Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 2)

In a letter to Tchaikovsky's nephew Vladimir Davydov, Tchaikovsky wrote: "I'm very pleased with its content, but dissatisfied, or rather not completely satisfied, with the instrumentation. For some reason it's not coming out as I intended. It would be typical and unsurprising if ...  Show more

The great and somewhat controversial conductor Leopold Stokowski said this about Tchaikovsky: "His musical utterance comes directly from the heart and is a spontaneous expression of his innermost feeling. It is as sincere as if it were written with his blood." I couldn't agree mo ...  Show more

Ludwig van Beethoven's Second Symphony came at a pivot point in his life. Musically, the composer moved toward the more epic, revolutionary style that would define his later symphonies. Personally, Beethoven sank into despair as his hearing loss worsened. 

A fun, almost comical, moment before Beethoven stepped away from the symphony for a decade and wrote his ultimate triumph. 

This is the first movement of Mozart's Sonata K 300k. It was composed during the summer of 1778. Stay tuned for the remaining two movements, as they will be released over the next several weeks. I hope you enjoy my recording of Mozart's F Major Sonata. 

This recording is the 2nd movement of Beethoven's popular Sonata Pathetique Op. 13 No. 8. The second movement is Adagio cantabile. "Cantabile" indicates that this movement should be played like a song, or something that has a distinct melody that one could sing along with. This p ...  Show more