Category: Piano

Throughout my years as a composer, I have traveled a path from disliking most contemporary music, to seeing the unique and infinitely expressive beauty that can be achieved without the bounds of tonality. The Danzas Argentinas are a set of three dances composed by Alberto Ginastera in the 20th century, and the first musical work […]

Elegie, written by Cecile Chaminade, is a very beautiful but sad piece. In music, an elegie is a sad and miserable song. Elegie reminds me of a gloomy but peaceful lake on a cold cloudy winter day. While I was practicing this piece, some challenges I faced were the two note slurs and the dynamics. […]

The character of Brahms’s Waltz No.4 reminds me of something grand and spectacular. It is majestic and reminds me of looking into a huge ornately decorated room, with large open spaces for sound to echo off of. The dynamics on the two note slurs make it feel like you’re looking around and realizing how much […]

This piece is one of the pieces that messes with my brain because usually, the right-hand gets the louder notes, but in this piece, it’s the opposite! This prelude was so fun to learn because of its beautiful melody. My favorite part about this piece is the plot twists throughout. Sometimes it gets really loud, […]

My performance piece is “Folk Song” by Bela Bartok. The picture I chose represents the feeling of this piece.  When I play this piece, it’s like I am dancing with the music. How this piece goes from very soft and suddenly loud  makes it seem like I am dancing with big bright colors!

Of Foreign Lands and People comes from a collection of Schumann’s works aptly named “Scenes from Childhood.” This simple piece does evoke images of nostalgia and childhood wonder. It reminds the listener of a simpler time, when everything seemed very foreign and exciting. To a child, something new is something exciting, and often sparks further wonder […]

Haydn’s Sonata in D Major is an expressive, playful, and energetic piece. The interchanging voicing and harmonies in the sonata meld together to produce a beautiful composition. Some parts are surprising and different, while others flow and glide. In the picture, you see a man regarding a waterfall with wonder and amazement, just like how […]

I chose “Allegro Burlesco” by Friedrich Kuhlau because it sounds energetic and humorous. While playing this piece I learned lots of new words like jocular and sforzando.   It was really fun in the beginning because you’re learning how it sounds as you play it. I thought it sounded really good.  Some challenges I faced […]

I decided to play a song called “Aretta’s Rhumba “by Eric Baumgartner, and I really enjoyed learning and playing this piece. This song, most likely due to the heavy sounds it created, reminded me of rain/thunderstorms. More specifically, it would remind me of staying inside and relaxing while it was raining/thundering outside, which is something […]