French composer of the early 1900s Modernist period. His music is generally considered to be "Impressionist" even though he rejected that categorization. Ravel composed operas, symphonic works, concertos, and chamber music. His splashy long crescendo Boléro is his most recorded and performed composition.
Ravel is well known and highly regarded for his orchestration skill - the practice of choosing specific instruments and combinations of instruments to produce different sound colors and textures. Mother Goose Suite began its life in 1908 as a piece of music for two players at one piano, or "piano four hands", which he wrote for the children of two close friends.
Martha Argerich & Pablo Galdo play Ravel Mother Goose Suite for piano four hands
By 1910 Ravel added more short pieces to form the 5 movement suite. In 1911 he orchestrated the suite for full orchestra, with an added Prelude and interstitial material, for a ballet production which was premiered in 1912.
Live performance of the complete ballet music by Minnesota Orchestra led by Thomas Søndergård
Since then Ravel's Mother Goose music has been most frequently performed by symphony orchestras in its original 5 movement suite version.
Live performance of the orchestrated suite by Frankfurt Radio Symphony led by Julian Keurti
Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant (Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty) -
This music sounds like we might be processing quietly through Sleeping Beauty's dreams, and features the flute, french horn, and violas right at the beginning in some of the most transparent and gauzy texture you could hear from an orchestra.
Petit Poucet (Tom Thumb) -
Little Tom Thumb wandering through the woods is brought to our ears via the violins in a rising line of notes that starts again several times, each time longer than the last, giving us a sense that Tom Thumb might be lost. The oboe, and then its lower voiced cousin the English horn, take the melody from there. Just when you've been lulled into a sense of suspended time, listen for birds beginning to stir things up with chirping in the solo violin, piccolo, and flute.
Laideronnette, Impératrice des pagodes (Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas) -
This music is the most colorful and splashy of the suite so far, using not only the woodwind soloists to shade the melody in a variety of ways but including lots of percussion as well. Ravel uses a 5 note 'pentatonic' scale commonly found in folk music around the world, and frequently used in Asian cultures, to create the evocative melody.
Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête (Conversations between Beauty and the Beast) -
This charming waltz begins with the clarinet depicting Beauty before introducing Beast with the low rumbling contrabassoon. The conversation continues waltzing from there until Beast transforms into the more graceful solo cello, responding to Beauty's solo violin statement
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Le Jardin féerique (The Enchanted Garden) -
Ravel's depiction of The Enchanted Garden is some of the most beautiful music ever written for orchestra. Sumptuous, shimmering, and transparent - you'll swear you haven't taken another breath the entire time you've been listening to it, and have levitated from your seat without realizing it.
🎉fun fact alert!🎉
Bookend fun facts, actually...
Guitarest Joe Walsh recorded the Pavane movement of the piano version using synthesizer on his 1974 album So What. 🤘🏽
Near the end of the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, the beautiful monologue about fully feeling pain in order to maintain the ability to feel joy is perfectly underscored with The Enchanted Garden music. ❤️
Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty, as performed on Joe Walsh's album So What
The Enchanted Garden, underscoring the monologue scene from Call Me By Your Name
Edvard grieg
piano concerto
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Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s (1843-1907) Piano Concerto is super engaging to listen to. Enjoy getting to know a bit more about the piece and composer, and have a great time listening!
HIGHLIGHTS
Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. He completed his only concerto for piano in 1868 at just 25 years old! It was premiered in Copenhagen in 1869 and has remained one of the most performed and celebrated piano concertos since then.
The Piano Concerto is in 3 movements and is a little less than half an hour long.
Potentially unsettling but definitely interesting fact: Grieg composed the piano concerto in a fit of artistic inspiration (fun!) after the birth of his daughter (yay!) with his wife of just a year (sweet!) — his cousin Nina. (um… okay…)
Grieg was a huge fan of Robert Schumann, who composed his only piano concerto just ten years earlier. There are similarities between Schumann’s concerto and Grieg’s including both being in the key of A Minor, and general stylistic similarities. For this reason they are sometimes confused with one another even though Grieg incorporated Norwegian folk elements into his concerto.
