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CHARLES ROSEN
American pianist (1927 - 2012)
Charles Rosen studied with Moriz Rosenthal who studied with Liszt and Karl Mikuli, himself a pupil of Chopin. He also studied at Princeton University, majoring in French, eventually obtaining a PhD in French literature, and rounding out his education with courses in math and philosophy. After his debut in New York at the ripe age of 23, he went to Paris as a Fulbright scholar to study the relationship between poetry and music in 16th-century France. Rosen was indeed a renaissance man.
I spent years with his book under my pillow. I was fortunate to meet Charles Rosen some years later and the very same copy of the book now bears his autograph on the title page. As one might imagine, the man who wrote this marvelously brilliant book plays Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven with amazing insight into the style and structure of the music.
But this insight, this intellectual understanding, imbued everything Charles Rosen played from Bach and Scarlatti to Webern and Elliott Carter. And even his performances of the standard virtuoso pieces of the repertoire. the bravura and the pyrotechnical contain a level of musicality not often heard even among the great pianists of the 20th century.
Bach Selections from the Art of the Fugue
recorded in 1967
Contrapunctus I
03:01 ➢ Contrapunctus VII per Augmentationem et Dimenutionem
05:33 ➢ Contrapunctus IX alla Duodecima
Contrapunctus XIV (unfinished)
Bach Ricercar in Six Voices from A Musical Offering
Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatas
recorded in 1955 on the Siena Pianoforte
Vivo in G major, L 487 (K 125)
Allegro in F major, L 432 (K 44)
Vivo in C major, L 202 (K 242)
Allegro in D major, L 107 (K 140)
Haydn Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob XVI:20
i Allegro moderato
07:16 ➢ ii Andante con moto
11:38 ➢ iii Allegro
Haydn Piano Sonata in A♭ major, Hob XVI:46
recorded in 1969
i Allegro moderato
ii Adagio
08:18 ➢ iii Presto
Mozart Piano Sonata in B♭ major, K 333
recorded in 1955 on the Siena Pianoforte
i Allegro
ii Andante Cantabile
iii Allegretto grazioso
Beethoven Piano Sonata 28 in A major, Op 101
recorded in 1971
i Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung - Allegretto, ma non troppo
ii Lebhaft. Marschmäßig - Vivace alla marcia
iii Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll - Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
iv Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit
Allegro
Beethoven Piano Sonata 29 in B♭ major, Op 106
recorded in 1971
i Allegro
ii Scherzo - Assai vivace
iiia Adagio sostenuto (beginning)
iiib Adagio sostenuto (conclusion)
iva Largo. Allegro risoluto (beginning)
ivb Largo. Allegro risoluto (conclusion)
Beethoven Piano Sonata 30 in E major, Op 109
i Vivace ma non troppo. Adagio espressivo
03:49 ➢ ii Prestissimo
iiia Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (beginning)
iiib Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (conclusion)
Beethoven Piano Sonata 31 in A♭ major, Op 110
i Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
07:12 ➢ ii Scherzo - Allegro molto
Schubert-Liszt Soirées de Vienne 6, Valse-Caprice on Schubert waltzes
recorded in the 1960s
Mendelssohn-Rachmaninoff Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
recorded in the 1960s
Rosen plays Chopin
Mazurka in C♯ minor Op 63~3
01:44 ➢ Nocturne 17 in B major, Op 62~1
07:28 ➢ Nocturne 18 in E major, Op 62~2
11:58 ➢ Barcarolle in F♯ major, Op 60
recorded live in 2011
Chopin Mazurkas, Op 63
1 in B major
2 in F minor
3 in C♯ minor
recorded in 1990
Moriz Rosenthal "Etude on the Minute Waltz of Chopin"
[Chopin Waltz in D♭ major, Op 64~1]
recorded in the 1960s
Schumann Impromptus on a Theme by Clara Wieck, Op 5
recorded in the early 1980s
Schumann Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6
recorded in the early 1980s
Schumann Carnaval, Op 9
recorded in 1963
1 Préambule
02:27 ➢ 2 Pierrot
04:07 ➢ 3 Arlequin
05:07 ➢ 4 Valse noble
07:21 ➢ 5 Eusebius [ends 4 measures from the end]
5 Eusebius [begins 4 measures from the end]
00:22 ➢ 6 Florestan
01:18 ➢ 7 Coquette
02:53 ➢ 8 Replique
03:44 ➢ 9 Papillons
04:30 ➢ 10 A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A. (Lettres dansantes)
05:14 ➢ 11 Chiarina
06:23 ➢ 12 Chopin
07:35 ➢ 13 Estrella
08:01 ➢ 14 Reconnaissance
09:48 ➢ 15 Pantalon et Colombine
16 Valse Allemande
00:49 ➢ 17 Paganini
01:58 ➢ 18 Aveu
02:57 ➢ 19 Promenade
05:30 ➢ 20 Pause
05:49 ➢ 21 Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins
Schumann Piano Sonata 1 in F♯ minor, Op 11
Finale - Allegro, un poco maestoso
recorded in the early 1983
Liszt Don Juan Fantasy, S 418
(beginning)
(conclusion)
J Strauss-Tausig "Man lebt nur einmal" ("You Only Live Once")
recorded in the 1960s
Moriz Rosenthal "Carnaval de Vienne" Fantasy on Strauss Waltzes
recorded in the 1960s
Leopold Godowsky Fantasy on Johann Strauss II "Wine, Women & Song"
recorded in the 1960s
Bizet-Rachmaninoff Minuet from "L'Arlésienne Suite"
recorded in the 1960s
Kreisler-Rachmaninoff Liebesleid ("Love's Sorrow")
recorded in the 1960s
For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background
Murder in the House of the Muse
which is also available as an audiobook.
And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:
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