classical ...
Etude Amabile A sweet little piano solo on the (very broad) crossover between jazz and 'classical'.
Studies are often unpleasant to practice, like scales and arpeggios. This is my attempt to capture that warm inner feeling that comes when you finally get it right! The picture is by Renoir. |
Methamphetamin The dissonant future. Pseudo-Reality under the influence of C10H15N
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Cracked Dandelions Beautiful modern classical arrangement
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Staccato Dances Number 21 in site chart.
Staccato Dances is a short piano solo in D major for a little extra brightness.
It is a series of little themes which vary in tempo and time signature to represent an imaginary procession of dancers. The last one trips as she leaves the stage. The image is from a painting by Edgar Degas. |
1984 Solo piano work
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Allegro Barbaro (Bartok) "The Barbarian" was first performed in 1921 by Bartok himself. Its heavy, aggressive style caused a riot and became a crowd pleaser for Bartok from then on.
This recording was made a few years ago and I hope that it shows some of Bartok's passion and brilliance as a composer. This piece of music was arranged by Keith Emerson and used as the opening track in the first Emerson, Lake and Palmer album. Emerson's arrangement was stunning but the original piano piece still has a lot to offer. No pianos were harmed in the making of this track. |
Trompe L'Oeil This piano solo is 'impressionistic' in style.
It's about light, its refractions and reflections, dappled pathways, picnics in the forest - definitely for romantics! Trompe L'Oeil was improvised at the piano in a single take, but I had to edit out one note that jarred. There's a section from a piece by Poulenc in there in case anyone else out there likes him as much as I do! |
Toccata In F (C-M Widor) The Toccata from Symphony 5 pour Orgue (op. 42 no. 5 - fa) by Charles-Marie Widor is one of the most popular works in the classical organ repertoire.
It's a truly inspiring piece of musical grandeur. As I don't have an organ with pedals, I had to cheat with the feet. |
Zeronin Symphonic in a next to zero mood
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Leyenda (Albeniz) A well known and technically demanding piece played with total accomplishment.
This is a delight to hear. |
Minuette I And Ii (Js Bach) This lovely and sensitive performance of Bach's minuettes shows off Michael's interpretative powers. A subtle and able performance of a masterwork.
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Soft Stillness And The Night This is a gentle and thoughtful piano solo written during a darker phase of my life.
It is dedicated to anyone who promotes peace and tranquillity. |
The Skimmington The Skimmington was a shaming ritual practiced in mediaeval and early modern England on men whose wives were especially dominating.
The victim would be dressed up in womens' clothing and made to sit facing backwards on a horse. Often, antlers or other virility symbols were placed on his head, the idea being that anyone who could not dominate his own wife could not expect sexual fidelity from her either. The man would then be paraded around the village and pelted with filth. This composition contains allusions to both the rough music that accompanied the ritual and to its sexual overtones. How times have changed! |
Meragio Meragio is a French dialect word from which we get the word "merry-go-round" (I think!).
The story of this tune goes like this: A little girl sits on a merry-go-round in anticipation. As it begins to spin her world goes round and round at an ever-more dizzying pace. Just as she is beginning to make sense of the confusion, it seems to spin faster again ... A bit like life I suppose. |
The BattleListener Rating:
 Number 18 in site chart.
No information available
for this track. |
Winter StoryA modern classical piece
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