Lisztonian: Classical Piano Music

I almost forgot about this one! The tenth in Burgmuller's set of 25 etudes for piano - I forgot I had recorded this one along with the previous nine and just came across it. This etude (exercise) is intended to provide technique for repeated notes played by independant fingers. It's short and sweet.

I've finally completed the last Sonatina in Clementi's Opus 36! I actually recorded this over a year ago and am just barely getting around to releasing it. I apologize for the long delay. I hope that you will enjoy my recording of this work!

The next in the Clementi Sonatina set that I've been working on. This was actually recorded many months ago, but I haven't had time to publish it :-) This performance did not turn out great. I would label it as "sloppy" and "rushed" in many parts. However, I am just as human and prone to fallibility as the next pianist (perhaps more so!)... I hope that you will enjoy this recording of Clementi's Sonatina Op. 26, No. 5!!!

Apparently this is my first release of a Brahms piece on my website! I did not realize I was missing such an important composer in the classical reportory until now... This piece is a beautiful Intermezzo by Brahms - one that was introduced to me by a colleague at Washington University in St. Louis. The piece has a wonderful way of playing with dissonant harmonies, coming to quick and peaceful resolution - only to be disrupted again by a twist of harmonics. It's quite wonderful. I believe this is one of those pieces of music that is far more enjoyable to play than to listen to - so for all of you pianists out there, be sure to add this to your list of works! Simply listening to the various harmonies and how they interact (or cease to interact) is a wonderful study in music and leads to some great pedal-work as well! Enjoy!

The next in the set of 25 Burgmuller Etudes: Op. 100 No. 9. This one is fun to play... if you haven't already, give it a try!

Here is the next in the set of Burgmuller's Etudes - Op. 100 No. 8. It is titled "The Sweet Grace." I hope that you enjoy this recording!

Continuing the set of Burgmuller's Op. 100 - this recording is of No. 7, titled "By the limpid stream." I had to look up the meaning of "limpid," which means clear, or transparent. Hearing the recording after the fact, I think I would have taken it a touch slower and muted the inner notes more. I hope you enjoy the recording.

Here is the next recording in the set of 6 sonatinas by Muzio Clementi - Op. 36 No. 4. Just two more to go! I hope that you enjoy the recording.

This is a very well-known melody by the American composer, Edward MacDowell. He has wonderful music, including this piece, and I encourage pianists everywhere to get to know his music. I hope to record several more of his works over the coming months and years. This piece is often played as prelude or postlude in churches or for weddings. It has a beautiful melody and is accompanied by an equally beautiful harmonic progression. As my first recording of an American composer, I hope that you enjoy it!

The next in the set of Etudes by Burgmuller. A fun piece that I highly recommend!

A beautiful, short piece by Chopin... his "Cantabile" in B-flat is a well-known work that provides a few subtle challenges wrapped in simple melody and carried by enchanting harmonies. I hope that you enjoy my recording of this work - recorded at home on my 1941 Steinway AIII.

The fifth in Burgmuller's set of 25 etudes for piano. This one is intended to provide practice for developing quick and nimble fingers in the right hand. A fun piece to play and highly recommended.

The fourth in Burgmuller's set of 25 etudes for piano. This one is intended to provide practice for using thirds in both right and left hands. Recorded on my Steinway AIII, I hope you enjoy the recording!

Here is No. 3 in Burgmuller's set of 24 etudes for piano, Op. 100. Recorded on my Steinway AIII. I hope that you enjoy it!

The second etude in Burgmuller's Opus 100. This one is fairly well recognized. I think I found some better recording settings with this one than I used on the first etude. This was recorded on my Steinway AIII - a fun piece that I hope you enjoy!

The first etude in a set of 25 by Burgmuller. I will be publishing all 25 eventually. This recording was made using a couple of new microphones - nothing fancy, but reduces the noise on my recordings. I hope you enjoy this set of etudes!

Here is a short piece by Cesar Franck that I came across in one of my sheet music sets. I love the melody and the way that Franck uses hanging tones to harmonize. This recording is dedicated to a young listener, Sayuri, from Brazil. I hope that she will enjoy listening to this recording!

A brief work that has some surprisingly difficult dynamics to it. This was recorded at my home on my Steinway A III. I hope that you enjoy this recording.

A short work by Samuel Arnold (1740-1802). I discovered this piece in a music compliation book by Alfred. This was recorded at my home on my Steinway AIII. I hope that you enjoy it!

