Friday, June 30, 2006

Shostakovich Concerto for piano, trumpet & orchestra

I have officially started to learn the Shostakovich Concerto for piano, trumpet & orchestra. After finishing my first reading of the first movement, my brain was in a state of shock. Could he seriously hear all the quotes, voices, and multi keys all at the same time at that speed? Goodness. The last movement also... fragments of quotes from various composers' music... no real transitions; one goes right into the other. My brain almost went coo-coo working on them even though I was working way under speed. The slow movements remind me a lot of Ravel, especially the 2nd movement, so much like the Ravel piano concerto's slow movement. Of course, that is just me with the first reading of the piece. Maybe that was his intention... I should go check some of his biographies.

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