BFG Publishing

19/04/2023

Just published: Sergey Beltiukov "Merry Locomotive" for violin and piano

Program notes:
The violin book " Merry Locomotive" is especially composed for the children in first and second grade of the music school. It consists of 14 different pieces. It offers many tools for the initial development of both the right and the left-hand techniques. All melodic pieces help develop the softness of sound and stimulate smooth change of position. Based on the different methodological tasks, they are divided as follows: No. 1 - 3 – Mastering the legato and detaché techniques (rhythmic bowing) and getting to know holds and pauses; No. 4 - 5 – Connecting strings: this essential part of the technique requires the development of right- hand flexibility. Tackling position changing is also part of this section. The mastering of these main techniques largely determines the entire further development of the pupil's violin technique; No. 6 - 9 – Staccato bowing: at this stage it is advisable to learn staccato not by sharp pressure but based on a light acceleration of detaché and the separation of sounds by pauses; No. 10 - 11 – Is a combination of the legato and staccato bow strokes; No. 12 - 13 – Dotted rhythm in combination with legato and staccato bowing; No. 14 – Is a combination of all the above-proposed bow strokes in one piece; The combination of the violin pieces with accompaniment contributes to the stability of intonation and provides the necessary metro-rhythmic support. The artistically enriched material makes learning more attractive to the pupil and awakens a musical interest in classes, as a result of which the effectiveness of the educational process is significantly increased.

Music scores available here:

"Merry Locomotive" for violin and piano by Sergey Beltiukov. Written for Solo Solo Violin + piano with a duration of 20 mins. Purchase, download and print sheet music PDF file now!

12/04/2023

Just published: Sergey Beltiukov "Merry locomotive. The cycle of piano pieces" for piano.

Program notes:
The cycle of piano pieces "Merry locomotive" was written in 2015 and dedicated to his grandchildren: Olivia, Yuri and Emilia Vasilisa. Each of the 14 pieces has a different name, a unique character and melodic freshness. They are performed by famous and outstanding musicians, as well as by children themselves. Elizabeth Mikhadyuk decorates the music scores beautifully, with an artistry based on uncommon musical and emotional intelligence. This new piano album is designed for primary school pupils. The Editor gladly recommends that this "Merry locomotive" belong to the standard young pianist's repertoire.

Music scores available here: https://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/546007.html

Merry locomotive. The cycle of piano pieces by Sergey Beltiukov. Written for Solo instrument (Piano) with a duration of 20 mins. Purchase, download and print sheet music PDF file now!

08/03/2023

And the last historical period in music, which we would like to talking about - is 20th century period (1900 – present)

The musical period of the 20th century began around the 1900s and is considered to be the period we're still by. This is the time when melodists began to dodge the musical conventions of former times, and they resolve into numerous movements similar as Impressionism, Modernism, Minimalism and Neoclassicism.
The following are some of the notable melodists of the 20th century period: Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (1874 - 1951), Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), Joseph Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945), Artur Schnabel (1882 - 1951), Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971), Zóltan Kodáy (1882 - 1967), Anton Webern (1883 - 1945), Alban Berg (1885 - 1935), Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953), George Gershwin (1898 - 1937), Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), Maurice Duruflé (1902 - 1986), Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903 - 1989), Eduard Tubin (1905 - 1982), Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992), Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), William Howard Schuman (1910 - 1992), Gian Carlo Menotti (1911 - 2007), Benjamin Britten (1913- 1976), Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918 - 1970), Ernest Tomlinson (1924 - 2015), Peter Lamb (1925 - 2013), Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 - 2007), William Matthias (1934 - 1992), Arvo Pärt (1935 - ), John Rutter (1945 - ).

As you can see, this timeline of classical music composers shows the elaboration and progression of classical music over time. Watching YouTube and studying the music of each of these melodists is a great way to see how styles have changed over the times. There are numerous melodists we did not include in this list, but let us know in the commentary who you suppose we missed and maybe we'll add them.

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19/02/2023

"Requiem"

Messa Da Requiem by Verdi is one of his most famous and exciting works. Verdi's "Requiem", inspired by the death of the writer Alessandro Manzoni, divided the audience between those who found his operatic style inappropriate and those who liked it!

