Piano Man

Dimitri Shostakovich was born in in St. Petersburg, Russian on September 25, 1906, and died in Moscow on August 9, 1975. He wrote this cello concerto no. 2 Op. 126 in the spring of 1966, specifically for Mstislav Rostropovich who was a celebrated cellist and a dear friend. The state Academy Symphony Orchestra of the USSR gave the performance on September 25, 1966 to celebrate Shostakovich’s sixtieth birthday. It was recorded live in the Large Hall of Moscow State Conservatory. The orchestra…

modern favorites. The Jazz Lab band started out the night with five big band pieces. The instrumentation of the Jazz Lab band was standard for a big band; it included about four of each horn (saxophone, trumpet, and trombone), an upright bass, a piano, and a drumset. The group played several big band standards like Take the A-Train, the famous song originally played by Duke Ellington’s big band and sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Since there were no vocalists in the band, every song was arranged…

“Flex your fingers as if you’re holding an egg,” my piano teacher, Mr. Emerson, said in his deep, husky voice. All I could decipher was “hold an egg.” Did he mean it in literal terms? He reached out for my fingers and gently bent them at an angle. I couldn’t quite feel it naturally and resorted to flexing out my fingers as if it were on a tabletop. He was patient with me, but I knew from the look in his eyes and the wrinkles that continuously pierced through his forehead that he was frustrated.…

country to offer them great living and opportunities. Jing-Mei’s mother wanted to see her daughter as a successful person. Jing-Mei's mother classifies success for her daughter as being brilliant at something, therefore, Jing-Mei was forced to take piano lessons in order to be a child prodigy. After reading the story, I can completely relate to Jing-Mei as my mother once forced me to do things I was never interested in. As a child, I was always forced to do things my parents thought were right…

January 21, 1941, in Madrid, Spain, Domingo grew up in a very music oriented family. Both of his parents were singers of Spanish operas, and toured all around Spain with a troupe. When he was around the age of eight years old, he received his first piano lessons. He moved with his parents down to Mexico so they could start up their own zarzuela group, which helped him learn all the basics of musical theatre. There are rumors that Domingo also made some of his first stage appearances during his…

Both cooperated and established the Boone Company. The first concert was held in 1880 at Missouri. From then, their company was gradually developed and Boone started to be in charge in the QRS Piano Roll Company. The company grew in the 1890s and 1900s, and it was almost performed at Churches and concert halls in Canada, Mexico, and the US. The performance was combination of classical music, coon songs, mazurkas, plantation melodies, polkas, ragtime…

brought home her awards and trophies. “We didn’t always pick the right kind of prodigy”(Tan 1). Jing Mei didn’t always realize she was talented at the piano, before this she tried everything from dancing to magic. But Waverly seemed to recognize her talent in chess fairly early. And, while Waverly enjoyed chess, Jing Mei was forced into playing the piano. “Waverly Jong had gained a certain amount of fame as “chinatowns littlest chinese chess champion”(Tan 3). But, while Waverly was focused on…

became Karl's guardian upon the death of his brother in 1815. Karl proved to be unstable and a continuing source of worry to an already troubled man. Beethoven's deafness and his temper contributed to his reputation as an unpleasant personality. But reliable accounts and a careful reading of Beethoven's letters reveal him to be a powerful and self-conscious man, totally involved in his creative work but alert to its practical side as well, and one who is sometimes willing to change to meet…

very rubato and the tempo is not strongly felt. The rubato tempo enhances the mood of the piece by making it sound more mysterious and a bit more unpredictable. A minor tonality also adds to the mysterious feel. There is a wide range of dynamics from piano to forte. Often, the phrases start softly, crescendo into the phrase, then decrescendo at the end, creating a lilt. The changing…

Joseph Haydn compiled by Anthony van Hoboken. It is intended to cover the composer's entire oeuvre and includes over 750 entries. Alessandro Longo was born in Amantea. After studying at the Naples Conservatory under Beniamino Cesi, which began teaching piano in 1887. Cesi as pianoforte professor, and succeeded him in 1897. Cesi now uses his style of music. A Symphony form is a large work for orchestra in three or four movements of contrasting speeds. Concerto form is a large work for…