Blog Posts

Christmas Music

12/13/2016

Enjoy these unique performances of Christmas favorites!

"Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" performed by Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys

"Angels We Have Heard on High" performed by The Piano Guys

"Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra/Williams
The conductor for this performance, John Williams, is the composer who wrote the music for "Star Wars," "E.T.," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," & many other famous movies.

Notice the unique sleigh ride sounds added by the percussion instruments.
What wind instrument performs the hose neigh at the end?

"Jingle Bells" performed by the U.S. Navy Band, bluegrass style
This arrangement is a duel between the guitar & the banjo. Who do you think wins?

January's Composer: Maurice Ravel

1/16/2016

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French pianist who composed in the Impressionistic style. He wrote piano solos, piano concertos, works for orchestra, and a ballet. He is also known for his colorful orchestrations of other composer's piano solos, like Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Learn more by. . .

Reading an article in the January issue of Piano Explorer magazine.
Watching videos on the Piano Explorer website.
Listen to this video of Mrs. Troutner's favorite Ravel piano solo. :) The title means "playing water," and Ravel included one line of a poem with the music: "The river god laughs at the water as it tickles him." What pictures come to mind as you listen?

J'eux Deau (Playing Water) by Ravel

November's Composer: Antonin Dvorak

11/2/2015

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was a composer from the Czech Republic who lived during the Romantic Era. His most famous music includes a set of fun piano duets, Slavonic Dances (one piano, four hands), as well as a symphony based on a trip he made to America, called the New World Symphony.

Learn more by. . .

Reading an article in the November issue of Piano Explorer magazine.
Watching videos on the Piano Explorer website.
Listening to short Classics for Kids radio programs about Dvorak.
Compare/contrast these two versions of Dvorak's Slavonic Dance Op. 46 No. 8. Which is your favorite?

Slavonic Dance Op. 46 No. 8, piano duet version