Brahms

Theme and variations in D maj , Op.21

Brahms wrote a simple tune in D major, which you will hear at the start. This is known as the “theme”. Brahms then took this theme and cooked it with his composing genius and served out 11 different variations of this dish for us to listen to.

Chopin

Etude in E Maj, op .10 no .3

Etude in A Flat Maj, op .10 no .10

Chopin back in the 19th century decided to be annoying and wrote piano “Etudes” or “Exercise Pieces” just to make the lives of modern day conservatorium students difficult. Chopin’s etudes are staples of his compositions. Whilst they differ in various levels of difficulty, they all sound stunningly beautiful.

Scriabin

SELECTION OF 8 PRELUDES OF OP.11

Scriabin was a wacky lad who was much influenced by Chopin. Scriabin’s music got more and more strange sounding as he aged. But for today, I’ll be playing some of Scriabin’s early works; 8 short pieces or “preludes” from his opus(a collection of works) 11. Even in these early works, Scriabin’s wackiness in his use of ambiguous rhythms and colours can be heard.