My first recording of a work by Burgmuller. I discovered this work in Alfred's "Classical Music for the Church Service: Volume 2." I apologize in advance if people stumbled on this piece looking for one of the many other works titled, "Ave Maria." :-) This recording was performed at my home on my Steinway A III. I hope that you enjoy it!

Alexander Goedicke was a Russian composer and pianist who, despite having no formal training in composition, was quite gifted in composition. There is little information on this short work, but I find the melody to be enchanting. This recording was performed at my home, on my Steinway AIII. I hope that you enjoy this recording.

This is the 3rd Sonatina in Clementi's Op. 36. I admit that I am not too pleased with how I played this piece and it is definitely one of those that I may have to re-record in the future. But for now, I hope that somebody out there benefits from this release. Enjoy!

It's finally here! I've had a request for the popular "Clair de lune" more times than any other work. I finally committed to recording this a couple of weeks ago and here it is! I hope that my interpretation and recording will not be a disappointment to those who have patiently waited. Clair de Lune, translated as "moonlight" is one of Debussy's most popular pieces. It is a beatiful work that has much room for interpretation. In fact, the debates about how this work should be played can become quite heated. Although it was composed in 1882, it was not published until 1926. Apparently, this piece has had a resurgence of popularity due to the release of the movie Twilight - as it appears as a bonus track on the movie's soundtrack. I've never seen the movie, but if you have, and you liked it, then maybe this recording will mean even more to you. This recording was completed in my home on my Steinway A III piano. I hope that you enjoy it!

This is a recording of the third movement/section of Schumann's masterpiece, Fantasy in C. This movement is one of my all-time favorite works in the piano literature. Edited by his wife, Clara, this work was originally dedicated to Franz Liszt, although later editions did not include the dedication. I view this as a highly passionate and energetic work, despite the deceptively (in some ways) slower-paced tempo throughout this movement. The listener will find a great number of ways to interpret and digest the music presented in this recording, just as I have found so many ways of interpreting it as the performer. I hope that you enjoy my recording of Schumann's Fantasy in C, Opus 17.

As requested by a listener, this is No. 2 of Clementi's Six Sonatinas Op. 36. Recorded on my Steinway AIII. I hope that you enjoy this latest recording.

The Ecossaise is a Scottish dance, usually in 2/4 time. It is known for the energetic rhythm and wide-ranging dynamics. This particular Ecossaise was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1823. This happens to be my first recording on my newly-acquired grand piano! I can't believe how much better the sound quality is on this piano as compared to my previous recordings. Hopefully you will all enjoy the improvement in sound!

Bach's Invention No. 1 in C Major is one of his most well-known works, as it typically makes it into the repertory of most piano students. As a result, I decided I had better make a recording of it. I hope you enjoy my sight-reading recording of Bach's Invention No. 1 in C Major! This recording was made at my home on my studio upright.

I have had several people request that I record some Debussy preludes so here is the first! This prelude is one of Debussy's best-known works. It was composed just over 100 years ago and appeared in Debussy's first book of preludes. This piece is composed after the legend of the city of Ys (pronounced "ees") - which was engulfed in the sea but was allowed to rise out of the sea once each day to serve as a reminder of the great city that was lost. Part of the legend, which is so critical to this work, is the sound of the church bells that you first begin to hear as the city rises from the sea. The piece starts off with the sound of these bells, and after some fantastic imagery, evolves into the resounding and powerful sound of the church's organ. The city then begins to slowly sink again into the sea. The imagery in this work is astounding and Debussy's ingenius interpretation of this legend is deserving of the highest praise.

This is my first recording of a work by Muzio Clementi. I thank one of the visitors to my Facebook page for suggestion a recording by Clementi! Clementi wrote many, many Sonatas (and Sonatinas) for the piano and was considered the first great composer for the piano (or pianoforte). His works were inspirational to many great musicians and composers including Beethoven. I hope that you will enjoy my recording of this complete Sonatina (all three movements).

This is the first variation on the Aria from Bach's famous Goldberg Variations. This set of variations on a simple Aria is one of the greatest keyboard works available. Bach demonstrates his unique capability to compose so many different styles of music within the constraints of counterpoint as well as the theme upon which the variations are composed. The entire work is truly a brilliant masterpiece of music. This recording of the first variation is a bit premature as you will notice several slip-ups and some problems with tempo consistency. However, despite being away from the piano for several months I wanted to release something to keep the website fresh, so I dug up this recording out of an archive. Despite the obvious weaknesses, I hope that you will enjoy my rendition of the first Variation from Bach's Goldberg Variations.

