Category: Piano
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Debussy’s Préludes, Books 1 & 2 — What the Impressionist Label Hides
What the Impressionist label hides
In a 1908 letter to his publisher, Debussy called 'Impressionism' a word critics use to disguise their ignorance. Where he hid the titles of his twenty-four Préludes, and the piano roll where he overruled his own printed score.
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Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2
The Two-Minute Piece That Held Rachmaninoff Hostage for Fifty Years
Rachmaninoff wrote this two-minute sketch at nineteen in a matter of days. For fifty years, audiences in every city demanded it as an encore. He came to resent it, and barely earned a cent from it due to a careless…
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Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
The ten minutes that saved a man's life in wartime Warsaw
Schumann left Leipzig in 1836 with a manuscript and one verdict: 'the work closest to his genius.' Chopin agreed — his most beloved piece. A century later, a German officer heard this ballade played by a Jewish pianist hiding in…
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Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2
Nocturne in E-flat Major Op.9 No.2: A Night Song Written in Exile
Discover the story behind Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat major—its composition during his exile in 1830s Paris, the musical structure and ornamental genius of each section, and the best recordings to start with.
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Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux, Op. 39
Nine études with hidden images — Russia's last gift before the exile
Rachmaninoff called them 'études-tableaux' — study-pictures — and then refused to name the pictures. The only clues came from Respighi, who pressed him years later and received a partial list. Nine études in total, and they were the last solo…
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Mozart’s Twelve Variations on ‘Ah vous dirai-je, Maman’, K.265
How a French love song became the world's most universal melody
Everyone knows "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Kids sing it in every country on Earth. But did you know the original melody was a love song?
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Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ‘Appassionata’, Op. 57
The Sonata Beethoven Nearly Threw into a River
A sudden downpour soaked Beethoven's manuscript in 1806. He kept writing. The 'Appassionata' arrived ink-smeared and furious — a piece so relentless that Beethoven refused to perform it publicly for years, afraid of what it revealed.
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Beethoven Piano Sonatas: The Complete Guide to All 32 Works
32 Masterworks That Define the Piano
All 32 Beethoven piano sonatas explored in one comprehensive guide — from the youthful Op. 2 set through the revolutionary late works, with essential recordings and expert listening advice.
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Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Pathétique’
The publisher chose Pathetique. Beethoven never argued.
The title was not Beethoven's idea. In 1799, the publisher's editor chose Pathétique. Beethoven was twenty-eight and sensing his hearing failing. He never said so. He wrote the sonata anyway, and buried the slow introduction inside the first movement —…
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Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor ‘Moonlight’, Op. 27 No. 2
The name 'Moonlight' is a critic's invention — Beethoven never wrote it
The score says only "Quasi una fantasia." No moonlight, no lake, no romantic scene. A German critic named Rellstab added that in 1832 — five years after Beethoven died — and two centuries later, his metaphor has completely erased the…