La machine à coudre (Sewing Machine) - Jacques Ibert | | Toccatina (Op. 27 No. 7) - Dmitri Kabalevsky

This video features performances of two piano solos, both of them being pieces composed during the 20th century. 📑 ORDER OF THE PIECES: 0:00 Channel Intro 0:05 La machine à coudre (The Sewing Machine) - Jacques Ibert 1:05 Toccatina (Op. 27 No. 7) - Dmitri Kabalevsky ❓ ABOUT THE FIRST PIECE: ◾ "La machine à coudre" (The Sewing Machine) No. 11 is a piece by French composer Jacques Ibert from the piano pieces collection "Petite suite en quinze images" published in 1944. ◾ The piece is played at a quite fast tempo, in an effort to mimic the quick, oscillatory movements of a sewing machine needle. This can be noticed in the repetitive notes of the piece. 🎹 ABOUT JACQUES IBERT: ◾ Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (1890–1962) was a French composer whose music is admired for its colourful, technically polished, & often witty neoclassical style. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire & won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I. ◾ Ibert pursued a successful composing career, writing 7 operas, 5 ballets, incidental music for plays & films, works for piano solo, choral works & chamber music. He is probably best remembered for his orchestral works including Divertissement (1930) & Escales (1922). During World War II he was proscribed by the pro-Nazi government in Paris, and for a time, he went into exile in Switzerland. He restored to his former eminence in French musical life after the war. 🎵 MUSIC STYLE OF IBERT: Ibert refused to ally himself to any particular musical fashion or school. His music can be festive & gay, lyrical & inspired, or descriptive & evocative, often tinged with gentle humour. All the elements of his musical language relate closely to the Classical tradition. ❓ ABOUT THE SECOND PIECE: ◾ "Toccatina" (meaning: short toccata) Op. 27 No. 7 is a light-natured piece by Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky from the collection "Thirty Children's Pieces" published in 1938. Although the piece is not too fast, the energy level is kept high throughout the piece. ◾ The important feature in this piece is that the melody is played by the left hand, which should be smooth & well-voiced. In contrast, the right-hand accompaniment is detached, with short & crisp chords. The variation in dynamics helps listeners recognise the change in mood/character within the piece. 🤔🎵❓ WHAT'S A TOCCATINA/TOCCATA? ◾ "Toccata" (from Italian "toccare", literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers. Less frequently, the name is applied to works for multiple instruments. ◾ Smaller-scale, short toccatas are called "toccatina". 🎹 ABOUT DMITRI KABALEVSKY: ◾ Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904–1987) was a Soviet composer & teacher of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow & remained one of its leading figures during his lifetime. He is best known in Western Europe for his Second Symphony, the "Comedians' Galop" from The Comedians Suite, Op. 26 & his Third Piano Concerto. ◾ Kabalevsky was a prolific composer in many ways; he wrote symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber works, songs, theatre, film scores, pieces for children & some pieces for the proletariat. However, his biggest contribution to the world of music-making was his consistent effort to connect children to music. ◾ During 1925–6, he worked as a piano teacher in a government school & was struck by the lack of proper material for children to learn music. He set out to write easy pieces that would allow children to conquer technical difficulties & at the same time begin to form their taste. His music focused on bridging the gap between children's technical skills & adult aesthetics. 🎵 MUSIC STYLE OF KABALEVSKY: Kabalevsky was not as adventurous as his contemporaries in terms of harmony & preferred a more conventional diatonicism, interlaced with chromaticism & major-minor interplay. His style features clear tonality & energetic rhythm, with the important role played by the subdominant & the frequent juxtaposition of thirds in his works, common to many Russian composers. His use of form is mostly conventional as he preferred symmetrical rondo or variation structures. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL: /channel/UCkUHy3uU9jMuSHCbKA9m-rw ◾ CREDITS: Sewing machine photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash #Lamachineàcoudre #Toccatina #TheSewingMachine #JacquesIbert #Op2No7 #DmitriKabalevsky #Petitesuiteenquinzeimages #toccata #ThirtyChildrensPieces #Frenchmusic #French #pianosolo #piano #music #instrumentalmusic #20thcenturymusic #Russianmusic #Russian #Kabalevsky #Ibert #pianoexampiece #modernmusic

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