You Can't beat music

Well, maybe you can!

Most of us love rhythm. George Gershwin certainly did: he even wrote a very popular song called "I Got Rhythm"! Check out Gershwin playing his own rendition of this catchy tune by clicking here.

Inspired? We can help you channel that inspiration! The COA found this fun website that has all kinds of rhythmic games you and your child can play together. Take the "time" to make music with your children (even if you are not a musician yourself). It is truly a fun, rewarding experience and a great way to make lasting memories. And, after all, we all "got rhythm"!

Unraveling ravel's Piano concerto for the left hand

Who says you have to play the piano with two hands? For many different reasons, there are a handful of pianists who play with just one hand. Paul Wittgenstein was one of those pianists. He could play with his left hand only because he had lost his right arm during the First World War. Nevertheless, he wanted to continue playing the piano. So, Wittgenstein asked French composer Maurice Ravel to write a piano concerto for him for left hand.

Maurice Ravel (his full name is Joseph-Maurice Ravel) was a French composer, conductor, and pianist. He was born in Ciboure, a village near Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on 7 March 1875 to one of the most interesting families of the famous composers: his father was Swiss, and his mother was Basque. He came from an artistic family who encouraged young Maurice to learn about music.

At the age of 14, Ravel entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied music until 1905. During this time he composed some of his best-known works, including the orchestral work Pavane for a Dead Princess and his famous String Quartet.

Ravel is loved today for his popular orchestral works, especially Bolero, Rapsodie espagnole, and his orchestral arrangement of Modeste Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. He even came to the United States and met George Gershwin with whom he became good friends. Ravel's trip to the United States helped him to become very famous during his lifetime.

It was Ravel's fame that led Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein to commission the composer to write the Piano Concerto for Left Hand. Ravel eagerly accepted the challenging of writing a concerto in which the piano solo sounded like it was being played by two hands, when, in fact, it was played with only one hand. (At one time Ravel, who was an excellent pianist, demonstrated the concerto with two hands because he did not feel he could perform it as well with just one hand.) In January 5, 1932, Wittgenstein premiered the concerto in Vienna with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and one year later he performed it in Paris with Ravel conducting. Both performances were very successful, and critic Henry Prunières even wrote that "from the opening measures, we are plunged into a world in which Ravel has but rarely introduced us."

The structure of the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is unusual. Not everybody agrees about how many sections there are. At one time, Ravel stated that there is only one movement, but at another time he said there are two movements that are linked together. Other people like Marie-Noëlle Masson argue that the concerto has three sections in a slow–fast–slow tempo sequence instead of the usual fast–slow–fast. However we look at the structure of this amazing concerto of 18-19 minutes, there are several sections in a variety of tempos and keys. Near the end of the piece, some of the music of the early slow sections combines with the faster music, so that two tempos take place at the same time.

This concerto is scored for a very large orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, piccolo clarinet, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, wood block, tam-tam, harp, strings, and solo piano.

Click here for a recording of this concerto. For a recording of Wittgenstein himself playing an excerpt from this concerto in 1937, click here.

Johannes Brahms's Academic Festival Overture

What better way to begin the Community Orchestra Academy's brand-new blog than with Johannes Brahms's Academic Festival Overture! This is a fun, exciting piece of music that we are sure you will enjoy. And, if you have not played it already, you probably will because it is one of the most popular pieces for orchestra!

Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany. Later he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he worked as a composer, conductor, and pianist. (He learned how to play cello and horn, too.) As a composer, he wrote music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, solo voice, and choir. Among his friends were Clara Schumann, who was a famous pianist and composer, and Joseph Joachim, who was a violinist, composer, and conductor. In addition to composing and performing music, Brahms also loved to read books, especially novels, poetry, and folk tales.

Living in Vienna, Brahms appreciated the accomplishments of the famous Viennese composers who preceded him. He especially liked Ludwig van Beethoven's music. In fact, Brahms loved Beethoven and admired his music so much that he feared his music would not be as good as that of this giant of Viennese and European music. In fact, Brahms said that it took him twenty-one years to complete the first of his four symphonies.

In addition to these symphonies, Brahms wrote other music for orchestra. His Academic Festival Overture (called Akademische Festouvertüre in German), op. 80 is one of those pieces. He composed it during the summer of 1880 to honor the University of Breslau. This university awarded him an honorary doctorate in philosophy for Brahms's valuable contributions to music. The music for this overture is filled with tunes that the university students of the time would have known and liked. The overture is in one movement with four continuous sections: Allegro (C minor), Maestoso (C major), Animato (G major), and Maestoso (C major). It is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.

Brahms himself conducted the premiere of the overture at the university on January 4, 1881. The performance was part of a special convocation that was held in which Brahms officially received his doctorate. There was a bit of irony regarding this premiere with a decided contrast between the joviality of the songs Brahms used in the overture and the seriousness of this ceremony. The overture's easily understood structure and melodic ideas, along with its excitement and humor, make it a popular part of today's symphonic repertoire. A typical performance lasts around ten minutes.

Brahms enjoyed much success in his life as a composer and performer. He became so famous that he is now known as one of the 3 B's—Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms—of classical music.

To listen to a performance of Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, click here.