Six moments musicaux, D. 780 (Op. 94) is a collection of six short pieces for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert. Along with the Impromptus, they are among the most frequently played of all Schubert's piano music, and have been recorded many times. No. 3 in F minor has been arranged by Karl Tausig, Leopold Godowsky and others.
Background
It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7, of Jan Václav Voříšek (1822). These pieces have been described as "akin to Beethoven’s Bagatelles in their brevity and quixotic character."
They were published by Leidesdorf in Vienna in 1828, under the title "Six Momens musicals ". The standard French forms are now usually used – moments (instead of momens), and musicaux (instead of musicals). Because the title is not Schubert's own, it has been argued that we "might reasonably conclude that these are not really 'moments' of music at all, as some of the six pieces last more than five or six minutes."
The sixth number was published in 1824 in a Christmas album under the title Les plaintes d'un troubadour.
Structure
II. Andantino in A-flat major
III. Allegro moderato in F minor
IV. Moderato in C-sharp minor
V. Allegro vivace in F minor
VI. Allegretto in A-flat major All Performed by Bernd Krueger
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The movements are as follows:
- Moderato in C major
- Andantino in A♭ major
- Allegro moderato in F minor (ends in F major)
- Moderato in C♯ minor
- Allegro vivace in F minor (ends in F major)
- Allegretto in A♭ major (ends on an open octave in an A♭ minor context)
Performances
The entire D. 780 set has been recorded by András Schiff (for Decca), Claudio Arrau, Alfred Brendel, Imogen Cooper, Emil Gilels, Paul Lewis, Radu Lupu, Artur Schnabel, Mitsuko Uchida and Maria João Pires. Individual pieces from the set have been recorded by Sviatoslav Richter, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Daniel Barenboim, and Vladimir Horowitz. The set was recorded on fortepianos by András Schiff (for ECM), Melvyn Tan, Lambert Orkis, Peter Katin, Jan Vermeulen, Trudelies Leonhardt, Olga Tverskaya and Ghislain Potvlieghe.
In Dance
Isadora Duncan choreographed a dance to No. 3 in F Minor (Allegro moderato) around 1908.
References
- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954
- ^ Naxos Archived 2009-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
- The Cross-Eyed Pianist, "A distinct soundworld in microcosm: Schubert’s Moments Musicaux," October 22, 2019
- Chamber Music Society, 2021.11.02, Richard Goode, program notes
- https://www.isadoraduncanarchive.org/repertory/34/
External links
- Moments musicaux: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Performance of the Six moments musicaux by Charlie Albright from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format
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