Sonata Secrets

"Vogel als Prophet" (Bird as prophet) is a peculiar piece in Robert Schumann's Waldszenen suite Op. 82. On closer inspection we find the most prominent feature to be arpeggios leading to quite dissonant appoggiaturas. As often with Schumann, he strikes a balance between the playful and the profound. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/ic7cXHujqA8

Chopin's 1st Ballade in G minor has a special place in the hearts of many pianists and piano lovers. It has many characters who all speak directly and poignantly, and Chopin lets them evolve organically within the Ballade. It's a story without any explicit drama, but with intense dramatic content nevertheless. And it's especially one chord that sets the tone. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: ht...

The piece that starts Waldszenen (Forest scenes) is "Eintritt", an Entrance into the forest. The pleasant melody shifts between the hands but for some reason Schumann has written most of the piece like it's metrically offset within the 4/4 time signature. Video: https://youtu.be/s7OI-OcUVko

Schumann's "Waldszenen" (Forest scenes) op. 82 is a collection from his later period, invoking the forest in nine pastoral, cute and intruiging pieces. No. 3 "Einsame Blumen" or "Lonely Flowers" has all the best Schumann ingredients: rhythmic ambiguity, aching suspensions and creative counterpoint. Video: https://youtu.be/t3VaGEIGNTI

Frühlingsrauschen, or Rustle of Spring, has impressed audiences since Christian Sinding composed it in 1896. The lightning-fast arpeggios in the right hand are actually not that difficult, but the piece still requires a high degree of rhythmic precision and position changes later on.  It's a passionate celebration of spring-time energy, wonderfully fitted with exciting harmonic progressions t...

This Nocturne poses some serious technical challenges! Once mastered, they give an impression of something light and playful (scherzando is marked in the score) and with so much elegance typical of the young Chopin. With Henrik Kilhamn, professional pianist. Video: https://youtu.be/0S5uRET-mzg

This is a fascinating example of how Rachmaninoff uses a short motif as a foundation for a composition, and spins an endless amount of colorful variations on it. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/AuJ2ksqjhrY

This poignant waltz was published in 1986 and attributed posthumously to Chopin, but it was discovered in 2012 to actually have been written by Chopin's contemporary Charles Mayer. However, he did such a good job to imitate a Chopinesque style (for example with chromatic suspensions) that he had the music world fooled for several decades. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. This episode is dedicated to m...

In the middle of the set of 24 preludes in all different keys Op. 11, Scriabin limits himself to use only the diatonic notes of D-flat major in slowly moving melodic lines harmonized in thirds. Needless to say it's a great exercise for legato playing in the left hand, which has to play the thirds before the right hand enters with a soaring but tragic melody. Video: https://youtu.be/zBdNOsToQbU

This is one of my absolute favourite piano pieces. Brahms is such a master of knitting the musical material together tightly, and he does so in this Intermezzo over a nostalgic but forgiving backdrop. The middle section is a reminder of sorrow and pain, but in the end everything is all right. Henrik Kilhamn, piano. Video: https://youtu.be/bypALczDNMI Easy arrangement: https://sonatasecrets.gumroad...

This is one of Brahms' most famous melodies; it captures perfectly the elegant dancing of the Viennese ballrooms in a piano piece. Video: https://youtu.be/6sYxmVYHD30

Henrik Kilhamn takes a closer look at Liszt's famous Liebestraum no. 3. It's inspired by a poem by Ferdinand Freiligrath "Oh, love as long as long you may", celebrating love as a strong force in the world, and Liszt makes use of some spectacular things in the musical structure to get the message across. Video: https://youtu.be/U_AImOWal2Y

Liszt's "Consolations" are a kind of musical prayer, and no. 3 is perhaps the most comforting of all with its Lento placido; resonating broken chords over a deep bass and a soaring melody. Playing, analysis and comments by pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/_QoShd8mKz8

This major Nocturne has all the typical features - long sweeping arpeggios in the left hand and a soaring melody on top - but it is also a duet of two voices that keep the dialogue alive throughout the piece. With pianist Henrik Kilham. Video: https://youtu.be/tc69rTem_qo

What is the secret alluded to by this wonderful piece of music by Michael Nyman? "The Piano" character Ada plays this piece in the movie - it shows some classical influence to start with, but then develops into a passionate improvisation with lovely piano textures over lush chords. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/l6QzexGfGZA

Edvard Grieg wrote this famous piano piece to celebrate his 25 year wedding anniversary with his wife Nina. Henrik Kilhamn goes through the music to find out how it feels so optimistic and full of energy, and the middle section so nostalgic and sensual. Video: https://youtu.be/3zknYtbD5MY

W. Stenhammar's third Fantasy from Op. 11 could just as well have had the title Ballade in my opinion. Folklore melodies, dramatic development and your typical Stenhamamr chromatic thickness. Henrik Kilhamn, piano. Video: https://youtu.be/BfnaTCyWXsE

There are some piano gems from the film music genre, and this is one of them: Michael Nymans score to the 1993 Jane Campion film The Piano. Rolling 16th notes over lush harmonies - simple but effective, and a manifestation of the main character's emotional life in the film. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/YlW1XhbWHeI

In this close look at Grieg's Notturno from Lyric pieces book 5, we explore some of the typcial romantic harmonic tropes, put to effective use by Grieg. Half-diminished chords, extensions and tritone shifts among others. Henrik Kilhamn plays and explains along the way. Video: https://youtu.be/Q9uzlGRqD8g

Wilhelm Stenhammar is one of Sweden's greatest composers in the romantic tradition. In this emblematic piece he captures something of the nordic spirit - personal and melancholic but with a deep sense of connection to something that has been around for a very long time. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/06CB499p0u4

Henrik Kilhamn goes through the 5th piece in Grieg's first volume of Lyric pieces: a Folk Song. A steady beat in triple time, Mazurka-like rhythms and romantic harmony awaits. Video: https://youtu.be/1HWtsV2CehY

The very first of Edvard Grieg's "lyric pieces", Arietta Op. 12 no. 1, is a true piano gem. A singable melody over a rocking accompaniment and cosy romantic harmonies. Presented in an analysis tutorial by pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/CUYrxxWluGU

"Le Gibet" is the haunting second piece in Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. A repeated B flat in the right hand permeates the whole piece as the bell tolling in the poetic landscape of Aloysius Bertrand, which the piece is set to conjure. Henrik Kilhamn goes through this incredible music. Video: https://youtu.be/hMbiASv0Udg

Maurice Ravel paints a wonderful scene in music after Aloysius Bertrands poem with the same name: Ondine from Gaspard de la nuit. The siren Ondine sings to seduce a young man. Can he resist? With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/cQbZ9JBUuWU

Erik Satie uses some dark and exotic minor scales in his emblematic Gnossiennes. In this video we go through all aspects of the music to find out how he creates these haunting vibes. With pianist Henrik Kilhamn. Video: https://youtu.be/em4DWxZORI8 Emoji artwork provided by JoyPixels, http://joypixels.com.