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17/02/2023

"Rigoletto"

"Rigoletto", a tragic story of jealousy, revenge and self-sacrifice, is one of Verdi's most popular and best operas. In order for "Rigoletto" to pass the censors, Verdi had to convince them that it was not bad taste to have a singing hunchback as a central character, and also to muffle the duke's libidinal exploits!

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16/02/2023

"Othello"

"Othello" was one of the greatest musical comebacks - at the premiere, the crying audience screamed over 20 times, and then his carriage was returned to the hotel by adoring fans. The opera, based on William Shakespeare's play "Othello", was Verdi's penultimate opera and brought the composer to the height of his dramatic power.

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15/02/2023

"La Traviata"

At first "La Traviata" was lukewarm, but after Verdi revised the work in 1854, it became hugely successful. It is currently the most performed opera in the world and one of Verdi's finest works. A Verdi masterpiece featuring one of the most iconic, romantic and tragic compositions of all time.

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14/02/2023

"Troubadour"

An opera barn with a highly convoluted plot that turns potentially ridiculous incidents like a gypsy throwing the "wrong" baby into a bonfire into a gripping drama. The opera's themes of jealousy, revenge and love are played out against the backdrop of a bewitchingly beautiful winter landscape torn apart by war.

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13/02/2023

"Falstaff"
Entirely free from the usual operatic settings and attractive virtuoso numbers, "Falstaff", one of the greatest operatic comedies of all time and one of Verdi's best works, consists of a continuous stream of musical poetics. The story is a mixture of scenes from Shakespeare, mostly taken from the comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor".

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12/02/2023

"Don Carlos"

"Don Carlos", based on the dramatic play by Schiller, is the story of three generations of Spanish royalty. This opera was a turning point for Verdi, which allowed the different directions of the plot to develop with naturalness, almost completely avoiding the intense excitement that was inherent in his early works.

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11/02/2023

"Aida"

"Aida", one of Verdi's finest operas, is a timeless story of love and betrayal set in ancient Egypt. This is Verdi's great opera, the culmination of all great operas, with a potential cast of hundreds of actors and plenty of scenery.

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10/02/2023

And now we will consider the 10 most striking, in our opinion, works of Giuseppe Verdi!

"La Forza Del Destino"
"La Forze Del Destino" contains some of Verdi's most brilliant choral compositions and some beautiful and intimate arias. Leonora's father is accidentally shot by her lover Don Alvaro. Carlo (Leonora's brother) swears revenge and tracks down Alvaro to the monastery, killed in a duel, but before slaughtering Leonora!

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09/02/2023

And now we would like to look into the world of opera of the 19th century, and, of course, one of the brightest composers of that time in this genre is - Giuseppe Verdi.

Verdi is the greatest Italian opera composer - Verdi's best works are Rigoletto, La Traviata and Aida.

Giuseppe Verdi (October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) is the greatest of all Italian opera composers. He was the most important composer of Italian opera after the eras of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. More than 100 years after his death, Verdi's works form the bulk of today's operatic repertoire. The "Drinking Song" from "La Traviata", the "Choir of Jewish Slaves" from "Nabucco", and "La Donna e Mobile" from "Rigoletto" are as well known in popular culture as they are in the world of opera. The father-daughter relationship is a constant theme in his work, as are the subjects of injustice, oppression and religious hypocrisy. Although he was a very serious man, his last opera, "Falstaff", was a brilliant comedy.

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08/02/2023

Piano Quintet

Schumann's Piano Quintet in E Flat Major is considered one of his finest compositions and a major piece of nineteenth-century chamber music. The piano quintet, composed for piano and string quartet, revolutionized the instrumentation and musical character of the piano quintet, and this instrumentation was later popularized by notable composers including Brahms, Frank, Dvořák, and Elgar.

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07/02/2023

«Frauenliebe Und-Leben»

«Frauenliebe Und-Leben» («The Love and Life of a Woman») is Schumann's most delightfully inspired song cycle that magically conveys a woman's unwavering devotion to her husband. The eight poems in this cycle present an evolving perspective on love and life, describing a woman's love for her man from their first meeting, to their marriage and his death.

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06/02/2023

«Dichterliebe»

«Dichterliebe» («The Love of a Poet»), a classic setting of 16 poems selected from Heinrich Heine's popular «Buch Der Liede», is widely considered Schumann's finest song cycle. The set of songs is an expression of Schumann's love for his wife Clara, but also of their struggle, as Clara's father opposed their marriage. The happiness in the first four songs is followed by a bout of despair and disappointment in the next four songs.