Famous pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff said this was the best concerto ever written!
This piece is one of the most popular and consistently performed piano concertos. For this reason it has also made its way into numerous popular culture references including the films Intermezzo and The Seventh Veil, the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a Jethro Tull tour, and the video game Civilization V. The one that has fortunately / unfortunately stood the test of time for some of us is the early 80s aerobics album Hooked On Classics. Look for it in the Extras section below, nestled between the Hallelujah Chorus and March of the Toreadors. You’re welcome! 🤓
Grieg’s score calls for solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, and the usual string section of violins, violas, cellos and basses. It pretty much looked like a musical Noah’s Ark until he later changed it to add 2 more horns and converted the tuba to a third trombone. Maybe that’s also what happened to the unicorns…
LISTENING MAP
Here is a listening map that can guide you through the piece. Read it in advance or while you’re listening!
MOVEMENT 1:
Allegro molto moderato (in English: Very medium fast)
This music gets started with flare! First a timpani roll and then an impressive and dramatic series of rhythmic chords in the solo piano from the higher register to the lower register of the instrument before we get to the main theme. Toward the end there is a cadenza for the piano soloist to really tear it up, and then to tie it all up we hear dramatic material similar to the beginning of the movement.
MOVEMENT 2:
Adagio (in English: Slow)
This music is slower and more lyrical. It guides us through a ruminative meditation and elides directly into the final movement.
MOVEMENT 3:
Allegro moderato molto e marcato (in English: Very medium fast and marked)
This music is rollicking fun, based on Norwegian folk music and the “halling dance" which is an athletic dance mostly performed by an individual dancer. Check out the videos in the Extras section below for a closer look into the Norwegian halling dance. 😎
RESOURCES
A great short “behind the scenes” clip with pianist Alexandra Dariescu
A recent performance with inspirational pianist Alice Sara Ott
A historical performance with iconic pianist Arthur Rubinstein
super fun NERD activities!
CONSIDER AND DISCUSS:
Edvard Grieg is considered a major cultural icon in Norway, and is generally recognized as a leading Romantic era composer. Still, some of the expressions of this found worldwide can seem a little odd. For example, there is a large statue of Grieg in Seattle, a crater on Mercury is named after him, and one of the largest hotels in his hometown is named after him. Consider how a person’s reputation and legacy can eclipse the specific thing they “do”. In Grieg’s case he was a musician and composer, but due to his documentation of Norwegian folk music he became more broadly revered as a cultural advocate and prominent historical figure. Have a “Consider and Discuss” conversation with your buddies about big and small examples of this you can find. Include yourselves in this conversation!
SEARCH AND IMAGINE:
The main theme of the last movement is influenced by the Norwegian “halling dance”, which is a very rhythmic and athletic type of solo folk dance. You can hear this reflected in the music as Grieg chooses heavy accented sounds amid playful quick sounds. Have some fun searching on the internet for various styles of popular dance throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and try to imagine how you might make a piece of music for orchestra that reflected these dances!
Extras!
Spectacularly addictive and rewardingly annoying - 3:37-4:20 for the best experience...
A live halling dance competition video
A fun behind the scenes tutorial that shows the elements of the Norwegian halling dance
In case you don't think Beethoven could be improved with some twerking...
pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 in e minor
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Riddled with self doubt, writer’s block, and periods of illness while working on it, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) nevertheless created an enduring piece of music for full orchestra in his 5th Symphony. It is a great example of his gift for creating music with a strong sense of drama. From the slow brooding opening of the first movement to the triumphant march music in the final movement, it engages us in considering our own messy and beautiful human experience all the way through.
highlights
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed a total of 6 symphonies for full orchestra. He wrote his Symphony No. 5 in the span of just 4 months in the summer of 1888. The arguably more popular 4th and 6th symphonies were written 10 years prior and 5 years later, respectively. Symphony No. 5 was premiered in St Petersburg, conducted by Tchaikovsky himself, just 3 months after he completed it. He was 48 years old.
