Joe Krause Music
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Austrian, Early Romantic period
Franz Schubert is possibly my favorite composer. Despite his tragically short life, he wrote an immense amount of piano music. Schubert excels at bringing the beauty out of very simple melodies. Many of his pieces are very long with much repetition, in a way that can create nostalgia for a piece even during the first time hearing it!
6 Moments Musicaux (Musical Moments)
1. Moderato in C major 0:00
2. Andantino in A♭ major 5:13 - My personal favorite!
3. Allegro moderato in F minor 11:42
4. Moderato in C♯ minor 13:23
5. Allegro vivace in F minor 18:44
6. Allegretto in A♭ major 20:53
4 Impromptus op. 142
1. Allegro moderato in F minor 0:00 - Features some of the most lovely textures I've ever played.
2. Allegretto in A♭ major 11:11 - Calming, with a very special bass line, and a very pleasant trio section.
3. Andante in B♭ major 18:49 - A theme and variations with an incredibly pure melody. One time I got one of my college professors to cry when I performed this piece at the end of semester evaluation.
4. Allegro scherzando in F minor 30:15 - Devastatingly fast and exciting to hear. Practice your scales, kids!
Fantasy in C (The Wanderer Fantasy)
A four-part fantasia making use of a theme from his lied (song) Der Wanderer, hence the subtitle.
00:00 – Part 1, Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo (fast with force but not too much.)
05:42 – Part 2, Adagio - An informal theme and variations with haunting darkness mixed with moments of fading light.
12:14 – Part 3, Presto - Incredibly fast, with rapid shifts in mood, and delightful chord structures and melodies.
16:59 – Part 4, Allegro - A sort of fugue that goes absolutely bonkers at the end. Apparently, Schubert himself struggled to play this, getting frustrated when attempting to show it to some friends at a party.
Lieder
Lieder are songs in the tradition of classical music, which took off in popularity during the Romantic period. Schubert and both of the Schumanns were particularly well-known composers of lieder. Here is a compilation of some (but not all) of Schubert's.
An die Musik - 00:00
Auf dem See - 02:50
Auf dem Wasser zu singen - 06:08
Erlkönig - 09:57 - Tells the story of a child being stolen away by the Elf King, a mysterious entity of the forest. Infamous for damaging many pianists' hands with its impossibly fast and relentless octaves, which were more feasible on the smaller, lighter pianos of Schubert's day.
Der Musensohn - 13:53
Der Tod und das Mädchen - 16:12
Der Zwerg - 19:13
Gretchen am Spinnrade - 24:30
Im Frühling - 28:02
Rastlose Liebe - 33:19
Suleika I - 34:37
Ständchen - 40:08
An den Mond - 43:49
Sei mir gegrüßt! - 47:34
Die Forelle - 52:07
Litanei Auf das Fest Aller Seelen - 54:17
Nacht und Träume - 59:12
Ave Maria 1:03:30 - One of Schubert's best known lieder. Originally written as the setting of a verse from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, where a character addresses a prayer to the Virgin Mary. Others have replaced the lyrics with the Catholic prayer of the same title (Ave Maria = Hail, Mary) and this version became widespread.