Samuel Barber Piano

The evolution of the Sonata form in the Classical period and the Romantic era gave composers a platform to encourage and indulge their curiosity. Theses composers took a form an exploited it as limitless. They introduced new elements that combined the classical and romantic era bridging them like star crossed lover’s. In this essay, my aim with this paper is to present how one of the greatest forms in music inspired genius throughout the classical era and beyond.

In the second movement, the percussion section is more noticeable, especially at the beginning. This movement is also in D minor. The range of the melodic tune is dramatic. At times, I recognized the downbeat in three measures (da da da). This

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (1810-1849) is one of the world’s most famous and loved composers for the piano and his compositions are still one of the most played in classical concerts. He is best known for his beautiful melodies, which many have become timeless classics, such as the first section of the Op.10 no.3 etude, and the slow section of the Fantasie Impromptu. Rubenstein, one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, writes this: “Tragic, lyric, tastic,soulful,sweet, dreamy,brilliant, grand,simple,all possible expressions are found in his compositions, and are all sung by him upon this instrument in perfect beauty.”

The structure of the song is unusual as exactly half of the song is made up of the introduction. The song starts with a full minute of layered crescendoing cello, and then piano is introduced along with some light sung notes. As the instruments are introduced the piece diminuendos only to crescendo again. The dynamics of the introduction vary and sway to create not only a sense of anticipation but also a beautiful piece of music.

The first movement began with a very strong texture as the music reflected a very powerful theme. It began with the heavy instrumentation from the strings including cellos, violins, and basses. The tempo was also relatively fast and generally upbeat. About a minute and half in there was a very noticeable solo by the violins which was a bit softer in terms of the texture. The melody seemed to be very upbeat and cheerful. Lasting the form of the movement was very well structured and the instruments backed each other up smoothly.

The melody has an ascending shape as it moves in a crescendo. The fast tempo of this section creates an exciting and energetic mood. The Lentement section has a slow pace and is played in a minor key. It is homophonic and in duple meter. The tempo creates a smooth and relaxing mood. This section features a decrescendo and is conjunct with a relatively narrow range. Finally, the Allegro section is repeated.

ACT II starts off with a basso continuo playing in the background. The main voice then comes in and sings slowly and with much passion. This piece is more gloomy because of the words the singer sings. He describes him saying goodbye to the sky and sun. The melody is also sinking down when the singer mentions the word “morte”. When the singer mentions flying and height the song gains rhythms very quickly to imitate motion going up. ACT III starts off slow and descending. Then, a soft high pitched voice comes in singing slowly. Later in the song the voice rises into a higher range that creates emphasis on the words especially when the words exclaim. The words get higher and more intense as the song continues. The pieces are very similar in some

The overall key of this movement was major because the bright tone. The dissonant harmony was evident because the unresolved tone. The tempo of this movement was presto, or very fast, throughout. The dynamics varied quite often. From being mezzo forte and loud, it almost became fortissimo toward the middle and end. The structure seemed to be in a two-part or binary form. The second movement was called "Notturno." It was quite different from the first. This was a much slower and serious movement. The key was definitely a minor. The melody was smooth and legato. The harmony was often times resolving, or dissonant. The tempo remained andante and slow throughout this movement. The dynamics were very soft, or pianissimo, thus making this a very calming movement. It seemed to have a three-part ternary structure with some development in the middle. This movement was very appealing to the ears. It became very slow and resolving towards the end, as if it was intended to make one sleepy. The third movement made me wake up after the slow second movement. It started very abruptly and was noticeably played in a happy or major key. The melody was leaping or disjunct. The dissonant harmony was evident because of the tension building up. It uneasiness ended towards the middle when it began to sound humorous. The tempo was moderately fast, or allegretto throughout. The structure of this movement seemed to be ternary again because of the repetition of the

Frederick Chopin was a famous polish composer who lived for the years 1810-1840. Over his lifetime he has written many pieces such as preludes, nocturnes, preludes as well as sonatas. He is most famous for almost exclusively writing pieces solely for the piano. Chopin is very well known for his unique style, his songs can be very light and euphoric but also dark and emotional at the same time. He is often referred to as the “poet of the piano” and it is argued today that he was the most notable and important composer of the romantic era. It is also said that no one quite understood the pain to the degree Chopin did.

In the 18th century, the concerto was transformed into a viable instrumental genre to both demonstrate virtuosity as well as a cohesive character that embodied the natural. Though the series of changes from the Baroque concerto grosso to the Classical concerto were gradual and cannot be attributed to a single composer, the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a skillful representation of the genre in that era. Of particular interest in this concerto is the treatment of sonata form in the first movement. When compared to other instrumental genres of that era, there is a tangible divide between the sonata form of the concerto and that of other instrumental genres such as the symphony. To understand this

Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. Barber is considered one of the most expressive representatives of the lyric and Romantic Trends in the 20th century. He is regarded as one of the most distinguished composers to emerge in the twentieth-century.

Norman Dello Joio (1913-2008), one of American’s leading composers for the past four decades, successfully interweave the serious music with modern elements. In his surprisingly small amount of piano works, Sonata No.3 is a representative piano work of Norman Dello Joio. In this paper, the author will explore biography and historical background, analyses of the works, and performance consideration on this piece to illustrate the features of his music and the way how he connects traditional form with the modern elements.

Proceeding into the third movement, it has the traditional pattern of repetition of an elegant dance, Minuet, which makes it dance-like and lively through the use of rhythmic triplets, slurred notes and dotted

22 The movement opens with an arpeggiated figure, the trumpet enters with a very resigned tune. The upward leap at the beginning of the melody is the main feature of all phrases in this movement. The movement continues to build with each phrase before the unmuted section where the trumpet has an almost improvisatory accompaniment. After the high point the energy calms again towards the end of the movement.

Stravinsky’s “Piano Sonata,” has three movements. The first movement is quarter note equals 112, the second is adagietto and the third is quarter note equals 112 as well. This piece sounds very similar to compositions from the Baroque, Classical and Early Romantic eras. All three movements sound like a mixture of Bach and Beethoven. Stravinsky said that he was influenced greatly by Beethoven