Musical Postcards
To Our Music By The Glass Family,
What a strange and difficult time it has been…. We miss seeing our MBTG family, and hope that you are taking good care of yourselves, both mind and body. With so much uncertainty and the need to adapt to the “new normal” for the the time being, we wanted to remain connected with you by sharing musical postcards with you each week.
These consist of short movements or selections from (mostly) piano works. Many of these pieces are works which Ran and I have picked up since the quarantine began in March, and in many ways, have consoled us, lifted our spirits, and kept us sane (!).
When you feel a bit empty and you want a little break from the noise of the world, we invite you to grab your glass of wine and listen to our postcards.
Virtual hugs from Cincinnati,
Kate and Ran
POSTCARD NO. 7:
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
VII: Sehr rasch
VII: Schnell und spielend
Pianist: Soyeon Kate Lee
A continuation from Postcard Nos. 1, 3, & 5, these are the final two movements of Schumann’s Kriesleriana.
POSTCARD NO. 6:
Rachmaninoff: Études Tableaux, Op. 39
Allegro - No. 6
Lento lugubre - No. 7
Pianist: Ran Dank
A continuation from Postcard No. 4.
“I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien.” -Sergei Rachmaninoff
POSTCARD NO. 5:
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
V: Sehr lebhaft
VI: Sehr langsam
Pianist: Soyeon Kate Lee
A continuation from Postcard Nos. 1 & 3.
POSTCARD NO. 4:
Rachmaninoff: Études Tableaux, Op. 39
Allegro molto - No. 3
Allegro assai - No. 4
Appassionato - No. 5
Pianist: Ran Dank
A continuation from Postcard No. 2.
“I compose music because I must give expression to my feelings, just as I talk because I must give utterance to my thoughts.”
-Sergei Rachmaninoff
POSTCARD NO. 3:
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
III: Sehr aufgeregt
IV: Sehr langsam
Pianist: Soyeon Kate Lee
“I have noticed that my imagination is never so lively as when it is anxiously extended toward you. This was again the case during these last days, and while waiting for a letter from you, I composed enough to fill volumes.”
-Robert Schumann, letter to Clara Schumann, May 1838
POSTCARD NO. 2
Rachmaninoff: Études Tableaux, Op. 39
Allegro agitato in C minor - No. 1
Lento assai in A minor - No. 2
Pianist: Ran Dank
Written in 1916-1917, the Études-tableaux were Rachmaninoff’s last works composed in Russia before he and his family fled after the October Revolution. The first two of nine etudes are shared with you here.
“In my own compositions, no conscious effort has been made to be original, or Romantic, or Nationalistic, or anything else. I write down on paper the music I hear within me, as naturally as possible…. What I try to do when writing down my music, is to make it say simply and directly that which is in my heart when I am composing.”
-Sergei Rachmaninoff, interview in The Etude, 1941
POSTCARD NO. 1:
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
I: Äußerst bewegt
II: Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch
Pianist: Soyeon Kate Lee
"Clara, I’m overflowing with music and beautiful melodies now—imagine, since my last letter I’ve finished another whole notebook of new pieces. I intend to call it Kreisleriana. You and one of your ideas play the main role in it, and I want to dedicate it to you—yes, to you and nobody else—and then you will smile so sweetly when you discover yourself in it—my music now seems to be so simply and wonderfully intricate in spite of all the simplicity, all the complications, so eloquent and from the heart; that’s the way it affects everyone for whom I play it, which I enjoy doing quite frequently...."
-Robert Schumann, letter to Clara Schumann, April 13, 1838