Highlight reel.
Listen to the famous third movement of the String Quintet in C major. Where does it first modulate? You guessed it-- flat-VI. And after he stops on that German sixth chord, where do we go? Well, to G here, but that's just prep for the repeat signs back to-- you guessed it-- C major, baby! Yeah, Schubi ftw!
How bout the Unfinished Symphony in B minor-- where's that 2nd theme? Well ok, it's regular VI there but still... Schubert likes going to VI. It's his signature move. And if I start reading through one of his Lieder at random I bet I don't go 4 pages before hearing another such moment.
I like the idea of realtime notes, but you gotta have a pretty wide context for them to be anything more than an arbitrary collection of trivia for newcomers. That's a nice way of saying if you're a newcomer, you got to listen to a lot of music before things make sense. Just like you can dribble in one square meter of a basketball court and understand the game.
I mean, what could F# minor as a "distant key" possibly mean to a newcomer who hasn't had music theory? Without the context it's the musical equivalent of talking about some new software including "blockchain" technology. Maybe it means something significant. More likely in the context of mid-19th century harmony, it doesn't.
But if put on your Schubert jersey and get a season ticket, ask yourself-- how exactly is F# minor related to anything? Well, we started changing keys earlier by quick move to a sublime melody G-flat major. Any musician will tell you F# is just another way to spell G-flat. Wait a sec: Schubert took us to the minor version of that same key for the second theme. Minor-flat-VI. Holy cow!
Austria wins the championship! Austria wins!
But you're right that it's meaningful in the context of the earlier iteration -- I'll give some thought about what can be done here. Perhaps it's another layer or for another audience.
If we could somehow flip a switch to make the latter group hear what musical drama is like it would be equivalent to gaining a new sense. Like millions of people sheltered-in-place suddenly realizing they now have free access to tens of thousands of Netflix series written in their native tongue over the past thousand years.
Originally I wrote this to accompany my own live performances, but I think it's perhaps even more useful for helping people stay present with the music when watching online. Would love feedback!
Props, I really enjoyed this!
Try one of the free lessons to see how is the player.
(disclaimer: I work there)
I can see that Live Program Notes may be part of the future of classical music. Wishing you all the success!
I also enjoy Murray Perahia's playing of this piece as well.
I can imagine this type of exercise would be very excellent way to really study and analyze a piece, because you're forced to rationalize the ineffable.
D958 D959 D960 are the numbers to look up.
Mitsuko Uchida (the featured pianist) is the go-to for Schubert recitals, her exquisitely sensitive touch is great for realising the lightness in Schubert's music which tends to switch between ironic, tragic and profound at a moment's notice while he grappled with the reality of his impending death.
Although currently I am listening to the Alfred Brendel recordings (who is another go to for Schubert).
As a novice pianist, I would love to see alongside the discussion some piano chords and progressions. That would be really fascinating to see with the commentary.
If you need help programming that part, I would be very happy to help.
