S2.E76.Elgar Organ Sonata, Clara Schumann Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Ignaz Moscheles Piano Concerto 4

SPEAKER_01 0:09

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.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

If you go by the name of Mozart and you hail the organ to be the king of instruments, there's more than an outside chance that that definition will stick. And I think it's high time we heard something to demonstrate why. It's a pity that Elgar only wrote a couple of sonatas for the organ, and a little surprising too, given that he was a decent organist who played frequently in St. George's Catholic Church in Worcester. His first sonata was actually meant to be a voluntary for a group of American organists coming over to Worcester. But Elgar went the whole hog and wrote a sonata in four movements. The opening movement is marked Allegro Maitardoso, meaning riffically, energetically, or majestically. So if you're listening on headphones, you might want to turn down the volume of whisker over the opening bars as we listen to the first movement of Elgar's first organ sonata played by Jeffrey Macinson on the organ of Lincoln Cathedral. For now, I shall just say that there's no way that the music of her husband Robert would have thrived and endured without her. And actually, her own music would have had a better chance of a wider listening if she'd managed to keep her maiden name of Vika rather than forever being known as the wife of Robert. Three short and charming romances for violin and piano put the two instruments on an equal footing. Janine Janssen is on the violin, with Antonio Papano on the piano in the first, and with Dennis Kozukin in the second and third. Born on the 23rd of May 1794. And speaking of less known composers, I must apologize, especially to my fresh lessons for my mispronunciation of Darius. The date of his birth means that he arrived at back in between the transition from the classical to the romantic period. So both these stars, along with something of his own, can be heard in his music of his four piano concerts. The fourth is his most famous. So today we're going to conclude with a second and final movement. The slow movement opens with its lovely theme on the French horn, and that instrument is never far away, even once the piano enters. It also opens the final movement in a measured way before giving way to the chirpier woodwind. If you're listening overseas, it's possible you may not have heard of the march of the Grenadier Guards. But even if you have, you might be surprised to.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

That's it for this week. Nick will be back again soon. Please rate and comment on any of the previous episodes, and if you like what you hear, take a moment to press the follow button as it helps to spread the word.