SKU: A0.549703

Duration: ca. 58, score: 9 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 3 pages.This piece would be a perfect recital encore - short, energetic - leave your audience wanting more. Also, program this for your Christmas pageant.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is probably the most popular of the great composers in America. His music certainly appeals to musicians. Likewise, it appeals even to folks who don’t normally listen to serious music. This is probably because of his most noteworthy melodies. Above all, he writes with great emotion. This certainly makes a most noteworthy if not an unforgettable impact.

Education

First of all, He attended classes at the Russian Musical Society. Even more, He also attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied music theory with Nikolai Zaremba. He also consequently studied composition with Anton Rubenstein. It seems like Rubenstein came under criticism from a group of Russian composers known as the Five.

The Five

The Five certainly rejected Western musical influences. They rather sought to use elements from Russian music. They furthermore wanted to use more exotic musical materials.

Western Techniques

More than other Russian composers, Tchaikovsky studied modern Western music. He certainly develops his music like the European masters. So, rather than repeating a motive, he moves to a new key. He then introduces a different theme in the new key. Hence, he maintained his independence from the Five. Even more, he became the first Russian composer of international stature.

Influences

Tchaikovsky was probably influenced in his ballet scoring by Léo Delibes. Richard Wagner influenced his symphonic writing. Tchaikovsky’s most famous works include the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker Suite, and Swan Lake. Also famous are the Violin Concerto in D and the six symphonies. The greatest of the six symphonies may be No. 6, the Pathétique.

Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

The Nutcracker Suite is a ballet that was performed for the first time in December 1892 in St. Petersburg. To begin with, the original ballet failed to attract a positive reception. However, the ballet suite became probably one of the most popular of all of Tchaikovsky’s works. The ballet suite became even more famous in the 1960s. It is now performed all over the world, particularly during the Christmas season.

SKU: A0.994716

Fantasia for Clarinet and Piano.
Fantasia for Clarinet and Piano is part of my album Modern Chamber Music Vol. 1 by Darian Stavans.
Modern Chamber Music Vol. 1 is an academic proposal and a personal perspective of the times we live in. The compilation in this album includes works for small ensembles, duets for instruments like the clarinet and piano that establish metaphorical dialogs with each other in the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, as well as in the fantasia for the same instruments. Later we encounter a watery flow of deliciously fresh notes in the String Trio, a Neo-romantic piece. The album concludes with a Chamber Concert for Piano in three parts that exalts the old and classical manner of writing piano concerts. In this case, however, there are modern strokes and tonalities adorning this mix of textures and forms.  It is an academic conception in itself that brings remarkably fresh sounds to our day.
Clarinet and Piano work.
Chamber Music.
14 pages.
Duration: 6:04
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