A Chamber of Miniatures. Rossini Sonata for Strings; Beethoven Quartet from Fidelio and String Quartet 13; Faure Chansons sans Parole and his Berceuse; and a novel take on Bach Cma Prelude No.1

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Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young. Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

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We've not listened to a great deal of Rossini's music in the past, an overture or two, and some of its starbasmata. I'm certainly not qualified enough to answer this dilemma, but I've never been able to make up my mind if he's either the most underrated composer of all time or the most overrated. His contemporary success and popularity are beyond dispute. And he'd amassed enough wealth from his 39 operas to retire in his 30s and write very little thereafter. But nor can we dispute that there's an instantly identifiable formula, not merely styled to his overtures, which might lead him to being viewed as predictable and repetitive. So, if that makes a valid case for the overrated argument, how then do we explain this? At the age just twelve, Rossini wrote six an artist for strings. They may not have the sophisticated of the mature works of Mozart, Beethoven, or Mendelssohn, but not even these great names had written anything like his developers by the same age. Apart from a completely forgettable song, these were the first pieces Rossini had composed and lay undiscovered until just seventy years ago. They're full of the freshness which would later define his operas. Here is the first of them in full, played by the Academy of the Saint Martin in the Fields, led on the violin by Neville Mariner. Beethoven wrote just one opera, Fidelio. In short, it's the story of Leonora disguised as a young man called Fidelio, who comes to try and help her husband Floristan escape from prison. As such, it has all the ingredients of good over evil, injustices but right, and so on, all very topical for early 19th-century Europe. I'm not sure that Beethoven had the greatest respect for the capabilities and constraints of the human voice. He just wrote what he wanted and expected it to be delivered. But here is a simple and completely exquisite passage. The same lines found by four characters, just a bar or two behind one another, each expressing how they feel. We're in a slightly ridiculous situation at this point. But Selena, the prison governor's daughter, has fallen for the daily, who, remember, is Florestan's wife, disguised as a man. So she's thinking this is a bit awkward. And the governor is fully behind the match as well. But Yakino is not so thrilled as he's watching the object of his desire to declare love for someone else, albeit unwittingly a woman. One or two of them are going to be in for a bit of a surprise before long. But in the meantime, Beethoven brings a delightful sensitivity to their temporary delusions. The four singers here are Amanda Forsyth, Lisa Davidson, Gail Zuppenfeld, and Robin Trichler, in a live performance from the Royal Opera House Coven Garden conducted by Antonio Papano. Beethoven's gift for writing such sensitive music is matched by his ability to summon the cheeriest of melodies. In November 1826, he had just months to live and was almost completely deaf. During this time, he was able to conclude the last of his 16-string quartets. These two minutes, which make up the fourth movement out of six, in his 13th quartet, give you not the slightest clue of the torment he was going through. The effects of it is given the title Ala Danza to Data. In the style of a German dance. And it's as bright and smiley as it's possible to be. Can you begin to imagine hearing all these parts only in your head and then writing them down? No. I can't either. The fourth movement of Beethoven String Quartet number thirteen is made here by the Takash Quartet. Much of the attention paid to his music these days focuses on his choral work. The Requiem, his pavant, and the Contique de Jean Racine, to name the obvious one. But the body of his piano and chamber music is substantial, covering every range between romanticism and the shift to eternal music in the early 20th century. And I don't think we hear anything like enough of it. So let's listen to two early works, one for piano and the other for cello and piano. Are three charming pieces that are far from easy to play. Even the great tight reader Francis struggled to get the grip to them. They may show plenty of influence on the likes of Chopper, Schumann, and Middleton. But in the end, they have their own refresh and charming identity. Catherine Stock is at the piano. And then we will follow it immediately with either about thirds of the piano and cello. With Connie T on the piano and Stephen Slider on the cello. It's a lesson is a huge over T or Forex, even naming itself after him. And his affinity with the music signs to his playing. This is as good a time as any to relay a story I once heard about, I think, the great violinist Yasha Heifetzer. When Elkmar observed that that instrument makes a wonderful sound, Heifitzer raised it to his ear, and after a pause replied, I don't hear anything. The point he was trying to make was clear enough, and I mention it because Isolis plays the Marquis de Cobor Stradivarius. You'll hear that it has a particularly rich bass, but that sound is only allowed to come through with a touch of a master like Italy, in whose hand the bow produces this beautiful warm line from start to finish. So the chalsons of the holder start, and then the bells, and we're going to be able to do that. Otherwise, I'd be in breach of a copyright. But I had the good fortune to meet a jazz pianist Jules Holland recently, and we got chatting about his love of classical music. I asked him if he'd ever incorporated it into his own work, and he directed me to this and kindly giving me permission to use it. So we'll conclude this little collection of miniatures with the prelude number one by Johann Sebastian Bach. That's transcribed by Jules Holland with the help of his Rhythm of Blues Band.

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