Symphony No. 5 in E minor lasts for about 45 minutes and is in four sections called movements. Each movement has its own unique characteristics and function, but Tchaikovsky uses a cyclical technique of a recurring ‘motto’ theme in each movement which ties the whole piece of music together.
Despite initial critical responses being mixed, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 has enjoyed overall success and enduring popularity. It became especially popular to perform and record during World War 2 as a symbol of triumph over conflict.
Tchaikovsky’s score calls for 3 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and the usual large string section of violins, violas, cellos, and basses. No signature Tchaikovsky splashy cymbals, nor any percussion other than timpani in this one!
Live performance with Queensland Symphony led by Alondra de la Parra
Explore the Music
Here is a listening map that can guide you through the symphony. Read it in advance or while you’re listening!
Movement 1: Andante - Allegro con anima (in English: Medium pace – Quick with spirit)
We start with a darkly colored slow introduction carried by low strings and winds, and a melody in the clarinet.
At about the 2:30 mark we get moving with a swirling march that builds to a brightly colored main theme. This music takes us through texture and mood shifts with plucking strings, musical conversations between instrument groups, and outbursts of energy from the brass.
Around 8 minutes into it, listen for the super rad bassoons who start a big musical debate with the french horns and eventually involve the rest of the orchestra. At the 9 minute mark things calm down a bit and the solo bassoon offers a more conciliatory gesture that continues through clarinet, flute, and finally to the strings.
For the remaining 5 or so minutes the music churns back and forth between restless, contemplative, or energetic moments, and then finishes by winding back down to the dark colored sounds of the opening.
Movement 2: Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza (in English: Medium pace songlike, with any license)
This music starts with solemn lower pitched chords, which then continue underneath an iconic, beautiful melody in the horn lasting all the way past the 2 minute mark where we hear a brief dialogue between horn and oboe before being handed off to other instruments.
Around 3 minutes in, the entire cello section takes up the primary melody and pushes it to its dramatic limit with the help of the rest of the orchestra. This opens the door to the second big melody of this movement, played in the violins with pulsing rhythms underneath.
The middle section features solos from wind instruments (again listen for the awesome bassoons!), and pushes us through some searching sounds through to an emotional outburst, a sudden silence, and then a layered reflection on the main opening melody begins around 7 and a half minutes in.
A sudden shift in mood occurs about 4 minutes later when the brass bring back material from the first movement. The clarinet and bassoon bring us back to the soothing melody and we finish with the strings winding this melody down lower and lower to a final “word” from the clarinet.
Movement 3: Valse: Allegro moderato (in English: Waltz: Medium quick)
Tchaikovsky brings some light and playfulness to our ears with this lovely waltz. Not to keep harping (punny!) about the bassoon, but this instrument is featured so frequently in compelling solo and interesting support roles throughout this movement that you should train your ears to listen specifically for it – even while the strings are playing roughly one million notes in the most graceful turns. Its first solo is around 1 minute in, but it has already been sneakily deployed as a melody partner with the oboe for example. The bassoon’s energetic punctuations are also fun “Easter eggs” for your ears to find. Give it a try! Because BASSOON!
Movement 4: Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace (in English: Ending: Medium pace, stately – Quick, lively )
The opening music of this movement suggests a return to formality but less than 1 minute into it we hear a texture change that suggests it may not be all straightened neckties and shined shoes. This introduction comes to a peak heralded by the trumpets at about 2 and a half minutes in, and then transitions downward to a ferocious outburst of energy from the orchestra that propels us into the layered swirling pulsing rhythms and melodies that characterize this whole movement. It’s a real tour de force for the orchestra, riding wave after wave of energy shifts at a rapid breathless pace until, about 10 minutes in, there is a big broad sounding march that gives way to a final surge and brilliantly triumphant ending.
