March On for Classic Piano Composers

 

As spring arrives, here we get to celebrate ten major piano composers born in March.

Frédéric Chopin (March 1, 1810): Known almost exclusively for his piano works, Chopin's output includes legendary nocturnes, etudes, and ballades.

Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678): A prolific Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, and priest, he significantly influenced the development of the concerto form. He is most famous for composing The Four Seasons.

Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875): A master of Impressionism, Ravel composed complex piano masterpieces like Gaspard de la nuit and Le Tombeau de Couperin.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (March 8, 1714): A pioneer of the "sensitive style" (Empfindsamer Stil), he was a prolific composer of keyboard sonatas that bridged the Baroque and Classical eras.

Samuel Barber (March 9, 1910): While known for his Adagio for Strings, he wrote significant piano music, including his formidable Piano Sonata and the Excursions.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (March 18, 1844): Known for his nationalistic style, he produced famous works like Scheherazade and the Russian Easter Festival Overture, while also serving as a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. 

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21/31, 1685): Though a Baroque composer, his keyboard works like The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations are fundamental to piano pedagogy and performance. His birthday is often celebrated on March 21st (Old Style) or March 31st (New Style).

Modest Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839): A Russian composer, he drew heavily on Slavonic folk music and natural speech rhythms. He is most known for his vivid piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.

Béla Bartók (March 25, 1881): A major 20th-century composer who wrote extensive piano music, including the pedagogical series Mikrokosmos and three piano concertos.

Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31, 1732): A prolific composer of over 50 keyboard sonatas, he helped define the Classical style.

Heralding Spring on the Piano

 While many famous "Spring" works are orchestral (like Vivaldi's Spring concerto or Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring), several classical composers wrote quintessential piano pieces that specifically herald the season through light, fluttering textures and bright melodies. 

Edvard Grieg’s lyric piece "To Spring" (Til Våren) is perhaps the most iconic piano miniature for the season. It features shimmering high-register arpeggios that mimic the sound of melting snow and rushing waterfalls in the Norwegian countryside.

Christian Sinding’s most famous work, "Rustle of Spring" (Frühlingsrauschen), was a staple of early 20th-century piano parlors. It is characterized by fast, sweeping arpeggios in the right hand that create a sense of restless anticipation and the "rustling" of new growth.

Felix Mendelssohn’s "Spring Song" (from Songs Without Words, Op. 62, No. 6) is celebrated for its cheerful, optimistic melody and playful rhythms, embodying the feeling of hope associated with new beginnings.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s piano cycle The Seasons, the months of March ("Song of the Lark") and April ("Snowdrop") directly herald the transition. While "March" retains a slight winter chill with an introspective birdcall melody, "April" is a delicate waltz evoking the first flowers breaking through the earth.

Nikolai Medtner, who was a friend of Rachmaninoff, wrote a charming piece titled "Primavera" as part of his Forgotten Melodies, Op. 39, which captures the season's vibrancy. 

Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood and other piano works are often associated with the freshness of the season.

Claude Debussy’s piano music frequently employs "impressionist" colors, echoing the spirit of springtime renewal, pianistsmusings.com mentions.

 

‘Tis the Season for Tchaikovsky

It’s the beginning of June and soon summer begins. In the northern hemisphere, June is a lovely time to be outside. Tomoko herself enjoys gardening outside. She sees the garden as a metaphor for musicians; both take much work and much patience. “Labor is labor,” says Tomoko.

On her CD album “Touria,” Tomoko performs Tchaikowsky’s “June, the Seasons,” Opus 37b in g minor, composed in 1876. This piece is one of twelve short character pieces, reflecting the spirit of each month in Russia. “The Seasons” was commissioned by the St. Petersburg music magazine Nouvelist editor, the idea being that each monthly issue publish one month’s piece. Tchaikowsky was finishing his first ballet, “Swan Lake,” while her was composing these pieces – mainly to supplement his income. Nevertheless, each piece is a lovely little melodic masterpiece.

“June,” which is in the tradition of the traditional folk song barcarolle genre, has been very popular and arranged for a variety of musical instruments. “June” recall’s Mendelssohn’s Venetian gondola songs, but Tchaikowsky’s develops a more polyphonic theme. Furthermore, “June” has a more melancholy tone that reflects Russian sensibility. The lyrics that accompany “June” were written by poet Aleskey Pleshcheyev:

Let us go to the shore;

there the waves will kiss our feet.

With mysterious sadness

the stars will shine down on us.

Like Marin county where Tomoko resides, which experiences June gloom of foggy mornings that burn off by the afternoon, Tchkowsky’s “June” starts slowly and subdued, then opens up broadly for a moment like clouds parting for the sun, only to go back to its original tone and ending resolution of the day. It is no wonder that Tomoko chose this piece to perform.

Springtime

Spring is a time for renewal and refreshment. And music -- and Tomoko -- benefit.

For instance, the first day of spring marks Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday: born in 1685. Furthermore, he wrote "Ode to the Seasons." with Eva Toller lyrics set to his music. Here is her verse on spring:

Spring is approaching and with it comes beauty like green leaves, the fragrance of flowers;
the wet earth is smelling of life,
and the sun starts to warm up all deep frozen souls;
it’s the time for awakening, and it’s the season for lovers;
the butterflies play in the grass, and the birds of all colours are singing.

Spring has many tones. Consider Stravinsky's primal "Rite of Spring." Tomoko and her students have performed the first half of this monumental piece. 

Spring as it occurs in nature can be musical too.  In the seemingly quiet of the out-of-doors, you can feel the rhythm of life. As you become calmer, you can start to hear nature's sounds, which can be music to your ears and psyche. "A bird singing, a tree waving; nature shows that silence is variable music," says Tomoko.