Online music resources

Youtube no doubt is a comprehensive source.

http://www.medici.tv is one dedicated to audiovisual programs in performing arts and documentary. It was launched on April 30, 2008.

http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page stands for the International Music Score Library Project. Lots of open source music scores can be found on this site. It went online on February 16, 2006.

Bach Inventions and Sinfonias

Bach wrote 2 collections of short fugue pieces for music education of his pupils. They became popular exercises for beginners. But of course their value is far more than just exercises.

The 15 2-part pieces are called inventions. The 15 3-part pieces are called sinfonias. These are numbered as BWV 772–801, altogether 30 pieces.

Here is an article on these inventions and sinfonias.

The performance of all these inventions and sinfonias by Glen Gould can be found on youtube.

I think these pieces are not particularly melodic. They are good demonstrations of fugue music though, and good finger exercises.

For inventions, I like No. 9 and No 13 most, especially No. 13, since I ever heard live performance on this.

Piano collections

This favorite list will grow as I listen to more.

Bach
-

Badarzewska
- The Maiden's Prayer

Beethoven
- Fur Elise WoO.59
- Moonlight sonata 1st movement [Piano (Wilhelm Kempff)]
- Pathetique sonata 2nd movement [Piano (Glenn Gould)]
- Turkischer Marsch Op.76 [Piano (Evgeny Kissin)]
Note: Beethoven has 32 sonatas. All are introduced at wikipedia.

Chopin
- Fantaisie Impromptu in C# Minor, Op. 66 [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 [Piano (Vadim Chaimovich)]
- Nocturne in E-flat Major Op. 9 No. 2 [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Nocturne no. 20 in C sharp minor Posthumous [Piano] [Piano, part]
- Etude “Chanson de L'adieu”in E Major Op.10-3 ("Tristesse", Good bye) [Piano]
- Revolution etude (Op.10-12) [Piano]
- Waltz in A minor (Op. Posth.) [Piano]
- Minute Waltz (Waltz in D flat major, op.64, No. 1) [Piano (Kissin)]

Debussy (1862-1918, French, Impressionism)
- Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune [Dance accompaniment]
- Clair de lune (Moonlight) [Piano] [Piano (Marianelli)] [Orchestra]
- Syrinx [Flute]
- Beau soir [Violin & Piano]
- Dieu! Qu'il La Fait Bon Regarder [Chorus]
- Arabesque No.1 [Piano]

Grieg
- Nocturne Op. 54 No. 4 [Piano]

Liszt
- La Campanella (Clock) [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Liebestraum (Dream of love) [Piano (Evgeny Kissin)]

Mendelssohn
- Spring Song Op.62-2 (from Songs without words) [Piano]

Mozart
- Turkischer Marsch K.331 [Fun: Two pianos]

Rachmaninoff (notorious for being difficulty)
- Piano Concerto No.2 [Piano (Rachmaninoff)]
- Piano Concerto No.3 [Piano (Kissin)]
- Preludeium cis moll [Piano (Rachmaninoff)]

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai
- Flight of the Bumble-bee [Piano (Yuja Wang)]

Saint Saëns
- The Carnival of the Animals: The Aquarium [Orchestra]
- The Carnival of the Animals: The swan [Cello]

Schumann
- Traumerei Op.15-7 (Fantasy) [Piano (Horowitz)]

Tchaikovsky
- Piano Concerto 1, 1st movement [Piano and Orchestra]
- Nutcracker suite [Piano (Mee-Hyun Ahn)]

Pachelbel's canon in D Major

Similar to the Air on the G String by Bach, Pachelbel's canon in D Major is famous Baroque music.

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nPyLLedfAs

See introduction and score.

Composers

- David Nevue
Youtube link: Solitude - Just serves as a gateway link. This song by itself is not very interesting to me. I like his greensleeves arragement.

Green sleeves

Green sleeves is a song written possibly in the 1500s in England, and said to be one of the most widely spread songs of Europe. This song was mentioned in Shakepeare's 1602 drama "The merry wives of windsor", suggesting that it might be already popular then. Folk story says it was written by King Henry VIII for his wife Anna Boleyn, although this must be just a legend since the song was written in a style known in England only after Henry VIII passed away.

Here is a relatively complex piano arrangement (by David Nevue): Green Sleeves (piano).

This is a vocal version (soprano with lute accompaniment): Green Sleeves (vocal). It contains the sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 of the 8 sections in the lyrics, and is sung in a setting mimicking the mid ages. The variations of the tune is by Francis Cutting. It usually should be sung by a man (tenor) though.

A vocal version by man and ensemble: Green Sleeves (vocal by king singer's (A capella)).

Another one by orchestra: Green Sleeves (orchestra).

The lyrics says:
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

More about this song and its lyrics are at wiki: greensleeves.

Movie music

Forrest Gump - original music cut from the movie

Forrest Gump - Main Theme - Piano Solo
Titanic - My heart will go on - Piano Solo
These two are played by yoursoul85. He seems to be a student in Germany. Very delicate rendition. Here's another one played by him: Sonata in A, K331 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This one was used in Jet Li's movie Unleashed. It's also the one that The legend of 1900's "a mozart reincarnated" theme mimics. He also composes a little bit and here is a Jazzy one: Whatever Comes. His performance reminds me how Germans are known as perfectionists.

Bram Stoker's Dracula: Music video
This is a quite famous vampire movie. See wikipedia's introduction to it.

Some movies are made specifically with music or musicians as main theme. For example:
- The Pianist (2002). Story of a Jewish-Polish pianist survived the 2nd world war. See scene of Chopin Ballade No. 1.
- The Legend of 1900 (1998). This movie features Jazz music, and has been introduced in an early post.
- Amadeurs (1998). Life story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. See scene of Mozart v.s. Salieri. I'm really sick of the weird laughters of the "Mozart" in this movie though.
- A song to remember (1945). A biography of Polish pianist and composer Fryderyc Chopin.