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05/02/2023

Symphony № 4

Schumann's desire to fully integrate the symphony reaches its zenith in Symphony № 4, the most formally groundbreaking of his symphonies. In each movement, the threads of the original theme remain present and essential to the structure of the entire symphony. The four parts must be played without interruption and together form a single large-scale formal design.

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04/02/2023

Symphony № 3 ('Rhenish')

Symphony № 3 ("Rhenish") is one of Schumann's last great masterpieces. The "Rhenish" symphony was inspired by Schumann's happy memories of a trip to the Rhineland with his wife Clara. Traditionally symphonies have only four movements, but in this work Schumann expanded the conventional structure to five movements. The themes of the "Rhenish" symphony were later reworked by Brahms in his "Symphony № 3".

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03/02/2023

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

Concerto in A minor for piano and orchestra, Op. 54 is Schumann's only piano concerto and one of his most intimate large-scale works. His wife Clara remarked: "The piano is so skillfully intertwined with the orchestra that it is impossible to imagine one without the other." Undoubtedly the best work of Schumann.

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02/02/2023

"Études Symphoniques"

Piano Variations of amazing skill and surprising spontaneity, given that Schumann spent several years working on it. The Études are considered among Schumann's most difficult works for pianoforte (together with his Fantasia in C major and Toccata) and in the entire piano repertoire.

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01/02/2023

"Kinderszenen"

A set of thirteen delightful pieces for piano, nostalgically reminiscent of "Scenes from Childhood", not to be confused with the later "Album for Youth", which was designed especially for children! Träumerei (Dream), № 7, by the way, is one of Schumann's most famous works.

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31/01/2023

"Kreisleriana"

"Kreisleriana" is a set of eight solo piano pieces dedicated to Chopin and inspired by characters from the stories of the German romantic writer Hoffmann. Schumann considered the "Kreisleriana" to be one of his finest works, and the piece remains a staple of the romantic solo piano repertoire.

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29/01/2023

And the next composer for our consideration is Robert Schumann.

Robert Schumann (June 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856) is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. The originality of his work pushed emotional, structural and philosophical boundaries. Schumann's music is largely programmatic, meaning it tells a story (through music, not specifically through words).

During the 1830s, Schumann wrote a vast amount of piano music which included graphic cycles with literary or personal associations such as "Papillons", "Carnaval" and "Davidsbündlertänze". Schumann devoted the year 1840 almost exclusively to songs, and his song cycles included "Dichterliebe" and "Frauenliebe Und-Leben". Schumann then turned his attention to chamber music. Between 1841 and 1842 he wrote three string quartets, a piano quartet and a piano quintet of pure genius. As time went on, he tried larger forms - choral works, opera "Genoviev" and four symphonies. Schumann's musical influence extended for decades to come - his influence on Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, Elgar, Fauré and others is immeasurable.

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28/01/2023

«Winterrise», D 911

Schubert created his unusual winter journey on his deathbed. And what a journey it is. The "wanderer" of the poet Müller is a modern man, closed in icy isolation and tormented by memories of love, and before him there is nothing but death or loss of reason. Schubert's friend Josef von Spaun recalled how Schubert introduced them: "I will sing you a cycle of chilling songs... They influenced me more than any other song." From the tender nostalgia for "The Lipa", to the grief of "The Spring Dream", to the hypnotic and heartbreaking "The Organ Grinder", this is undoubtedly Schubert's finest masterpiece.

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27/01/2023

Piano Sonata № 21 in B Flat Major, D 960

Schubert never lived to play his last piano sonata, but we must not forget that he wrote this celestial meditation when he was 30 years old, not knowing how close he was to death (from typhoid fever and possibly from the consequences syphilis). It was Schumann who recognized that the "heavenly length" of these late works was not a weakness of the composition, but rather the key to their strength. The sonata opens with an introspective first movement in which three sensually lyrical themes intertwine quietly. The heart of the Sonata lies in its extremely slow movement. The witty ballet scherzo breaks the spell in the most delightful way, leading to a powerful dancing finale of the rondo with Hungarian overtones.

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