Consider and Discuss
Despite the overall success and enduring popularity of the 5th Symphony, initial critical responses weren’t great. One Russian critic managed to be blunt and yet still positive – “The Fifth Symphony is the weakest of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, but nevertheless it is a striking work, taking a prominent place not only among the composer’s output but among Russian works in general.” A downright fiery complaint came from a Boston reviewer, regarding the Finale movement, “The furious peroration sounds like nothing so much as a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy, the music growing drunker and drunker. Pandemonium, delirium tremens, raving, and above all, noise worse confounded!” Following the second performance Tchaikovsky wrote about the ending of the piece, “I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure.” However, after a year and many new performances he wrote “The Fifth Symphony was again performed magnificently, and I have started to love it again; my earlier judgement was undeservedly harsh.”
Consider resilience and the concept of failure as a doorway to success. Can you put yourself in Tchaikovsky’s shoes? What do you think might have contributed to his ability to overcome self doubt and harsh criticism of his creative work?
Get Active
Tchaikovsky is well known for his dramatic works such as the ballet “Swan Lake” and opera “Queen of Spades”. Much of his symphonic literature seems to rely on a well developed sense of drama, even though it is non-programmatic (doesn’t support a storyline or linear concept). This symphony is full of intense dramatic moments as well as lighter ones. Let’s explore some ways in which Tchaikovsky conveys these moods or dramatic moments in his 5th Symphony.
First find your nerd crew! Lead a discussion or consider how music can convey drama. Focus on elements such as tempo (speed), rhythms, dynamics (loudness/softness), and orchestration (instrument choices and combinations). For example, what instrument/s might best be used to evoke surprise? What dynamics would you choose to represent action, or a moment of great suspense? What kinds of rhythms might best convey joy or sorrow? Note some of these answers and ideas for comparison to Tchaikovsky’s later when you listen to the performance.
Next consider how to make transitions from one mood or dramatic moment to another using some of the ideas generated in the first exercise. How do we effectively “get from here to there” musically? What might two very contrasting moments require that similar ones might not? Sudden shifts? A break in sound? Could the transition itself be thought of as a dramatic moment? In what ways?
Finally, have some creative fun! Brainstorm a basic description of two musical moods and the transition between them. [Example: angry fast music in the whole orchestra which becomes slow and more sparse until only the clarinet and triangle are left playing a simple tune] Now lead your awesome nerd crew through an improvisation of your description using clapped rhythms, instruments (homemade is okay!) or voices. This may take some planning, but doesn’t need to achieve “perfection” in order to work. In fact, the sillier and/or more dramatic the better!
Listening to the Symphony
Now that you’ve had a chance to consider, discuss, and get active around elements of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony it’s time to listen to a performance. There are all sorts of ways to engage as a listener, especially if you're listening at home instead of the concert hall. Sing along to the melodies as your ear learns them, move and dance to the unique rhythms and character of each movement, listen for the way instrument sounds are woven together and pieced apart, observe how dramatic moments are created, or just turn the volume up and listen for sheer pleasure! Have a discussion afterward. How does this music make you feel? Did your ears notice anything in particular that was surprising, soothing, exciting, expected? Is it time to get a better set of speakers so you can pump up the symphonic jams even more? 😎😎😎
Please share your experience with me! I would love to hear about it or see any of your activities, journaling, or creations!
🎉FUN FACT ALERT🎉
Like many great symphonic genre tunes, Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony inspired songwriters and arrangers. Andre Kostelanetz, Mack David, and Mack Davis to set words to the 2nd movement melody, creating the song “Moon Love”. This song was recorded by many jazz giants of the day, and was most famously arranged by Nelson Riddle for Frank Sinatra’s 1966 album Moonlight Sinatra. The melody of John Denver's classic Annie's Song begins nearly exactly the same way as the horn solo of the 2nd movement and NERD ALERT it's in the same key! "Farewell, Amanda", written by Cole Porter for the film Adam's Rib, takes inspiration from the 4th movement.
Awesome!
Catherine - really great - nerd stuff -have them record your talk and post after