The Piano Quintet by Robert Schumann was composed in 1842 and received its first public performance the following year. Noted for its “extroverted, exuberant” character, Schumann’s piano quintet is considered one of his finest compositions.
Scriabin’s Etude in C-Sharp Minor was written in 1887, when the composer was just 15 years old. It was the first of the Three Pieces, Op. 2, and was one of Alexander Scriabin’s earliest successes.
Rachmaninoff’s Prelude No. 10 in B minor (Op. 32), was written in 1910 along with the other twelve pieces. Sergei Rachmaninoff was inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting Die Heimkehr (The Homecoming or The Return).
Danse Macabre, Op. 40, is a tone poem for orchestra, written in 1874 by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It started out in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis, which is based on an old French superstition.
Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, dating from 1841, is dedicated to Pauline de Noailles. The inspiration for this Ballade by Frédéric Chopin is usually claimed to be Adam Mickiewicz’s poem Undine, also known as Świtezianka.
Grand galop chromatique in E-flat major, S.219 is a bravura piece by Franz Liszt, composed in 1838. This gallop was one of Liszt’s favorite encores which he considered a “rouser.” …
Vocalise is a song by Sergei Rachmaninoff, composed and published in 1915 as the last of his 14 Songs or 14 Romances, Op. 34. Written for high voice (soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using any one vowel of the singer’s choosing.
The Waltz No 2 in A-Flat Major is part of Chopin’s Waltzes Op. 34, composed from 1834 until 1838 and published in 1838. These three waltzes were published as Grandes valses brillantes, but this title is usually reserved for the Waltz in E-flat major, Op. 18.
Even though its key signature is empty, the Gnossienne No 4 is in D Minor. The Gnossiennes are several piano compositions written by the French composer Erik Satie in the late 19th century.
The Waltz No 7 in C-sharp minor is the second work of Frédéric Chopin’s opus 64 and the companion to the famous Minute Waltz (Op. 64, No. 1). It was composed in 1847 and have three themes with different speeds.
