Bach, Beethoven & Others: Piano Works

Featuring

Ada Aria Rückschloß
César Franck
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sergei Prokofiev

Did you know?

1/7

Historical Context

Both César Franck and Franz Liszt intensely studied Bach's 'Well-Tempered Clavier', which was considered 'daily bread' for practice and study by musicians of their era.

Composer Biography

César Franck, born in December 1822, had a long-lasting friendship with Franz Liszt, based on mutual admiration and expressed through extensive correspondence.

Composer's Artistic Vision

César Franck's music is considered the birthplace of French Impressionism, bridging the harmonic language of the New German School (Liszt/Wagner) and modern sound-painting aesthetics.

Composer Biography

Franz Liszt, at age 11, left his homeland in December 1822 to travel to Vienna, where he received piano lessons from Carl Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven.

Instruments

The 'Well-Tempered Clavier' was written for a keyboard instrument, most widely the harpsichord, which was later replaced by the fortepiano.

Compositional Technique

César Franck's 1884 work 'Prélude, Choral et Fugue' is a homage to the old forms of prelude, chorale, and fugue, innovatively linked in a through-composed, motivically close-woven form.

Performer Biography

Ada Aria Rückschloss began piano lessons at age three and has won over 100 prizes in national and international competitions, performing throughout Europe and the USA.