This is a personal arrangement of Bach's Prelude in B-flat Minor BWV 867 - The Well-Tempered Clavier, Vol 1. As I played this piece, I mentally converted it from the minor key of B-flat to the parallel major key. I did this as a demonstration of how such simple alterations in music can make such a dramatic difference on the emotions and thoughts that the music evokes. Please click here (or visit the site) to listen to this work played in the original minor key and then listen to this arrangement again - hopefully you'll enjoy both!

This is one of those preludes that is great for those times when words just cannot express the longings of the heart. To me, this prelude is like a lamentation or a mourning - something heartfelt and sincere. It is also in a fairly uncommon key - that of B flat minor. I hope that you enjoy my recording of this work.

This work is the sixth piece from Liszt's "Harmonies poetiques et religieuses" (Poetic and Religious Harmonies). This work has some very beautiful harmonies and chord progressions. The majority of this work is in the key of A-flat, which is a very loving and dreamlike key for Liszt. He throws in a few changes to the important key of E-major, which, to Liszt, was a very religious key. I especially love the way that he transforms the key of A-flat right before the Andantino section into the wonderful key of F. He uses the F-major IV, V, I cadence to lead from the B-flat minor (the II chord in A-flat, the current key) to a beautiful suspension of C major that then resolves into F major. He then returns to the dominant key with a beautiful climax and then ends this work with a common "hymn" ending of IV-I (D-flat to A-flat). It is absolutely wonderful! I hope that you enjoy my recording of this beautiful work by the Great Franz Liszt.

This is simply a compilation of the last three recordings put together to make the entire sonata. I also adjusted the volume to make it a little louder.

This is the third and final movement to Mozart's Sonata in F Major (K 300k). This has been a fun sonata to record and got me hooked on learning a few other Mozart sonatas that I will hopefully be recording and releasing in the coming months. I hope you enjoy my recording of Mozart's Sontat in F, "Allegro" (3rd Movement).

This is the 2nd movement of Mozart's Sonata in F Major and is a beautiful piece. I enjoy playing this piece during the calm, quite moments of the evening or early morning hours. This recording was completed at my home on my studio upright piano.

This is the first movement of Mozart's Sonata K 300k. It was composed during the summer of 1778. Stay tuned for the remaining two movements, as they will be released over the next several weeks. I hope you enjoy my recording of Mozart's F Major Sonata.

This Etude is comes from a set of Etudes that Liszt originally composed in his youth, but later revised to become 12 of the most technically challenging works for the piano. This is the eighth in the set. The etudes were composed in 1851 and published the following year. They were composed during the period of Liszt's life where he focused his efforts on fine-tuning his piano technique and earned his well-deserved reputation as the greatest pianist of his day and possibly the greatest pianist of all time. This etude is a fast-paced work that challenges the hands in many ways. I have enjoyed this work ever since it was first introduced to me in college and I am happy that I finally have taken the time to record it. I hope that you enjoy my recording of Liszt's transcendental etude No 8 - Arthur's Chase! This recording took place at my home and was performed on my studio upright.

This is the piece of music made famous by Bugs Bunny! One of the all-time favorite classical piano works - Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. I only recorded excerpts from this piece for two reasons. First, because I used this as an audition piece for a talent competition for which the perfomance had to be under three minutes. Second, because I haven't learned to play the rest well enough to record it! I hope you enjoy my recording of excerpts from Liszt's most famous Hungarian Rhapsody!

This is the second of two menuets found in Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major (Opus 1). I've always enjoyed this brief section of the work and it includes some tricky finger work despite the deceitfully simple harmonies. Bach certainly had a way of emphasizing the subtle harmonies to invigorate the soul! Bach himself wrote the following on the title page of the first volume of the Clavierubung (which consists of the 6 partitas): Keyboard Training, consisting of Preludes, Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, Gigues, Menuets and other Galanteries, dedicated to Music Lovers for the Pleasure of their Minds

This is my first recording of a piece by Stephen Heller. Heller lived the same life span as Franz Liszt, only offset by two years (Heller was 1813-1888 and Liszt was 1811-1886). Heller, like Liszt, was best known for his piano works and was quite a talented and famous composer for the greater part of his life. However, his reputation had all but dissappeared towards the end of his life. Heller produced an enormous volume of piano music and I enjoyed recording this brief work. This recording was completed at home on my studio upright.

This is my first recording of a work by Isaac Albeniz. Albeniz was a Spanish composer born in 1860 who studied with several famous musicians, including the Great Franz Liszt. This work is from a larger Suite (Suite Espanola - Spanish Suite) which was composed in 1886. I hope you enjoy my recording of Albeniz's Granada.

