Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' translates the scenes of Russian painter Viktor Hartmann into 'sound pictures,' with individual parts connected by a 'Promenade' theme.
Composition History
Liszt's 'Après une lecture de Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata' was inspired by Dante Alighieri's 'Divina commedia' and was later incorporated into his 'Années de pèlerinage' cycle.
Cultural Impact
Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata was initially known as the 'Arbour Sonata' and only received its enduring name after the composer's death, from the German journalist Ludwig Rellstab.
Composer Biography
Franz Liszt, a child prodigy, studied with Carl Czerny, a student of Beethoven, and later with Antonín Rejcha, a Bohemian teacher whose famous students also included Hector Berlioz and César Franck.
Composition History
Beethoven's two piano works, Opus 27, including the 'Moonlight' Sonata, were titled 'Sonata quasi una fantasia' because they both begin with a slow movement, an unusual structure for sonatas at the time.
Performer Biography
Yuko Batik, a Japanese pianist, began her musical journey in Tokyo and later moved to Austria, where she studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Modest Mussorgsky was part of 'the Mighty Handful,' a group of Russian composers who believed the Russian idiom could significantly contribute to European music, both theoretically and ethically.
You might also enjoy...
Feilmair plays Beethoven, Feilmair, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Villa-Lobos
Stravinsky: Trois mouvements de Petrouchka, The Firebird
