Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 55, No. 2
A member of Chopin’s circle called this Nocturne “the dangerous one… the fatal nocturne.”
Author: Benjamin Pesetsky
Benjamin Pesetsky is a composer and writer. He serves on the staff of the San Francisco Symphony and also contributes program notes for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony.
Claude Debussy: Images, Book 2
Debussy was not so interested in making musical versions of paintings as he was in getting at the same kinds of ideas that art did, but by other means.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 15 in F major, K. 533/494
There’s something cynical about Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 15, which takes a childlike idea and twists it into something quite adult.
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
In 1840 Robert Schumann declared Mendelssohn “the Mozart of the 19th century” in response to his Piano Trio No. 1.
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major
Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 was a long time in the making, with the first ideas put down as early as 1922 and the premiere in 1927—all for about 17 minutes of music. He struggled with depression as his musical output slowed to a trickle.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2
Beethoven’s second cello sonata has an unusual form: its first two movements are combined, beginning with an Adagio and then transitioning into a more typical Allegro.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Suites for Solo Cello
Bach’s six solo suites are the companions of every modern cellist. Some are simple enough to play after just a few years of study, others wait for a higher level of technical mastery.
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7 was written at the height of World War II and premiered just as the Russian Army came within reach of victory at Stalingrad.
Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 tells a story that emerges at the intersection of the imaginations of the composer, performer, and listener.
Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas
The keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti comes down to us in hand-copied volumes made for his patron and student, Princess Maria Bárbara of Portugal, who later became queen of Spain.