This is my first recording of any kind of work of Strauss and is a famous polka. This music has been transcribed for various groups and instruments as it is a popular and fun-loving tune. The work was composed in 1858 and is a fun one to play. The recording was made at my home on my studio upright.

This is a re-recording from my first, "Ave Maria" version of this prelude. I decided to record this work again in the original form which omits measure 23 of my previous recording. This false measure found its way into many well-known publications despite the fact that it is not authentic. I discovered this several months ago after purchasing Alfred's wonderful edition of the Well Tempered Clavier (book 1). I realized that my first recording was incorrect and decided that I should eventually remake the recording. Several weeks ago I had an astute listener further convince me when he pointed out that my recording was incorrect. So I have finally buckled down and recorded this beautiful prelude in its original form, but still with my own flair.

This is my first recording of a work by Scriabin. Scriabin's music has a very unique and recognizable style to it. He was a talented pianist and lived an interesting "mystic" life with music at the center. This particular Etude was composed in 1887. The haunting melody is quite simple in that it merely ascends up the minor scale, with a short jump from the fifth to the octave with a quick descent to the sixth. This phrase then repeats throughout the work beginning on a variety of intervals and keys. As each phrase ends with a feeling of incompleteness, it provides the piece with a longing feeling - a need to return to "home" or the tonic. As the larger phrase finally makes its way back to the tonic, the journey there is through a descent back through the minor scale adding to the somber feelings that are stirred through this work. This piece has become a favorite of mine to play during times of reflection and "longing". Sometimes in life we find ourselves simply feeling an incompleteness even we cannot fully understand why. This piece is particularly reflective of that emotional state. I hope you enjoy my interpretation and recording of Scriabin's Etude in C-sharp Minor. This recording was made at my home on my studio upright piano.

A few days ago I released a recording of Bach's Prelude No 9 in E Major. I also decided to record this alternate interpretation of the prelude. These are two very different ways of playing the same notes of a score and indicate how versatile Bach's music usually is. His music is extremely open to the interpretation of the musician and leaves so much room for play. It is impossible to know for certain how Bach would have preferred his music to be played (despite experts claiming to know), and is even possible that he varied his own interpretation of his works. This leaves his music a mystery to be enjoyed uniquely by each performer. Be sure to listen to this recording along with the alternate recording of the same piece.

This prelude is one of my favorites to play when I need to slow down the pace of life. It is a pastorale as indicated by the 3rds in the melody line and the 12/8 time signature. The slow-moving, yet joyful Cantus Firmus is so beautifully augmented by the counterpoint voice. It is always amazing to me to think of the volume of wonderful music that Bach composed. I hope that you enjoy my interpretation and recording of Bach's Prelude in E Major No. 9.

This is my first recording by Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857). Glinka studied piano with John Field and his influence can be felt in this piece. The work is a Nocturne composed for Glinka's sister, Elizaveta. She was away in St. Petersburg at the time it was composed and thus the title, "The Separation" is quite appropriate. I recorded this piece for my daughter, who recently experience an emotional separation of her own. She suffered the reality of watching her beloved snowman melt away as the temperature went up this last week. When she came back in the house after saying her final "goodbye" I played this piece for her and told her it was a song for her departed snowman. The recording was made at home on my studio upright. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of Glinka's "The Separation".

This is one of Chopin's most famous Waltzes. It was composed sometime between 1846 and 1847. The piece is marked with the term "tempo guisto" - which means "strict time." When I recorded this piece I interpreted that to mean that any rubato should be limited to within a brief scope, probably that of a single bar. While this may be the case, I have since learned that it was more likely intended to indicate that the Waltz should not be played in the Viennese tradition which rushes slightly into the second beat. My studies of this piece are notably rushed and I debated whether or not to release this - obviously I ended up deciding to put it out. Perhaps in the future I will re-record this after having devoted a more appropriate amount of time to learning the piece. For now, however, this will have to do! I hope that you enjoy my recording of Chopin's Waltz in C-sharp Minor!

This Sarabande is an excerpt from Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat. I have also recorded the Praeludium previously. I have always loved the serene melody that makes up this Sarabande. I play this piece much slower than is typical in a performance. However, I find it to be so exquisite and sonorous that I can't help but relish in every chord and beat. This is one of those works that I will often pull out at times when I want to reflect or meditate. It is perfect for moments when only music can express the joy and peace that life can and should supply.

One of Bach's most well-known works is this excerpt from his Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. It is a delightful melody that is simple to learn and easy to appreciate. I hope you enjoy my recording of Bach's famous Minuet in G (sometimes spelled as Menuet in G - both are correct).