April 2017 - The prelude became one of Rachmaninoff’s most famous compositions. It was so popular that it was referred to as “The Prelude” and audiences would demand it as an encore at his performances, shouting “C-sharp!” Unfortunately, because of this, Rachmaninoff grew very tired of it and once said, “Many, many times I wish I had never written it.”
March 2017 - The Nocturne is featured in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist (The piece was played by Holocaust survivor Natalia Karp for the Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth, with Goeth being so impressed with the rendition that he spared Karp’s life).
December 2016 - Chopin composed his best-known Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 when he was around twenty years old.
March 2013 - The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. It was first composed by Debussy around 1890, at the age of 28, but was significantly revised just before its publication in 1905. The third and most famous movement of Suite bergamasque is Clair de lune, in D♭ major. Its name comes from Verlaine’s poem “Clair de lune”, which means “moonlight” in French.
January 2017 - David Peña Dorantes, a Romani pianist and composer from Andalusia (Spain), known after his compositions and performances of flamenco. His music has been influenced by Debussy and jazz.
December 2016 - Ludovico Einaudi is an Italian pianist and composer. Trained at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles and genres such as pop, rock, folk, and world music.
June 2007 - Waltz Op. 69, No. 2 Deux Valses was composed by Frédéric Chopin for solo piano in the year 1829 at the age of 19, although published posthumously in 1852. The piece is largely melancholic with three different sections and melodies which changes to B major and again reverts to the original theme. It is one of several works that the composer hoped would be burnt upon his death.
May 2008 - This sonata is a relatively simple work, featuring less sophistication than most of the other piano sonatas. Strangely, there are no dynamic indications in the autograph or first edition. It is considered the easier of the two “easy sonatas”, and is also considered the easiest of all the Beethoven piano sonatas.