My Piano Recital

Last month, I played in a piano recital and performed two pieces, one by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the other by Gustave Lange.  The first piece I performed was called Turkish March and the second one is called Schelmerei.  

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer who created many gorgeous operas, concertos, symphonies, and sonatas that helped build the beautiful music of the classical era. He was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, and was the youngest son of Leopold Mozart, a composer and instructor.  Mozart was a child prodigy and from the age of four he could play full symphonies and by age 6 he was already composing pieces and performing in Vienna and other parts of Austria. Throughout Mozart's life, he composed many pieces that were known throughout Europe and he traveled around Europe to perform his many works. Sadly, on December 5, 1791, Mozart died at age 35 from illness, leaving behind 600 compositions, including works for symphonies, the piano, and the opera. Some of these compositions are considered to be the finest works in the Classical period. One of my favorite pieces by Mozart is Ronda Alla Turka commonly known as Turkish March. This piece  imitates the sound of Turkish Janissary bands which was common in Europe at the time. 

Gustave Lange is a German composer born in 1830 and died in 1889.  He wrote music during the Romantic period.  The piece I played is called Schelmerei which means playfulness.  This piece is the first of six characteristics of music that he wrote. I especially enjoy playing this piece because it makes me feel happy and upbeat.  All of the sharp major notes really bring the piece to life.

Michael's First Piano Recital

In September, I had a piano concert at a church.
I first  played The Wild Horseman by Schumann. He was born in Germany during the Romantic era of music  in 1856. Robert loved books, writing, and music. When Robert was a boy, he took piano, flute, and cello lessons. Schumann married his piano teacher's daughter Clara Wieck, and they had a daughter named Marie. When Marie turned seven, Schumann gave her a birthday present of some of his songs. Later he wrote 18 pieces for young children, and 25 more pieces for older children. One of the songs he wrote was The Wild Horseman.

Next, I played Clowns by Kabalevsky. Clowns is a piece that has many staccatos and is a fun song to learn. Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in St. Petersberg, Russia on December 30, 1904. Kabalevsky was a modern composer and wrote a lot of music pieces for children including Clowns. Kabalevsky also wrote serious pieces such as symphonies, concertos, and music for the theater. He died at the age of 83 on February 18, 1987.

I was really nervous during the recital, and I was glad when it finished.  I still play these songs, and I like them very much.