Quiz: Mystery scores

[Luke]

I'd have thought that Rzewski was working from an existing edition, otherwise why is it type-set at all? Unless for aesthetic reasons (e.g. the type-set music is that which Rubinstein plays, the handwritten is that which he 'lives') but that seems doubtful to me, looking at much of the rest of his music (it's mostly up in IMSLP). I'd assumed that, this being one of Chopin's op posth pieces, it must be around in a number of variants (even his acknowledged opp are available in various forms, often) and that this was one I hadn't seen, quite an extreme one, too.

I was talking about Walter Niemann earlier (Maciek got a couple of my scores, which were by him). One of the things that surprised me discovering his music recently was the barefaced plagiarism to be found in some of his music. (Or is it just paying homage?) Today I made a quick side-by-side selection for your delectation:

[Maciek]

(e.g. the type-set music is that which Rubinstein plays, the handwritten is that which he 'lives')

That's what I would have thought (there's no speaking over the Chopin). But ultimately, I think you're right. Because on p. 15 he has clearly deleted the last bar. If the score was specially set for the occasion, I guess he wouldn't have left that empty space. (And it looks like the lines of the staff on p. 2 could have actually been done by hand - though with a ruler, I'm guessing. )

(A nice advantage of the Paderewski volumes is that they have notes at the end, containing details about the differences between what is printed in a given volume and [selected?] other editions.)

[ibanezmonster]

or...
http://www.youtube.com/v/zeoT66v4EHg

What would be even funnier is listening to it without knowing that cats were playing and then wondering if the pianist had been drinking too much vodka...

[amw]

39 & 55 - I assume those two are the same composer. Wouldn't be Kapustin would it?

[Luke]

No, they are by different composers, and neither is Kapustin. But some clues on them:

both are by composer-pianists;
55 is by the composer of another of my unguessed ones, as I already said. Both of these works are based on very, very, very well-known pieces.
39 is also based on a very, very, very well-known piece, but not classical
both works are experimenting with non-classical styles

[amw]

both are by composer-pianists;
55 is by the composer of another of my unguessed ones, as I already said. Both of these works are based on very, very, very well-known pieces.

That doesn't narrow it down very much. According to Wikipedia, about 50 composers have written variations to Paganini's 24th Caprice, and I'm sure it doesn't know all of them either. >.>

I think it's Fazıl Say's Paganini Jazz though. I don't think 30 is its related piece Alla Turca Jazz as that seems to depart further from Mozart sooner (from the recording I heard—Say Plays Say just added to Qobuz yesterday), unless he's just improvising them on the spot so they're different each time anyway. His other one might be 8 perhaps.

You said 8 was an homage to 9... I don't know if 9 has been guessed yet, it's Rachmaninov's Margaritki Op. 38 no. 3 (arranged by the composer).

[Luke]

That doesn't narrow it down very much. According to Wikipedia, about 50 composers have written variations to Paganini's 24th Caprice, and I'm sure it doesn't know all of them either. >.>

I think it's Fazıl Say's Paganini Jazz though. I don't think 30 is its related piece Alla Turca Jazz as that seems to depart further from Mozart sooner (from the recording I heard—Say Plays Say just added to Qobuz yesterday), unless he's just improvising them on the spot so they're different each time anyway. His other one might be 8 perhaps.

You said 8 was an homage to 9... I don't know if 9 has been guessed yet, it's Rachmaninov's Margaritki Op. 38 no. 3 (arranged by the composer).

All of those correct, including the Alla Turca piece.  Excellent!

The Rachmaninov is a gorgeous piece - I love Gilels' way with it, myself:

http://www.youtube.com/v/QAcHCkiHhdE

Rachmaninov's own arrangements of his songs are beautiful, but I don't think he did enough. OTOH Earl Wild's are also exquisite and OOTOMH I think there are 19 of them. As someone wrote somewhere, having Wild's arrangements is like having a whole new set of Rachmaninov Preludes, with the qualifier that the songs are all so lyrical and blooming, whereas some of the strictly-piano pieces are much harder-edged. I actually play through those Wild pieces as often as the straight Preludes, perhaps even more so. This is a particularly good one, played by Wild himself, though my favourite, I think, is The Muse:

http://www.youtube.com/v/A8c8JqGSxwI

[amw]

Do you know, I've never actually seen Emil Gilels before. He looks like the way Horowitz's piano playing sounds, if that makes any sense... not exactly what I expected.

I also didn't really listen to much Rachmaninov until about a month ago when a live performance of the Second Symphony reminded me that, hey, this guy exists, and he wrote stuff other than the Piano Concerto No. 2. Picked up Ronald Brautigam's recording of the Preludes secondhand and have been quite enjoying them when I'm in the mood for something similar to but less frustrating than early Skryabin. Should look for those Wild transcriptions as well.

[amw]

Maciek #151 - is that Erkki Melartin's Fantasia apocaliptica? Pretty interesting piece if you're into that whole impressionism/late romantic thing.

[listener]

First of three new ones, can't get the computer to resize tonight

[listener]

the second

[listener]

the third, and I'll go back and unearth the old unanswered ones and repost to save flipping around

[Luke]

A fun bit of old-style detective work - the second one is the Carillon movement by Rimsky-Korsakov from the collaborative work with Liadov, Borodin, Cui etc, 'Paraphrases,' based on Chopsticks. The orchestration by Arkady Leytush, I guess, though I will keep looking, just in case it isn't.... Lots of fun looking through the original piano+single stave piano score of this one, thank you!

[Luke]

Yes, that's the one, I think:  Rimsky-Korsakov: Carillon, variation on "Tati-Tati", arr Leytush

[Luke]

Sorry, I meant the first one.

[listener]

not quite, but consider that one done.   It's from the Belaieff edition, freely arranged and orchestrated by Nicolas Tcherepnine.  I thought the solo piano on the top stave might be a good entry point for finding this one.

[(poco) Sforzando]

the third, and I'll go back and unearth the old unanswered ones and repost to save flipping around

This isn't any Brahms piano piece that I can identify, but whoever wrote it is a darned good imitator of his style.

[Luke]

Exactly what I thought. Taneyev, perhaps?

[Luke]

not quite, but consider that one done.   It's from the Belaieff edition, freely arranged and orchestrated by Nicolas Tcherepnine.  I thought the solo piano on the top stave might be a good entry point for finding this one.

Wow, there's another one? I listened to the Leytush (well, some of it) on youtube, it sounded just like the page you gave looked, if you see what I mean... I suppose another orchestration of a bell-bedecked Carillon would be likely to sound similar, though, tbh.

[listener]

This isn't any Brahms piano piece that I can identify, but whoever wrote it is a darned good imitator of his style.

very insightful, not Taneyev though.   The tune sounds familiar from someone else's arrangement  of something but this is not a reduction, and it has been recorded.